What Do You Need for a Worm Farm?

Any worm farm starts off with a pound or two of the worms essential to the heart of the process of creating vermicompost, notes Purdue University Extension. The typical species used--red wigglers or Eisenia fetida--can tolerate a fairly wide range of conditions. Still, the closer you come to creating a worm farm that meets your worm herd's needs, the better they will perform and the easier you will find caring for them.

  1. Features

    • Worm farms create a closed system where worms meet your food scraps, chopped up and buried a cup or two at a time in bedding, and convert them into worm compost or manure. Red wigglers need darkness, moisture levels kept at about 70 percent, a neutral pH and temperature optimally in the 70s for them to feed and reproduce more quickly.

    Types

    • Your major component is the worm farm itself, which can be commercially bought for around $100 (as of June 2010). You can also make your own out of lumber and plywood, as long as you create a shallow box shape that allows air to mix with the bedding and avoids anaerobic conditions, which create an unpleasant smell. Some hobbyists use salvaged materials, including old refrigerators, barrels or bathtubs, notes the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. You can also use cinder blocks to line a farm, set permanently a foot below ground level if you insulate it with leaves or hay in the winter. Some of the simplest designs, usable indoors or out, employ Rubbermaid totes or trashcans as the worm farm.

    Features

    • Worm bedding needs to hold moisture well while allowing air to circulate, so fluffy materials such as dampened torn cardboard or shredded paper can work well, along with peat moss, aged manure or coconut fiber. Food scraps go into pockets created in the bedding and covered back up with more bedding. Worms enjoy vegetable and fruit scraps, especially melon and pumpkin, but cannot have onion, garlic, citrus, meat and diary products.

    Considerations

    • Some accessories prove useful in maintaining your worm farm. A combined moisture and pH meter, often available for between and $7 and $12 at garden centers, can help you determine whether conditions stay on track in the worm farm. Keep a spray bottle filled with water nearby to spritz the bedding if it dries out. A three-tined cultivator and rubber gloves make it easy to create pockets for food scraps and cover them up. You'll want a sheet of plastic and a bucket to dump out the farm contents and harvest the compost after several months.

    Expert Insight

    • Earthworms prefer temperatures around 55 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, notes Purdue University Extension, so they may do well in basements, garages and shady outdoor areas. A compost thermometer, available for about $20, can help you pinpoint the temperature. Start off with 1 lb. of worms for a bin serving one or two people or 2 to 3 lbs. for a bin serving four to six people.