The Role of Worms in a Worm Farm

by admin on 23. Jul, 2010 in worm farm

What would a worm farm be without its worms? These worms play the most important role in vermicomposting. They digest organic materials and excrete worm castings which make dark rich earth-smelling compost. It is what they naturally do to exist and function in our environment, but this life cycle can be promoted manually in order to reduce waste faster and bring the much needed organic matter back to our earth. Setting up a worm farm makes this process feasible in our homes, apartments and backyard.

Worm farm

What the worms do best in a worm farm is basically the same with the principles applied in backyard composting. The composting worms live in surfaces with a high composition of organic matter like a compost heap or next to animal manure. You wouldn’t find them just anywhere. They most likely dwell in farms. But with the right moisture, temperature and kind of food, they can survive optimally in a worm farm located both indoors and outdoors. They forage on good bacteria that naturally occur in organic waste and recycle our food scraps and paper waste into a soil conditioner. Worm composting with a worm farm is also cheap, easy and odorless, which is why it is a good project in the household.

Since most organic waste can be recycled by worms even in a worm farm, it provides the means to replenish our gardens and lawns. It does not take much of our time and efforts because most of the materials for a worm composting system can be found in our homes already. However, as for the worms, it is usually purchased with or without a worm bin. It can even be shipped right to your doorstep. These worms are that significant of a part of the ecosystem. But they are not the regular worms we see burrowing in our gardens. These are specialized worms for composting (red worms and nightcrawlers).

Worms can be raised as pets and fishing baits in a worm farm as well. But they are best known for their garbage-eating powers and recycling abilities. They eat our garbage, excrete organic-rich worm castings, and produce compost to fertilize our soil and feed our plants, while we get to benefit from these nutrients that make fruits and vegetables healthy. Home composting with a worm farm minimizes the use of chemicals on our plants and trees. It is an efficient method and hobby for anyone.

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Worm Factory Features

by admin on 26. Jul, 2010 in worm factory

When it comes to organic waste worm composting projects, a worm factory is no stranger in this field. Its design is one of a kind, which makes it stand out from other worm composting systems. Yet it is still easy to set up and easy to use, with the red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida specie) doing all the work.

The smallest footprint is found in a worm factory. It only takes up to 20% less floor spaces compared to bigger worm composting units, but you can stack as many trays as you want. It holds a large capacity in a small area. Among its features are expandability and manageability. It is expandable in a way that allows for several stacking trays to be placed on top of each other. It automatically separates the worms from the finished compost as the trays shrink along with the compost, giving way for the red worms to migrate upwards. The worm factory trays can actually hold about 12.5 lbs. of compost which makes it easy to lift and restack and manageable by adults and kids alike.

Worm factory

Simply put a worm bed and food scraps in the bottom tray, then add the red worms. Make use of suitable household materials as a lid since it is no longer provided in a worm factory so that we could totally learn to reduce, recycle and reuse. To make it odorless and to process at maximum efficiency, the bedding and food should have a controlled amount of moisture and maximum flow of air. It encourages aerobic bacteria, which are essential for the worms to consume and produce a rich compost. The lid must be loosely fitted for proper ventilation, allowing the good bacteria in and preventing a rotten egg stench, but providing just enough cover from the light. After digesting, the red worms will crawl up to the tray above, deserting the rich worm castings. The concentrated liquid from the worm castings are drained from the spout at the bottom tray, and there you have your worm tea from the worm factory. It is a clean, easy and odorless process.

A worm factory can be placed indoors and outdoors. In line with its unique features, it can house 10,000 to 20,000 red worms in full force to consume 5 – 8 lbs. of food in a week and harvest a tray full of castings every month. Worm composting couldn’t be any simpler.

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The Worm Factory Farm Insider

by admin on 29. Jul, 2010 in worm factory farm

Worm composting couldn’t be any easier, faster and more efficient if you have tried what the Worm Factory has to offer. Just like any other worm composters, it creates black nutrient-rich compost which is the best soil amendment out of our kitchen scraps and used paper products. But its efficient design is known to be the best for all beginners and experienced users. But even so, what makes it really brilliant is its worm farm. The Worm Factory farm inside its genius system cannot be found in any other worm composting units.

Worm Factory Farm

The Worm Factory composter comes in stackable multi-tray design. It features a lid, working tray, two processing trays, a collection tray, holding tray and a base.  It has the smallest footprint compared to all worm composters because of its compact square design. It certainly saves space, but it’s also the smallest space that can hold the largest amount of compost, which makes worm composting possible in a very limited living area. It is very simple to manage since each tray only weighs 12.5 lbs. when full, which makes lifting and stacking easy. It is in these trays that the Worm Factory farm gets into incredible composting action compared to other worm farms.

The worms begin eating organic waste in the lowest processing tray placed with damp shredded paper as a worm bed and the right amount of kitchen scraps as their food. There is no need to worry of getting it soggy and unventilated or having to remove the worms by hand and scoop out the compost. The Worm Factory farm is in a thermo siphon worm composting system with constantly regulated moisture and air entries and exits from all four sides of its base to the lid. Once the organic waste in the active tray has been consumed and excreted as worm castings forming the compost, the worms migrate to the processing tray above which should be newly filled with a new worm farm. So the compost is left behind, ready for your house plants and garden. But aside from these worm castings, a liquid byproduct is also produced in the process. In the Worm Factory farm, it is gathered in a unique collection tray and can be easily drained from the built-in spigot as worm tea.

A Worm Factory farm produces more compost at a much faster rate and of course, it is odorless. It saves time and labor, but brings you the best compost out of a worm farm.

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What’s in a Worm Factory Composter?

by admin on 01. Aug, 2010 in worm factory composter

Worm composting is an effective way of converting our kitchen scraps, junk mails, newspapers and cereal boxes into rich compost for our gardens and house plants. Advocates of the green living believe that in this way, we can help save our natural environment, and expert gardeners agree that the compost produced by the composting worms will help our plants thrive and make the best flowers, fruits, vegetables and trees. But along with our efforts, we need the most efficient worm composter around. That being said, it is totally covered by a self-sorting worm factory composter for beginners and advanced users alike.


Worm factory composter

The Worm Factory 360 is a worm factory composter that takes our efforts out. It is compact, easy, odorless, speedy and stackable. It can be used both indoors and outdoors which makes composting a good activity for the whole year round. Simply put a pound of red worms and organic waste in the bottom tray. The worms do all the work, processing the food into the desired compost. When the bottom tray is filled, add another tray of fresh food source and the worms will migrate up and leave the dark earth-smelling rich compost inside the bottom tray. As the organic waste is processed in this worm factory composter, an equally nutrient-rich liquid product filters through the system which can be harvested from the spigot and used as an organic liquid fertilizer.

But how does this worm factory composter effortlessly work? It has a thermo siphon airflow design which accelerates the composting process, much faster than the usual composters. It involves air entry at the base of its four sides, worms burrowing through the compost making air passages, increasing heat and compost gases pulling the air up through the trays, and air going out through the four sides of the lid. There’s ten times more circulation in a worm factory composter. It even comes with coir, a byproduct of harvesting coconuts. It serves as an excellent growing medium and worm bed material. It holds and releases moisture slowly to maintain the worms’ living and working conditions. The Worm Factory 360 also has a color-coded thermometer to ensure the perfect temperature range inside the composter, which becomes more favorable for the 8,000 – 12,000 worms it can house to optimally consume 5 – 8 lbs. of organic waste per week.

Worm factory composter in green color

This worm factory composter is even made of recycled materials. So worm composting can be totally eco-friendly.

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Advantages of a Worm Factory Compost Bin

by admin on 04. Aug, 2010 in worm factory compost bin

Eco-minded homeowners and expert gardeners often check out the Worm Factory when it comes to worm composting. A Worm Factory compost bin is an ideal composting unit for urban dwellers and gardeners to manage all year round. It is a perfect space-saver because it is stackable and it is equipped with unique features that keep it smelling fresh inside your living area. It is not complicated and messy to handle because it is self-sorting, you don’t have to sort through any compost and separate the red worms which makes composting easy breezy and useful for everyone.

The main design of a Worm Factory compost bin features a thermo siphon air flow system, allowing air to circulate on all four sides that helps speed up the composting process. It allows the compost to be odorless, which is something that is not guaranteed in other compost bins that users have to deal with. That is why a Worm Factory compost bin can be set up indoors and outdoors the whole year. It’s fuss-free even inside your apartment. It only gives you the best organic compost quickly. Another brilliant feature of this compost bin is that the worms start to work in the bottom tray going up. When they are finished with the kitchen scraps in it, all you have to do is remove the tray to get the compost. But you don’t have to scoop it out and get dirty since the worms have already moved their way up to the next tray. Absolutely genius!

The Worm Factory compost bin comes in three colors (black, green and terra cotta) and design variations. Its 5-tray worm composter is made from 100% recycled plastic, measuring 16L x 16W x 28H inches and approximately weighing 15 lbs. It works best in temperatures between 45 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Its 4-tray terra cotta unit is made from virgin food-grade plastic. It measures 16L x 16W x 24.5H inches and weighs 14 lbs. It is used indoors during winter and outdoors during summer. The 3-tray Worm Factory compost bin, also made of recycled plastic, has a 16L x 16W x 21H inch measurement and weight of 13 lbs. These compost bins are efficient in similar temperatures and can house 6,000 worms that can consume 5 – 8 lbs. of organic waste per week. But only 1,000 worms are recommended for a start because they will reproduce.

Each month, a tray is filled with rich compost. It is that fast in converting our kitchen waste into something useful. A Worm Factory compost bin is a must in worm composting.

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Worm Composting Facts

by admin on 07. Aug, 2010 in worm composting

Worm composting is an environment-friendly activity that can be done in our homes. It is also known as vermicomposting which is defined as the breaking down of organic wastes into compost with the use of worms and the combined action of other naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria and millipedes. However, the regular worms in our soil and gardens cannot be used in this process because they will not survive in an indoor worm bin, and if used in an outdoor bin, they will only gather in the lower layers. Composting worms like the red worms, European nightcrawlers and African nightcrawlers are surface dwellers, living in areas with rich organic matter like leaf litters and manure.

The red worms are the most common and most effective in worm composting, processing waste that is equivalent or more of its own body weight per day. They basically graze on the microbial colony in organic waste, not just the waste itself.  This is why worm composting reduces the pathogen levels in our waste materials. Red worms can also tolerate and survive at 80 – 90% of moisture content but require the right balance with oxygen. They need to breathe, too. But regular light is harmful to them and red light may not. Red worm eggs which look like tiny straw-colored lemons can have a dozen baby worms each. They are tiny versions of the adult red worms but have less red pigments. Calcium sources like crushed egg shells can help stimulate their reproduction.

Worm Composting                                       Worm Composting With Kids

Worm composting is also an enjoyable way for youngsters to learn about gardening, reducing household waste and saving our planet. It is very educational and kid-friendly since it only involves simple materials like our newspapers, fall leaves and food scraps. It is very easy to set up and to handle. Just make sure that they understand the kinds of waste (biodegradable) that worms consume.

The product of vermicomposting is called worm castings or worm manure. Excreted as tiny pellets by the worms, it makes the compost rich with nutrients for fertilizing our soil. It can be simply spread on the top soil of a garden or used as is on pot plants. A liquid byproduct called worm tea is also produced in worm composting. It is the fluid that seeps through from the breaking down process which is equally nutrient-rich and useful. As we reduce our waste by worm composting, we are also making excellent plant food which nourishes the fruits and vegetables that make us healthy.

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Worm Composter Guide: What type and size of container?

by admin on 10. Aug, 2010 in worm composter

Composting – the natural process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil called compost – is no longer limited to the construction of a huge pile of biodegradable waste that takes so much time and labor in turning every few days. Having this rich soil amendment is now popularly done with a worm composter.  Technically, backyard composting and worm composting are manual ways of speeding up the same process used by nature which is appropriately termed as mulching. But worm composting prevails to be the cheap and easy one for gardeners and the eco-minded public.

Worm composter

You can purchase or make your own worm composter. But in planning to have one, you will most likely encounter the problem of choosing which type and size of container. Would it be plastic or wood? How small or big would it be for your space?

wood worm composter        plastic worm composter

Well, you can build a worm composter from wood. This type is preferred by some people because it is more absorbent and it insulates the worms better. On the other hand, converting a plastic bin into a worm composter is easier. You just need to drill holes along the sides and on the bottom for air and drainage. But the temperature inside a plastic bin is rather difficult to regulate and the compost is predisposed to getting wet. Aeration, moisture and temperature are all essential factors for a worm composter to be odorless and effective. In relation to that, a plastic worm composter may need more drainage. Have it elevated using bricks or blocks, and put a tray below to catch the liquid that results from the worm composting process.

A tip in determining the right size of container is by weighing a week’s worth of your typical household food waste in pounds and setting one square foot of surface area for each pound. Its depth should be 8 to 12 inches. A number of small containers are more mobile for your choice of storage location compared to a large and heavy one.

Your worm composter needs a cover to preserve its moisture and provide a dark environment for the worms. If it is located indoors, a sheet of dark plastic placed loosely on the top is enough of a cover. If outdoors, a solid lid is more suitable to protect it from pests and rain. But whatever is the type and size of your worm composter, make sure that it’s properly ventilated because worms need oxygen to survive too.

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Materials for a Worm Bin Factory

by admin on 13. Aug, 2010 in worm bin factory

If you want to try worm composting, having a worm bin is the cheapest and easiest way. It will be your constant source of fertilizers for your house plants, garden and lawn, your own waste reduction system and your share towards gradually solving the existing environmental problems. With a worm bin, the worms still get to live and function in their ecosystem. It is a factory of rich compost with our garbage as raw materials. But what exactly are the things needed to make a worm bin factory? What should be its workings conditions? Here is the rundown.

-          The first thing you would consider is the size of your worm bin. Its surface area should be one square foot for a pound of your household’s organic waste in a week.

Worm Bin Factory Bedding

-          The most suitable bedding materials for a worm bin factory include shredded newspaper, cardboard or any paper, loam or black top soil, a mixture of sawdust, peat moss, shredded fall leaves or dead plants and ordinary soil, coir and commercial worm bedding. Your worm bin should be 3/4 full of bedding. Dampen, place loosely and fluff it up. Mist with water from time to time. The bedding should be moist, not wet – just like a wrung-out sponge. A handful of dirt helps the worms digest their food. Avoid glossy paper and colored prints, since the worms will eat everything in your worm bin factory. Use peat moss in moderation even if it is a good soil additive because the bogs where peat moss is gathered is now depleting.

Worm Bin Factory Waste

-          If you are using a tray, moist paper is enough as worm bedding. If you are using the deeper worm bin, it should be layered with about one foot of soft bedding.

-          Feed the worms with food scraps like fruit and vegetable peels, well-crushed eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, leftover pasta, bread and grains. Do not put meat, dairy products, fat and oils, bones, wood scraps or twigs and synthetic materials in your worm bin factory. No plastic or tin foil.

-          The carbon to nitrogen ratio which is the balance between the green matter (food scraps) and the brown matter (bedding) in a worm bin factory should be 2:1.

-          Red worms are the best worm composting worms. Start with about 1,000. They produce an egg capsule every 2 to 3 weeks, and these capsules usually contain a dozen baby worms. They will grow quickly.

These materials are mostly found in our homes, which makes worm composting easy and useful for everyone.

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Uses of a Worm Bin

by admin on 16. Aug, 2010 in worm bin

A worm bin is a container that is specially used for worm composting, the process of breaking down organic waste into a rich soil with the use of worms. It is very useful in reducing household waste and organic materials in rapidly growing landfills, having your own constant supply of fertilizers and breeding worms. It is known for its environmental uses that benefit each of us on a large scale.

The use of a worm bin has a really great impact on our environment. It involves a process of nature that can be done with our hands. Our food scraps, junk mails and old newspapers can be recycled inside a worm bin, with paper wastes as soft bedding and our fruit and vegetable peels, tea bags, coffee grinds and leftover as food for the worms in it. So our household waste is reduced.

Fertilizer from Worm Bin Composting

The composting worms consume it all and excrete worm castings, their manure which is rich in organic matter. Once the materials inside the worm bin are finished, the end product is a dark earth-smelling compost which is known for the rich soil that it actually is. It is often spread as a top soil on the garden and pot dressing for potted plants. It is known as an excellent organic fertilizer which can also be used around fruit-bearing trees. Compost tea can also be brewed from this rich compost in highly aerated water, and sprayed onto leaves. It is the best plant food, and needless to say, a cheap and easy way of growing exquisite plants and flowers, and healthy fruits and vegetables.

Aside from supplying fertilizer, a worm bin is used to breed worms. Most composting worms can survive in its limited space as long as there is a food source, sufficient moisture and optimum temperatures for them to work and multiply. They simply live and eat organic garbage in the worm bin. But it should be noted that these are composting worms (red worms and nightcrawlers as such) and not the bigger earthworms that burrow in our gardens.

Worm Bin

The composting worms can establish their population and keep it growing inside a worm bin. If you are also into the fishing hobby, then you can readily pick your baits. You do not need to purchase a pound of worms anymore.

A worm bin also provides a fun way of educating children about our environment and teaching them responsibilities in the home. We can all gain from the many uses of a worm bin.

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Various Species of Composting Worms

by admin on 16. Aug, 2010 in composting worms

Vermicomposting or worm composting is the process of using worms to recycle our food scraps and other organic materials into a useful soil amendment known as vermicompost. Our food scraps become compost as they get digested and pass through a worm’s body. This vermicompost or worm compost is great plant foods since it is our nutrient-packed fruit and vegetable scraps that they mostly consume. But these worms are not your regular worms. They are called composting worms.

There are three species of worms which are most commonly used in worm composting.

Eisenia fetida of composting worms

Eisenia foetida

The common names for this particular specie of composting worms are red worms, red wiggler worms, brandling worms and tiger worms.  They are the most efficient earthworms that adapt to decomposing organic material, and thrive in those rotting plants, compost, manure and conditions wherein other worms cannot survive. If they are not handled well, they give off a pungent liquid which is considered to be their form of defense. It can be drawn from the name itself, foetida or fetida means fetid. These composting worms are actually natives to Europe, are widely sold in weight of pounds for vermicomposting.

Composting worms – European Nightcrawlers

Eisenia hortensis

This worm specie is also called European Nightcrawlers, Belgian worms, blue worms, Carolina crawlers and Super Red. These composting worms are twice the size of red worms. They can live in good condition at room temperature for three weeks more than the red worms can. But both species of composting worms can be raised and bred in the same easy way. European Nightcrawlers can be for fun and profit too since they are rather new in the United States.

Composting worms – African Nightcrawlers

Eudrillus eugeniae

The Eudrillus eugeniae composting worms are also known as African nightcrawlers, African earthworms, Japanese tigers and California super reds. They measure at 4 – 8 inches in length but can grow up to 6 – 8 inches. They have a flat belly and purplish sheen. They are fishing worms, but just as perfect for worm composting. They can also improve soil and promote healthy plants as they help to increase the percentage of air and water that goes into the soil. They can also process organic materials like grass clippings and leaves which are more fibrous. A pound of this specie of composting worms contains an average of 600 to 1,000 compared to the 1,000 in a pound of red worms.

So if you want to try worm composting, you get to choose the right worms for you.

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Setting Up a Worm Composting Bin

by admin on 12. Oct, 2010 in worm bin

Detailed instructions for setting up a ‘deluxe’ Rubbermaid worm composting bin

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Has anyone done a business plan for worm composting?

by admin on 12. Oct, 2010 in worm composting

Question by Lena: Has anyone done a business plan for worm composting?
I’m doing a project in one of my classes. I’m having trouble figuring out what the direct costs are for compost, worm casting, and worm tea . Most of the materials (as far a I can understand) are depreciated. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate your input. Furthermore, if you own a compost business I would like to know the general amount of startup costs (just to make sure I’m on the right track). Thanks.

Best answer:

Answer by Dianna
Of course, you must choose the amount

Add your own answer in the comments!

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Lastest Worm Composting auctions

by admin on 11. Oct, 2010 in worm composting

Some recent Worm Composting auctions on eBay:

[wprebay kw="worm+composting" num="8" ebcat="all"]
[wprebay kw="worm+composting" num="9" ebcat="all"]

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