Lindis tells her story:
In recent years I think I have become a bit of a vermomaniac. I just love worms and the every-day miracles they perform! Imagine a machine where you put ‘rubbish’ in and get beautiful, nutritious soil out – which you then use to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Well, I’ve got one of those machines. This is the story of how I came to have it, and some of the lessons I learned along the way.
Sometime in the late ‘90s I moved into a house that had hardly any outdoor space. Problem: how to turn my food scraps into lovely, rich soil without room for a ‘conventional’ compost heap?
The answer soon revealed itself in the form of lovely little stripy, wriggly animals – compost tiger worms! At that time worm farm kits weren’t as readily available as they are now, so I tracked down someone who could provide me with a container to keep the worms in, and the little animals that would do the hard work. Through the internet, I found someone from out of town who would supply me with a ‘Can of Worms’ kit. I have vivid memories of meeting him in a deserted Auckland parking lot just as it got dark (he didn’t do home deliveries). We transferred the kit from his car boot to mine and I looked around furtively to see if anyone had noticed. I felt a little eccentric – I had never heard of people trading in worms before.
Initially (to the horror of my flatmates) I set up the worm farm in a corner of our kitchen. They were sure it would be smelly and attract pests, but that never happened.
Following the instructions from the kit, I put wet, torn up newspaper in the base layer of the kit then added the worms. I began adding food scraps that I cut up carefully to make sure my small population of worms didn’t get overwhelmed with more food than they could eat. Initially I took full responsibility for feeding and caring for the worm farm, and I think that was one of the keys to my on-going success – one committed person in a household or business to take responsibility for the worms and make sure they thrive for the first few months (or until everyone in the household gets converted to worm-worshipping).
As the population of worms grew, I added more and more food scraps, and soon didn’t need to chop them up any more as the ravenous worms would eat anything I put in there. After having been careful at first not to put any citrus or onion in, I soon decided the worms would just have to toughen up! (They seem fine with my tough-love philosophy.)
Within a short time my flatmates became worm-farming converts and we all shared the simple duty of chucking scraps in the worm bin each day.
Eventually I was persuaded to move the bin outside – not because of any problem with the bin, but it just seems not everyone is comfortable with a large container of wiggly worms in their kitchen. Who knew?
The descendants of that first batch of clandestine worms are still munching their way through my kitchen scraps. Every so often I give some away to new worm farmers, and try to suppress the urge to leap up and down while telling them what a wonderful resource they have in their hands. I figure most people will realise for themselves what a miracle it is to have thousands of little workers quietly working away to turn ‘rubbish’ into a gorgeous growing medium.
Looking back on my 10-years-plus as a domestic worm farmer, there are a few lessons I have learned and would like to share:
- You can make your own worm farm out of all sorts of sturdy containers. Auckland City’s now-defunct blue recycle bins are perfect – you could also use a large bucket with holes drilled in the bottom, an old bath, a large planter pot, or virtually any other sturdy container. You just need to make sure it has excellent drainage and that you can cover it to keep the rain and pests out.
- Having said that, I don’t regret spending the money on buying a professionally-designed worm farm. Converted containers often lack the convenience of something like the ‘Can-of-Worms’ system which features removable layers, a drainage tap and a secure lid. Mine is still going strong after more than 10 years of constant use.
- Choose a good position for your bin right from the start. Put it close enough to your kitchen so that people will be encouraged to use it rather than let the scraps mount up and go mouldy (eeeww!). Also put it somewhere where it will be protected from extreme heat, cold, wind and rain.
- Get to know your worms. It’s almost inevitable your worm farm will get out of balance at some point – too wet, too dry, too acidic… - and if you know what it looks like when it’s healthy, you will be able to spot the signs of a problem very quickly and correct it. Do a bit of research and talk to other worm farmers. It can be easy to get put off when something isn’t going quite right, but most problems are easily resolved if you fix them early.
- Someone needs to take responsibility for the worm farm for a start, until other members of the workplace or household become converts at their own pace. I used to get frustrated when I would set up a worm farm somewhere new and people would put plastic or tin foil in it. [Are they crazy?!] These days I just make sure I check regularly, explain patiently, and explain again next time. It’s not worth getting stressed about.
- Start off by following all the rules, and only start bending them once the worms are well established and you understand the reason for the rules in the first place. For example, most advice says don’t put onions, citrus or cooked food in your bin – I put all of these in. But I keep a very close eye on the worms and only use small quantities of the ‘danger’ foods. If I use acidic food like citrus I also add a small sprinkle of lime to balance out the acid. But I never put oil in, as the worms breathe through their skin and they might suffocate!
Most of all, enjoy the experience. Who knows… one day you might become a vermomaniac like me.
Lindis serves up a meal fit for a worm: potato peelings, a couple of tea bags and a mandarin peel, and some cold coffee grounds to wash it down!
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