Global Worming

Worms are a living animal and they require certain conditions to stay happy and healthy. Understanding the basic needs of a worm is an important starting point before setting up a worm farm.

There are four fundamental requirements of a worm farm:

Temperature

Worms are much like us in that they prefer a temperature between 18-24 degrees. Excessive heat will kill worms and cold conditions will slow them down. It is best to choose a location for your worm farm that doesn’t get too hot in summer or too cold in winter. In warmer climates it is best to keep your worm farm in the shade year round. For cooler climates locating your worm farm underneath a deciduous tree is ideal as the worm farm will be in shade during the hot parts of the year and receive some sunlight in the colder months.

Moisture

A worm farm must always be moist (but not saturated). A worm farm needs good drainage. It will be necessary to water the farm every now and then in warm weather.

Light

Worms will always quickly burrow away from sunlight as light will quickly kill a worm. It is necessary to keep worms in dark conditions – a worm farm needs a lid, insulation blanket or a thick cover of mulch.

Bedding

Bedding is the ‘home base’ for the worm population and where they usually breed. A worm farm should be set up with at least 150mm of bedding. The most suitable materials to use as bedding are high in carbon and water retentive. Suitable materials include - newspaper and cardboard (avoid glossy paper) - lucerne and pea hay (straw ca be used but takes longer to break down) - coir fibre block – can be purchased from nurseries, the local hardware and variety discount stores for a few dollars. Simply soak in a bucket of water - aged cow, horse or sheep manure - aged lawn clippings and leaves from deciduous trees - compost It is best to use a combination of bedding materials (for example coir and shredded newspaper) to provide the worms with variety. Soak bedding material in water and remove excess moisture before adding to your worm farm.