How to make a worm farm

You will need:

• Polystyrene box
• Marking pen
• Serrated knife
• Shadecloth
• Coir peat
• Garden compost
• Worms
• Newspaper
• Vegie scaps
• hessian/cardboard
• Bricks
• Plastic tub

Make a DIY worm farm

1. TURN the box upside down to expose the base, then draw a small rectangle at one end using the pen.

2. CUT out the rectangle using the knife. This will create a drainage hole so the fluids can escape.

3. COVER the hole inside the box with shadecloth to stop the organic material falling through.

4. PUT some bedding into the box for the worms. To create the bedding, combine enough moistened coir peat and compost to fill about a quarter of the box.

5. ADD your worms. You can buy these at your local garden centre or compost worm supplier. I just collected as many as I could from our compost heap.

6. GIVE your worms some food. I gave mine strips of newspaper that were soaked with water and some finely chopped vegie scraps. Don’t give them too much at once!

7. COVER with a piece of shadecloth and a hessian bag or cardboard to block the light.

8. PLACE your worm farm in a warm, protected spot undercover and out of direct sun. Set it up on bricks with a plastic tub under the drainage hole to catch any fluids. Check on it once a week and wait until the food is almost finished before adding more.

Want to learn more about composting? Check out our guide to making top-notch compost here.