Materials used:
1 large polystyrene box - lid discarded
2 black plastic tubs with lids - only 1 lid is needed, but keep the other one in case the first one gets ruined.
2 empty plastic milk bottles - I am using 2 litre ones.
Scissors
Pencil
Bricks - at least 5, probably a couple more would be better.
A Shady area for it to live in - worms living in plastic don't cope well with heat so shade will help stop them from being cooked.
Some compost
Some shredded newspaper
Worms - I bought mine from a garden supplier
A bit of old carpet or some hessian or anything that is organic and thick - to keep the worms warm - I am using a mat they sell for this purpose.
Drill and drill bit - this is used to put holes in the bottom of the plastic tubs.
What I did:
Take the large poly box and prop it up on some bricks.
Take 2 x 2 litre milk bottles and cut off 1 side leaving the handle, the lid and the bottom. This goes under the poly box to catch the liquid that should drip out.
Mark bottom of poly box where the milk bottles are to sit....
Poke holes in marked area with a pencil or drill bit or stick. You can just see the holes here.
Sit a couple of more bricks inside the poly box. These will prop up your black plastic tubs which house the worms.
Drill around 12 holes in the bottom of both plastic tubs that are large enough for worms to get thru, yet small enough that the resultant compost (worm castings) doesn't fall thru. I started to use one about the thickness of a pencil but ended up using a metal skewer that I heated up on the gas stove to poke the holes into the base.
Place 1 tub in the poly box on top of the bricks. Put some compost in it and top it with some shredded newspaper. Give it a light spray with some water. I have used some compost and some weeds and some leave litter we had swept up in the carport.
Add in your worms and then put in your first lot of food for the worms. Cover with the mat and put on the lid. I have yet to get my new 'pets'.
The second black tub will be used once the first one gets half full. They are 55 litre tubs and will get quite heavy if they get too full of castings. Once the first one if half full I will put the second tub on top of the first one - take lid off, sit tub on top of the castings/worms - add food to new tub and cover with the mat. The worms should move into the new tub after awhile. How long that will be, I have no idea. The old castings can just sit there until I think all the worms are in the new tub.
It will look like this once both tubs are stacked and in use, though I will be putting 1 lid aside in case the other one gets ruined with use.
The idea of the lid is to stop any vermin from getting in and eating the worms food. It will also help retain heat and moisture. I hope air can get in as I imagine these tubs are not air tight. No one I have looked up on the internet seems to have air for their worms as a concern when they use plastic tubs. Yet the pre-made worm farms both (there's only 2 available locally) state that their lids are vented.
I have 1 concern with this set up - and that is that the poly box will not hold the weight of the other tubs once they get full. I imagine castings weigh a fair bit.
It will be interesting to see how long the black tubs last for as they are not UV stabilised plastic. They cost me $6 each. To buy a worm farm from the local hardware store would cost at least $67 - my set up cost me $12 (I already had the poly box and the milk bottles).
So that's it - my worm farm. I will keep you posted on how it is all going.
