Indoor worm farm

So you have heard about all the benefits of having your very own worm farm (vermiculture) but you don’t have the room to have it outside or, like me, you live in a climate that does not allow having the worms outside year round. Well, I have some good news… You can have it inside where it is nice and warm! And no, there is no bad odour!

Here is a quick tip to ensure you have a healthy odour free worm farm that continues to turn your kitchen scraps into rich worm tea.

Start by getting a stacked worm farm like this

And follow the manufacturers instructions to get started.

Once it’s up and running you may start to notice that it can generate some odours and maybe even some fruit flies.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be like this. There are a few simple steps you can take to reduce and eliminate these issues.

First you need to fill the top tray with clean gardening soil. A layer of about 30-50mm will work but the more the better. If you put a little extra in during this stage it will make the next steps a bit easier. This top tray will act as a lid to reduce the amount of odours escaping from the compost beneath and also as a barrier against compost loving insects like fruit flies. Soil breathes well so it will not cause the compost to turn anaerobic like it would if you tried to seal the entire worm farm (that’s when you really get some smells)

Ok, now we have got our lid, how do I add food scraps? First, remove the soil covered tray to reveal the tray underneath (my tray is already half full).

Cut your kitchen scraps into small pieces. The smaller the pieces the faster the food will break down and be eaten by the worms. The faster the food is processed the lesser the smell. For example, if you throw in a full carrot there is no way the worms are going to be able to start munching on it right away. They need to wait for it to start to decompose and soften up. If it is a full carrot then the inside will start to decompose and rot before the outside. It will take a long time before the worms are able to get through the outer layer. Once it finally rots all the way through it will have created a smelly mess. If it’s in small pieces, as soon as the centre is soft enough to eat the worms will move in.

Then take a small container of kitchens scraps, not too much at a time. It’s best to have a fairly small container so that it needs to be emptied regularly and the scraps don’t start to decompose in the kitchen.

Sprinkle the scraps in a line like the following pic. Start from one end of the tray and work your way forward.

Once you have a nice line like the above pic (I already have two older rows behind this new row, that’s why my row is in the middle of the tray) grab some soil (from the top tray) and sprinkle it over the kitchen scraps

Perfect! Now you can place the lid back on and water the soil in the top tray. Done! The worms will love their new food whilst the food flies and other bugs won’t find it! Plus this healthy system will not generate odours!

Go ahead and add more rows just like this as you get more food scraps!

Once your system starts getting settled and your worms have moved out of the bottom tray you can lift this tray up to the top and then it becomes the soiled filled lid.