© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Worms Alive! Worms Alive!

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L What Will We be talking About? Introduction Anatomy and Physiology Care and Feeding Accommodation Commercial worm farm Worm Bath Worm Tower Broccoli Box worm Farm Harvesting Worms Summary

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L  Introduction

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L 1.They consume waste that would otherwise go to landfill 2.They turn it into a rich organic fertiliser (worm castings) 3.Excess worms can be used as high protein feed for chooks, fish etc 4.They are a fun pet Why Worms?

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L They contain plant available macronutrients, micronutrients and trace elements They provide organic matter Provide plant growth stimlants The contain beneficial bacteria, nematodes etc. They contain an enzyme which can repel sucking pests of plants Reduce problems with fungus They improve soil health and plant growth Why Worm Castings?

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Soil additive Potting mix component Seed germinator Compost activator Used to make actively aerated compost tea (AACT) What to use Worm Castings for?

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Anatomy and Physiology

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Anatomy of an Earthworm

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Earthworm Life Cycle

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Species – Tiger worm (Eisenia foetida)

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Species – Blues (Perionyx Excavatus)

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Species – African Night Crawler (Eudrilus Eugeniae)

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Agricultural Worm Species – (Aporrectodea Caliginosa)

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Care and Feeding

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Care Site your worm farm in the shade Worms need to be in a dark, moist environment Preferred temperature range is 15 ⁰ C to 30 ⁰ C Preferable pH 7) Check drip tray Ensure ventilation is good Add a slight sprinkle of sand initially

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Feeding (Yes!)  Worms eat – Manure (fresher the better except for chook) Veggie scraps (freeze to give them a head start) Fruit scraps (except citrus) Shredded paper and cardboard, tissues Compost Food waste (bread, pasta, teabags) Egg shells

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Feeding (No!)  Worms don’t eat – Onion tribe Meat, bones etc Fish Citrus skins Dairy products Anything highly spiced

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Feeding - Hints Mix greens (Vegetable and fruit scraps, bread, pasta) equally with browns (Paper, egg cartons, cardboard, dry leaves) Smaller chunks the better Make sure worms are active with current food before adding more

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Accommodation

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Bin

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Bin – Set Up Insert the tap into the solid base tray and clip on the legs Place an upside down 2 litre, lightly sanded ice cream container Place a cardboard or paper mat in the bottom of one of the mesh bottom trays Fill the mesh tray with cocopeat Add in 1000 to 2000 worms Cover with paper, cardboard or hessian

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Commercial Worm Bin – Operation Remove the cardboard/hessian cover Place another mesh bottomed tray on top of the bedding tray and place some worm food on the mesh. Replace cover and place plastic lid on top Feed every 2-3 days as covered previously The working tray will fill with castings, when it is full, place the fourth bin on top Add food and when the worms have migrated to the top, remove the third tray and use castings

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Bathtub Worm Farm

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Set bath on supports and place container under plug hole Cut ventilation slots along the side of the bath Place shade cloth over drain hole & a 25-50mm layer of gravel Place a layer of shade cloth over the gravel Place a layer of paper shreddings over the shade cloth. Fill bath with fine cocopeat Install worms (2000+) Place food on one end and cover with hessian bags :Place a wooden etc. cover over the bath to exclude rain & vermin Bathtub Worm Farm – Set up

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Worm Tower

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Get hold of some plastic pipe, I used 280mm but down to 200mm is OK Drill 6mm holes (lots) in the lower 300mm of the pipe Dig a hole of similar diameter to the pipe in your veggies patch or fruit tree area Install the tube so all of the holes are underground Heel in the soil around the tube Add a cover over the top to exclude air and light Set up as follows - Worm Tower – Making

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L  Add a (9 litre) bucket’s worth of well dug over straw (with just a hint of chook poo) to help with drainage;  on top of that a bucket of well wetted down paper went in to provide moisture and something for the worms to chow down on.  Then a bucket of cocopeat for the worms to live in,  Then the worms themselves,  A bit more cocopeat to cover, and then once they had settled in a bit;  Organic waste (veggie peelings and stuff) which will start them off on their main food. Worm Tower – Set Up

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Broccoli Box Worm Farm

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L Broccoli Box Worm Farm – Set Up Burn holes in bottom of top broccoli box with soldering iron. Put down shade cloth in the bottom, fill with cocopeat and place hessian on top Cut hole in the end of the bottom broccoli box. Use silicon to secure top cut from PET bottle in the hole as a tap The farm is ready for worms

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L  Harvesting

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L

Information about worms Organic Growing with Earthworms – David Murphy Viking 2005 Earthworms in Australia – David Murphy Hyland House 1993 Worms Garden for You – Allan Windust Self published 1997 Worm Farm Management – Eric Wilson Pennon Publishing

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L What we talked about Introduction Anatomy and Physiology Care and Feeding Accommodation Commercial worm farm Worm Bath Worm Tower Broccoli Box worm Farm Harvesting worms

© © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L