Another kids day, a lot more fun! Our once monthly day with Jerry’s weekend school came around again and this time we were focusing on cycles in nature. There was a lot of introductions, singing, discussing, acting, learning and laughing, all topped off with a meditation at the end. We all had a lot of fun getting muddy looking for worms, with lots of shrieking and screaming from some of the more squeamish. These worms all went into our worm farm, ready to turn all our poo into beautiful compost, and so completing a cycle!

Our worm farm

Worm farms are really easy to set up. They can be used on large scale, even larger than ours. But also on a very small scale, for instance in your kitchen just using a bucket.

Our worm farm is a cement ring with a solid base with a hole and a tube for drainage (worm pee!). On top of this we have a layer of gravel, followed by a layer of mesh to keep the worms in. On top of this you place soil, your worms and then some food scraps. To maintain it you just add a few food scraps at a time and make sure it stays moist, then you can use the worm pee directly (I have heard a gallon can be worth as much as an iPhone), it’s ridiculously good for your plants, and then the soil can be used. The worms should double every few months, so you can introduce them back to the garden or help others set up their own farms.

You have to make sure that there’s no onion, garlic, citrus fruit or papaya seeds in your food scraps (fussy worms), but other than that they’re pretty easy, as pets go!