How It differs from conventional home worm-farm systems:

• It requires less monitoring once established because it is closed system where the products (castings and liquid manure) are used directly by the plants above.
• Directly feeds the plants with the worm castings
• The solid, earthy smelling enclosure deters pests such as mice, cockroaches, ants or possums.
• Scraps that the poultry don't eat (citrus, banana peel, spicy curries) can be fed to the worms.
• Scraps can be fed down the shoot and compressed and covered by the lid.  Watering can be done through the lid.
• The waste fertilised water can be piped through the base drain and bottled downhill.

How the Potted Worm Farm works:

• A layer of filtering carbon-rich material such as paper, straw and sticks is put in the base.
• The worms and food are placed above this material and during the set up stage they are closely monitored, not over fed and kept adequately moist (you can guage moisture level by the presence of flies and bugs, if these are present there is not enough moisture.  If there is too much moisture the worms will drown, leave the system or it will start to smell bad.  The worms were covered always with a layer of dry carbon-rich material such as cardboard, straw and hesian when available.
• Over a period of a couple of months (this will depend on your climate and season) the worms multiplied and the bedding material increased in volume.
• The feeding pipe was introduced, it is approx 700mm long and reaches the layer of worms so they can be fed through this pipe later.  The pipe is made from recycled plastic agricultural piping, the holes in the side were made bigger by puncturing with a large screw driver.
•  A small planting pot is used as a lid.  It serves well to compress the food once it has been put down the pipe.
• The final stage involved putting a layer of soil on top.  The soil is not above the level of the pipe.
• Plants, seed and mulch were then added.  We like to use hair as mulch on precious plants.

Needs:

Intrinsic Characteristics:

Functions:

• Cool Temperature 5-20 degrees C.
• Moist, aerated bedding
• Partly composted food. Can die from overfeeding
• Housing (box or hole) with light below
• predators such as birds. Protection from co-hosts such as rats, ants, flies.
• Bedding/food pH requires monitoring.
• Regular food and water as with any animal.
• Protection from elements and extremes in temperature fluctuation.

• Worms need to be collected and relocated when housing becomes too cramped.

• Hasten composting
• Provide rich fertilizer
• Clean up caged animals manure as it drops through.
• Eat scraps that the other animals can't eat (off meat and dairy products)
• Digest weed material in compost worm bin. suitable for weeds and tubers too noxious for compost bay.
• Bait for fishing; feed for fish, poultry and other birds.
• sewerage treatment for domestic animal and human manure
• Earth worms in soil consume parasitic insect eggs
• Can be used on large scale to reduce community and industrial waste
• Earthworms regenerate poor soils/orchards without soil disturbance. Species list and discussion in course on Soils.
• Ideal for Urban permaculture food waste recycling.

Plants have greater nutritional where there are Earth worms.