Kid's Stuff

Having used worm farms for many years, I am convinced that it is a great idea to pour several litres of water through the farm every week. This keeps the worms very moist and stops their bedding from getting too hot in summer. It also ensures you get plenty of the worm tea you are currently missing out on!

However, if you do water your farm regularly, you need to keep the tap on the bottom of your farm open at all times – and a bucket under the tap to catch the drips! If you don’t, you’ll find the tea collects in the bottom tray and goes anaerobic.

Empty your bucket of ‘tea’ every day or two to ensure it does not go stagnant. Dilute it down to the colour of ‘weak tea’, then pour it onto your veggie and herb plants regularly.

The ‘little insects’ you mentioned are probably ‘vinegar flies’. These small flies are attracted to gases given off by anaerobic microbes so I suggest you:

• Use a small hand fork to dig and ‘fluff’ up – or aerate – the top feeding tray
• Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of Worm Farm & Compost Conditioner on top of the food scraps
• Add a few handfuls of good soil on top of the food scraps every time you feed your worms
• Ensure you keep a Worm Blanket on the surface of the feeding tray at all times.

Worm Regards

Peter Rutherford

Hi Phoebe, Jasper's comment to your orange peel question was pretty spot on.

If you are adding small peices of orange peel be sure to add some Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner to balance out the pH level. The citrus increase the acidity level in your worm farm.

If the worm farm gets too much acidity it changes the microbial balance and the types of gases being produced in the system, this may force your worms to start leaving the worm farm, or they might eventually die in the highly acid environment. You will know if the acidity level is to high by the smelly odour.

So remember only add small amounts of citrus like orange peels if your worm farm is going great guns and dont forget to add a sprinkle of Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner every week to help neutralise acidity and balance pH levels.