Starting a worm farm - 2023 06 01


Today I visited Burnaby Red Wigglers and met Bintoro Gunadi, founder and Soil Biologist. It was fascinating having him explain what the worms are, what they need, and what to expect. I took home two handfuls of worms and a bag of worm cocoons and inoculum. 

When I got home my gardening friend, Honami, stopped by and showed me how to set up my worm nest in a food waste bucket. We added leaves and torn up paper to the small amount of food waste in the bucket. Then we tipped the bag of worms in, covering them with the inoculum. We left them to do their magic with a lid on the bucket, carefully placed in a shady area out of direct sun.

Going forward, we will put the garden waste in the outdoor bins, and that is also where we will put our coffee grounds. They are too acidic for the worms to enjoy. So now we have a kitchen compost for food waste that is growing worms.

I cannot explain how satisfying it feels to have this worm culture start up. The worms are so quiet and gentle, but also hardworking.

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