About The Worm Farm

The Worm Farm is located 7 miles south of Chico in the farming community of Durham, California. Our goal at The Worm Farm is to supply landscapers and homeowners with a unique blend of soil amendments by mixing compost and worm castings to form what we call our “Compost Mix”. The Worm Farm also raises and sells Redworms, worm castings, and plain compost. The Worm Farm supports local schools, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other youth organizations by offering tours of our Worm Farm operations.

Vermicomposting is the practice of using worms to transform food waste into a nutrient-rich finished product called vermicompost. Earthworms are efficient food waste digesting machines that eat over half their body weight in organic matter per day. The castings (worm poop) they create are rich in nutrients, completely natural and essentially free. Recent studies show that the fresh casts of earthworms are five times richer in available nitrogen, seven times richer in available phosphates and eleven times richer in available potash than that which is found in the upper six inches of soil.

Get a bin or container, fill it with moist bedding materials, introduce earthworms, feed them regularly, and watch them grow!!

Selecting a Bin The size of bin or container will depend on the amount of space you have for your earthworm operations. Naturally, the larger the bin, the more worms you can raise. Usually a good bin will keep light out and have adequate ventilation and drainage, and be large enough to handle your food waste. Try to keep the bin in the shade with a desired temperature of about 65^o Fahrenheit.

Bedding Material Bedding is used to provide a moist environment for the earthworms, and to cover up food waste to minimize odors. Shredded paper and cardboard are the most common bedding materials. Be sure to keep the bedding materials moist.

Add Worms The amount of red worms needed to get started will depend on the size of your bin. The Worm Farm will sell you as few or as many worms as you need to get started. Red worms are preferred.

Feeding the Earthworms Once you have a bin set up with moist bedding and a few red worms, you need to regularly feed and water your worms. Red worms will eat most any vegetable waste from your table scraps. They also eat egg shells (crushed), apple peelings, banana peels, cabbage, onion peels, celery ends, potato skins, grains, coffee grounds, and small amounts of citrus foods. Avoid meat and oily food, fish, peanut butter, and any animal products. Constantly monitor the amount of food your worms have; feed and water as needed.

Add additional bedding if there is excess moisture is in your bin, if fruit flies are present; or if strong odors are noticed. If you have specific questions regarding your earthworm beds or raising your red worms, the folks at The Worm Farm will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Harvesting the vermicompost When you no longer see food or paper in your bin you will know it is time to harvest your vermicompost. The easiest way is to stop feeding your red worms, let them finish eating all the food and bedding material, leaving only dark, rich castings in the bin. Transfer the earthworms to a newly set up bin and start all over again. If you have too many worms for one new bin then possibly you will need 2 new bins.

Using the vermicompost Now you have rich nutrient to put in your garden, flower beds, or lawn. Remember, worm castings are all natural and full of all the nutrients your plants need to survive. Also castings maintain moisture for an extremely long period of time as compared to compost or soil.