Compost worms are VIPs at our house - turning food scraps into fabulous fertiliser - creating healthy soil, for healthy plants, and therefore for healthy food for the family.
 |
| A simple worm tower is a pipe buried 400mm into the ground with holes drilled into the underground section for the worms to move through. The food is posted down the tube to them. A bonus is that the worms can retreat if it gets too hot. |
The bonus of worm towers is that they don't require turning, digging, or actually any need for handling the worms and castings. The worms process the scraps and take their casting directly to the roots of the plants. A worm towers is a simple way improve fertility without double handling - the worms do the work where you need them to be.
I space my worm towers about 3 metres apart. They are excellent too in raised garden beds. It is important to put in a few handfuls of compost worms (blue, red, tiger worms) into the tower to really get the system powering.
Our three worms towers receive a bundle of food every couple of weeks. I always add a couple of handfuls of mulch or shredded paper on top to prevent flies, then replace the lid (an upturned pot). I also regularly add in coffee grounds.
