如果你对培育有活力、健康、营养丰富的土壤感兴趣，并热衷于融入大自然的天然堆肥器，蚯蚓养殖可能是你的一个完美选择。
While rather less common than most soil invigorators, worm farming may be the most beneficial option (and in the long run, the least amount of work).
Interested? Read on to learn more.
What Is Worm Farming?
A worm farm, generally speaking, is a contained composting space where live worms feed on your food scraps.
Why You Would Want to Worm Farm
The benefit of worm farming (and the byproduct) is that worm waste is an incredibly nutrient-dense fertilizer that does wonders for your soil. It’s known as a top-tier fertilizer that can even increase moisture retention rates.
有趣的事实:蚯蚓制作的堆肥通常被称为蚯蚓堆肥。
Vermicompost can also be called “black gold” because it is literally one of the highest quality, all-natural garden fertilizers possible. Vermicompost is incredibly nourishing for plants. Other names for it are worm castings and worm pee or poo.
除了这个美好的好处之外，这也是减少家庭垃圾的一个极好的方式，因此，减少垃圾被送到垃圾填埋场。另外，从经济角度来说，你为食物残渣买单，为什么不把它们用在一些有益的事情上呢?一旦你的蠕虫农场被创建，几乎没有成本来维持它。
Fun fact: Worms can reduce organic material’s composition up to 95%.
Worm farming can also be an awesome educational experience for families with children. It’s a great way to teach them about reducing their environmental footprint, utilizing everything they have, learning the cycle of life, gardening, and many other things. And let’s be real, it’s not just an exciting educational experience for kids, but also for adults. It’s fun, and the worms can start to feel like pets as you get acquainted with feeding them.
This may sound odd, but if you have friends and family like mine, giving worm castings away as a gift to boost people’s gardens is a great idea. You can also sell your worm castings at farmers markets if you have extra and want to make some cash. It’s quite easy (and honest) to market as organic, too.
How Do You Acquire Worms?
大多数都可以很容易地在网上订购，并直接送到你的家门口。问题是有多少，什么物种，预算是多少?如果你是从零开始，最好购买小一点的尺寸，直到你熟悉制作过程。
However, buying worms in bulk can be cheaper. I’ve found that you may expect to pay $50 to get started with a good amount — and you pay for worms by the pound. Red wrigglers (mentioned above) are generally about $30 a pound.
How Do You Determine How Many Worms to Get?
计算你需要多少蠕虫的一个相当简单的方法是考虑你每周的食物浪费。每天，把你的食物残渣收集到垃圾桶里，称一下重量。或者在周末的时候给它们称重。根据你的发现，并且知道一些种类的蠕虫每天消耗多达其体重的一半，你将能够做一些简单的数学计算出你需要多少蠕虫和你需要多大的容器空间。
Hint:Generally speaking, if you have 2 pounds of food waste daily, you’ll want 4 pounds of worms.
What You Need to Start Worm Farming
所需的材料相对便宜，也很容易找到。如果你不适合自己制作蚯蚓堆肥箱，你可以在网上订购。然而，在线学习是一个更昂贵的选择(而且学习体验更少)。
Here’s what you need.
- Two rubber bins (one taller with a lid, one short without a lid)
- A tool to create small holes in the top bin
- Some sort of screen (like a window screen)
- Waterproof glue to keep screens in place
- Shredded, noncoated paper, newspaper, or brown paper bags moistened appropriately or soil or both
- a spray bottle to help moisten soil
- A tool to stir the compost
- Optional: food scraps container if you plan to feed your worms once a week
If it isn’t obvious, the primary ingredient to a worm farm is worms. What perhaps, is less obvious, is that it’s important to know which worms to get.
Earthworms are the best way to go, and more specifically, red worms (or red wrigglers). These are especially popular because they are known to consume half of their weight every day and thrive in compost environments.
After you’ve gathered your materials, you’ll want to create a few holes along the top of the upper bin, along with four moderately larger holes near the bottom corners of the top bin.
The screen should be cut to the appropriate size and glued over the holes in the bottom of the top bin. No holes should be created in the bottom bin.
Place the upper bin on top of the bottom bin.
The next step in this process is creating the beginning mixture of your compost bin. You’ll want to create enough so that there’s at least 3 inches of it in the top bin.
This can be a mixture of paper and soil or just soil. Make sure the soil is loose and broken up (no large, hard clumps). It’s also important to ensure it is all moistened appropriately to provide a good habitat for the worms (appropriate moistening is discussed below).
下一步是加入你的蠕虫。随着被发送邮件和熟悉一个新环境的压力，一些人说最好给蠕虫几天时间来适应它们所处的位置。几天之后，你可能会开始添加食物残渣让它们分解。
Another hint: I have been told (and am unsure of the truth behind it) that worms do not like onions, garlic, and citrus food scraps. A homestead I was working on forbid any orange or lime peels, onion (or the like) to be composted.
For sure don’t feed your worms dairy, meat, or extremely spicy foods. Those are a hard no!
Some Tricks to Keep Your Compost Healthy and Alive
虽然在制作堆肥时把废料扔进去是完全没问题的，但有人说每周收集并存放一次，以保持堆肥循环的规律性。这同样使蠕虫在添加新食物之间有更多的时间分解食物。
When you feed your worms, add more soil or paper to keep the consistency right.
Regularly checking the moisture content in your worm compost is also important. You want dampness, not wet. Make sure everything in the bin is of equal moisture content (a spray bottle should help).
Related POst:DIY Worm Composting Solution for Under $20
It is helpful to make a small hole in the middle of the bin, place the food scraps in it, and then brush the newly added damp soil or paper over it.
注意你的蠕虫似乎不吃什么食物可以帮助增加它们的分解过程。For example, if you notice one particularly dry broccoli stem that’s been in there for a while, take it out.
And checking the buildup of worm castings regularly is wise as well. That way you begin to understand how fast they are breaking down the food and providing your garden with nourishing compost.
What to Do After Your Worms Are Established
Easy! Just add your compost scraps, tea bags, vacuum dust, coffee grounds, etc., and let the worms do their magic.
Another thing you may decide to utilize is worm tea. The tea is as beneficial as the worm castings, and can easily be given to plants. All you have to do is drain the liquid that accumulates at the bottom of your bin and apply wherever you like.
It should be noted that this is just one way to worm farm. Many people create wooden outdoor boxes for their worm compost while some utilize trashcan setups. It’s totally dependent on you, your aesthetic, financial means, space availability, and general goals for worm farming.
Worm Farm Smelliness
Ideally, your worm compost should be next to odorless or smell of natural earthy goodness. If you begin noticing an unpleasant smell (rotten food, specifically), it could mean the worm bin is too acidic. Generally refreshing the bedding (soil and paper composition) will fix the odor. Having healthy bedding also helps keep fruit flies away.
这是一个学习的过程，所以要有耐心!
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