Worms Alive Greg Meyer Seminars PL g meyerbigpond

Worms Alive! © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

What Will We be talking About? • • Introduction Anatomy and Physiology Care and Feeding Accommodation • Commercial worm farm • Worm Bath • Worm Tower • Broccoli Box worm Farm • Harvesting Worms • Summary © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Introduction © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Why Worms? 1. They consume waste that would otherwise go to landfill 2. They turn it into a rich organic fertiliser (worm castings) 3. Excess worms can be used as high protein feed for chooks, fish etc 4. They are a fun pet © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Why Worm Castings? • They contain plant available macronutrients, micronutrients and trace elements • They provide organic matter • Provide plant growth stimlants • The contain beneficial bacteria, nematodes etc. • They contain an enzyme which can repel sucking pests of plants • Reduce problems with fungus • They improve soil health and plant growth © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

What to use Worm Castings for? • • • Soil additive Potting mix component Seed germinator Compost activator Used to make actively aerated compost tea (AACT) © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Anatomy and Physiology © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Anatomy of an Earthworm © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Earthworm Life Cycle © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Species – Tiger worm (Eisenia foetida) © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Species – Blues (Perionyx Excavatus) © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Species – African Night Crawler (Eudrilus Eugeniae) © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Agricultural Worm Species – (Aporrectodea Caliginosa) © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Care and Feeding © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Care • Site your worm farm in the shade • Worms need to be in a dark, moist environment • Preferred temperature range is 15⁰C to 30⁰C • Preferable p. H 7) • Check drip tray • Ensure ventilation is good • Add a slight sprinkle of sand initially © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Feeding (Yes!) Worms eat – • Manure (fresher the better except for chook) • Veggie scraps (freeze to give them a head start) • Fruit scraps (except citrus) • Shredded paper and cardboard, tissues • Compost • Food waste (bread, pasta, teabags) • Egg shells © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Feeding (No!) Worms don’t eat – • Onion tribe • Meat, bones etc • Fish • Citrus skins • Dairy products • Anything highly spiced © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Feeding - Hints • Mix greens (Vegetable and fruit scraps, bread, pasta) equally with browns (Paper, egg cartons, cardboard, dry leaves) • Smaller chunks the better • Make sure worms are active with current food before adding more © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Accommodation © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Bin © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Bin – Set Up • Insert the tap into the solid base tray and clip on the legs • Place an upside down 2 litre, lightly sanded ice cream container • Place a cardboard or paper mat in the bottom of one of the mesh bottom trays • Fill the mesh tray with cocopeat • Add in 1000 to 2000 worms • Cover with paper, cardboard or hessian © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Commercial Worm Bin – Operation • Remove the cardboard/hessian cover • Place another mesh bottomed tray on top of the bedding tray and place some worm food on the mesh. • Replace cover and place plastic lid on top • Feed every 2 -3 days as covered previously • The working tray will fill with castings, when it is full, place the fourth bin on top • Add food and when the worms have migrated to the top, remove third tray and use castings © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Bathtub Worm Farm © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest.

Bathtub Worm Farm – Set up • Set bath on supports and place container under plug hole • Cut ventilation slots along the side of the bath • Place shade cloth over drain hole & a 25 -50 mm layer of gravel • Place a layer of shade cloth over the gravel • Place a layer of paper shreddings over the shade cloth. • Fill bath with fine cocopeat • Install worms (2000+) • Place food on one end and cover with hessian bags • : Place a wooden etc. cover the bath to exclude rain & vermin © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Worm Tower © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com.

Worm Tower – Making • Get hold of some plastic pipe, I used 280 mm but down to 200 mm is OK • Drill 6 mm holes (lots) in the lower 300 mm of the pipe • Dig a hole of similar diameter to the pipe in your veggies patch or fruit tree area • Install the tube so all of the holes are underground • Heel in the soil around the tube • Add a cover the top to exclude air and light • Set up as follows - © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Worm Tower – Set Up Add a (9 litre) bucket’s worth of well dug over straw (with just a hint of chook poo) to help with drainage; on top of that a bucket of well wetted down paper went in to provide moisture and something for the worms to chow down on. Then a bucket of cocopeat for the worms to live in, Then the worms themselves, A bit more cocopeat to cover, and then once they had settled in a bit; Organic waste (veggie peelings and stuff) which will start them off on their main food. © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Broccoli Box Worm Farm © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www.

Broccoli Box Worm Farm – Set Up Burn holes in bottom of top broccoli box with soldering iron. Put down shade cloth in the bottom, fill with cocopeat and place hessian on top Cut hole in the end of the bottom broccoli box. Use silicon to secure top cut from PET bottle in the hole as a tap The farm is ready for worms © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Harvesting © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com.

© Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

Information about worms • Organic Growing with Earthworms – David Murphy Viking 2005 • Earthworms in Australia – David Murphy Hyland House 1993 • Worms Garden for You – Allan Windust Self published 1997 • Worm Farm Management – Eric Wilson Pennon Publishing 2002 • http: //www. wormsdownunder. com. au/ • http: //www. earthwormworks. com/vermicomposting/about_vermicomposting. htm © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au

What we talked about • Introduction • Anatomy and Physiology • Care and Feeding • Accommodation • Commercial worm farm • Worm Bath • Worm Tower • Broccoli Box worm Farm • Harvesting worms © Greg Meyer Seminars P/L g. meyer@bigpond. net. au www. permacutluresydneywest. com. au