Worm farms - tips and advice please

My friend gave me a homemade worm farm, he bought a flash new model and had this spare. hes given me a few pointers, but id appreciate any further advice from you guys. Do's and dont's. thanx

Do add all sorts of organic material but mainly stick to kitchen and garden scraps. Add paper an other 'carbon' food. Coffee grinds and tea leaves (bag and all) can go in. Remember to make sure paper is wet,

Don't use onion and never cooked food or meat of any description. I don't add in egg shells because if they deter slugs then worms probably find then equally as uncomfortable. No grass clippings. It gets too hot and cooks the worms.

I put my pumpkin/butternut/etc seeds and avocado skins in but really shouldn't because they do not break down. When I use the vermicast I have to pull out the pumpkin seedling for the next month or so but I don't care because I'm weeding anyway and the soil is so friable that it is not a big deal.

Chuck peach stones and avocado pips into the rubbish or compost, not your worm farm. They also don't really break down.

I love my worm farm. I hope yours has a vent or tap on the bottom to drain off the worm juice to use as a fertiliser. I put a bucket under that vent and empty it when it get full. That means I have my worm farm raised. It used to be on legs but I found stacks of brick much more to my liking.

When you use it try to dig a wide shallow hole, tip in the worm cast and then cover with the soil from the hole. I also tend to put netting over the whole area for a week or so to let what worms are left in the vermicast, (they don't all climb up to the next level) dig down and away from opportunistic birds.

. as buzzy says - I too LURVEE my worm farm. Never have it too wet (worms drown easily), keep it in the shade if possible, and your worm 'tea' should be watered down 10-1.
oh and if you want expert tips, this website & their staff are SOOO helpful! When I started off, didn't have much of a clue, so I would send them photos, ask questions etc & they never minded - great! Good luck
http://www.hungrybin.co.nz/instructions/feeding/

Apparently you can empty the vacuum cleaner bag into it too (according to my physio who has a worm farm and fantastic garden)

Don't drench them or ear tag them, and any time you do round them up wear gloves - like fish, they do not really like the oils on our skin.

Mine particularly like damp leaf mold in winter, and horse poo soaked in a bucket of water for an hour. Vege scraps get eaten faster if you can throw them through your blender or processor before you feed them to the worms.Certainly no onion skins, and I don't feed citrus peel either.
You can buy a cheap PH meter on a sitck you plunge into the farm - a ph of 7 is idea and as long as you run close to that you generally have happy worms.

I keep my farm in the carport as it is handy to the kitchen and stays a more constant temperature.

Thanks, guys, im just setting it up now. under a tree is the shadiest spot I can find, but its going t be a wet slog to get to it in the winter, maybe ill shift it under the outdoor stairs in the cooler wetter months. Im sorting some bricks at the moment for it to sit on and must get a measuring jug or similar to sit under the drainage hole. thanks again

I grind them up really fine - like sand. Worms need something gritty to help them digest food.

Are carrot tops and potato peeling ok or not? I've across one website saying NO and another saying YES. The NO site does say they don't like anything deemed to be living - carrot tops, potato skins, sprouts and seeds. I usually blend the food anyway so I guess it doesn't matter.

Only issue with potato skins in that they can sometimes sprout and grow inside the worm farm. Worms only eat rotten food. I just kill the lot and leave in the farm.

I have a sharp knife and everything that I put in is cut up first so that it will rot down quicker. I've never had a problem with carrot tops.

If you need help with your worm farm or advice please visit arthurlynchwormfarming.com the site is free and easy to understand. I an always happy to receive comments I can also be found here under special services Arthur

Mine get just about everything. if they don't eat it it composts eventually, so they get onions, citrus egg shells, they love banana skins, egg cartons just soak them first . well the recycled card addy one. just keep the moisture levels right, not soggy wet, but not dry . I summer give then a litre so of waters. If it gets too soggy, add cardboard shredded and a handful of lime . they like horse manure , but make sure the horse hasn't been drenched lately.

Mashed potato and rice tend to go mouldy, so I don't put them in. We put cooked veges in our worm farm.

Once a month we add a handful of dolomite lime to the farm, we just sprinkle on top. We also put a layer of carpet on the worms.