How to make a Worm Farm in your garden.

While we are waiting for Charlotte to farrow let’s make a worm farm in the garden. Worms are a gardeners friend. They improve the fertility of your garden, they improve soil structure and ultimately they will improve drainage. I do have a worm farm in the basement but I also make summer worm farm ditches in the gardens, especially close to plants that will benefit from the additional nutrients in a few months.  Like tomatoes!

Firstly dig a trench between your plants. Not too close to the plants though. There will be green matter and roots are not overly fond of green matter. You can also dig this trench around the outside of your garden. My trench is about 8 inches deep but you can go deeper if you have more scraps. There is a bit of competition for left overs here except for coffee grounds, the worms love coffee grounds.  Like all worm farms make sure you feed them a balanced meal.

Every day add your kitchen scraps and cover up.  Begin at one end and stack a fresh pile in each day. Do Not Sprinkle the greens into the ditch. Lay the piles down like standing bricks moving slowly along the trench.  Does that make sense?

Remember that Sister Delphina dug little trenches and put in eggs shells, banana peels and tea leaves for the roses. Well, this is an extension of that idea.  Cover that section of composting scraps completely with soil and if you have been mowing – top with some grass clippings too. Little by little fill along the whole trench with your green compost, covering with soil as you go. We don’t want it drying out. And the soil helps it decompose too.

The worms will very quickly migrate to the fresh compost and begin their work. As you add more matter  every day, they will work their way down the trench.  When you water the garden let some soak into your trench. Not too much, it needs to be as moist (sorry Roger) as a wrung out dish rag. Because I have spare worms in the basement I scoop in some compost worms too just to speed the process up.  The worms do stay around, they may migrate out if it gets dry but if you keep filling and adding nice big heaps of vegetative matter, as you work your way down the trench, they will stay with you, breed and soon you will have the most amazing soil heaving with worms. The other way to speed the process up is to chop the scraps up and mix them about before burying. Big pieces do take longer to turn into compost.  It goes without saying that you will not put meat or dairy in here.

And there you are,  your very own worm farm in your garden. And there is no shot for the finished product as it is hidden in your garden. No smell, no flies, no unsightly compost heap in your tiny back yard. The work is being done underground. And all those nutrients have been returned to the soil and straight to the roots of your chosen plants.

Our cherries are beginning to ripen and it is looking like a bumper crop. I see sweet cherry pie in the near future.

The roses above the gate to Stalkers Garden have the most divine scent.

The unDaily view.

I popped out to the barn before I started this post and Charlotte grunted good morning from the winter quarters.  Who knows where she will farrow. She hates it if I close her in but is showing no signs of making a nest yet, sleeping somewhere different every night. Three full days to go, if she is on time and pigs often are.  Plenty of time.

And now off to work for me.

You all have a lovely day. See you tomorrow.

your friend, celi