Soil & beds
Start and look after a worm farm
Set up the bin in shade, protected from extreme heat and cold.
When to do it
When you can maintain a sheltered, moderate-temperature position.
What you need
- Ventilated draining worm bin
- Composting worms
- Moist shredded cardboard bedding
- Small amounts of vegetable scraps
How to do it
- Set up the bin in shade, protected from extreme heat and cold. Keep its drainage clear and add moist bedding.
- Use composting worms suited to a worm farm, not ordinary deep-burrowing garden worms. Allow them to settle.
- Bury a small quantity of chopped vegetable scraps under bedding. Exclude meat, dairy, oils, pet waste and large amounts of citrus or onion.
- Check before feeding again. If food accumulates or smells, stop feeding, remove excess and add bedding; keep it damp, never flooded.
- Harvest crumbly castings when the original food has broken down, separating worms for the next batch. Treat drain liquid as unprocessed leachate, not ready-to-use fertiliser; do not splash it onto edible crops.
What success looks like
- Worms remain active and food disappears without persistent bad odour.
Watch out for
- Overfeeding a new farm.
- Leaving a dark bin in hot sun.
- Calling all collected liquid worm tea.
Related help
Make and troubleshoot garden compost
Choose a reachable, draining site.
Sources and review
Checked 24 September 2026. Source-checked editorial guidance; not field-tested or independently reviewed by a horticulturist.