ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Through the clear glass or plastic ecokids can observe the change in color and structure of the soil and watch their new friends munch their way through discarded kitchen scraps, turning them into nutrient-rich, water-soluble fertiliser commonly known as vermi-compost or worm poo.

Ecokids can take the mini worm farm anywhere and when the worms have outgrown their mini home they, along with the nutrient-rich soil they've created, can be worked into the vegetable garden to help produce beautiful flowers and tasty food bursting with vitamins and minerals.

What you need:

A clear glass bottle like an old sauce or pasta bottle or even a 1.25-litre plastic drink bottle with the top cut off at the neck.

A little gravel - one centimetre or less in diameter is more suitable as the soil will not fall through

Garden soil

Newspaper

Thick paper - form into a cylinder to cover jar

A few earthworms... Red worms are the most satisfactory and efficient type of worm to use for composting. Worms can be obtained from a backyard compost bin or from a worm supplier.

Worm food (Food scraps) .... In a regular worm farm, Worms process their own body weight or more of organic matter each day. In a mini worm farm, worms only eat half their weight every two days.

Kitchen vegetable waste which can be composted includes vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, bread products, coffee grounds and tea leaves.

Heres how to do it:

Clean and dry the container

Place 2-3 centimetres of gravel in the base (the purpose of the gravel is for you to check the water level in the jar. If the gravel is completely immersed in water, there is a possibility that the worms could drown. Too little water and they will have trouble moving through the soil.

Place 2-3 centimetres of garden soil on top of gravel, being careful not to tip the jar sideways or the soil will mix with the gravel and you will have to start agian.

Use 2-3 different coloured soil to show what happens to the soil structure as the worms move through the various layers.

Add worms to their new home.

Place some decomposing leaf litter or small pieces of bread or choped up kitchen scraps on top of the worms.

Gently add water, soaking into the soil and leaving a small amount at the bottom of the jar in the gravel.

Cover the leaf litter with a thin layer of damp newspaper and make a thick paper cylinder to fit over the container, to keep the worms in the dark.

To observe amd enjoy your worms at work remove the paper cylinder each day and feed and remember to replace the cylinder.

The lid can be a piece of secured cardboard with holes punched in, or a piece of breathable material fixed with clips or a rubber band. Remember to ensure that the worms have enough air circulating throughout the mini worm farm!