Materials

• In order to start your worm farm, you'll need worms, a worm bin, bedding and food waste. The best worms for a worm farm are red worms, which have distinct red rings encircling their bodies. If you're planning on raising worms to sell them to fisherman or other worm composters, purchase mature worms so they can start reproducing more quickly. According to WormFarmingSecrets.com, you can distinguish mature worms by a single, ring-shaped band that encircles their bodies.
  
  Wooden and plastic bins are two popular housing options for worm farms. George Dickerson, Extension Horticulture Specialist at New Mexico State University, states that wooden bins are more absorbent and provide better insulation for your worms. If you choose to use plastic bins, drill small holes in the bottom and sides of the bin to provide ventilation and drainage for your worms. Overall, allow about 1 square foot of surface area per pound of food waste you produce each week; having several smaller worm bins instead of one large one allows you to move them around more easily. Using a mix of bedding materials, such as shredded newspaper, leaves, aged cow manure and straw gives your worms more nutrients.
  
  

The Process

• Take extra time to prepare your bin by adding the bedding in 2 to 3-inch increments; this allows you to spray each bedding layer with water from a spray bottle to moisten the bedding for your worms. Overall, a pound of worms can consume about a half pound of fruit and vegetable food scraps each day, so adjust the amount of food you provide based on the number of worms you have. Burying the food thoroughly in the bedding (at least 3 inches) helps minimize odor and rodent problems. George Dickerson suggests you limit citrus food scraps to keep the compost from becoming too acidic. Keeping your worm bins indoors (between about 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit) allows you to keep your worm bin active year round.
  
  When harvesting compost from your worm farm (about two to three months later), dumping your worm compost onto a large plastic sheet and separating the worms by hand allows you to save more worms than other harvesting methods. However, watch out for brown worm cocoons, which resemble tiny lemons in shape, according to Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture. Burying them in the bedding in your new compost bin allows you to further increase your worm population.