WormFarm.co.za
Global Worming
Fighting Global Warming
Contact Details.
email:paulM@worm-farm.co.za
For collection in Johannesburg -
Alan (Parkwood) - 082 851 9585
Paul (Sunninghill) - 082 906 4909
Vertical Worm Bin
A vertical worm bin or a stacked bin worm farm consists of a number of bins which stack one on top of the other.
The reason a vertical worm bin system works is that the worms that are used for worm farming, Eisenia Fetida, are top living worms. They like to live at the top surface of a worm farm which is where the food is.
Like a simple worm bin the worms are established in one of the worm bins, once this bin is full an empty bin is placed on top of it so that the bottom of the empty bin touches the castings underneath. The bottom of the empty bin has a number of holes in it which the worms use to move through to the bin above.
Once the top bin is full the bottom bin can be harvested as most of the worms will now be living in the top bin. If the top bin fills up too quickly with castings there may still be worms left in the bottom, in this case an additional empty bin can be placed on top (as in the picture). This will give the worms at the bottom adequate time to migrate to the surface.
The advantages of a vertical worm bin:
- It is easier to harvest than a simple worm bin or a horizontal worm bin
- Fewer cocoons are lost in the harvesting process
- It is the simplest type of farm to operate
- A bin can be fitted at the bottom to collect the leachate from the farm
- It takes up very little surface area for a large volume of castings
The disadvantages of a vertical worm bin:
- If the bins fill up too quickly then the worms in the bottom will not have time to migrate to the top
The majority of small worm farms are of a vertical design. This is because they are probably the best suited to small scale worm farming and are convenient to use.
Using more than two or three bins does not give any real advantage. The worms will regulate their population based on the surface area of the farm, not on the volume. Adding extra bins will not result in a large increase in worm population. If you want more worms rather use bigger bins.
