Compost & Worm Farms

Residents of Willoughby can buy compost bins for $33 and worm farms (worms not included!) for $55 from Council. There is free home delivery. You can either come and pay over the counter at the Help & Service Centre by cheque, cash or credit card, or post a cheque to Willoughby City Council, P.O. Box 57, Chatswood, NSW 2057, with a note saying what it’s for and with an address for delivery. To find out more, call 9777 1000.

236L capacity
750mm wide
750mm tall
750mm deep
$33

570mm long
395mm wide
640mm high
$55

Composting is the natural decomposition of organic materials such as insects, bacteria and fungi into a dark, soil-like substance called compost. Almost half of the waste we produce is compost-friendly, so it’s a fantastic way to reduce landfill. You can use compost as a fertiliser or a substitute for potting mix.

Worm farms are a great way to turn leftover kitchen scraps into fertiliser without taking up much space. Even if you have a balcony instead of a backyard, all you need is a cool spot with lots of shade. Just buy or make a worm farm, get some worms, and start feeding them. They will produce soil-like ‘castings’ and a liquid which both make great natural fertiliser.

How to get composting:

Choose a well-drained, sunny spot. You could compost in a heap, a three-sided enclosure, or in a special bin like those available at Council. Enclosures allow rapid decomposition and aeration, while the bins give easy temperature and vermin control.
You can compost anything that was once living, however it’s better to avoid composting meat, dairy or oily products. A good start is to compost 20 parts carbon-rich material like paper and dry leaves to 1 part nitrogen-rich material like fruit peelings and lawn cuttings.
The bottom of your compost should be a layer 8 to 12 cm thick made up of coarse material like twigs or mulch. This allows air to get in. A thin layer of food scraps can go on next, then perhaps some grass clippings, then manure. Make sure you add water after each layer. Just keep layering until the bin is full!
Every now and then drive a stake or something else long and thin through the centre of the compost a couple of times to let the air circulate, or turn it with a garden fork. Make sure your compost is moist but not wet. Stuffy and wet compost really smells!
When the heap is full, just pick up the bin and start a new one elsewhere using the top third of the original heap as your starting layers.

Composting Tips:

If things are decomposing really slow, your heap is probably too dry. Add some water.
Old newspaper makes a great dry layer.
If your compost gets really smelly, add a handful of garden lime.
Turn it regularly to keep it aerated and healthy.
Make sure food scraps are covered at all time. You could use an old t-shirt or hessian bag.

How to make a worm farm:

Put a mixture of combined shredded paper, coconut fibre, leaves and compost as a bedding layer, about 10 – 15 cm deep, then add around 1000 to 2000 worms (you can buy worms at some hardware or gardening stores). Let them burrow around for a few days.
Start adding small amounts of shredded kitchen scraps. They like vegetable and fruit peelings, tea bags, eggshells and paper. Try not to feed them meat, dairy products, oily food or acidic things like orange and onion. Just add little amounts to begin with; when they finish most of the previous food then add more.
Your worms will produce a soil-like substance called castings. This stuff is a great fertiliser and potting mix. To harvest the castings, move them to one side of the farm and put new food on the other side. The worms will migrate into the food and you can then get your castings without taking all the worms too. Another method is to place the worm farm under direct sun. The worms will dig deeper into the farm, leaving the top layer free to be harvested.
The worms will also make a liquid that will collect in the bottom of your box. This is a liquid fertiliser, but dilute it before use.

Worm Farming Tips:

If it smells, you’re probably just giving them too much food or water. Build them up to larger portions of food gradually.
If your farm is invaded by cockroaches and ants, make sure you keep a lid on it or cover it with an old hessian bag.
If your worms aren’t breeding, make sure the farm is in a shady a cool place (around 18 – 25 degrees) and make sure it’s moist (but not wet!).
Acidity can be caused by too much sugary food like fruits and grains. Sprinkle some dolomite, wood ash or lime on the farm.

Clean Up Australia has some more information on composting and worm farming.