How could composting be made easier? By not ever having to turn the compost and not having to move the compost into your garden, that’s how!
You can get Nature to do even more of the work with a Worm Tunnel, an in-ground worm farm that’s a cross between a small compost bin and a worm farm that sits in your garden (in the soil). You just throw in your fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen and that’s it, the worms that live in the soil in your garden do the rest. The worm castings and the liquid from the worm farm all go straight into the soil where they are immediately available to plants and trees.
To construct a worm tunnel, you’ll need the following materials:
A used 12” (30cm) wide plastic pot
A plastic pot watering tray that fits over the top of the pot
Some newspaper or hessian
A small amount of compost
You’ll need the following tools:
A drill and drill bit at least 3/8” (10mm) thick or larger to make the holes in the side of pot.
A pair of sturdy scissors or metal cutting shear or whatever else you wish to use to cut the bottom off the pot.
Step 1. Take the plastic pot, drill holes in the side Step 2. Cut off the bottom of the pot Step 3. Find a plastic pot watering tray is large enough to fit over the top of the pot as a lid Step 4. Test fit the lid to make sure it fits – it’s now ready to go into the ground! Step 5. Dig the hole, and sit the worm tunnel in the soil, fill around the sides with soil. Step 6. Get some compost from your compost bin an pour it into the bottom of the worm tunnel. This will introduce beneficial soil organisms that will assist with the composting process. Step 7. Add fruit and vegetable scraps and other materials that you would normally put into a worm farm (see worm farming article for details). Step 8. Place a cover over the food scraps to create a dark, damp environment favourable to earthworms. This cover (worm blanket) is simply made out of a folded piece of damp newspaper or a scrap of damp hessian sack that is placed over the top of everything. Whenever you add new material, place it under the newspaper or hessian worm blanket cover. Put the lid on the worm tunnel.It’s very discrete and easy to disguise or hide if necessary. To stop the lid blowing off in the wind or to prevent animals getting inside put something heavy on top (such as a rock)! Within a few weeks earthworms will move in from the soil and start feasting on the food scraps in your worm tunnel. The original worm tunnel concept can be credited to Linda Woodrow, permaculture writer/experimenter from NSW, Australia and author of The Permaculture Home Garden . current information accredited to https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/build-a-worm-tunnel-vermicomposting-system/
