Harvesting the Compost

When your wormery has filled up with fine black sweet smelling compost, it’s time to harvest the compost and start putting it to good use. To separate the worms from the compost:

 

Step 1. Remove the very top layer (150mm / 6in) and lay it to one side. This contains most of the worms and a lot of food and bedding.

 

Step 2. Remove all the compost that you find under this top layer and form it into manageable heaps on a board or table top.

 

Step 3. Allow the heaps to sit for ten minutes or so. The worms hate light, especially strong sunlight, and will migrate to the middle of the heap where it is darker, leaving behind worm free compost.

 

Step 4. With your fingers, rake away the outer layer of the heap until you expose some worms. Then again, wait ten minutes or so for the worms to retreat and repeat the raking step.

 

Step 5. Continue until you have a pile of worms in the middle of your board surrounded by a ring of compost.

 

Step 6. Replenish the bedding in your worm box. Replace the top layer that you set to one side along with the worms you just separated. Continue as before.