About the course: Farm-Scale Vermicomposting
Goal: get your farm-scale vermicompost successfully up and running
- Design a system that works for your farm: for the labour and materials you’re willing to put into it, for the site you’re on, and for the result you’re wanting.
- Skip common pitfalls that see many farm-scale vermicomposts fail.
- Confidently tend your worms and know how to help them thrive.
- Troubleshoot with our chief worm wrangler and get the support of the group for momentum on your project.
Who is it for?
This is for anyone wanting to gain the skill of vermicomposting to make a large amount of vermicompost or castings for their land. It will be relevant to farmers, orchardists, market gardeners, permaculturalists and homesteaders wanting to convert excess organic material into fertility; to those who want to reduce reliance on external inputs, and, of course, for those wanting to take advantage of the incredible benefits of. It is suitable for vermicomposting beginners, as well as those who have an existing system that is not running well and needs troubleshooting.
If you are looking at purchasing a built-for-you farm-scale vermicomposting system, or if you’re looking at YouTube tutorials about how to make one from IBCs it is highly recommended that you do this course first. In each course we’ve run to date there have been participants who have not been able to get theirs running well, and it’s always because the system is not right for them. It’s a pain in the bum, a waste of the years spent trying to make it work, and sometimes a very expensive mistake. Take a bit of time with this course to learn what to look for, figure out what you actually need, then make a smart investment and get the result you want a whole lot more efficiently.
What do we mean by farm-scale vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting is making compost with the help of compost worms. The fully finished state of vermicompost is vermicast. Backyard worm farms are fairly common, and you can easily scale that system up to the size of a bathtub. But what happens if you want to go bigger? To get enough compost or cast to make a real difference to your acreage or farm you start to move into different systems, and there are a wide variety of different setups that are appropriate in different settings. It also means there are more things that can go wrong, with bigger consequences. This course will take you through system design with a focus on setting up for success, so you can get your vermicompost up and running without a hitch.
Specialists in cast-harvest beds
At Island Biologicals, we have been operating continuous flow cast harvest beds for over 11 years. This can have a higher upfront cost than other systems (depending on your welding skills) but is excellent if the thing you want is high quality finished cast. To our knowledge we’re one of the only places that offers training in setting up these systems. They are not suitable for everyone though, and in the course we will discuss a variety of setups to get the one that works for you, and make sure those worms of yours are happy regardless of what their home looks like.
How the course operates
Core training:
Four live Zoom calls, 7:30pm AEDT (Sydney time), 1.5-2 hours each. Replays will be available within 24 hours if you miss a session.
- Monday, 27 October
- Monday, 3 November
- Monday, 10 November
- Monday, 17 November
Online portal:
Watch the replays, download the notes, use the discussion forum for community support, access the bonuses
Course content:
- Earthworm theory, getting to know your workforce to better look after them and understand their usefulness
- Practicalities of setting up and running a vermicompost, from site and scope to food, water and supplement requirements to equipment and mechanics
- Practical examples and personalised guidance
Bonuses
Worm Breeding 101: A mini-course designed to get you started as a worm farmer straight away. This will not only upskill you in the art of worm-keeping but will provide you with the worm stock at the volume you need when you are ready to start your farm-scale system.
Virtual Tour of Our Operation: Get an insider’s look at a successful worm farm to inspire and inform your own setup.
Hot Seat Coaching: Two participants will receive detailed personalized feedback and solutions tailored to their specific challenges. These will provide extremely valuable learning for everyone! These happen on the week 4 Zoom.
Setup Checklist: A comprehensive guide to ensure you don’t miss a step in your worm farming journey. This was a favourite with our previous intake!
1 Year of support: when you put your learning into practice and have a query, just send us a message and we’ll do our best to help you personally.
About your guide
Lee Fieldhouse is our Chief Worm Wrangler and Founder at Island Biologicals. He is a sought-after speaker, with 10+ years’ experience setting up and running our continuous flow cast harvest vermicompost system, and helping others set up and improve their systems through compost consulting. He has a passion for working with nature to improve the health of soils and plants.
Frequently asked questions
How long will I have access to the course?
You will have access to all the course materials, including replays and bonuses, for at least 1 year, or as long as we maintain the website (whichever is longer).
I would like my partner/ staff to learn this information with me. Do they have to purchase separately?
No, the price of this course is per farm. If you would like to add multiple people for your farm please email us after purchase and provide the name, email, and how they relate to your farm to us and we can add them to the list to receive correspondence directly.
If you have a group you would like to do this with, such as a Landcare group, Holistic Management group, or permaculture group; get in touch and we can discuss running your own dedicated training.
What if the live call times just don't work for me?
While we believe you will get the most out of this experience if you are able to attend the live calls, we understand that there is no time that will work for everyone. To this end, replays of the live calls will be available within 24 hours, and we will be available for all your questions via email.
If there is enough interest, we may be able to put on a second timeslot – if you really can’t make 7:30pm AEDT Mondays days please reach out to kirsty@islandbiologicals.com.au and tell us what time zone you’re in so we can look at a second timeslot.
I'm not ready to start my vermicompost just yet, is this course for me?
We will take you through everything you need to set up your vermicompost from scratch, including site considerations and actions you can take to get yourself ready. This course is ideal if you are wanting to start your vermicompost within the next 6-12 months, or for those with an existing vermicompost you want to improve.
I purchased a fancy vermi-system and it's not running hot. Will this course help me?
Yes, you can absolutely use the coaching aspect of this course to troubleshoot your existing system. We would love to help you get it running as well as possible.
I'm not on a farm but I am interested in worm farming at scale. Can I still join?
Yes, absolutely. The same vermiculture principles apply whether you’re composting local waste at a community garden, growing bulk worms for sale, operating waste remediation projects, or even setting up a vermicomposting toilet for example.
I'm interested in making a vermi-liquid ('worm juice', 'worm tea' etc.). I see you make one, will you be teaching it in this course?
No. This course is all about getting you set up for success, and managing your system well for high quality castings (or other objectives). High quality liquid comes from high quality castings, so let’s get that bit sorted first! We will not be teaching how to extract into a liquid in this course.
Do you have any payment plans available?
Please contact kirsty@islandbiologicals.com.au and we will see what we can do.
Do you offer refunds for change of mind?
If you change your mind for whatever reason we offer a full refund if you inform us before the second live call. You may also give the course to a friend by letting us know the new email address.
Do you have any other questions? Send them to kirsty@islandbiologicals.com.au and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.