DIY Kid's Worm Habitat - Jenerally Informed

My 8-year-old -daughter has a goal to basically be “one with nature”. She loves to spend time outdoors looking for shiny rocks, flowers, interesting bugs, and plant life. Our backyard is a collection of many of her “very” interesting discoveries. Lately, she has been fixated on getting earthworms as pets. At first, I was like we have a rabbit, tons of fish in our pond (she has named them all), and a dog; why do we need more pets? But then, I thought who am I to squash this budding zoologist and ecologist’s dreams, and so today, I am going to share with you how to make your own earthworm habitat. In case you too have an inquiring little mind who might enjoy this type of thing.

In fact, I have decided she was right and this is going to be really good as we can help my daughter to fulfill her dream of being “one with nature” and also help to create worms for years that will help all of my garden and flora grow. So here is how to make your own earthworm habitat!

Before we start did you know worms can do all of these amazing things?

Worms aerate the soil.
They consume food waste and yard scraps that would otherwise take much longer to decompose in a landfill.
Worms replace the nutrients that are taken out of the soil when herbs and vegetables are grown there.
These critters leave castings, affectionately known by scientists as worm poop, which improve the texture and fertilizing power of soil.
Once your pets outgrow your worm farm and join the garden, they also stimulate root growth for stronger, healthier vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

Here are the materials you will need to make an earthworm habitat:

A bag of really good potting soil

A plastic container with a lid. I like this so that my little scientist can handle the container herself.

Shredded newspaper

Kitchen food scraps- like vegetables. Avoid meat and dairy scraps as that can bring unwelcome guests into your earthworm habitat.

Earthworms! I picked a container up at my local store that sold fishing supplies

Here’s how to make it:

Make sure to drill some air holes into the top of your container like you see in my picture above.

Spread shredded pieces of newspaper onto the bottom of the container.

Cover with dirt.

Add the worms and a few pieces of kitchen scraps. Remember to avoid dairy and meat scraps. Vegetables and other such things are good!

Here are a few tips:

Make sure to keep the container in a nice, not too hot, dark place or cover it with a towel if you are going to use a clear container like mine. I used a clear container so that my daughter could look into the container.

Make sure to keep the soil moist. I gave my daughter a little spray bottle and she goes to town with that bottle!