When looking for good quality fruit and veg, worms might be the very last thing you’re after. But, according to Mary Murphy, author of Beginner’s Guide to Earthworm Farming, they should be at the very top of your mind.

“How good an apple tastes depends on how it was grown”, says Mary, and farmers who use organically generated compost from worm farms produce fruit and veg with better vitamin and mineral levels. Aside from the benefits to your veggie patch, using a worm farm at home, to dispose of your kitchen waste, prevents your organic waste from being added to landfills, where it will never properly decompose. This pocketsize book provides you with everything you need to know about keeping your own home worm farm – from buying the right one – to maintaining and cleaning it, and what to feed your worms. 

Interestingly, Mary is also the woman behind the Mount Nelson’s fantastically successful wormery. Aside from human guests, there are now almost one million worms in residence at the Nellie, producing up to 60 kg of fertiliser per month from the restaurant’s organic waste. Though it’s unlikely you’ll be producing anything on that scale with your own home worm farm – unless you’re cooking for half the neighbourhood – with this little book you could soon be on your way to a lusher garden, and a cleaner, healthier planet.