The Worm Cafe is designed so well! Our worms live their upgraded home. They were living in Rubbermaid containers that were modified into a worm tower. The Worm Cafe is 'attractive' -- that sounds crazy! I really appreciate that it looks very tidy/unoffensive on our deck. The worms seem to be thriving. The spigot on the bottom is super convenient and it allows me to easily use the worm tea which increases the frequency it is applied to my potted plants. In a perfect world, I would have 6 months experience w the Worm Cafe before writing this review. That is not the case. So far I am 100% satisfied w this and w the exceptional customer service provided by Jim's Worm Farm.

These a not a durable product. In large part, it is do their design: square is NOT a structurally and physically good shape. The bottom of the trays do not last long and break. I bought my first Can-o-Worms bins then three years later bought this one (the square version) and after three years it was toast and had to be discarded. The original Can-o-Worms was still going strong. Still, I needed another bin so I bought another Can-o-Worms bin. Here it iss 15 years later. Both are working fine: not broken, because round is a structurally better shape. The "worm tea" spigot on both of the Can-o-Worms bins corroded after 4 years or so. I just leave them open all the time to drain into their "own" pans. Bottom line: Round is better!

I like the shape and the size of the product. It takes some getting used to with the maintenance of the worms and managing the size of the compost materials and dirt ratio.I frequently find worms in the bottom compartment, which strikes me as strange because there is no dirt nor compost food down there. I wonder if I am doing something wrong.Also this product is touted as a smell free and able to be stored indoor during winter. I do not smell anything coming from it, but I do have small flies that have been born in the food scraps and come and go through the small holes in the top of the lid. For that reason I sincerely doubt that it can come inside for winter as smoothly and seamlessly as they claim.

Easy To Set Up

Managed to set this up in about 1 hour without any problems. There is a very comprehensive manual included + instructions on the packing + even on the back of the lid. Oh and Tumbleweeds website also is also very helpful.All the packaging goes back into your worm farm, plus there is a coir bedding block to add an edible soil.All you need is some spare old cardboard to fill in any gaps in your worm tray before adding the coir + you will need some worms.* Do open up your worms box before purchasing to make sure the soil is still moist and you can see some active worms inside - I noticed one box was quite dry and another seemed devoid of activity!2 months later and the worm cafe is easily consuming 2kg of food scraps, cardboard, paper and similar waste every week.

Legs gave way after 10 years

I've had this worm farm for nearly 10 years, but now it needs to be replaced after the recycled plastic legs buckled and broke from the weight of rich dark soil in four trays. It's been a good system, though as other reviewers have noted the tap could be prone to blockages, mainly from a build up of eggshell grit requiring a full clean out. I always used an old sieve/strainer to catch any worms escaping via the tap. The worm juice has been great for heavy feeders in my veggie garden, especially strawberries. Keeping it on the cooler south side of our house usually saved the worms from dehydration and heat stress, but it's important to give them water as well as fruit and veggie scraps. (Nothing spicy like chilli seeds or brassicas) Topped up with fresh worms at ... MoreI've had this worm farm for nearly 10 years, but now it needs to be replaced after the recycled plastic legs buckled and broke from the weight of rich dark soil in four trays. It's been a good system, though as other reviewers have noted the tap could be prone to blockages, mainly from a build up of eggshell grit requiring a full clean out. I always used an old sieve/strainer to catch any worms escaping via the tap. The worm juice has been great for heavy feeders in my veggie garden, especially strawberries. Keeping it on the cooler south side of our house usually saved the worms from dehydration and heat stress, but it's important to give them water as well as fruit and veggie scraps. (Nothing spicy like chilli seeds or brassicas) Topped up with fresh worms at least once after they got neglected during a two-week overseas trip. Would recommend the worm blankets too. It's fair to say the legs finally went on it because it's on a slight slope, but perhaps stronger legs could be designed for a later model. I occasionally removed some soil from the trays as a growing medium and rotated the tray stacks.

Long time user's comments

Hi, I have two worm farms. My first was about 25 rears ago. We reduced our vegetable waste almost to zero at that time. About 20 years ago I bought a second farm, and now we put garden clippings and weeds etc in them as well. Our council garden bin only gets branches and twigs that will not fit in the worm farms.We now have good worm fertiliser for our veggie garden all the time.

Queensland too hot, worms & even maggots die

I’ve been a veteran composter and permaculture practitioner in the UK for years, had 5 large compost bins all on the go at one time with good results.Have moved back home to Australia and since I’m not settled yet wanted a composter that was semi portable until I buy some land.The worn cafe worked okay at first since I was in Sydney during winter, composting away. But then moved up to Queensland and the extra heat of this state immediately killed all my worms. Then maggots took over and I was like let’s see what happens with them chewing up the food… Well they all died as well.So I totally cleaned it out and started again with new worms in a completely shaded spot to see if they would survive but even full shade was too hot and they died again… then the maggots ... MoreI’ve been a veteran composter and permaculture practitioner in the UK for years, had 5 large compost bins all on the go at one time with good results.Have moved back home to Australia and since I’m not settled yet wanted a composter that was semi portable until I buy some land.The worn cafe worked okay at first since I was in Sydney during winter, composting away. But then moved up to Queensland and the extra heat of this state immediately killed all my worms. Then maggots took over and I was like let’s see what happens with them chewing up the food… Well they all died as well.So I totally cleaned it out and started again with new worms in a completely shaded spot to see if they would survive but even full shade was too hot and they died again… then the maggots returned… and they quickly died also.Please note the horrific smell this all caused also and this is all taking place over roughly a yr and a half so I really did try to make it work.If you’re in a hot place like Queensland then don’t bother with this just get a regular compost bin and keep it in the coolest shaded area you have.All the best to you fellow gardeners!!

Reduced scraps to landfill

It works fantastically. Just follow the simple basic instructions. 5 minutes maintenance per week to add some water, conditioner and aerate/lightly dig top 80mm. Amazing how much fruit and veg scraps we're not putting into landfill now. Great liquid fertiliser for garden each week too. Save scraps in icecream container in fridge. Blending helps worms process them quickly.

Tumbleweed Worm Cafe

The Tumbleweed worm Cafe is a great sized unit. It has extra trays which makes transitioning the worms much easier. You can simply pull the full tray out and pop the spare tray in to start a new batch. The unit is solid and really easy to put together. The lid flips back and stays in place when putting scraps in. The tap works well. I chose the Cafe as the legs are a little higher than other brands which makes draining the worm tea into a bucket much easier. I purchased the Tumbleweed mat as well. Would recommend. Marie (Cairns NQld)

Wonderful worms

The worm farm was easy to put together and the instruction booklet was most informative and a great help for a novice. The worms have settled in and are now multiplying as feeding increases. As the worms need carbon as well as nitrogen, I have found a good way to recycle my shredded paper along with my food scraps. The worm farm is small in size and has no nasty smells. Would recommend the worm farm to anyone wanting to sustainably reduce waste. I am eagerly awaiting my first lot of worm castings and worm wee which my garden will appreciate.