Wormery.

[Mrs H]

I got a worm works wormery of freecycle yesterday!! I am over the moon but I don't know were to start. Any ideas? Xx

[happy place]

hi
worms are quite simple creatures to look after they like an area which is fairly neutral in wich to live they then go up into the rotting waste above and eat this turning this in to more of the area they like to live in
things to avoid are to much acidic stuff like citrus fruits and onion skins also if it starts to get to wet add dry stuff like paper and egg boxes
you should have an area at the bottom of the wormery to collect and drain of the worm tea which makes great plant food dilutedat 10 -1
this should give you an idea to get started if you have any more Qs just ask and i'll try to answer

[Big Al]

http://www.thewormworks.net/

FAQ's on this link.

[Mrs H]

Thanks guys, we r moving house nxt week so I will set it up when we get moved. So excited I've wanted one for years but they were so expensive!! Can't believe I got one on freecycle!! Xx

[Green Aura]

Good luck with it Mrs H - our results with a worm bin were very disappointing. In fact we left it behind when we moved!

I think the main problem is because it's an artificial environment, you have to carefully regulate the pH etc. As happyplace mentioned it does have a tendency to become acidic - adding things like egg shells or calcified seaweed can correct that. Do remember to drain off the fluid regularly or the worms will drown. And you might need to protect it from extremes of temperature.

Ask me how I know all these things - we failed with all of them at least once and, even after rectifying them, we still didn't come out with any compost - and the liquid smelled worse than our nettle/comfrey/seaweed tea! .

And it cost us a small fortune in getting replacement worms - often.

I'm sure a lot of people manage these systems satisfactorily - just not us

[grahamhobbs]

I've said it many times on various threads that wormeries are simple, the problem tends to be proprietary ones. we were given one and it failed. we made our own, metal drums or dustbins with small holes around the sides near the bottom with a metal lid. If the holes are too big mice can get in (as they do in ours - so what?) and rats can eat there way in if you use plastic bins.
We put all our kitchen vegetable waste into the bins, no meat, but we also put egg shells and the egg boxes in. that's it, you put the stuff in, the worms arrive on their own and do their work.
you do not have to worry about anything, just be sensible don't fill it with loads of of one thing, a nice mix of usual kitchen waste, vegetable peelings, etc. We have had our own wormeries for many years now and give them no special attention or thought.

[Thomzo]

I, too, have failed with a proprietory wormery. It didn't drain well enough, got too cold in winter and the 'special' bought worms died.

I gave up with that one when it fell apart. Now I use an old, split water butt. I use worms from the garden, and top it up with any old stuff from the kitchen and the garden. It drains perfectly, it's big enough that the worms are well insulated and holds a year's worth of kitchen waste.

Zoe

[Mrs H]

Thanks guys for all the advice. Am I correct in thinking then that I should dig some worms up out of the garden instead of buying some? Xx

[happy place]

probably the best source of worms would be your compost heap just collect as many as you can acommon reason people fail with brought in worms is they dont give them time to establish them selves and over load the wormery this then causes the ph balance to go to acidic as stuff rots before the worms can eat it

[becks77]

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/
was where I started from, sell everything you need and loads of info too, best of luck

[grahamhobbs]

Mrs H, there is no need to buy worms, if your wormery is on the ground in your garden and there are small holes in the sides, the worms will find their own way there. I think the main reasons why proprietary wormeries fail are that they don't have this easy access for the worms to come and go, also they are usually on the small size - my experience is that they should be old fashioned dustbin size or bigger. If your wormery has these points then you will never need to buy anything, no worms, no feeds or ph balancers, just feed with vegetable waste and perhaps a little newspaper (we line our waste bin indoors with newspaper, that goes in with the waste) and perhaps old egg shells.