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Build your own womery
Wormeries make short work of your kitchen waste, turning it into great
compost and liquid fertiliser for your plants. They are ideal if you have a
small garden, live in a flat or just have a back yard since they don?t have an
unpleasant odour. Start slowly and in next to no time the worms will be
munching through twice their own weight. They will eat fruit and
vegetable scraps, paper and cardboard and to my great surprise they
delight in coffee grounds and even the filter papers All you need are a few
simple things, kitchen waste and some worms!
The compost is ready in about six months and the worm liquid within a
matter of weeks. The compost really is too good to put directly on the soil;
use it for seedlings and house plants and remember to mix the worm liquid
around nine parts water to one part worm liquid before use. It really is
quite simple and you will find in no time at all that you have a mass of
worms munching all your kitchen waste. The only rule is not to let them get
too hot or too cold. In winter I wrap the worm hotel in bubble wrap and in
summer I make sure the wormery is in a cool place. They don?t need
constant care and you can happily leave them for at least three weeks
whilst you?re on holiday.
Suitable building materials for your Wormery
? Recycled wood from old pallets (check that they are free from wood
preservatives as they harm the worms)
? An old plastic/standard plastic compost bin
You will need
? A plastic dustbin. A short fat one is better than a tall thin one. Or
you can use a large plastic box as long as it has a big surface area.
? A drill
? Some sand or gravel
? Some small wooden slats
? Bedding material for the worms. Like shredded newspaper or straw
? A plastic tap you can buy these from most hardware or garden shops
? Wire mesh about 20cm square
? 400 compost worms these are often called redworms and are
available from most fishing shops or from the suppliers and worm bin
manufacturers.
How to build the womery
- Drill a hole for the tap in the bin about 5 to 10cm
from the bottom. Don't put it too far up the bin
otherwise it won't work properly.
- Place the piece of wire mesh inside the bottom of
the bin so that it covers the inside of the tap. This
is so the tap doesn?t get blocked.
- Drill some breathing holes into the bin lid.
- Put 5 to 10 cm of sand or gravel at the bottom of
the bin.
- Place the wooden slats on top of the sand or gravel.
- Put bedding material for the worms on top of the
slats and make it damp. You need to make it about
10-15 cm deep
- Make a small hole in the bedding material and put
the worms inside.
Looking after your worms
When Collecting your waste...
- Make sure the kitchen container you collect the waste in has a lid on it
otherwise flies will lay their eggs in it and they will hatch inside the womery.
- Always make sure the food scraps are chopped up well
Looking after the womery itself
- Bury small batches of food in the bedding lightly under the surface and
spread it out
- Put thick layers of wet newspaper n the surface to keep light out and
moisture in
- Only add more food when the worms are finished the last lot, the speed
of which the food is processed will depend on the number of worms, the
time of year and the type of food added
- Never over feed the worms, it will just rot and upset them
- You can keep your bin outside but in the winter the worms will be
warmer and hungrier if kept in a garage of shed.
- If the heap begins to smell (too wet) pull everything out, mix it well with
brown material and return to the bin.
If the heap remains unchanged (too dry) pull everything out, water it mix
with green material and return to the bin.
Ready compost can be stored in a cool dry place
Maintaining your Wormery
Worms will eat almost anything that will decompose. They should be
primarily fed on kitchen scraps but they will process weeds and other
garden waste.
? Worms like variety. Not too much of one thing!
? Large quantities of citrus peel, seeds and diseased material and meat
and fish are best avoided.
? Worms can be killed by overfeeding. Don't add more waste until the
previous addition has been composted.
? Keep container covered to avoid fruit flies.
Don't allow the bin to get too hot or dry out
YES PLEASE
? Coffee grounds and tea bags
? Fruit
? Vegetable peelings
? Cereals
? Annual weeds (not seed
heads)
? Bread
? Green leaves
? Cow/horse manure
? Rice or pasta
? Paper
? Egg shells
? Thin cardboard
NO THANKS
? Meat and fish
? Cheese
? Baked beans
? Cooked potatoes
? Grass in any quantity
? Weed seeds
? Diseased plant material
? Cat or dog poo (these contain
human parasites)
? Citrus peelings
? Garlic/onions leeks etc
? Glossy paper
What worms want?.
Collecting your compost
- After a few weeks you should be able to collect some liquid through
the tap, which you can use as liquid feed for your plants it will be
quite strong so dilute it with 10 parts water beforehand.
- After a few months you can empty the bin and use the compost in the
garden. Then just put the worms back and start all over again.
The finished product
Q. I am going on holiday. Will my worms be ok if they are not fed?
A. An established wormery can be left for up to four weeks if you give
your worms a good feed before you go.
Q My worm bin is mouldy. Am I doing something wrong?
A. Mouldy food is not great for worms as it gets too hot for them. You
can help stop waste food from going mouldy by chopping it up into small
bits before you put it in. Mixing it in to the worm?s bedding also helps.
Q. Why are there are lots of tiny flies in my worm bin?
A. These are probably fruit flies, which commonly occur on rotting fruit
and vegetables. They do not harm the compost and are not a health risk. A
tight fitting lid will help to keep them out. Burying the vegetable waste as
you add it, or keeping it covered with damp newspaper also helps.
Q. I have lots of tiny white worms in my worm compost. Is this ok?
A. These are probably pot worms (enchytraeids). They do a similar job to
the worms you put in and are nothing to worry about. They like
waterlogged or acid conditions so, if you have lots of them and your own
worms are getting fewer, improve the drainage. You can do this by mixing
in some shredded newspaper. You can also add a sprinkling of calcified
seaweed or rock limestone (dolomite) to correct the acidity.
Newly hatched brandling (tiger) worms are also whitish and only half an
inch long. They have a pinkish tinge which helps you tell them apart from
pot worms.
Q. Why are there hundreds of worms around the lid of my wormery?
A. They may have run out of food, Or the conditions in the bin aren?t right
for them. Worms hate having lots of kitchen waste piled on top of them as
this makes things to wet and too acid. They also don?t like fresh green
materials as these heat up when they decompose.
Or your wormery may not be draining properly. Check that liquid is not
collecting in the bottom of the bin and making the compost too wet.
F.A.Qs
Q. Why are there are lots of tiny flies in my worm bin?
A. These are probably fruit flies, which commonly occur on rotting fruit
and vegetables. They do not harm the compost and are not a health risk. A
tight fitting lid will help to keep them out. Burying the vegetable waste as
you add it, or keeping it covered with damp newspaper also helps.
Q. I have lots of tiny white worms in my worm compost. Is this ok?
A. These are probably pot worms (enchytraeids). They do a similar job to
the worms you put in and are nothing to worry about. They like
waterlogged or acid conditions so, if you have lots of them and your own
worms are getting fewer, improve the drainage. You can do this by mixing
in some shredded newspaper. You can also add a sprinkling of calcified
seaweed or rock limestone (dolomite) to correct the acidity.
Newly hatched brandling (tiger) worms are also whitish and only half an
inch long. They have a pinkish tinge which helps you tell them apart from
pot worms.
Q. Why are there hundreds of worms around the lid of my wormery?
A. They may have run out of food, Or the conditions in the bin aren?t right
for them. Worms hate having lots of kitchen waste piled on top of them as
this makes things to wet and too acid. They also don?t like fresh green
materials as these heat up when they decompose.
Or your wormery may not be draining properly. Check that liquid is not
collecting in the bottom of the bin and making the compost too wet.
Q. I am going on holiday. Will my worms be ok if they are not fed?
A. An established wormery can be left for up to four weeks if you give
your worms a good feed before you go.
Q My worm bin is mouldy. Am I doing something wrong?
A. Mouldy food is not great for worms as it gets too hot for them. You
can help stop waste food from going mouldy by chopping it up into small
bits before you put it in. Mixing it in to the worm?s bedding also helps.