Topic: Worms in Compost

[littlegem]

Just been reading about wormeries. i cant afford one (approx £100) but my compost heap is very slow and too big for me to turn (bit of a weed, me) i was wondering if anyone has bought just the composting worms and put them on the heap and how good was the outcome? The worms are different to what we get in garden but apparantly they are native.

[kenkew]

Putting bought worms onto a compost heap is throwing money away. If your heap is open to the soil you'll get worms from the ground.
There are details on here for DIY wormeries. Do a search.

[froglets]

I have "wormery worms" in both my compost bins & unless they wriggled 90ft over concrete, tarmac and brick, they didn't come from my wormery  ;)

I think they either occur naturally in the soil & he bins or may have migrated from the stable yard manure I use in the garden.  I get mine from a help yourself heap & I dig down into the mature stuff which has the worms in it too.  You could add some well rotted stable stuff as an accelerator if you're not seeing worms in your compost heap, although I'd expect there are loads in there if it's not dry.

[Curryandchips]

My compost bin has big fat red worms in there, and I certainly didnt put any in.

[sandersj89]

The red worms in compost are Brandlings I believe



These occur naturally in the environment eating decaying matter so find it ideal in a compost heap. I have a darlek bin at home for kitchen that is heaving with them.

If you cant afford a wormary you can make your own:

http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/az_worms.aspx

HTH

Jerry

[Gardenantics]

Have a look at this link too;

http://www.compostworms.co.uk/

It is part of Tommy Topsoil our local worm expert. West Yorkshire.

Brian

[grawrc]

I don't know the niceties of breeds and species of worm, however my 3 Daleks are constantly filled with worms. I'm assuming they're earthworms since that's my only source  ;) :) and they make a pretty damned good job of turning all my garden rubbish into friable compost. :) :) :) :) :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

My daleks are full of brandlings; they must come through the soil as there's no other possible source.

[powerspade]

They will get there naturally we call them tiger worms on our site, they are a native worm and do a first class job

[grawrc]

Where can I find out about different types of worms?