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General => Top Tips => Topic started by: jethro on March 18, 2004, 12:16:26
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I have just drawn some plans for a wormery made from a wheelie bin, the tap is naturally at the bottom. There are different levels for the trays, but i can't fathom out how to empty it without tipping it upside down and disturbing the worms :-\ . Any help in this would be most appreciated.
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I read something yesterday, strangely enough, that said when you want to use the compost, spread it on the ground and leave a piece of newspaper on top. The worms then congregate under it as it's cool and shady. I can't tell you if it works or not, but there you go!
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I made one using these instructions, and it's going well (although they don't eat much over winter). Perhaps this can help you:
http://www.troubleatmill.com/wormbin.htm (http://www.troubleatmill.com/wormbin.htm)
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Hi Aquilega, thanks for that i knew someone was brighter than me ;D (but that's not unusual) :-\
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Cheers Ross, i wish i had seen that before i started my own it would have been easier, altho mine is cheaper, raided skips etc for the parts ;D i got the wheelie bin from my mother, she had one too many from the council ::) . Altho i might make another one with this site ;) .
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Ross, great link thanks - I'm definitely going for this - hopefully this weekend as I could make it inside and not get blown over! The site you gave also links to a fabulous Australian site with loads of info about worms. I am inspired so thank you.
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no problem, Ceri. Mine is currently in the shed, but will move it outside soon and make a few modifications- am going to drill air holes all over it and put a plastic lid on the top to keep the rain out. Am also going to make some sort of skirt around the base of each box, so that it stops water getting in that way, but so that it still allows you to change the boxes around.
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Ross,
Thanks for this...i'm sure it is within my OH basic DIY skills ;D :D
B & Q here I come...
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I'll be doinf one of those too. I brought back some plastic riddles from UK with a wormery in mind and when I got back here I went to a shop looking for something and saw the stacking square bins shown on that site and my head said, 'Do the riddle one first'. Just waiting a nice day so I can play at it outside with a beer.
PS: What's a doinf?
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oh bums - the plastic boxes they have in my poundstretchers at the moment are the ones that stack by one side piece sticking inwards and one sticking outwards (very lucid this afternoon me!) They leave geet big gaps around the top of each box for lots of worms to creep out of if they are feeling the call of the wild! I'll have to keep searching as I'm really keen on getting one of these started off. If anyone knows of anywhere that does stackable boxes that don't leave open gaps please let me know!
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Err, not meaning to sound thick, but I have been pondering.......won't me poor worms fall through the mesh and drown in the fertiliser they are making??? DP
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Doris,
In the instructions, from the website that Ross guided us to, it says...
"First time you use the system place a couple of sheets of newspaper over the mesh in the starter box to stop the worms falling through the bottom-until they establish the right conditions in the bedding..."
I haven't been to B & Q for the equipment yet.
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Opps, note to self, read instructions properly!! thanks Debs ;D Mine will be lounging in blue boxes, hope they do not mind, I suppose I could always spray them black if they have an aversion to blue! DP
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Me too - oops note to self - read instructions! I thought the boxes were supposed to sit way on top of each other but they don't - presumably you build them up as the vermicompost builds and sit the next box on top for the worms to work their way into - duh! Understand now I think. Off for the mesh then - mine have got red boxes - hope the worms like bright colours!
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By 'eck! We have blue worm bin and we have a red worm bin. Any other colours....(sorry, I got the giggles...first time in a long time..stop..stop...!) :) ;) :D ;D ;D
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Ceri, maybe would should decorate the insides for them too!! ;D
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Doris, you're puddled. You're effort will be wasted, worms are blind! Don't pass on your daft ideas to Ceri (that's my sister's name) or she'll get as daft as you and one plant pot on here is hard enough to deal with. ( bet you grow pink peas, eh?)
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I went to poundstretchers for my 4 for £5 stacking boxes, but they were multi-coloured... think I 'll wait for the next delivery of the less glaringly obvious , more conservative, black coloured ones...!! ;D
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Does it make any difference where the wormery is situated as my garden has a lot of shade that is wasted space. Is it ok to put the womery in the shade? Does it change anything.
PS I am not opting for the worms that are seeking a good tan ;)
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Shade is better than sunshine for wormeries. The inside of a plastic box is like an oven in direct sun. OK for cooked worms, but not for live ones. Mine's going round the back of the shed, (when I get round to making it) where it's cool and almost damp all year long.
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We tend to move ours around -note to self move worm bin. In the shade for the summer, greenhouse when it's cold and in the sun for spring. They eat more when they're warm (not hot), and don't like being frozen or drowned.
Jeremy
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Finally done it, after months of faffing about - I now have a worm bin, worms and all. Made as advised on this thread. It has taken me so long to get organised the original red boxes have been purloined by various members of the family and I've now had to get some more - sophisticated black! I've put it in the shade so they won't get too hot, and I'm looking forward to them chomping away. Note to self: stop lifting carpet lid and watching them, they are not pets!
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Well done Ceri :D My boxes have lingered in the shed for about4 months and it doesnt look as though Ill have time to do much with them this summer... Any tips for insulating the boxes..... would a few layers of bubble wrap be enough ???
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for the winter, I plan to stick all the boxes inside a huge cardboard box - like the ones washing machines come in, and fill the gap between the cardboard and the wormery with newspaper/bubble wrap, whatever I've got. I just went to a local fishing tackle shop and, although the worms are quite expensive - £1.25 for 15, I did a bit of my "I need a discount and I won't go until I've got one" act very nicely and got a bulk discount!
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That is so funny Ceri, as my original boxes are also in various parts of the house and garden, without a worm in sight! I MUST get on and make it!! (maybe I shall go for black this time as well!)
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Well, Ava finally arrived home with said boxes last week. They are now in the shed awaiting construction. One has already been pinched by number one son to keep his toy soldiers in! Note to self - must keep reminding Ava. Note to Ceri - I know the kids and I will be lifting the carpet regularly to check on progress - they are pets, or at least, that is what I will tell number one daughter as she really wants a pet at the moment! ;D
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You've got ants in your compost, she can have a whole colony of pets! :o ;D
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True, never thought of that. She keeps telling me she wants a pet with legs as fish don't count as pets. Just think how many legs there are in that any collony - millions! ;D
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;D ;D ;D And they have eggs too!! :o
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Just remember to keep the ants and worms apart -ants like worms, for breakfast!
Woodlice on the other hand are OK, as are vinegar flies (ok with the worms that is -how you feel about it may be different ???).
Jeremy
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My plastic riddles-to-be-wormeries are still waiting for me to make a start. (Must try and beat EJ to it; Can't let these women take over altogether!) Well done Ceri, (that's my sister's name) any chance of a pic or two?
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Hi Ken - no to the piccies as I don't know how and my learning curve has bottomed out at the moment!
Not a lot is happening in there (what did I expect I wonder!). I left them for a week or so in about 4" bedding with a tiny bit of lettuce on top. Nothing happened for a while, but the lettuce has finally disappeared so I've put some blackcurrant leaves and broad bean pods in. I think they "eat" the bedding before they will get stuck in to the new stuff. Still seem to be alive though - so my run on small pets is better than it used to be (goldfish)!
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Ceri, it does take a while for them to get going -how many did you buy? Once they mature they'll eat more and start breeding. Eventually they seem to find an equilibrium between their numbers and the amount of food you put in.
Jeremy
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I've got a hundred or so. I read that they 'eat' up to half their body weight per day - unfortunately didn't weigh them! I'll keep watching and reporting. It's very funny watching my NGOH and NGdaughter skirt round the wormery - like the worms are going to jump out!
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Would it make a difference if added food was first minced up a bit or doesn't it matter?
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now there's a good idea. While I'm not putting on solid pieces as such, a good chop of them may well make things a bit quicker. I'll experiment!
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I have an old fashioned mincer, one of those that screws to a table top. When I get underway (after my UK trip) I'll set to with building. Promise. (I said that back in March.) Might even be able to pick-up some brandlings in England, can't find any here.
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Ken, I think what they want is soft, I do slice brassica stalks and spuds up a bit but they seem to cope otherwise. I think most things get to the right stage of decomposition at some point -except for avocado shells -which are what they should have tiled the space shuttle with! Tea bags take a long time to go -I've taken to tearing them open and tipping the contents out.
They are not supposed to like citrus & onion peel as it is too acid, although a little bit shouldn't harm. They seem to like a bit of roughage and I gave them some paper shreddings earlier this year when, it got a bit too damp in there and there were lots of white thread worms.
Our kit came with some lime mix (maybe ash of some sort) and some 'worm treat' -looks like muesli to me! They get some very occaisionaly -about once a year.
Jeremy
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Thanks D;..When I get it going I'll chew the food first, that should make it soft enough!
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:) -reading what I wrote I'm not sure I was too clear. Bung the stuff in as soon as you've got it, however hard it is, while it's in the bin it will soften up to the extent that the worms will eat it. I only chop the big stuff up so that they can get at it easily. They'll eat pretty much anything, really.
Jeremy
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Right. Now while I'm willing to pay for shipment of decent compost worms from the UK, I'm a bit reluctant to pay through the nose for the shipment of 'bedding stuff'. Would 'growbag' compo do as a starter? And what's with this 'special' compacted block recommended as an initial setting up bedding?
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I used a thick layer of newspaper, topped with old potting compost mixed with a bit of leaf mould - as advised on one website or another! Soaked it thoroughly, left excess water to drip out and started from there.
Got latin name for the posh expensive compost worms - went to local fishing bait shop, played not-very-bright-approaching-middle-age-lady who doesn't really know what she wants. Yet again got away with murder - or at least cheap worms!
However, bedding does seem a bit dry at the moment - is it OK to add tap water? I presume that as they get more active more moisture is added from waste food that is put in, or will I regularly have to top up?
Ta
Ceri
(not Ken's sister though)
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Ceri, you shouldn't need to top up -although ours get some rain probably- there's generally lots of moisture in the stuff you chuck in -especially tea & coffee grounds &c. I'd of thought tap would be ok, otherwise some saved rain water -you shouldn't need much.
Ken -I suspect old growbag compost would work and Ceri's newspaper seems to be as well, they'll eat it in the end. I can't remember what ours came with -it was the wife's 40th present from my family. We were watching 'Tremors' -when she mentioned it first :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100814/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100814/)
a must for any wormery fan!
Jeremy
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Well, the worms are still alive, and when I take the carpet lid off I see a bit of squirming away from the light going on. However, they don't seem to be getting through much waste - some has actually gone mouldy, and I'm only topping it up when it seems to need it. One problem though, when I take the lid of there does seem to be a few little flies flitting about - only tiny ones, but not pleasant. Any advice please?
Ceri
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Ceri -we ignore the flies, although they are a pain they die off in the winter. I have seen it suggested that you vacume them up.
Jeremy
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Finally got all I need to make a start. Getting the mesh was difficult until I found a place that would sell me the stuff off the roll. I'll let you all know how I get on. Maybe a pic or two as I go.
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Just a thought Ken - I used a rigid mesh panel, and left about an inch and a half of box bottom edges for it to rest on. Its now bowing quite alarmingly with the weight of the compost etc. I think when the worms are ready to have another box popped on to wriggle up into, I might either cut wormholes (space for an astrology joke here if I knew one) in the box itself in a pattern that leaves diagonal bits of the bottom of the box in place for rigidity (I've probably explained that in a really complicated way but it is early in the morning!) The other idea I had was to use an old wire cake cooling rack.
Ceri
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Cheers, Ceri (that's my sister's name) I had in mind to make the base cut-out into 2 or even 3 sections to support the mesh. I might even run some cross pieces of my old wire coat hangers across the width. Worms manage bigger obstacles than that when they're living at home! Keep you posted; got to fit this project in with building a new patio out back!
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Hi all, what type of worms do you put in the wormery that Ross had a link to, i have made it but i think the dendrbaenna worms will get out of any gaps in it.
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It seems 'Tiger worms' are the bees knees. As for getting out....why would they if they have all they need right there in the box?