The Wormarium

Whilst Fester busied himself making a raised bed (see previous blog), I sorted out the wormarium.

27 March  ·

Home made from a B&Q bin in 1990, it stands on old oven runners, on top of some bricks with a cat litter tray underneath to catch the drips. There are ventilation holes in the lid.

On the left is the bin I pour the worm water into. 

On the right just one of the containers I put it into when the bin gets full.

  

First you use a garden fork to remove the top six inches of stuff; which takes you down into the really rotten stuff.   

There are plenty of worms in the bits I've taken away to start this year’s wormarium.

Then you get a strong young person to bring the bin to where you are going to put the contents. 

In this case our newly created raised bed.

 

As you can see there are drainage holes in the bottom of the bin so the contents don't get too wet. 

This stops the worms from drowning. 

It also helps with ventilation.

I used to put layers of newspaper in the bottom, but papier-mache egg boxes do the job just as well. They help filter the worm water, stop compost falling through and will have broken down entirely by next spring

Next comes a layer of old, used compost. 

You could use soil. 

Just something to give the worms something different to chew on.

Then put back the stuff you took out. 

There are enough worms in here for the next year or so. 

If they are happy and well fed they will multiply.

It looks pretty full but remember the egg boxes will fall and hoiking it in and out has put a lot of air into the system (no bad thing).

 

We put in all the vegetable and fruit peelings (banana peel is especially good), tea bags and coffee grounds, old cut flowers, egg shells, and dead mice and birds the cats have gifted us.

Mrs Leftfooter Isn't it "just" a compost bin? I don't get what the difference is?

Bentonbag A compost bin is open at the bottom in the hopes worms will come up into the compost (except for those weird twirly ones) a wormery has worms in (!) and drainage holes so you can collect the highly nutritinous (to plants) liquid that seeps out of the bottom.  We have a compost heap behind the garage which we use when the wormarium is too full - mostly in the winter.

Ms O’Groats Where did you get your worms from? I need to restart my wormery as there will come a time when I can't get to the compost bin in my allotment. Or should I just start it again and the worms will come to me?

Ms Marx Yes, how do you start it off, Brenda?

Bentonbag My first lot of worms I got from a fishing shop, anglers use them as live bait. If you're allowed to get to the compost bin Ms O'Groats you could have a dig around in it and get some from there although those will probably be earth worms.  They do the job but brandlings, the red and pinky ringed tiger worms, do it better.  They're the ones that live in manure heaps so prefer the richer diet.  Whenever I come across a worm I put it in the wormarium to add to the genetic mix.   

The ones that have dropped out of the bottom trying to escape must get really cheesed off with me.

Mrs Elplates I love your whole detailed explanation.  Thank you.  We have an unused wormery which I now intend to try and set up and use.  We’ve been collecting food waste but just putting it in with grass clippings etc to make compost.  I hope we can find some of those clever worms you mention.

Miss Fiddle Oh -yours has lasted longer than mine.  I made it in 1997 from a kitchen bin, put in a water butt tap near the bottom and a flower pot tray with holes drilled in wedged in above the tap.  The whole lot sat on a flower pot tray on wheels so it was high enough to use the tap and easy to move around.  Sadly the main bin disintegrated a couple of years ago, but I've kept the other parts to eventually make another one.  The worm tea was amazing for plant food!