Our local council are now at long last trying to get their act together to up the amount of household waste that they recycle. However their household collection schemes are rather patchy. In the more affluent parts of the borough the residents have been issued with brown bins to recycle their ... Read review
Advantages: Fertiliser, Compost and less waste Disadvantages: None
Our local council are now at long last trying to get their act together to up the amount of household waste that they recycle. However their household collection schemes are rather patchy. In the more affluent parts of the borough the residents have been issued with brown bins to recycle their garden waste. I do not live in one of these areas so I don't have one. This is somehing I regular complain about.
I already compost as much ... ...compost bins are full to overflowing.
When I saw an article in the local newspaper saying that the council were giving away wormerys and compost bins you can imagine I was first in the queue. Well something for nothing and more opportunity to recycle.
*****************THE NEW PETS ARRIVE*********************
Packed neatly in recyclable material was absolutely everything I needed to get going apart from ... more
Our local council are now at long last trying to get their act together to up the amount of household waste that they recycle. However their household collection schemes are rather patchy. In the more affluent parts of the borough the residents have been issued with brown bins to recycle their garden waste. I do not live in one of these areas so I don't have one. This is somehing I regular complain about.
I already compost as much as I possibly can but I often find that my compost bins are full to overflowing.
When I saw an article in the local newspaper saying that the council were giving away wormerys and compost bins you can imagine I was first in the queue. Well something for nothing and more opportunity to recycle.
*****************THE NEW PETS ARRIVE*********************
Packed neatly in recyclable material was absolutely everything I needed to get going apart from my kitchen scraps.
Included in the parcel was the wormery itself.. Three trays, a base tray with a tap,a lid and four legs. All made out of sturdy black plastic.
There was also a moisture mat, to keep the moisture in the container and also to provide food for the worms, Worm bedding to give the worms the best possible start, worm treat to keep the conditions right inside the wormery and of course the worms.
All the packaging included could be put in the wormery for the worms to eat.
The whole assembly process was very simple. Once the base and legs were together the first tray was added and filled with dampened worm bedding and the worms were added.
I put the second tray on top and added some kitchen scraps and covered them up with the moisture mat and put the lid on and that was that.
Put the third tray away for a bit.
Put the worms in a sheltered spot outside.
**************KEEPING GOING********************
Instead of throwing away all your vegetable peelings,apple cores, teabags and toilet roll centres etc they go into the wormery under the moisture mat.
The only food I don't put in are onion peelings as the worms dont like them.
I also no longer worry about my personal details ending up in undesirable hands as the worms eat the everything. I tear up my bank statements etc and feed them to my worms.
At first it will seem that nothing is happening but it is. The worms are eating away and as they are eating they are turning waste into garden fertiliser and soil conditioner.
In a remarkably short time liquid starts to flow from the tap. This is what you want! I collect this liquid in old milk containers and use it diluted as a plant feed 10 parts water to 1 part liquid..
By this time the top tray is almost full. This is the time to get out the third tray and start filling it with your waste.
Every 2 weeks meanwhile add worm treat and lime conditioner.
Waiting to get the compost and soil conditioner takes a bit more patience. When the bottom tray has been eaten and most of the worms have moved upwards to the upper two trays it is time to harvest the soil conditioner.
************THIS IS THE MESSY BIT**************
The first job is to separate the worms and their eggs from the bit you want. This is essential as you need the worms to carry on composting and the next generation to keep your wormery going. The more worms there are the more they eat the more goodies they produce.
I haven't found an easy way to do this.
I usually take the lid off as worms do not like light they head down away from it so that deals with most of the worms but the eggs are a different matter. The eggs are easily visible as you sift through the compost they look like large, translucent yellow seeds. I pick them out and put them in the lower tray. I always allow a fair bit of time for this job.
*******************WHERE TO KEEP IT*******************
Worms don't like being too hot or cold. It kills them. They also don't like getting too wet. The wormery need st be kept in a sheltered spot or in a shed. You can buy special worm houses for them but I didn't bother I keep mine close to a shady wall in the summer and last winter I put it in my greenhouse..
*************WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS*******************
LESS WASTE GOING TO LANDFILL SITES You are doing your bit for the environment
LIQUID FEED FOR YOUR PLANTS Larger healthier plants with no chemicals
SOIL CONDITIONER Have you seen how much would cost to buy
UNUSUAL PETS Well I do love my worms although I've not given thm all names yet.
*****************COSTS************************* My setting up costs were nothing so it may be worth approaching your local council to see if they have a similar scheme. If you have to buy one the initial costs are not small. The complete kit costs between 80 and 100 pounds depending on where you buy it.
I have foundWiggly Wigglers to be quite reasonable.They have their own web site that you can look at.
The consumables aren't cheap either but packs last a long time.
4kg worm treat 10 pounds 4kg Anti Acid lime 6 pounds Or a value pack with4kg Worm Treat and 8kg anti acid lime 19 pounds 6 moisture mats 12 pounds
If you should have an accident and break or lose part of it then spare parts are also available, legs,trays, replacement tapsand lids.
*****************MY VERDICT************************* Even if I had to buy it I'd want one.
Advantages: Good, clean, additive free compost Disadvantages: Expensive to buy in the first place
As most of you probably know I can’t bear to throw anything away that might prove useful to someone else and it is to this end that I recycle as much as I can – glass, cardboard, papers etc.
At our new home here in Llandudno we have a courtyard garden so there isn’t a suitable place for a compost heap, so I bought a cheap dustbin and threw the kitchen waste in that to make some compost. Yes, I know now!!!!
The result was a vile smelling, revolting, ... ...of the planters that I used for my runner beans and it did them a power of good but, even though I wore thick gardening gloves, my hands smelled horrible for days afterwards, no matter how often I washed them!
I needed a better way of composting – enter the wormery!
I had heard of wormeries, but had never actually used one or even seen one in operation, but I first saw one in the RSPB gift book. It was called a Can O Worms and looked interesting ...
SusanLesley 26.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Original Organics Can o worms
Advantages: easy to do, free compost eventually, fun! Disadvantages: expensive
There are many different types of worm composting systems available, and with a quick search on the internet you can find advice on how to make your own. I spoke to various people who have some kind of worm composter before making my purchase and found that one of the major pains is separating the worms from the compost when it is ready to be emptied. The Can-o-worms avoids this (for the most part) by virtue of being a stackable system.
The idea ... ...some supplied bedding. To this you add the worms and your vegetable waste. When the bottom tray is 'full' (up to about half way, but when you use it, it is obvious) you add the next tray. Without the bedding it will take longer to fill this tray up, but when it too is full, you add the third tray. Finally when the third tray is full, the bottom tray is ready to be emptied and placed as the new top tray. As a rough guide, for two peoples vegetable ...
schwana 30.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Original Organics Can o worms
Advantages: Quick and easy to set up, fun to maintain, Disadvantages: About a 6 month wait before the first compost is ready
We had thought about buying a worm composter for a while, but decided to try traditional composting first instead, however we had mixed results with the bargain garden composter from the local council and while that continues to "cook" at the end of the garden we searched the web and found a variety of possiblities from Wiggly Wigglers. We opted for the Can-o-worms with starter pack. This included the bin itself (legs, base, tap to drain nutrient-rich ... ...a "bedding pack", moisture retention mat, worm treat and anti-acid pellets. The pack arrived withing 48 hours and was easily assembled. The cardboard outer is used as a base in the first tray, and - after soaking for 10 minutes - the bedding block (coir) is crumbled in and the worms added. My son enjoyed helping with the setting up, and I found myself wondering if the worms were ok out there when it rained that night (they were fine, they all come ...
redhen1 24.04.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Original Organics Can o worms
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