Worms for composting. It seems that a few people have problems in keeping worms alive in their wormeries, if you follow these instructions then all should be well. Mine has been up and running for about three years now with no major problems.
Cost. When bought the bin cost £40.00 from Heighly Gate but prices vary according to size and of course, manufacturer.
Setting up.
My wormery is a proprietary brand and purpose made for the job but you can make your own as long as the same basic principles are followed.
The container for the worms is a wheeled bin with a pre-formed step inside, or conversely a sump hole, there is a tap at the bottom to extract the liquid which should be done weekly as worms are notoriously bad swimmers.
On first getting my wormery all I got was the bin, an open weave plastic sack, drainage material, worm bedding, accelerator, moisture mat and a voucher to send off to get the worms.
First thing I noticed was that the drainage material did not entirely fill the sump,
this was rectified by adding two half bricks into the sump then putting the drainage material in. I have also found that covering the inside opening of the tap with ¼ inch mesh stops any small bits of debris from entering the tap.
Next I filled the bin with water, then let it run out again, (that was fun! Wasn’t it?) the reason for this is to keep up the humidity levels inside the bin. (because all the water doesn’t drain away.)
Now the sacking is placed inside the bin and the worm bedding added, place the dampened moisture mat on the top, close the lid and wait for the postie.
While we wait for the post lets check out where to house the bin.
Your worms will be active in a temperature range of 10 - 25 degrees Celsius, these are the temperatures they will work in, they can survive higher and lower temperatures.
No problems in the Summer, outside in a spot OUT of continuos direct sunlight will suffice, for the Winter, the bin can be lagged with bubble plastic and sacking.
I have a greenhouse and the worms live in there in the Winter, a shed or a garage would serve as well, in southern England they will be OK outside if lagged.
The worms have arrived, the package opened and the contents laid onto the worm bedding in the bin, now for some food. The suppliers say they will eat anything (the worms, not the suppliers) that has lived and died but recommend that meat is not used as this has to putrefy before they can eat it. (yuk!)
A small amount of vegetable peelings or the discarded leaves of lettuce, cabbage or even nettles will do for starters but any cooked food can also be used. (with the exception of meat)
It is very important not to cover the entire surface with waste and to place the waste no deeper than two inches. (5 cm)
I add mine over a quarter of the surface so that four fillings will have made a complete circuit of the bin. Make sure that the worms are eating what you are putting in, they will be very slow at first as their numbers are low, but they will multiply rapidly.
A worm will eat its own weight in food every day, but worms don’t weigh much!
The moisture mat needs to be kept damp, this will mean keeping an eye on it at first but after the wormery is established it will only need doing in the hottest of weather. The moisture mat is usually made of rag felt, this is the same as carpet underfelt and of course it is organic and your worms will eventually eat it, this can be replaced with another square of rag felt, woollen carpet or an old woollen pullover, wool is used as it can hold lots of water and let the air through.
You will notice quite a few white worms on the top of the waste and the underside of the mat, this is normal, however if they increase to large numbers then something is wrong, as the conditions that best suit these worms are not the same as the conditions needed for your tiger worms.
Accelerator This is a food designed to boost your worms performance, although you may need to use it whilst the bin is becoming established, there is no real need to add this to a mature bin.
Holidays The worms don’t need holidays but if you do they will be OK for a fortnight as long as the bin has been working for a while and you give them a feed before you go.
Extras A ph meter is a must, worms must have a ph of 7, too much higher or lower and its curtains. The acidity level can be controlled by using dry ground egg shells whilst alkalinity can be overcome by adding a little white vinegar diluted with water.
Don’t put the lid on for about 2 hours after introducing the worms. (They don’t like light and this will force them down into the bedding.)
Don’t forget to set your bin up on blocks so you can get a container under the tap.
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