Wormery / worm bin tips

[The Aspie Toker]

Hi mate,

My first one was made using two black ASDA boxes. They are a bit like this...



But they no longer sell them. It consisted of two boxes with a brick inside the bottom one (to give it a little depth) Any leachate would stay in here, as well as any worms that fell through from above.

This was kept inside the house (on top of the litter trays)

My next two were used using polystyrene cool box.



I didn't have any holes in these and due to the size, they were kept outside in the shade. Unfortunately, they are not waterproof and after a couple of rainfalls, they started to flood. If kept in the green house or somewhere under cover, then these are a pretty good way of doing them. You can get them free if you're lucky. Fish traders throw them away.

The posh one is by the side of the house. It gets a little sun, but mainly it's away from the heat and cold breezes.

It's a five tray one, but only using one atm as it's newish as well as coming to winter (they slow down on eating when it gets too cold.) I can add more when it warms up as well as using one of the trays for sieving the remains.

I also have one of these. £3 from ASDA atm (but not with a clear top)



It does well even though the sides are clear. Worms don't like light, so they are less likely to try and get out. I wish it had a clear top too, but it is good and can be kept inside. It's one layer and no holes (so make sure it gets an airing during the day)

[The Aspie Toker]

No problem, mate.

That isn't worm piss btw, it's leachate. It's best to put it on non-edible plants in the garden. A lot of people think it's worm tea. It's not.

Worms can double in population in 3 months. Bear that in mind when ordering your wormery. (it's why I went with the largest one)

[The Aspie Toker]

Ah, I thought it was good to be diluted 1 - 10 with water and full of PK?

I'm pondering the large one too, just incase.

Here's a fairly good article explaining it.
https://www.wormcompostinghq.com/worm-b ... -leachate/

It will be cheaper in the long run (if you stick with producing worm castings) as the postage cost of extra parts is expensive. Coir is cheap (Home Bargains) anyway.

[The Aspie Toker]

Feel like a prison guard who has to go and round up the escapees in the morning. 1st day was 20 or so, next day 6, this morning 6 also, so they must be happy now and settling in.
I blitzed up some dope leaves, eggshells, coffee grounds, suede, carrot and lettuce and popped that on top of them, they've moved it all around so are busy bees. (well worms really).
Looking forwards to the liquid gold out their butts!

Thanks again dude!

Nice one, mate.

You can put some sheets of newspaper on top, this helps keeping them in at night.

[The Aspie Toker]

I got a coir mat for the top... It's the bottom they sneak out of. They seem to wriggle around the newspaper in the base and out the holes.

That should do okay. I just use sheets of dry newspaper. The moisture underneath soon dampens it.

Yes, they are cheeky fuckers and will try to escape via the bottom - or top if need be. I've just been out to check on mine. 3 in the tank below. They will soon settle in though... unless things go wrong and they'll be trying to escape in all directions.

[Josh]

Hey aspie! Got a white mite infestation, not as bad as the red mites I guess but I don't want those fuckers in the bin. I've removed the food they were feeding on and put a sheet of damp newspaper on top for them to populate.

In your experience, does this work? I fucked up by leaving too much food on top of the soil, learned my lesson though

On the flip side, worms are chugging along and looking happy.
Looking forward to your advice

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[The Aspie Toker]

Hey aspie! Got a white mite infestation, not as bad as the red mites I guess but I don't want those fuckers in the bin. I've removed the food they were feeding on and put a sheet of damp newspaper on top for them to populate.

In your experience, does this work? I fucked up by leaving too much food on top of the soil, learned my lesson though

On the flip side, worms are chugging along and looking happy.
Looking forward to your advice

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

I've never had them, mate. I've had pot worms in there (small white worms)

Mites are tiny, round arachnids that may appear in worm beds from time to time. These creatures are about 1/25 inch long, with eight legs, just like their distant cousins the spiders. Although red mites spell trouble for your worms since many feed on the worms themselves, white mites are decomposers that consume dead or dying worms. They help to keep your worm bin tidy, but sometimes their populations explode and the feeding pressure causes them to feed on other decaying foods in the bin, depriving your worms of food.

Laying a few pieces of watermelon rind or potato peels on the surface of your worm farm will draw white mites; you can then discard these scraps to eliminate these excess decomposers. In the future, carefully monitor your watering, feeding schedule and discontinue adding vegetables with high water content to the bin to prevent mite outbreaks.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/problems- ... 74148.html

[The Aspie Toker]

Feel like a prison guard who has to go and round up the escapees in the morning. 1st day was 20 or so, next day 6, this morning 6 also, so they must be happy now and settling in.
I blitzed up some dope leaves, eggshells, coffee grounds, suede, carrot and lettuce and popped that on top of them, they've moved it all around so are busy bees. (well worms really).
Looking forwards to the liquid gold out their butts!

Thanks again dude!

Nice one, mate.

You can put some sheets of newspaper on top, this helps keeping them in at night.

I got a coir mat for the top... It's the bottom they sneak out of. They seem to wriggle around the newspaper in the base and out the holes.

How are you getting along with yours, mate?
Have they settled in okay now?
I hope you're not overfeeding them.

I bought one of these a week or so ago...

On sale in Tesco (normally £9) going for £6

I'm filling it up with dead leaves and any worms that are in the sump of the posh bin. I'm also keeping it indoors so that it's warm for them and won't slow down eating.

[The Aspie Toker]

Hi Aspie,

They seem to be happy enough. I find 2 or 3 in the sump every day but just pop them back up top. They can climb back up themselves but they're a bit thick my lot are (probably Brummie worms) so I like to give them a hand. I got mine in the conservatory so it's not too cold for them.

I've fed them a few weeks ago, still grub in there so I'm waiting for that to go down a bit more.

I got a few clear ikea tubs in the greenhouse with my old coco rootballs in, I popped a few worms in there too and the wife's going to bring home some of her horses poop for them. They like a bit of muck from what I've been reading. Gotta let it sit for a few weeks 1st though. Could make a nice airy mix for next years tomatoes.

Hi mate,

Mine is outside, so eating through food is going to slow down, hence me putting any strays into the leaf bin and having it indoors. The clear sides and top is good as it puts them off from climbing out.

You can put small amounts of fresh poo in there, as long as it is a little because as the microbes multiply, the bin gets warmer.
A small handful won't hurt - just make sure the horse hasn't recently been wormed.

[Josh]

Lmaooo, my gf threw veggie scraps in the bin and 3 days later we have a field of squash and a rooted beet guess it's the perfect germination environment

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