Wormery

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loubylou29

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Wormery
« on: March 21, 2007, 08:11 »
I am thinking about getting a wormery.
Does anyone have one, any advice to using it? I had a friend who had one, but she said it ended up full of flies  :( .
I know there is a bit of an art to how much to put in, but I really fancy the idea of it and of getting th liquid compost from it.


Thankyou
x

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2007, 08:24 »
Firstly, get a plentiful source of horse muck without sawdust or wood chips.

Secondly, get a cheap source for agricultural lime.  Smiling nicely at a farmer will probably work - they have it delivered in 25 tonne loads.  The wee bags in garden centres are LUDICROUSLY priced.

Thirdly, save all your corrugated brown cardboard boxes (the kind the recycling centre don't really like).

Fourthly, I'll post some pictures of my patented(?) wormery system.

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loubylou29

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Wormery
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2007, 12:59 »
ok David.. I wait with baited breath!

(I did a little cheat and asked on freecycle for one too!!)
We visit a farm weekly with the kids so I could smile my way to some lime I expect, but I know the horses have sawdust in their stables so  I may have to re source that!

Will start saving brown card! (no prob I assume monitor boxes would be fine!)

and I look forward to instruction!  :)

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WG.

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Housing for Composting Worms
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2007, 13:57 »
Housing for Composting Worms should be designed to keep everything else OUT and not to keep worms IN.  Worms are Nature's fast food and are devoured eagerly by moles, birds, mice, shrews and fishermen.  Keeping worms IN is simply a case of providing the correct conditions - food and a place to have sex.  Sound familiar?

There are three possible products from a wormery : worms, compost and liquid manure.  I concentrate on the first two only.

There are a million expensive wormeries on the market and I would recommend none of them unless you plan to keep them indoors.  The system I use utilises free or nearly free items in an outdoor location.  I use a number of open polythene bags within a roofed rough timber frame.  The timber frame keeps the sun(?!?) off the bags.  The roof lets through the rain but keeps out the birds, the polybags keep out the moles and mice (although I will now use the safe mousebait too).  Shrews I like so I don't mind feeding them.

See - I told you we had snow ...










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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2007, 20:31 »
Hi Loubylou, just how abated is your breath??  I dropped what I was doing to rush these pictures onto the site for you!   Have you really been holding your breath for 7 1/2 hours!!!   :D

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muntjac

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Wormery
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2007, 21:42 »
i hope you gave that worm a warm drink after ya dreaged the poor * out to pose for pics  :shock: ............ wicked man get him anty :lol:
still alive /............

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2007, 21:44 »
Quote from: "muntjac"
i hope you gave that worm a warm drink after ya dreaged the poor * out to pose for pics  :shock: ............ wicked man get him anty :lol:

I did.  I even combed his hair.   OMG, I'm in enough trouble with Aunty already tonight ...

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Aunt Sally

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Wormery
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2007, 22:12 »
WG  :!:  I'll be sending you off to bed if I have to speak to you again :evil:

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #8 on: March 21, 2007, 23:01 »
Quote from: "Aunt Sally"
WG  :!:  I'll be sending you off to bed if I have to speak to you again :evil:

Okay, okay.  I'm going to bed anyhow - gotta get up at 4:30am to get to Inverness.   :roll:

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loubylou29

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Wormery
« Reply #9 on: March 22, 2007, 08:00 »
:oops:   not embarased just holding breath! Stand back before I exhale, I've been eating plenty of that garlic!!!  :shock:

Phew!! that was exciting!  
That all seems like alot of work (not that I'm lazy you understand) and as I want this in my moderate sized garden I might sell out and get a 'proper' wormery, (I have a birthday coming up) why do you not rate them then?

Thanks for the lovely picture though, and I am jelous of your snow!

xx

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2007, 11:42 »
Quote from: "loubylou29"
That all seems like alot of work (not that I'm lazy you understand) and as I want this in my moderate sized garden I might sell out and get a 'proper' wormery, (I have a birthday coming up) why do you not rate them then?

I understand that space is an issue for many.  Reason I don't rate them is that they are too small.   I'd estimate horse muck and cardboard constitute 95% of what I feed & this take space.  Most wormeries fail when acid conditions prevail through feeding of too much kitchen green waste.

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loubylou29

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Wormery
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2007, 13:29 »
OK, so what is the advice to help a normal 'small' one then? to chuck in plenty of paper/ card and the occasional poo?! (horse!)

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2007, 13:42 »
Quote from: "loubylou29"
OK, so what is the advice to help a normal 'small' one then? to chuck in plenty of paper/ card and the occasional poo?! (horse!)


60% horse dung (weathered for at least 3 months old unless you know horse has not been recently wormed)

30% corrugated cardboard

10% green kitchen waste (use the rest on a regular compost heap)

Plenty of agricultural lime (which means figures don't add up to 100% of course)

Add little and often, rather than lots at one time.  Composting worms only feed in the top 4" or so.

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bramble

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Wormery
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2007, 21:05 »
thank you soooooo much for that and the pictures
I too want to start a wormery I have the horse muck, I have the carboard and we always have a bucket full of veggie scraps every week

but where do you get the worms from??

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WG.

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Wormery
« Reply #14 on: March 25, 2007, 21:10 »
Quote from: "bramble"
where do you get the worms from??

Any number of places on the Internet - expect to pay around £24 per kg + delivery.

OR, you can collect them gradually - they will breed quickly in the right conditions

OR, I might be able to offer a part-exchange (barter) with you.  PM me if interested



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