[ProspectWalkNewbie]

Hi all,

I was looking for some wormery advice. After removing lots of bindweed we found a selection of compost bins, one being an old wormery with black watery sludge inside. The site had been unoccupied for a few years and so therefore this was not fed but on putting my shovel into it saw a fair few small worms. Not wanting to hurt them, I left them be and have been adding the odd bit of veg & paper. I also have drained a lot of liquid (1 watering can full so far but lots more to go).

Not sure how these worms (lots are very small) are alive but assume that it is fine to continue? Any advice on whether it's good to persevere or start again? Also, is the worm tea liquid that I have drained out OK to use after all of these years?

Thanks in advance!

Helena

[New shoot]

I would be tempted to empty the lot out and start again.  Drain all the liquid off for a start.  It won't do any harm as a feed, so even though it  is not really the time of year for feeding, I would water this into any ground you clear.  The wormery will make loads more for you next spring.

Put any solid stuff, including your worms onto a plastic sheet while you clean the really watery sludge and any other gunk out.  If you empty the sludge into a compost bin, any worms in there will happily move into this so you won't hurt them. 

Refill the wormery and add back any solid stuff and as many worms as you can.  They won't be very active over the winter, but give them a good top layer of veg peelings etc to be going at and to protect them from the cold.   

Worst case scenario, you end up buying some new worms to repopulate the wormery next spring, but with luck, it will regenerate itself