"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...
I have ordered a worm bin.
I would welcome any advice on what NOT to put in (eg citrus? onion?)
and how to keep it protected through the winter, as it will be
outdoors, unless I put it in a dark garage.
Any other hints and tips?
TIA

Pam in Bristol

I got my wormery last October. Over the Winter I had awful problems with it.
I don't have much paper waste and I think because of that I had problems
with it being too wet. It was in the garage too and I think though this
protects from frost it doesn't get any heating up during the day in the
Winter which would have allowed at least some liquid to evaporate off - I
have been told my someone thats why they put it in the greenhouse over
Winter but their greenhouse is close to the house.

One of the other problems I have found is that at some point I have
accidently introduced flies into it. They are just fruit flies, I think from
something getting left on the counter top too long. Due to this I have way
more flies in my wormery than in my compost bin (non to date), but there are
loads of them. I also found the tap block up a few times and when I spotted
it 2l of water came out which is probably why it was running too wet.

Due to my problems I have only had one tray of compost out of it so far, but
there are two waiting to be taken out atm when they finish the paper bit I
added to try and dry it out.

An established worm bin in a reasonably sheltered spot doesn't need
any extra protection cos the worms will retreat into the compost if
the weather gets too cold. If you are starting off a bin at this time
of year then the worms won't have much home produced bedding so they
will need a bit more tender loving care over the first winter

Once your bin is established you can feed the worms anything though as
another poster said, not too much of any one thing. Flies in the worm
bin are normal and nothing to get upset about

In late spring once the weather has improved I rake off the top inch
or so of uncomposted stuff, upend the bin to get out the lovely
compost and sieve it to get any worms and rejected matter out

Onion skins get rejected by my fussy worms, so the skins then go on
the compost heap for a second attempt at recycling. The worms go back
in their bin

I once tried using a worm bin with a tap but the tap kept getting
blocked up and was a pain in the XXXX so now I use a plastic bin with
holes in the bottom and sides which are big enough to allow worms and
water out but are too small to allow rats and hopefully mice to get in

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 14:31:30 GMT, (Anna Kettle)
wrote:

An established worm bin in a reasonably sheltered spot doesn't need
any extra protection cos the worms will retreat into the compost if
the weather gets too cold. If you are starting off a bin at this time
of year then the worms won't have much home produced bedding so they
will need a bit more tender loving care over the first winter

Once your bin is established you can feed the worms anything though as
another poster said, not too much of any one thing. Flies in the worm
bin are normal and nothing to get upset about

In late spring once the weather has improved I rake off the top inch
or so of uncomposted stuff, upend the bin to get out the lovely
compost and sieve it to get any worms and rejected matter out

Onion skins get rejected by my fussy worms, so the skins then go on
the compost heap for a second attempt at recycling. The worms go back
in their bin

I once tried using a worm bin with a tap but the tap kept getting
blocked up and was a pain in the XXXX so now I use a plastic bin with
holes in the bottom and sides which are big enough to allow worms and
water out but are too small to allow rats and hopefully mice to get in

Had to put wire mesh round my bin, after a rat gnawed a hole through
it. And we're not talking an average plastic dustbin - this is a 40
gallon plastic 'spice' barrel...about 5mm wall thickness.

I have two bins - one is active, the other is storage/maturing. Each
spring I empty the contents of the active bin into the storage bin,
and give it a month or so to settle and dry out.

I've been a bit neglectful of my worm bins, ever since the man from
the stables just down the way turned up with a six ton trailer full of
horse manure...but I toss all the kitchen scraps in once a week and
the worms seem to be happy enough.

I'd agree re. the tap problem. Better off removing it and sticking a
bung in the hole.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

Had to put wire mesh round my bin, after a rat gnawed a hole through
it. And we're not talking an average plastic dustbin - this is a 40
gallon plastic 'spice' barrel...about 5mm wall thickness.

That must have been one hungry rat. I'd have thought there would
generally be much easier pickings around. Was it the middle of winter?

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 18:56:36 GMT, (Anna Kettle)
wrote:

Had to put wire mesh round my bin, after a rat gnawed a hole through
it. And we're not talking an average plastic dustbin - this is a 40
gallon plastic 'spice' barrel...about 5mm wall thickness.

That must have been one hungry rat. I'd have thought there would
generally be much easier pickings around. Was it the middle of winter?

Springtime - but even in the harshest winter there'd be easier
pickings around, what with the various nuts and seeds that get put out
for the birds.
I rather think that rats quite like the odd bit of plastic - I had a
rat in the outhouse one year and noticed that it had nibbled the
handles on the kid's bikes in preference to other accessible foodstuff
such as seeds and bulbs.

Either that or it was desperately attracted to the contents of the bin
- the maturing bin next to it was untouched.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk