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#1
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Worm bin
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 |
#2
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I put all kitchen stuff in mine, including onion and lemon, torn up egg
boxes are apprently v tasty too so I add those. And a helping of dead leaves and grass cuttings in season. I don't add egg shells, (I don't even compost them as they never seem to break up). Mine is in a little bower all of its own, fairly sheltered by a wall and hedge, but I have wrapped a bit of bubble wrap round it when I've been away over Xmas just in case. Make sure you open the tap regularly as a surprising amount of liquid strains out. I leave the tap permanently open over a plastic bottle. "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 |
#3
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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 My wormery is in its first year so I do not have any tried and tested ideas for overwintering. My wormery is within 5 feet of the house in a sheltered utility area, and I am hoping that it will be OK there. 2 winters ago I managed to overwinter 4 Pelargoniums in this area, so that gives some idea of how sheltered it is. As for my worms, I plan to use an offcut of carpet to cover the top, and hope that it does the job. What not to put in there, the information you have is OK, Onions and Citrus are not desired. I would also be wary about any animal products, fats etc. Although on the odd occaision when onion did find its way in there the worms just left it. There it sat, this pristine piece of onion skin, obviously surrounded by this unofficial worm "No-Go" zone. What to put in there - Peelings, cores, skins, stalks, teabags, weeds, and corrugated cardboard! Sometimes I think they like my cardboard better than the green stuff. My wormery is now full, and I am ready to start using the first tray of worm output. But this seems to be the wrong time of year to start potting things up. So I am wondering if it is OK to store wormery output, for use in the spring. |
#4
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Pam Moore wrote in
: 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? Major risk is waterlogging in the winter - either keep the tap open, or move it to somewhere dry like the garage. Mine is outside all year and survives fine with some shelter from a wall, but if you are somewhere really cold moving it may be a good idea. Don't put too much of anything in, particularly mouldy bread! I killed off all of mine with an overdose of that and had to start again. I have put citrus fruit peel and onions in mine with no problems. I think the real trick is not to overload it with any one thing. I find spreading a sheet of newspaper over the contents from time to time then adding new stuff on top of that keeps flies down and helps stop the whole thing going runny. The worms will eat the damp newspaper in time, and in the meanwhile it gives them a bit of shelter, so they come right to the top to eat the new stuff. Shredded paper packing material and rabbit hutch cleanings are also good. If your worm-compost goes grey, you are probably adding too much paper, but the worms seem to survive OK! Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
#5
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"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. |
#6
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The message
from Janet Baraclough.. contains these words: The message from Pam Moore contains these words: 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. It's enclosed; the worms won't see light anyway (or want it) so a garage is ideal to keep it frost free. I use mine for disposing of weeds I don't want to put in the compost heap, and confidential papers. Ve shall your vorms interrogate! -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
#7
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So, one has (for the sake of argument) a plastic bin with a tap or drain
at the bottom. You heave in weeds, certain kitchen waste, cardboard, etc and inoculate it with some of those little stripey worms you find in compost heaps. From where do you extract the product? Or are wormbins specially constructed? -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
#8
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In article , Jaques d'Alltrades writes: | The message | from Janet Baraclough.. contains | these words: | | It's enclosed; the worms won't see light anyway (or want it) so a | garage is ideal to keep it frost free. I use mine for disposing of weeds | I don't want to put in the compost heap, and confidential papers. | | Ve shall your vorms interrogate! As all computer users know, worms are currently one of the major security headaches. For ONLY an arm, a leg, your firstborn and your immortal soul, you can benefit from the security of a MacroSog WormDungeon(TM). Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#9
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[snip]
As others have said, a garage is great. You might want to try insulating the outside with bubble wrap or similar. The worms will get quite lethargic in cold weather aparently and it's then possible to overfeed them. This is all "web gossip" as my wormery is also new and this is the first winter. Mine is going into the shed (no garage!) and I have bubble wrap to insulate it. DON'T FORGET to leave the airholes clear so the wormery can breathe. I'm going to try a polystyrene slab on top, with holes cut to match the airholds in the wormery lid. Liked the tip about newspaper from another poster though. My worms currently have the commercial "duvet" but as they've become established, they've started eating this very quickly, probably helped by it getting wet since I have somewhere out of the sun (careful they don't roast in the summer!) but not sheltered from the rain. Paul DS. |
#10
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I use a specially made one
http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/wormery.htm Jon "Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote in message k... So, one has (for the sake of argument) a plastic bin with a tap or drain at the bottom. You heave in weeds, certain kitchen waste, cardboard, etc and inoculate it with some of those little stripey worms you find in compost heaps. From where do you extract the product? Or are wormbins specially constructed? -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
#11
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"Oxymel of Squill" wrote in message ... I put all kitchen stuff in mine, including onion and lemon, torn up egg boxes are apprently v tasty too so I add those. And a helping of dead leaves and grass cuttings in season. I don't add egg shells, (I don't even compost them as they never seem to break up). Mine is in a little bower all of its own, fairly sheltered by a wall and hedge, but I have wrapped a bit of bubble wrap round it when I've been away over Xmas just in case. Make sure you open the tap regularly as a surprising amount of liquid strains out. I leave the tap permanently open over a plastic bottle. Is it wormy wee wee? |
#12
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Jaques d'Alltrades wrote in
k: So, one has (for the sake of argument) a plastic bin with a tap or drain at the bottom. You heave in weeds, certain kitchen waste, cardboard, etc and inoculate it with some of those little stripey worms you find in compost heaps. From where do you extract the product? Mine is made in a series of stacked trays. You take out the bottom tray and stick the contents on the garden, then put the empty tray back on the top. You lose a few worms with the compost, but my colony soon makes more and most of them are up in the top trays anyway, munching. The worm bin, being relatively small and civilised, is convenient to keep just outside the back door so I don't have to trog up to the big mean monster compost heaps in my slippers each time I have a few potato peelings to dispose of. It's also a handy source of worms for the rare but alarming occasions when the cats decide to release an unharmed but shocked blackbird in the livingroom (if you just pick the bird up and put it outside,it is too exhausted to fly away. If you leave them somewhere quiet till the next morning with a big plateful of worms & half an apple, they are raring to go again, I have discovered). Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
#13
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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 |
#14
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The message
from Janet Baraclough.. contains these words: Or are wormbins specially constructed? Mine's specially constructed from a 50 gallon plastic barrel. The sawn off top is reversed to make a lid, and a teastrainer bolted over the old pouring hole is the worms' airhole. Inside at the bottom I made a filter from an old bread tray and a woven plastic sack, which prevents worms and compost blocking the run-off tap at the bottom. That drains off the copious fertile juice. Total cost, 50 p for tea-strainer. It's well over a year old but only a quarter full, so I haven't any experience of emptying yet; but the plan is just to shovel it out of the top. TBH, the compost heap is a faster less complicated way of providing compost, but the bin is useful for making odourless liquid fertiliser and getting rid of couch grass etc. I also transfer a shovel of worms from the wormbin to full, cooled compost heaps, to speed things up. Ah. Oh. Um, I'm going to have a big ponder about using a stack of old tyres... Or something. -- Rusty Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar. http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/ |
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