Hi all and happy new year. I wrote this for a mate but thought I'd
post it in case anyone else can use it.

teapot



Wormerys are enclosed compost bins that produce good compost and a
liquid that can be used as a fertiliser and insecticide.

How to make a wormery

You will need

A container preferably with a lid about the size of a plastic dustbin.
If this is too big it will be difficult to get the compost out, if it
is too small you will fill it very quickly.

A plastic tap. (from plumbers merchants or wine making supply shops)

An old pair of tights.

A tray that fits about 3 inches from the bottom of the bin that you
can punch holes in.

A couple of bricks to put they tray on and stop the worms from
drowning.

Worms. The stripy type called Tiger Worms or Brandlings. You can get
them in some fishing shops where they are used as bait but the easiest
way is to shove a few bits of cabbage on the ground (outside) cover
with a black bin bag or a flat stone and wait a couple of weeks for
them to magically appear. The pink earthworms just won't survive in a
wormery.

A shovel full of soil to start them off.

Some scraps of food (everything apart from meat, fish bones and cooked
food are fine).

Some newspaper or blanket to cover the top of the waste food. Worms
like it dark.


1) Fit the tap to the bin about 2 inches up from the base at the side.
Some plastic will be thin enough to cut witha stanley knife but you
will have to drill the thicker stuff.

2) Scrunch up the tights and wrap them around the end of the tap
inside the bin. This is to stop bits clogging up the tap.

3) Punch drainage holes - about 1 every inch should do, into the tray
and put it on the bricks inside the bin.

4) Put in a layer of soil, garden soil is fine they are not fussy.

5) Put in the worms and the scraps of food.

6) Put the rest of the soil on top and cover with newspaper or
blanket.

7) That's it, just put the lid on, there is no need to add water
unless it is really hot.


The wormery needs to go somewhere not too far away from the kitchen
but far enough so that flies don't bother you if you get them. It is
a good idea to raise the wormery so that you can get a watering can
underneath the tap, it will be very heavy when full.

Feed the worms as often as you like, they like ripped up newspaper and
the occasional handful of seaweed meal (from garden centres). Just
remember to cover them up with the newspaper or blanket afterwards.

Worms breed fast so don't worry if you only start with a few, you can
add more when you find them.

After 6 months drain the wormery and tip out all the contents. Move
the good compost to the edges and leave the uneaten waste in the
middle for an hour or so. The worms will return to the scraps and you
can put them all back in the wormery, leaving the nice rich compost
for the plants.

The juice should be diluted 1 to 10 for fertilising or 1 to 30 for
spraying on aphids etc.



Potential Problems

Flies - you may get fruit flies in hot weather, don't use any
insecticide but you can hang up sticky fly traps near the bin.
Heat - worms will dry up if it gets too hot, keep the wormery out of
direct sunlight. If they all snuff it, move the bin somewhere more
sheltered and add more worms.
Cold - they are pretty resilient to cold but you can protect the bin
with bubble wrap if it gets really harsh.
Sludgy contents - add more ripped up newspaper and seaweed meal to
sweeten the contents, make sure the bin is drained reguarly.

Lisa Cole



Nerdy worm facts - thanks to EcoRecycle Victoria/Gould League of
Victoria (http://www.gould.edu.au/waste_stop/act_14.htm)

Earthworms are hermaphrodites. That is, each worm has both male and
female sex organs.
All worms can have babies. After mating, a worm will form a capsule
(or cocoon) containing eggs. In about 21 days, 2-20 baby worms will
hatch from the capsule. In about 2-3 months, the young worms are ready
to breed.
Earthworm eggs can survive in very dry conditions for a long time, the
baby worms hatching out when the soil becomes wet.
Compost worms breed every 7-10 days and so the population in a wormery
will double in 2-3 months.
Compost worms can eat about half their body weight in food in one day.
Earthworms have no eyes, but can sense vibrations, light and
temperature through special organs in the skin.
Earthworms can live up to 15 years.
Earthworms breathe through their skin and expel urine through special
pores.
There are 350 species of earthworms in Australia. Most compost worms
and earthworms found on farms and in gardens are introduced species.
Compost worms are rarely found in the bush as the conditions there are
not suitable.

(Adapted from Christenson & McLachlan.)