A Seasonal Reminder

Now that the cooler weather has arrived, I thought it might be an idea to remind you how to look after your wormery during the winter months.

Worms work best at a temperature between 15 and 25 degrees C. They will tolerate lower temperatures but it's a good idea to insulate the wormery with old carpet, cardboard or bubble wrap in exceptionally cold weather. If you have the space, move it into a shed, garage or greenhouse.

Leachate production will drop, but not stop unless the temperature falls below 5 degrees C so don't forget to keep draining it off to prevent the worms from drowning.

See you next spring!

Five Months On

I'm pleased to report that my wormery is still healthy and producing leachate. The bin is about a third full and I've noticed that the worms are rising up as the bin gradually fills. Once a month, I add some lime mix and a couple of handfuls of shredded paper to keep the worm's environment healthy. I'm going to insulate the wormery and put it in the shed once the weather breaks. In the meantime, the leachate is being used as a feed for all my pot plants and tomatoes.

Crunching the Numbers

According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2007/08, each person in England generated an astonishing 495 kilograms of household waste. That's almost half a metric tonne. In addition, Defra published a breakdown of the composition of household waste (admittedly, the data is for 2002,) represented in the following table:

Garden waste - 20%
Paper and board - 18%
Kitchen waste - 17%
General household sweepings - 9%
Glass - 7%
Wood/Furniture - 5%
Scrap metal/white goods - 5%
Dense plastic - 4%
Soil - 3%
Plastic film - 3%
Textiles - 3%
Metal cans/foil - 3%
Disposable nappies - 2%

Sources: Office for National Statistics, Defra.

Sorry if numbers aren't your thing, but I draw your attention to the kitchen waste figure: 17%. I know you can't put all your kitchen waste into a wormery for various reasons (attracting vermin, too acidic, etc.,) but if you only managed half of it, that amounts to an incredible 42 kilograms (or well over 6 stone,) per person, per year. Blimey.

Not A Lot Of People Know This, Either...

Vermicompost is also known as worm castings, or vermicast. It’s different from traditional compost formed in a compost heap as it’s much richer in nutrients. Vermicompost is too rich to be used as seed compost, but it’s a fantastic addition to potting compost or as a top dressing to soil.

Worm castings benefit soil in three ways – they improve the physical structure of soil, add nutrients and attract deep burrowing earthworms already present in the soil. All in all, vermicompost is pretty good stuff to have around.

Blog Features in East Riding News

Just to let you know that wormseatmypeelings gets a mention in the August 2009 edition of the East Riding News. A pdf version of the document is here - you'll need a copy of Adobe's pdf reader on your computer to view it.

Take a look at page 12; not sure about the photo!

Soggy.

I gave the contents of the wormery a good mix today. There seems to be a lot fewer whiteflies than of late, although the compost is looking a bit soggy at the bottom where the worms accumulate. I've decided to add a few handfuls of paper from my shredder, along with a little more lime mix to dry things up and to regulate acidity. Still getting leachate!

Not A Lot Of People Know That...

Worms are able to eat up to half their own body weight in waste every day. The process of worm composting is known as vermiculture and the end result is vermicompost. Worms reproduce by secreting pale yellow cocoons containing several eggs. They are hermaphrodites, having both male and female reproductive organs.

Wormery worms are not your common or garden earth worms, they are native manure worms (often called tiger, red or brandling worms.) Don't be tempted to add some earth worms from your garden as they are adapted to living in soil, not the very high nutrient environment of the wormery - It will kill them. Manure worms may be bough from fishing shops as they are also used as bait by fishermen!

Worm Juice-a-flowing

This week I've drained-off about a litre of leachate and converted it to liquid feed for my tomato plants. The second batch of liquid smells of, well, liquid compost. It's not too bad but I wouldn't splash it behind my ears. Whitefly continue to be a problem. I noticed a few of them floating around in the liquid feed. I've tried leaving the lid off the wormey to let the little critters escape but this hasn't worked. Still open to suggestions, folks.....

Under Pressure

Over the last few days I've noticed a few worms coming to the surface of the Wormery. The weather's been unsettled in Bridlington lately and I've discovered that worms are very sensitive to atmospheric pressure. When the weather is stormy and the air pressure is low, the worms come to the surface in search of moisture. How good is that? Buy a Wormery, get a barometer for free!

Weeks Six, Seven and Eight.

I’m pleased to announce that, after eight weeks, we have worm juice!” I bet that nobody’s ever written that in a blog before. Anyway, there is quite a lot of leachate and it’s come just in time to feed the greedy tomato plants in my greenhouse. The coffee coloured liquid doesn’t smell of anything and needs to be diluted 10:1 before using as a liquid feed. Apparently, it’s high in potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen and also contains essential minerals and trace elements. Now that the wormery is producing leachate, it’s important not to let the sump liquid level rise too high. I’ll drain it off every week or so, otherwise the workers might drown.

This week I’ve added another handful of lime mix to regulate acidity. I’ve mixed up the composting material and there are plenty of worms visible. I’ve noticed a number of small white flies inside the lid; I’m no expert but they look like, well, whitefly. After a trawl through the Internet it seems that it’s a common problem, along with fruit fly infestation. Nobody seems to have a definitive answer so I’ll just have to live with it for now, unless anyone reading this can suggest a solution?

Weeks Four and Five.

Five weeks on and I'm pleased to report that all's still well. The worms are alive and thriving and we're putting in nearly all of the waste from the kitchen. Last week I added some lime mix to control acidity and gave everything a good stir. There's a slight odour and one or two fruit flies when the top's opened but nothing excessive.

I read somewhere that it's a good idea to keep the tap used to drain leachate (proper term for "worm juice",) open all the time to improve air circulation. It also acts as an overflow if the sump at the bottom of the wormery becomes too full. Sounds like a good idea although we have no leachate yet.

Finally, we've just taken delivery of the Council's green waste bin. At this rate we reckon that we'll only need to put out our ordinary rubbish bin once every four or five weeks. The only thing we seem to throw away, apart from food waste that can't be put in the wormery, are non-recyclable plastic items and the odd bit of household junk.

Week Three.

We are still adding four handfuls of waste per week. I gave the contents a good mix yesterday and saw plenty of worms moving about. The weather has been warm recently but there is no discernable smell coming from the wormery, or any flies for that matter.

So far, so good - still no worm juice yet.

Week Two.

This week we've added another 4 handfuls of waste in two batches. The worms are no longer visible - they're well inside the bedding material. I turned over the top couple of inches just to make sure that they were OK and I'm glad to report that they're still wiggling away. The proto-compost is moist, but not too wet and there's no sign of any worm juice yet. We're avoiding onion, chili and garlic waste as, according to the instructions, these can make the environment too acidic. In a couple more weeks I'll give everything a good stir and add a bit of lime mix to control the acidity. If anyone can answer this question then I'd be grateful: There are loads of chalk pebbles in our soil (we live near Bempton Cliffs.) Could these be ground up and used to control acidity like the lime mix? Anyone know?

Week One.

We've left the wormery undisturbed for a week, as per the instructions. OK, I'll admit to a sneaky peek after the first day to show my wife what was going on, only to find most of the worms in the lid. Apparently, this is normal as it takes a few days for them to explore their new environment and to settle into the bedding material.

Yesterday, we added a couple of handfuls of fresh material and discovered that most of the worms had buried themselves into the waste, which is a good sign. I've also placed the wormery on bricks to make it easier to collect the worm juice. It sits unobtrusively at the bottom of the garden by the shed and in the shade. I'll transfer it into the shed in the autumn when the weather gets colder, but for now it can live outside.

This week we'll add a little more quantity of kitchen scraps and keep an eye on the worms general condition. I've plenty of shredded credit card receipts to hand if the compost gets too wet. So far, so good.

It's Here! The Wormery Arrives.

My wormery arrived by stealth mail today. It silently materialized outside my kitchen door this morning. I'm really pleased with it, apart from the fact that the lid was secured by miles of plastic wrapping. Note to the supplier: please find some environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. Like a small child at Christmas I unwrapped it enthusiastically and examined the contents.

Inside the wormery I found a tap, a plastic platform, legs, worm bedding, lime mix, instructions and, rather surprisingly, two packs of live worms sealed up in plastic bags. I expected to receive a voucher for worms so that I could arrange delivery and make sure I was home when they arrived. What happens if you're out at work all day or on holiday? How long do worms survive in airtight plastic bags? Luckily (for their sake, at least,) my worms were alive and wriggling and I set about assembling their home immediately. After a quick read of the instructions, it took about 10 minutes to put the wormery together. It was very easy and the instructions were clear and concise. I placed a sheet of newspaper on the internal platform, emptied out the bedding material and introduced the worms. I hadn't got any kitchen waste handy so I sliced up a few old potatoes and a soggy green pepper to give them lunch. The instructions tell you to leave the lid off for 10 minutes to encourage the worms to dig down and settle. After waiting a while, I clipped on the lid and moved it to the shed at the bottom of the garden. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it there or keep it outside during the summer. Today has been exceptionally windy so I put it inside the shed to stop it blowing over.

The kit includes a bag of lime mix to control acidity. This shouldn't be an issue in the early days but I know someone who's wormery failed because it became too acidic. I also think it might be useful to stand it on some bricks to make it easier to drain off the "worm juice" liquid feed - there isn't much room to put a container under the tap to collect the precious liquid. My final thought is to get hold of a small bin with an airtight lid to store waste in the kitchen during meal preparation. It isn't practical for us to keep the wormery outside the kitchen door so a container will stop us making endless trips to the bottom of the garden.

My first impressions are very favourable. It was easy to set-up, the instructions are clear and it looks pretty smart. I'm off for a cup of tea and to read the Handy Information Booklet that came with the kit. It includes sections on what to feed worms, compost making, how to look after the wormery and a comprehensive FAQ section. Apparently, I need to do nothing for the next 7 days while the worms establish themselves. That's it then, job done. I am now an official worm composter. Easy-peasy. Who said that worm composting was hard work?

Let the trial BEGIN!

We were lucky enough to be selected by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council to participate in their food waste trial. The Council is testing a number of composting products in order to reduce food waste and we are about to take delivery of a wormery.

Briefly, a wormery is an efficient, easy and environmentally friendly way of converting ordinary garden and kitchen waste into solid compost, known to gardeners as 'black gold', and concentrated liquid feed, through the natural action of worms. We have a small garden and so it's impractical to build a large compost heap (much as we'd like to.) Consequently, all of our kitchen waste ends up in the bin and, ultimately, into land fill.

We've never owned a wormery before, although we had considered buying one in the past. I thought it might be interesting to create a Blog and share our experiences with anyone who is interested.

According to the notification we received from the Council, our wormery will arrive within the next couple of weeks. We'll let you know when the trial begins in earnest.