Worms, so who keeps them

bogman

Have 2 cans-o-worms, been looking for another as niece wants one, Element Green locally seems to be gone under, hard to beat the compost from them as well as saving on bin charges

Alun

I've got a can-o-worms, had it for a good few years now. It was a bit touch and go to start with and we had a few near catastrophes with it going all slimy and anaerobic on us, but once we got the hang of what to put in it and what not to, it's been fine.

We got ours from the EcoStore when they were in the garden centre at the Glen of the Downs in Co. Wicklow, but they don't have a physical shop presence any more. You could get one from their online site though.

zonic man

Been composting with worms now for the past 2 years and found its the only way to go.They make the finest of compost, no hassle from them at all, just throw in your scraps and lawn cuttings and they will devour the lot.
Brought 1lb of them for 28 euro, postage and all paid and they arrived in perfect condition from "yorkshire worms", you can find them online or I went thou ebay where they also sell them.
I first started out with small bin from IKEA, then recently purchased a 450l bin from ALDI,which I see is on special this month for 39 euro, this bin is PVC and would been even great for making normal compost in or for holding garden tools.
I defiently recommend anyone to give vemicomposting a go, you will never go back to the old slog of turning heaps again and again,also worms will compost your scraps alot quicker.
Have fun!!

bogman

Vital to protect the container from direct sunlight in the middle of the day from around May on, worms will get pulverised, I move mine around according to the seasons, in winter to a suntrap and in the summer to a place where it gets a few hours of sun late evening, never replaced the moisture mat from day one have ye? my worms are probably as addicted to tea bags as I am at this stage.....lovely compost out of the can-o-worms

RoadToCatan

hi,

Is composting with worms quicker than using a composting heap?

Do the worms deal well with the follwing
- dead leaves
- grass cuttings
- long strong leaves from a palm type tree (the wind tends to blow them down on a daily basis and I've a huge pile to them to get rid of).

Thanks,
rc

dixiefly

Interested in trying the worms - where is best to get them - Meath / Dublin area?

thanks

shawnee

Saw them in a plastic compost bin recently. Guy had bought them and was following instructions and then just threw them into the bin. He was throwing lots of food including cooked food in the bin. Pretty smelly though and while I would like to try them I would be a bit careful not to have it too near the house. Interestingly he told me that during the Winter the whole thing froze solid during the sub zero temperatures and in Spring they were all okay again !

kingtut

My dad has been doing this for years and has given talks on this.
If you are doing it right then the odour will be minimal and there will be NO liquid run off.

I have seen some that have taps to drain them at the bottom, steer clear!! :eek:

shawnee

kingtut wrote: »

My dad has been doing this for years and has given talks on this.
If you are doing it right then the odour will be minimal and there will be NO liquid run off.

I have seen some that have taps to drain them at the bottom, steer clear!! :eek:

What are the best type of worm to use and where can one get them please ?

shawnee

Have just ordered some compost worms from Yorkshire Worms. Any advice on how to manage them would be appreciated :eek::eek:

zonic man

Hi Shawnee,
glad to see your giving this a go and you should have no problem at all,such an easy way to compost.
First off check out youtube they have some great videos on setting up worms bins and how to manage them, giving you one link that seems to run thou the basics, you won't go far wrong for a first time if you follow this guidelines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhEQEA0GN8 OK video for setting up a basic bin.

I see you got your worms from "Yorkshire worms" I found them very good, if you are using a homemade wormery,tub,container etc, i would recommend leaving the lid off for a few days, as this will settle the worms down in there new home, causing them to bury into your bedding as they hate light. If you don't do this for the first week or so i find you will have worms constantly trying to escape from the container. If using a ready made wormery ,i don't think this should be a problem.

Keep your bedding moist,but not to wet, worms need moisture to breath though there skin, a wrung out sponge is what your bedding should feel like.

I see someone has mentioned feeding cooked food scraps, this is something i would not recommend.
Worms like to eat many of the same things we eat, only they aren't as picky. Stale bread, apple cores, lettuce trimmings, coffee grounds, and non-greasy leftovers are just some of the foods we usually discard that worms love

Do Feed Worms:

* Vegetable scraps
* Fruit scraps and peels (mold/rot is fine)
* Bread and grains
* Teabags
* Non-greasy leftovers
* Coffee grounds (and filters)
* Crushed egg shells
* Napkins, paper towels

Don’t Feed

* Don't overfeed citrus—should be no more than 1/5 of worm food
* Meats, fish
* Greasy foods
* Dairy products
* Twigs and branches
* Dog/cat feces, cat litter

Begin feeding your worms only a little at a time. As they multiply, you can add larger quantities of food scraps. After a few months you can feed about a quart of food scraps per square foot of surface area each week. To avoid fruit flies and odors, bury food under top layer of the bedding. Don't dump and run!

Worms prefer smaller-sized scraps and will eat through them more quickly than large or whole pieces of food.

If your worm bin starts to smell bad, it could be a sign that you are adding more food than the worms can process. If too much food is added, it can even heat up and kill the worms! Quit feeding for awhile and when most of the food has been eaten, start feeding again.


At the moment I myself have two big bins on the go and am breeding worms then in smaller containers which i then use for my worm towers in the raised beds.
A worm tower is another great way to use worms and get rid of kitchen scraps,link provided for setting up a worm tower, this can be done in a veg or flower patch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIyEQoxgocY&feature=related

Also giving a couple of links that will be of benefit to you
http://www.wormslovewaste.com/
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/


Below are some pictures of my set up
Pic 1 is worms in containers that i use for breeding, put 15 worms in each container last September,now have up on 500/600 in each,there like rabbits if you stave them!!
Pic 2 is of breeding container and you can actully see an cocoon in this image,small pea sized yellow sac, which contains anyting up to 7,8 young worms.
Pic 3 is of my two worm bins, one is empty,so when one is full move worms on in to the other,repeat process, simple composting!
Pic 4 is of inside of bin,worms making "black gold".

Hope this helps and happy worming!

shawnee

That's brilliant , just the information I needed. Thanks for you help and the worms should be here in a few days and Ill be ready for them. Will let you know how I do :P

shawnee

zonic man wrote: »

Hi Shawnee,
glad to see your giving this a go and you should have no problem at all,such an easy way to compost.
First off check out youtube they have some great videos on setting up worms bins and how to manage them, giving you one link that seems to run thou the basics, you won't go far wrong for a first time if you follow this guidelines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxhEQEA0GN8 OK video for setting up a basic bin.

I see you got your worms from "Yorkshire worms" I found them very good, if you are using a homemade wormery,tub,container etc, i would recommend leaving the lid off for a few days, as this will settle the worms down in there new home, causing them to bury into your bedding as they hate light. If you don't do this for the first week or so i find you will have worms constantly trying to escape from the container. If using a ready made wormery ,i don't think this should be a problem.

Keep your bedding moist,but not to wet, worms need moisture to breath though there skin, a wrung out sponge is what your bedding should feel like.

I see someone has mentioned feeding cooked food scraps, this is something i would not recommend.
Worms like to eat many of the same things we eat, only they aren't as picky. Stale bread, apple cores, lettuce trimmings, coffee grounds, and non-greasy leftovers are just some of the foods we usually discard that worms love

Do Feed Worms:

* Vegetable scraps
* Fruit scraps and peels (mold/rot is fine)
* Bread and grains
* Teabags
* Non-greasy leftovers
* Coffee grounds (and filters)
* Crushed egg shells
* Napkins, paper towels

Don’t Feed

* Don't overfeed citrus—should be no more than 1/5 of worm food
* Meats, fish
* Greasy foods
* Dairy products
* Twigs and branches
* Dog/cat feces, cat litter

Begin feeding your worms only a little at a time. As they multiply, you can add larger quantities of food scraps. After a few months you can feed about a quart of food scraps per square foot of surface area each week. To avoid fruit flies and odors, bury food under top layer of the bedding. Don't dump and run!

Worms prefer smaller-sized scraps and will eat through them more quickly than large or whole pieces of food.

If your worm bin starts to smell bad, it could be a sign that you are adding more food than the worms can process. If too much food is added, it can even heat up and kill the worms! Quit feeding for awhile and when most of the food has been eaten, start feeding again.


At the moment I myself have two big bins on the go and am breeding worms then in smaller containers which i then use for my worm towers in the raised beds.
A worm tower is another great way to use worms and get rid of kitchen scraps,link provided for setting up a worm tower, this can be done in a veg or flower patch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIyEQoxgocY&feature=related

Also giving a couple of links that will be of benefit to you
http://www.wormslovewaste.com/
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/


Below are some pictures of my set up
Pic 1 is worms in containers that i use for breeding, put 15 worms in each container last September,now have up on 500/600 in each,there like rabbits if you stave them!!
Pic 2 is of breeding container and you can actully see an cocoon in this image,small pea sized yellow sac, which contains anyting up to 7,8 young worms.
Pic 3 is of my two worm bins, one is empty,so when one is full move worms on in to the other,repeat process, simple composting!
Pic 4 is of inside of bin,worms making "black gold".

Hope this helps and happy worming!

Just got deliver of Worms today and have started the Wormery. Someone of your links suggested leaving the top off initially and then the worms were less likely to escape So have done that hope they are still there tomorrow :D Have fed them and put loads of shredded newspaper on top.

zonic man

Make sure if you leave the lid of you keep a light on or a small lamp on near them at night, so as to keep them in there bedding for a few nights!