Garden Organic's beginner's guide to wormeries
Wormeries are mini-compost heaps filled with the same worms found in larger traditional heaps and are most useful for households with small (or no) garden and when kitchen waste is the main material to be composted.
What to look for in a wormery
A good worm bin should exclude light and be large enough to hold the worms, their food and bedding. Wide flat layers with air holes offer the best air circulation, as worms prefer to work near the surface. Lots of bins are available commercially from about £50 or you can make your own bin with plastic containers with added air and drainage holes.
Worms themselves usually arrive with wormery bins, but you can also scoop them from an existing compost heap or buy from fishing shops. The 'brandling' (or tiger) worms (Eisenia foetida) are best and can be identified by banding on reddish bodies.
Starting a wormery
Brandling worms
- Time: give worms time to settle and add a thick layer of 'worm bedding' of moist organic material such as strips of newspaper or cardboard, mature compost or leafmould.
- Moisture: worms need damp skin to breathe so keep the organic material moist. Water should ooze out if squeezed, but the compost is too wet if there are lots of drips. Regularly check, adding drier materials like shredded paper and egg boxes if too wet; greener, wetter materials if dry.
- Warmth: aim for an even temperature inside their home, between about 12-25°C. Worms will continue to make compost year-round indoors, such as in a utility room but slow down at lower temperatures and get fatigue if too hot. Cover bins with bubble wrap in winter and position out of direct sunlight in summer.
- Appetisers: You can begin adding small amounts of kitchen waste within hours of settling in your worms. Cover with cardboard.
- Main course: As worms multiply, add more chopped kitchen waste, avoiding anything too big or woody. Little and often is best (up to three handfuls every day in summer but much less at lower temperatures). Keep covered.
What to feed them and what to avoid:
| Plenty | Avoid |
|---|---|
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Small amounts:
Citrus peel, rhubarb leaves and onion skins (too much makes the compost too acidic for worms). Egg shells offset the acidity and are good for roughage, aiding the worms' digestion.
When it comes to using your worm compost, mix it in at planting time or use as a thin top-dressing in containers. You can also use worm compost in potting mixes and dilute the excess liquid as a plant feed for pot plants. The dilution varies per mix; usually 1:10 or the colour of weak tea.
Buy your wormery and worms from The Organic Gardening Catalogue.
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