Making your own small scale wormery

[davedave]

Evening,

 

I'm thinking of making my own small scale wormery for redworm. I was hoping to get advice if anybody had done a similar thing. I've got an old plastic header tank like this:

 

 

 

I don't have a lid for it but can easily construct one out of mdf or something. I'm looking for advice really in regards to location, ie in the garage or outside? I thought I could maybe half bury it in the ground somewhere? Or would it be better in the garage? It's got a small hole in it where the original pipe went into it which i'll have to block up somehow, and i'll have to drill a lot of very small drainage holes to allow water out of it. I have a friendly horse owner with a manure heap full of redworm, so I should be able to initially get some manure and worms, and then when it is developed I can top it up with compost, veg peelings and more worms if neccesary. Does anybody know how well redworm breed?

 

There are a few websites with information on building your own wormery but some added tips would be helpful. http://www.watershedactivities.com/projects/winter/wormbin.html

 

It will be very handy having a good supply of redworm in the garden, as in summer they can be a great bait which you never seem to hear of people using anymore but they are brilliant on their own for roach, perch and skimmers, or a half a dozen on a big hook can be deadly for carp too, as I think the fish mistake them for bloodworm.

 

Any information would be much appreciated

 

Dave

Edited February 28, 2013 by davedave

[tinca steve]

Evening,

 

I have a friendly horse owner with a manure heap full of redworm, so I should be able to get some manure and worms

 

Any information would be much appreciated

 

Dave

Why make a wormery when you have access to any amount of reds??

 

As for making one that will supply enough worms to use even once a week will need to be much bigger than just one Tank.I use 4 short dustbins. And with the problems of repeating what is happening in the heap will be hard to copy.

 

Of course you could GOOGLE it !!

[davedave]

Why make a wormery when you have access to any amount of reds??

 

As for making one that will supply enough worms to use even once a week will need to be much bigger than just one Tank.I use 4 short dustbins. And with the problems of repeating what is happening in the heap will be hard to copy.

 

Of course you could GOOGLE it !!

 

Steve, the worms aren't that local, so a good supply in the garden would be much more convenient. Where do you keep your bins steve, outside i'm assuming? Do you just add food waste to it like teabags and veg peelings? Do you add much water to it?

 

Thanks

[Chris Plumb]

Leon did an excellent piece on this WAY back when....

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/miscellaneous-articles/wormery.html

 

C.

[ayjay]

Redworms are a much better bait than Brandlings, I think if you use kitchen waste/veg peelings etc. you will soon end up with Brandlings instead of Redworm.

 

My inclination would be to just transfer a whole heap of Redworm and manure to your bin and see how it goes, top it up with more from the same source when you need to if they don't breed.

[Dave H]

I set one up
last year and it’s really doing well. The trick is do not over fill it at first
as that’s the biggest mistake beginners make. If you have access to a stables
get some manure and start with a small pot of whatever worm you want. Make sure
you air the manure regularly and there is no need to fill it for a month. Then
put decent scraps in there like left over fruit ec. I went down a local market
and got bags and bags of rotten left over fruit/ Veg and froze them in packs. Putting
wet cardboard in but cut into tiny slices. I am sure it will make no difference
but I have fed a bag of sweet corn and hemp which I mainly fish with.

Keep it away
from any sunlight and make sure it’s all moist. Once a week air it just turning
it over.

[Dales]

I went down a local market

and got bags and bags of rotten left over fruit/ Veg and froze them in packs. Putting

wet cardboard in but cut into tiny slices. I am sure it will make no difference

but I have fed a bag of sweet corn and hemp which I mainly fish with.

 

Dave, how did you get on with the fruit? I had always read that fruit was no good for a wormery and so I have always avoided putting it in. So is the fruit thing just an old wives tale? Or are there some fruits that are ok to add?

[Old geezer]

I always believed a good compost heap was what was required....

[Phone]

All,

 

Although it is wiki, which I generally don't like - I like this:

 

 

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_food_should_you_put_in_a_worm_farm

 

It's pretty simple

 

Phone

[Andy Macfarlane]

It's mostly lobs that don't like fruits....too acidic you see. Brandlings are fine with it and redowrms seem OK.