worm compost

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Flowerhat

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hello,

do any of you practice wormy compost? How does one get started, where do i get hold of dem red wormies?

Some companies sell you starter kits, but i would prefer to do my own thing.
What exactly is needed to start up like this?

Thanks :)
 
I think hardware stores sell worms. You mean earthworms, right?
 
We all get ours from the starter kits that the companies sell us?

Not sure how else you'd want to get worms. You can go dig up 500 worms, but why not just buy them?
 
Probably best to get a starter kit and go from there, you're going to have to get the stuff some place, you may as well get it in a kit!
 
Your trusty fisherman store. They sell them as bait.
 
Well, you keep them in plastic worm farms, not outside.

It's basically just a big plastic container filled with soil in which they live, then you feed them all kinds of organic stuff, and they produce some kind of worm juice, which is what you harvest as the compost. At least, that's how I understand it.
 
Simple solution. Go to a plastic wholesaler (Plastic Warehouse, etc.) and buy 3 large meat bins (+- R360). Drill a bunch of holes around the top, on the sides and on the bottom. Buy a bunch of worms from a worm farm (Got mine from Francois at http://www.earthwormafrica.co.za/) I wouldn't recommend using garden earthworms. Red wrigglers are a little different. They down't really live in soil. Their natural environment is manure heaps. They break down your scraps a lot faster than other worms.

Just put some moist shredded newspaper (I added a bit of peat moss) in the bottom of the bin and then spread the worms on that when you get them.
 
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budget nursery in lynnwood sells buckets of worms (they do sell it out quite frequently)
safari also sells the worms
 
Get the worms from someone who farms them. Depending on the size bin you go for you can start with 500-1000. They'll grow and breed.

Graal said:
Well, you keep them in plastic worm farms, not outside.

It's basically just a big plastic container filled with soil in which they live, then you feed them all kinds of organic stuff, and they produce some kind of worm juice, which is what you harvest as the compost. At least, that's how I understand it.
Click to expand...
No soil. The 'juice' is an extra. What you're after is the compost, worm castings, they create.

Graal said:
We all get ours from the starter kits that the companies sell us?

Not sure how else you'd want to get worms. You can go dig up 500 worms, but why not just buy them?
Click to expand...
You won't find the right type of worm in your garden (usually).

Nocturnity said:
Simple solution. Go to a plastic wholesaler (Plastic Warehouse, etc.) and buy 3 large meat bins (+- R360). Drill a bunch of holes around the top, on the sides and on the bottom.
Click to expand...
They also sell something readymade, with a tap, airholes, etc, if you want to save some time doing all that yourself.
 
noxibox said:
No soil. The 'juice' is an extra. What you're after is the compost, worm castings, they create.

You won't find the right type of worm in your garden (usually).
Click to expand...

Ah, I thought the juice was what people were after. My mom's got a worm farm at home, and I didn't really listen all that well when she explained it to me. :p

Also, for those interested, the Cape Garden Centre on the N1 between Paarl and Kraaifontein (can't remember the exact area the Garden Centre is in, but it's on that route) sells not only worms, but also the containers you keep them in. It's where ours comes from.
 
Yeah, you can also get them at Stodels but the prices are insane. The containers range from R600 to well over 1000 for a tiny system and the worms cost a serious amount of money.

My containers were R360 and the worms R290/kg. A similar system, if I bought it from someone, would be about R1000 and most places sell worms at R600 to R1000 per kilo.
 
I got a pre made worm farm because I needed something compact. It was about R1000, I got a book and some worms to start.

Its quite easy to make one yourself but then I suggest downloading a guide because you can't feed them everything, also you need to kick start the farm and its best to get some peat because they are quite sensitive bastards.

You also have to consider placement and keeping the farm hydrated. I actually have a compost heap as well because you can't give them everything and in the beginning they can't eat everything fast enough. The farm should not stink and have mould, you have to try not let it become an extra dust bin.

Its something that needs attention. I even cut the food up for my worms :D
 
I use the blender sometimes, if it's things like potato peel or foods that take longer to break down.
Do you feed in the corners of the bin as well?
What do you do about hydration? Do you add water regularly? I keep my bins slightly moist but I don't really add water. The fluids from the food breaking down and the "worm pee" keeps the soil moist enough. I don't get any lechate, though. I prefer to keep the nutrients in the castings, rather than washing it out. My bottom bin has very little run-off fluid.

A handy tip: Seeing as these little guys live in manure in nature, it's a really good idea to feed them quite a bit of well-rotted manure in the beginning. Once they've broken the stuff down, it becomes a really nice bedding for them. :)
 
When we started I just dumped some damp shredded paper into the bin on top some matting to stop them getting out. Threw in some leftover fruit and vegetables, then left them to it. Things went slowly at first, but it wasn't long before there were more and bigger worms going through material quite fast. You can also use a bokashi bin in conjunction with the worm farm to pre-ferment things that can't go directly into the farm. We do put some citrus, onions and such into the farm.

In summer I add some moisture if things are looking dry, but in Cape Town during winter it isn't really necessary.
 
BUMP
As a matter of interest how often would you say they work through a bin to produce the compost...? Is it worthwhile going this route...?
 
Nocturnity said:
Simple solution. Go to a plastic wholesaler (Plastic Warehouse, etc.) and buy 3 large meat bins (+- R360). Drill a bunch of holes around the top, on the sides and on the bottom. Buy a bunch of worms from a worm farm (Got mine from Francois at http://www.earthwormafrica.co.za/) I wouldn't recommend using garden earthworms. Red wrigglers are a little different. They down't really live in soil. Their natural environment is manure heaps. They break down your scraps a lot faster than other worms.

Just put some moist shredded newspaper (I added a bit of peat moss) in the bottom of the bin and then spread the worms on that when you get them.
Click to expand...

my grass is doing really poorly, do you think buying an letting go a hundred or so earth worms would make a positive impact?
 
D3x! said:
my grass is doing really poorly, do you think buying an letting go a hundred or so earth worms would make a positive impact?
Click to expand...

That's not how it works. The worms used in these farms are exotic and won't live in our soil. They can only really survive in the farm, the live in decaying matter.

Once they have processed all your cuttings you have a mulch that you can then use to enrich your soil. You can seperate the worms from the mulch to try reuse them... But if you don't they will just die and provide extra nutrition
 
Nerfherder said:
That's not how it works. The worms used in these farms are exotic and won't live in our soil. They can only really survive in the farm, the live in decaying matter.

Once they have processed all your cuttings you have a mulch that you can then use to enrich your soil. You can seperate the worms from the mulch to try reuse them... But if you don't they will just die and provide extra nutrition
Click to expand...

I was referring maybe more to normal earthworms?
 
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