Worms

[Gavin P]

So hopefully someone on here can give me a solution to a small problem I have, I have a wormery in the back garden which is a large waterproof sealed box that I got from B&Q as my old one was letting them just escape out ! Anyway I have been feeding regularly and didn't notice any escapes till I put in a 1/2 kilo of worms I had got for going tenching but never used em all and now they are practically all disappeared Starting to get annoyed as I have essentially just thrown £11 worth of worms into the garden, anyone know how to stop them escaping ?

[Steve Dennington]

I keep mine in an 80l plastic dustbin filled with soil/compost. No escapees to report, and kept in a shaded area, lobs can keep in good condition in there for several months

[TinnyMan]

I keep worms, they generally only disappear when the conditions are too acidic, make sure you have no tiny white worms in soil (a sure sign its not right) and feed equal amounts of cardboard/veg matter.

[Gavin P]

Its Dendrobenas I keep Steve Though I have never managed to prevent escapes in all the various incarnations of a worm bin I've had

Ahh have not been adding in the cardboard just veg matter really, do you wet the cardboard down beforehand ?

[TinnyMan]

Yeah, cardboard needs to be soaked first. Veg matter produces nitrogen and creates an acidic environment that they will want to escape from. The cardboard as they eat it, neutralises it, when the soil is right they will not leave the food. I made all the same mistakes myself.

You can drop the pH of your soil with a spoonful of garden lime from the garden centre, don't go mad.. I would start again, organic compost, worms and half and half, will see you right..

[Gavin P]

Top man thanks, they have just been getting fed veg and lots of it so I knew it wasn't for lack of food

[Kev Berry]

Horse muck they love it. Don't use fresh stuff though. Pig poo is even better but smellier

[Gavin P]

Cheers for the suggestions guys, will implement and let you know if it works

[Rab]

I use old newspaper cut into strips with a stanley knife, and plenty old t-bags, cooked veg, usually boil em up for a bit...no salt tho :o

[Mickey Cox]

Tea bags.......Tea Bags......Tea bags........they love em.

I did get a wormery off ebay, keep it in the garage as its nice and cool/dark. The little buggers are reproducing!!

[tigger996]

I use old newspaper cut into strips with a stanley knife, and plenty old t-bags, cooked veg, usually boil em up for a bit...no salt tho :o

John Wilson demonstrated how the tear newspaper. If you tear from the fold it will come off in strips.

[Mick Cobb]

I use old newspaper cut into strips with a stanley knife, and plenty old t-bags, cooked veg, usually boil em up for a bit...no salt tho :o

I use strips of newspaper as well, did you know that you can tear it in strips one way say north to south but try east to west and it wont do it

[Bob Barker]

I keep worms, they generally only disappear when the conditions are too acidic, make sure you have no tiny white worms in soil (a sure sign its not right) and feed equal amounts of cardboard/veg matter.

Tinnyman,
I always assumed the tiny white ones were the young of one of the other types.
I have a mix of Dendrobenas, Brandlings, Reds etc.
Who are the little white fellas and why are they 'bad news'?
Any info much appreciated.
Thanks.

Bob Barker

[TinnyMan]

The white worms are not the young of your dendros or brandlings.. they are often called pot worms. They are harmless to your worms but are a sure sign that your bin is too acidic which is itself a conditition that is unfavourable to your worms. .

Can be a sign of overfeeding and or feeding the wrong waste matter...

[Rob_Iasgair]

Silly question, are you sure they are not dying? Even worms need air to breath. If the box is "sealed" you might be suffocating them?

I keep mine in an open top large brewing bucket and never had an issue with worms escaping...as far as I know ;)