[r+lchick]

Anyone have a worm farm out there?  If so, do you have a DIY wormery or a shop bought one?  Is it hard to do?  Any thoughts or comments?   

[CameronS]

We have a shop bought one at school as part of an EcoDrive that i have become roped into,
it appears to be very simple to use, so long as it can't tip over or the birds get into it 

Cameron

[marigold]

We started one recently with an ice cream tub of compost and worms from my sister's prolific compost heap.
Ours seem to e fine and working away well. I put a large plastic flower pot - with holes in the bottom, slightly raised up inside a good tough bucket. This means that the worms can live in the flower pot and the liquid can drain through to the bucket The whole thing is sitting in an unheated part of our shed and won't freeze. My sister thinks that keeping the heat up and the light up are the two most important factors. We only have a newspaper lid to it just now - but the worms have been there munching away for a couple of months now and as yet haven't made an escape bid. It doesn't smell either. Although, I am not adding all my kitchen waste yet. We started with a small amount of worms so I will let them multiply and just keep feeding them moderately until there are enough of them to really process a greater volume of scraps. Mind you by the time the dogs have eaten the stuff they like, the hens have had greenery scraps and bread, there isn't a huge amount for the worms. Teabags, old apple cores etc. and stuff from our plates which I don't want to feed the hens.
If you look at how a wormery works, I think the only impovement a bought one would have over ours would be that it looks like a real something and it has a tap at the bottom for draining off the liquid.
 

[dixie]

Excuse my ignorance but why do you have them, whats their purpose?

[HappyHippy]

My Dad has one for breeding worms to go fishing with.
His is an old style black plastic bin with a tight fitting lid, ventilation holes drilled round the top and drainage holes on the bottom - it sits on grass beside the back door (and gets wrapped in insulation in the winter) he does add veg waste, but only a little at a time as it tends to go really smelly and slimy if he puts in too much.
I'm not sure what a shop bought one consists of - or why they are so expensive  but his works really well - after the initial disaster with no drainage holes and a blown off lid, worms don't appear able to swim 

[hexhammeasure]

I was thinking of starting a worm farm just to supplement the hen feed and duck feed(throw a handful on the concrete yard and watch the chooks go crazy). Ducks love them when I dig over the duck pen

[r+lchick]

Excuse my ignorance but why do you have them, whats their purpose?

The liquid that drains off is a liquid fertilizer.  The wormerys you buy in the shops have layers of containers and the worms slowly munch their way to the top.  The stuff underneath that the worms have already munched through is also a fertiliser/compost/soil.  Please, anyone correct me if I am wrong, but that is why I was thinking of one.  After the initial expense, free liquid fertilizer. 

[dixie]

Ahh I see! thank you!

[oink]

I've just started one myself similar to happyhippy's dad.  Old plastic dustbin with holes in the top for ventilation.  I then drilled a hole in the bottom to add a tap.  Then layered some stones and pebbles at the bottom for the drainage and coved with rotted manure with plenty of worms.

Not sure if it'll work though, only did it last week.

With regards to shop bought or diy.  Every time I build something as opposed to buying it I get a warm fuzzy feeling as I realize I'm sticking it to the man!...do I sound like a 15 year old anarchist?

[HappyHippy]

The thing with making your own - whatever it is - is that you usually recycle bits and pieces that otherwise may go to landfill, and it's cheaper too (if you're stingyinventive like me )
So the way I look at it you're saving the planet and your pocket 
Oink - I'm with you on "sticking it to the man" 

[r+lchick]

That is one of the reasons why I posted the question.  I knew there would be an "inventive" person who would know how to cobble one together. 

I've just started one myself similar to happyhippy's dad.  Old plastic dustbin with holes in the top for ventilation.  I then drilled a hole in the bottom to add a tap.  Then layered some stones and pebbles at the bottom for the drainage and coved with rotted manure with plenty of worms.

  Thanks, now all I need are a load of worms.  Got some great big ones in the garden?  Will they do?   

[RUSTYME]

for a wormery you don't want earth worms , you want brandlings (we used to call them when fishing ), they are compost worms or manure worms or sh**, you get the picture.... Anyway, they are much redder than earth worms and have slightly yellowish bands around their bodies. Just turn over any pile of horse manure and you will see them in there.
 Give them some manure , and cover the container , for warmth and to keep rain out , and add small amounts of veg and fresh manure as and when needed . The more worms you have in there the more you can add.
 They will lay eggs in the medium if all goes well , and will multiply quite fast. They will tend to migrate to the top layer of food , leaving the lower layers ready to be removed for use in your garden etc. Don't put huge deep layers of veg or worm food in the bin , or whatever you make the wormery out of , as it will start to compost and cook the worms !! Just add very little and often , and cover with a damp layer of news paper if you want to .

cheers

Russ

[Fluffywelshsheep]

if anyone want to make me one, I'll be very happy lol

[xillent]

I built a big heap using 8 posts hammered into the soil and four pallets. I started things off with some muck from local stables. I started adding the usual composting materials, household and garden waste. Usual stuff. I got some brandlings from wigglywigglers (mainly just to speed things up). Covered the whole thing with an old carpet.
It then produced tons of new worms. Started a second pile so that i could close off the first one and let things break down. When using the compost i fish out the brandlings (within reason) and put them in the new heap.I am now very popular with my fishermen pals.

[marigold]

  Every time I build something as opposed to buying it I get a warm fuzzy feeling as I realize I'm sticking it to the man!...do I sound like a 15 year old anarchist?

bl**dy brilliant - so do I, long live anarchy

I was thinking of starting a worm farm just to supplement the hen feed and duck feed(throw a handful on the concrete yard and watch the chooks go crazy). Ducks love them when I dig over the duck pen

You will need earth worms for ducks and hens - they don't like the brandlings -