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Wormery, Green Cone or ?

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Hope someone can help me on this!
I've been thinking about getting a wormery to get rid of our kitchen waste/junk mail/cardboard. We don't have any real garden compost as the mower mulches the grass and the weeds get used as infill behind a wall (don't want to put kitchen waste there as it's next to neighbours garden)
I thought I had it cracked with the worm hotel, then I saw the eliminator which is more expensive but reckons it lets things "breathe", and finally came across the green cone. Now I don't know what to do! :confused:
Does anyone have any experience of these or can suggest a different make?
It would be nice to have some real info before I commit to buy rather than just the makers blurb.

Comments

  • jordylass
    jordylass Posts: 1,114 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I have a wormery, it cost me about £5 to make, http://www.troubleatmill.com/wormbin.htm mine's not quite like that, I drilled large holes in the bottoms instead of using mesh and I didn't bother with a tap, just lifting it off the top boxes to tip out the water out of the bottom and put back any escapees.
    I have a piece of mdf as a lid, but the last twice I've put stuff in I realised I am also breeding flys ugh.
    I've had it for about 3 months and filled the next level with bedding at the weekend, when I threw in the vacuum dust today, I could see a few have moved up.
    I like having it, and the kids get to learn about how things break down, but it isn't big enough for all of our families rubbish, be good for 2-3 people.
    There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
  • kscour
    kscour Posts: 665 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Thank you :T - and I was thinking of spending between £50-£70 :eek:

    This looks brilliant - and even if it doesn't work 100% then it'll give me a much better idea before shelling out aload of money.
    Where did you get your worms & bedding from? Do you have to put bedding in everytime you go up a layer?
    Sorry I'm completely clueless when it comes to this kind of thing
  • jordylass
    jordylass Posts: 1,114 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Generally when I do something it doesn't work out the way it should and something always goes wrong, this didn't happen wth the wormery.

    I did a general google search on wormery when I started it, and there is quite a lot of information out there, but I think it is mostly trial and error. After reading some of it, I was worried about a plastic bin, as I had read it would hold too much liquid and this would harm/drown the worms. It seems to drain OK and the bin is swarming with happy looking worms.

    You can get everything mail order (worms and all), but I went to a local angling shop and bought a kilo of dendra worms £14. I did want to get reds as well, sites that sell worms sell them mixed, but the man in the fishing shop said they'd fight. I think he was wrong about this, and I was going to go back for some, but I don't think reds are as hardy as dendra and the dendras are doing fine so didn't bother.

    They seem to prefer shredded paper over food stuff, and my research showed you shouldn't put any meat stuffs, dog/cat waste or onions into it.

    Cleaning out rabbits, chickens etc into it was OK, I always empty the hoover into it, I have found things they can't handle are just left, there was some bits of plastic, and what looks like the strips of glue off envelopes. Food stuffs are quicker disposed of if its groud into breadcrumb sizes before you put it in, and bury it 3" into bedding to stop flies (this didn't work for me).

    The bins I got were about £3.50 for 5 from B & Q, the one that holds the worms, (second one up), I have had to put onto an old fridge shelf over the top of the other one, as it got so heavy it wouldn't stack on the one below and was falling into it. I have put the third one on now, with bedding in it and that is settled into the second and the worms have started to move up, I will leave this for about 2 weeks and then take the bottom soil away.

    Good luck with it.
    There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
  • J_Tous
    J_Tous Posts: 21 Forumite
    I have a Wiggly Wigglers wormery, which is a wooden one with a mesh at the bottom, but I don't think they are a particularly cheap brand. It works very well, it doesn't use up all of our kitchen waste though and I still have to put some in the normal compost bin. I put newspaper in between the layers of food which the worms seem to like, and an occasional dose of horse manure if I have some around. Also remember to water the waste especially in hot weather. The other advantage with a wormery is that you can put in a bit of cooked kitchen waste such as pasta, bread, rice which you shouldn't really put in a normal compost bin, although no onions, meat, fish, dairy.

    The main problems with this type of wormery seem to be that the worms can escape out of the bottom and I'm often finding them in the garden and popping them back in! Also, the mesh thing doesn't work very well as you can't get the compost out of the bottom, so I had to empty the wormery out of the top instead. However, I got a whole sackful of lovely rich compost out of it which I was really pleased with, although I did have to spend quite a while picking the worms out of the compost and putting them back in the wormery which was a bit fiddly.

    If you have the time think it would be fairly easy to make a wormery, as they aren't complicated creatures, just liking warm, dark, moist conditions and regular feeding. I have also heard of them being made out of old wooden wine crates with holes drilled for air and a bit of old carpet on top. In very cold weather I wrap my wormery up in bubble wrap! I have red tiger worms in mine which we ordered through the post.

    I also get slugs, woodlice and a few flies in my wormery but I don't really mind that as long as they are all living happily together!
  • se999
    se999 Posts: 2,409 Forumite
    http://www.telford.gov.uk/Environment/Recycling/Wormtrial.htm

    The above site shows the result of a trial in Telford of wormeries, green cones & compost bins.

    It lists the pros & cons the users found. It was a very small trial though.

    Hope it helps you decide what's right for you.
  • kscour
    kscour Posts: 665 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    thank you! I think they must have done this survey just for me :D
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