Reviving a Wormery

Essexdelboy

I bought a Worm Work Wormery from eBay, used and empty. All in good condition with the tap but wondered if anyone has done something similiar.

I have seen this but at £32 I am looking to utilise somebody's superior knowledge and see if i can save myself some £££ in true MSE style.

WeirdoMagnet

I think I'd just buy some worms off eBay, pop them in with your compost waste and see how they get on. My thinking would be that the moisure mat could be replaced by some newspaper, the lime isn't essential (and contains a bit of grit that you could add yourself if you like), and 'worm treat' - isn't it a treat for them to live in your wormery and be fed a variety of delish veg?!

My parents had a wormery that they restarted, but it was a bog standard one, not one with different levels, so maybe I'm missing a trick, but that's what I'd do.

Oh, and there's a full PDF with instructions on the website you linked to, if you haven't seen it already.

wellused

Purchase 1/2 Kilo of worms from ebay, as for bedding I believe a coir block broken up and damped down will do or some shredded newspaper, and I know for a fact that if you can get hold of some moss that they love to hide in there. You don't need lime if you are worried about the mix becoming too acid add some finely crushed egg shells. One golden rule is do not over feed them no matter how tempting it may be, I have had several disasters by doing this. Oh and be warned when you first introduce the worms to there new home that they will try to escape during the hours of darkness so either weigh the lid down or place the box in a plastic dustbin bag which can be tied up at night and the escapees returned to the box in the morning, at least by doing this you can see if you have any absconding.

wellused

Forgot to say, I don't know if you are aware but by placing a brick in your bottom box the one with the tap in it, will keep your compost box out of the worm tea.

Essexdelboy

Thanks Guys - much appreciated.

Sambucus_Nigra

All the above, I add a good handful of garden compost and one of soil to give them something to 'live' in and then put the new food, small amounts at first, around the sides.

Once they have stopped escaping, I split the initial level into 3 or 4 and get all the levels going at once - do that all summer and you get a quicker return on your worms.