Compost bin or wormery?

Whats the difference?

 

Short answer is a wormery works much faster (unless you can provide a vast amount of green material that will get really hot) . Worm compost is also a bit higher in nutrients.

 

so what is the difference in making one and the stuff that goes in it?

 

I have made my own compost bin and in it goes all the veg and fruit peelings ,tea bags, egg shells, Grass cuttings, weeds and a bit of cardboard and urine for good messuare

 

The main difference is that in a wormery it's the worms that do the work by munching up all the stuff you put in. In a composter it's the vegetable matter decaying that produces the compost.
End results are similar.

 

ok if i was to have one of eack how would split up the waste?

 

I would split them equally - some in the compost and some in the wormery. I would add extra 'fibre' to your compost too - more cardboardy type stuff. I wouldn't put anything too citrussy in the wormery (orange peelings etc). Check out this site.

 

thanks

 

Both types of composter can be useful for different reasons, a wormery is handy for kitchen waste but you do have to avoid acidic items such as citrus peelings onion skins etc. and they need to be monitored to ensure they are not too wet. You also get the 'worm tea' which, diluted is used as a liquid feed. Do a search by typing 'Wiggly Wigglers ' for wormery info. Either a compost heap or bin is handy for general garden waste, making good compost is very satisfying, good luck.

 

Has anyone any advise on which ones to buy as they range from £50 for Wormcity to £120 at Wigglywormers. Has anyone got one to give practcal advice. I feel like going to worncity as its only £50 and seems a better site.

 

:thumb:From Times Online May 1, 2008

Ten things you need to know about wormeries

Whenever I lift the lid of my wormery and gaze adoringly at the little pink bodies flailing about to get away from the light, I feel reassured that I am

not alone in my obsession. I discuss my obsession in the anonymity of chat rooms or at weekly meetings where we have to stand up and say â??my

name is Jane and my first wormery was a wheelie bin type constructionâ??.

Rewards await dedicated wormoholics. An American scientist is hoping to let people have worms named after them in the same way that new

varieties of rose or delphinium are named after people. The more immediate rewards of wormoholism are swiftly-created compost from kitchen

waste. Hereâ??s how:

1. All wormeries work on the same principle â?? that worms will increase the composting speed by eating kitchen and garden waste. One of the

advantages of a well-run wormery is that it wonâ??t smell or attract flies. A wormery can be made out of any large container so long as liquid can be

drained off and so long as air can reach the worms. Ready-made wormeries come in three main types: the wheelie bin; the multi-tray type and

the larger scale type with a built-in sifting mechanism.

2. The bin type has chambers. The lowest is where liquid from the composting process is collected; then comes the area where compost builds

up and, on top of that, the area where worms eat kitchen and garden waste that you add. The disadvantage of the bin type is that it is a pain to

empty â?? on the other hand you donâ??t have to empty it very often. The advantage of the bin type is that it is robust.

3. The multi tray type usually has three large plastic trays, each with sieve-like bases. All slot into each other and sit on top of a sump which

collects liquid from the composting process. The convenience of this type is that, as the contents of the bottom tray turn into compost, the worms

move up into the next tray. The bottom tray can then be emptied and placed on top of the tray stack, ready for more kitchen waste.

4. The crank-handle type is big with a price to match (The Just Eatery costs £875) In theory this is the easiest to maintain. Instead of lifting trays

or emptying bags in order to empty the wormery, a crank handle towards the base of the wormery does the job. One turn every now and then

empties the compost into the base which can be accessed via a small door.

5. Some wormeries come with legs. I have found that these buckle when the wormery is full and have to be replaced with stacks of bricks.

6. Itâ??s crucial to drain off the liquid regularly or the worms drown. However, worms sometimes migrate down (into the sump) instead of up (into the

next tray of waste to be composted). To avoid drowning the worms, wormery taps can be left open to drain into a container.

7. The liquid produced by a wormery is valuable fertilizer. Dilute it 10:1 before watering it onto containers or gardens. Donâ??t use it on very young

plants.

8. The deep brown/black compost made by worms is so full of nutrients that it can be â??dilutedâ?? with regular garden compost. It can be used as a

mulch or potting compost.

9. Brandling or Tiger worms are often regarded as the best type for a wormery but most will do the job. Fishing shops are sometimes a cheaper

source of worms than garden wormery outlets.

10. Worms need a week or so to settle into a new wormery. They need to be fed a little and often â?? I take kitchen scraps out once a day. Citrus

and onion are not popular with worms but they love corrugated cardboard, eggshell and vegetable peelings in particular. They also need to be

kept away from extreme temperatures â?? they need shade in summer and warmth in winter. Some people move their wormeries indoors in winter.
:thumb:

 

Great article jimbo!

I bought a wiggly wigglers wormery about 8 years ago, decided to keep it in the kitchen (as advertised). Got it all set up, worms released into their new 'home', and went to bed.

Nest morning, came downstairs, and stopped in my tracks, as to my utter horror, the worms had escaped. It looked like a mass wormy masacre on my kitchen floor. My son and I spent the rest of the morning chipping dried worms from the linoleum, and sobbing over the half-dried ones, and cheering if we found a small cluster of survivors. It was a hideous task, one which I never wish to repeat.

The wormery never really recovered. A friend took it for her husband's birthday a year or two later, and apparently it is going well! I do remember loving the 'worm-wee'. It was a great liquid feed! The compost is fabulous too.

Two years ago we visited WW in Herefordshire. it was actually the one day a week they're closed, and the day before their annual 'open day', so everyone was dashing around like headless chickens. However, we received a very warm welcom, and were gived a vip guided tour of the gardens etc (to die for). I was really, really impressed by this small, family run operation (even though they have stopped operating as a worm farm) and would therefore have no hesitation in recommending them. I have no experience of wormcity to share.