Feast!

Added: Carrot, Potato peelings, Apple core, Banana skin, teabags. Spoonful of crushed egg shells.

Vermicomposter in good health...

I have noticed some small insects (probably from the dryer soil I put in the bin) and some mould which is good as this extract shows… ‘in addition to worms, a healthy vermicomposting system hosts many other organisms such as insects, mould and bacteria’

Worm lovin'

I’ve noticed that when I check how well the waste is being decomposed there are a large number of worms around the waste so it’s definitely working! Also a lot of the worms were intertwined with each other which means they were probably breeding which is excellent news!

Good worm housekeeping...

I have recently read that adding a tablespoon of crushed eggshells helps to keep the pH level of the bin down...

I’ve noticed that some worms and earth have fallen below the permeable board and are probably not getting any of the food. Maintenance needed soon! I’m considering re-organising the bin and spreading an even layer of waste through the bin so that the worms have the best possible access to the waste.

Are they on a diet?

I’m finding that the food i'm giving the worms isn’t being consumed nearly as quickly as I imagined. Perhaps its because it is not chopped up fine enough (therefore slower digestion) or maybe some of the food is just too hard for them to crunch down quickly? Either way i'm reluctant to keep loading waste into the bin if its just going to sit there and not be decomposed. Maybe I will feed once or twice a week rather than every day and see how it goes.

Added: rosehip infusion tea leaves, normal tea leaves, parsnip peelings

Added: normal tea leaves and potato peelings

The first feed...

After 6 days to settle in and bed down the worms have their first feed!



Added: raspberry tea leaves, normal tea leaves, swede, potato, carrot peelings, newspaper shreddings

Primed and ready to go!

The worms have arrived and have now entered their new home. They won't be fed for a week to allow them to get used to their new environment. Below are a series of images showing how the vermicomposter was arranged.

Pebbles are in!

A very enjoyable weekend including taking part in the Climate Change march in London, going to a bonfire party at Battle in Sussex and visiting the De La Warr pavilion in Bexhill which is next to a beach where there were pebbles... :)



click here to see climate change march video

Gathering materials...

This week I have trying to get together all the materials that will make up the rest of the bin, those being: pebbles, soil, organic waste and worms!

I kept our organic waste for a few weeks to guage how much waste we were discarding. We average about 1kg a week. I can now use this information to obtain the correct weight of worms to buy. I've found a company that sells red worms over the internet and have ordered myself 500g of red wigglers! This weekend I am off to Bexhill where hopefully some of my co-travellers will hide pebbles in my bag hoping I don't notice until I get home! I also have found a patch of land near Brockley cemetry which has a good mixture of dry and wet soil which I will use.