Starting up a Second Wormery

[Red]

Hi Willy. Thanks for all of your advice so far. I am now nearly a year in on my first wormery and it has been a great success thanks to this forum and your advice. So much so that I am considering buying a second. However, some more advice on this please. I think I have 2 options. Either to buy just the wormery without worms, or to buy with worms (£15 extra). Either way I am thinking to split the top 2 trays of my current wormery in two to start the second with somewhat established bedding and worms etc. if I also purchase the worms I am thinking to also split them between the 2 wormery’s. Which way would you advise or is there a better way? Thanks in advance, Red.

[Lilwriggler]

I found when i started a second wormery, i had a lot more confidence, so i had new worms in the new one and didn’t mix. You may find you have two wormeries with worms trying to escape for the first few days!

[WillyWorm]

Hi Red, lilwriggler makes a good point about having two wormeries possibly with worms trying to get out, this is not common and the likelihood of it happening can be reduced by using one of the tray from your first in the new shiny sweet smelling bin. I believe one of the reasons worms try to escape to start with is the fact that a new bin smells and tastes too sterile for them to consider it home.
A new bin with or with out worms that is the question. A Wormcity bin will house approximately 2500 worms. If you think you have about 2000 worms at the moment then I would go bin only route. If later you feel you would like more worms you can send off for them. Your worm population should be growing fast even if there does not seem many worms to start with.

Willy

[Lilwriggler]

What does 2500 worms look like in a wormery? I’m sure i’m looking at a lot less than that in mine, it’s certainly not heaving with worms, good population but not that kind of size.

[WillyWorm]

In that case you could go bin only and allow a slower population growth or buy more worms for faster growth. I have 7 bins and have only ever in ten year’s bought one lot of worms with my first bin. Maybe I’m a meany.

Willy

[Red]

I have gone for bin only! I am tight too! Here is my strategy to minimise escapees. See what you think:

My original bin is a 4 tray. However, you actually get 5 trays as one of them is supposed to be upturned to become the base. I did not do this as I thought it was much more valuable as a future tray. So, starting the wormery last October I have successfully got it to 4 trays and been harvesting through the warmer months, but I didn’t use the 5th tray. So, in anticipation of the new wormery arriving in the next few days I have destacked the old wormery and removed the contents of the 1st tray (the one next to the sump which has been in the stack the longest time) and put it into this previously unused 5th tray and then restacked the wormery with this 5th tray next to the sump (becoming the 1st tray). Now, this empty is obviously dirty, I shall not clean it, in fact I have placed it empty on top of the stack with the lid on just to keep it in the wormery environment. I shall use this tray as the feeding tray for the new wormery.

Once my new wormery arrives I will take the top 2 full trays of my old wormery (4th - current feeding tray and the 3rd) and swap 50% of its contents with 50% of the others contents. One tray will return to the top of the old wormery and the other will be the first tray placed on the sump of the new wormery. I will then take the empty dirty tray and set it up with spent compost cardboard and feed, becoming the 2nd/feed tray for the new wormery.

So, what I end up with is the old wormery one tray less (3 trays) but I will introduce a new feeding tray once settled down. Apart from the new feeding tray the rest will be from the old environment so hopefully the worms will not notice a change. The new wormery will be just 2 trays to start with both from the old wormery. The only new pieces will be the sump and the lid. So, again, I hope the worms will not see too much of a difference.

I hope the explanation above is clear enough, easy to do but hard to explain! Red.

[WillyWorm]

Your plan is good and I’m sure it will work. There are lots of reasons for escapees with your first venture into worm keeping most of which are overcome by your worms being used to their environment.
The only thing I would try would be to add a little food and bedding to the now empty top tray this may encourage a few worms up even before you new bin arrives. I also recommend you take a little garden soil or casting mix with water and “paint” the inside of the new bin with it, before introducing your worms, worms really do not like the sterile smell and taste of new plastic.

[Red]

Thanks Willy, great suggestions! I am on it! I will let you know how it goes. By the way, the wife thinks I am mad but is supportive of the venture!

[WillyWorm]

My wife stopped thinking I was mad about 20 years ago, that was when she decided there was no question about it I was definitely MAD lol

Willy

[Red]

2nd wormery arrived today. I have done the splitting of the top 2 trays and followed your recommendations Willy. Lilwriggler, I don’t know how you can tell how many worms you have. I just assumed that most would be in the top 2 trays and did a 50% split of them. Feeding trays on both are now a mix of corrugated cardboard cut into small pieces, spent compost and some food. Now time will tell! Thanks, Red.