Worm Help?

If you are having problems with an existing wormery, or just need some advice - then ask it here
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wormcity
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Re: Worm Help?

Post by wormcity » Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:04 am

Hi Ricky

Very strange that your worms aren't breeding - worms by nature are prolific breeders.

Ok... first of all, worms are happy in their bedding, so you should never need to start from scratch with new coir block.

To try and solve the problem, lots of questions need to be asked about the condition of your wormery

you mention that you see plently of eggs in summer, what happens to the eggs, do they hatch, do you see babies, do the babies die, or do you see dead worms in your bin ?

what is the moisture level, is it damp or dry ?
what does your wormery smell like, is it earthy, or does it smell rancid ?
are there any ( http://www.wormcity.co.uk/wormfaq.htm#o ... sinwormery ) enemies in the bin, like ants ?
have you added anything that could have a pesticide on it ?

have you tried adding cereal based food like weetabix / bran as this can help growth and productivity ?

do your worms escape because they don't like the conditions ?

we look forward to hearing from you and solve the problem !

Kindest Regards

Ronnie

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wormcity
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Re: Worm Help?

Post by wormcity » Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:19 pm

Hi Ricky

if you bought 2 kilos of worms, and are using all the trays you should have around 6 kilos which is about 6000 worms, because they breed quickly they do also regulate themselves to the size

the moisture level is damp - correct
the amount of water that comes out is controlled by what goes in, tomatoes = high water content, bread / paper = low water but you should have had some liquid

the earthy smell - correct - a wormery shouldn't smell

slugs - although some species eat worms not all do so it won't be that
fruit flies, actually aid composting - though they are a pest in our eyes.

worms gathering in the lid, or on the sides - this can be quite normal, worms are very sensitive to the changing weather pressures, and often go upwards when its thundery, or 'close'

in a wormery thats been running for 4 years, your worms should be able to consume 2 - 3 kilos of food per week (if you had the 6kg) they do slow down breeding and eating in the winter, especially in a winter as cold as we have had.

worms are fine outside in the cold, we usually recommend a bit of insulation, but often as food composts down it produces heat anyway, and the worms often go to the middle where it will be warmest.

so by the sounds of it everything seems fine

please send us an email (using the contact us link above) or pm me via this forum, with your address, and we will send some more worms out to you, to try and get your wormery running properly, also as your wormery is outside, see if you can find a large cardboard box, flatten it, wet it, and lay it down under the wormery sump.
If your worms are leaving your wormery because of something isn't to their liking, they will crawl under the cardboard, so it will be interesting to see if you lift the cardboard up every few days, to see how many worms are actually there.
They will live there happily, and won't dry out because of the moisture in the cardboard

Hear from you soon

Ronnie

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wormcity
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Re: Worm Help?

Post by wormcity » Sat Feb 28, 2009 12:42 pm

Hi Ricky

No the worms won't cost you anything.

I was going to ask what sort of wormery you had, the old grey dustbin type we discontinued years ago, as we found from experience that they got too heavy, and were very difficult to manage.
Dustbin type wormeries can get very anerobic - as they have little air flow at the bottom of the bin (or even in the middle), and the weight of food above compresses down and causes problems - resulting in a smelly slimy mess.

This is why we now only sell stacking wormeries, as each tray has airflow around it, and of course if its shallow it has a greater surface to depth ratio meaning happier worms - easier to manager, and better results.

I would suggest using some of your existing bedding, as this has all the correct bacteria microorganisms already there, also you have probably got worms eggs, and babies, so get a nice (?) day tip everything out, collect all your worms , babies, eggs that you can and put them back into the bottom of the bin, with as much vermicompost (the black compost that should be at the bottom) to a depth of about 12 -18 inches - don't overfeed

Best of luck

Ronnie

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wormcity
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Re: Worm Help?

Post by wormcity » Sun Mar 01, 2009 9:17 pm

great :) :) :)

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wormcity
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Re: Worm Help?

Post by wormcity » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:38 pm

Hi
We always recommend our executive wormery, as it is really tough and big ....
go for as many trays as you can, as it will give your worms loads of space, and air flow

Ronnie

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