new wormery setup

[DT]

Hi All,
got my delivery yesterday, and set it up last night as per the comprehensive instructions enclosed with wormery. 1 tray lined with cardboard (from the packaging) the damp coir, plus a couple of handfuls of garden soil, the worms and compost from the bag, some worm food and a layer of wet torn up paper.
The Wormery is in the garden shed.

Checked on them this morning and some seem to have decided it's not for them, around 10 to 15 worms on or around the wormery, and a few on the inside of the roof. Scooped them up and put them back in the tray, is this normal? I suppose it's a good sign that they are so active in December, although it was quite mild overnight (12C).

(OK edited to add:-
noob mistake, have now read through most of the forum, and escapees are normal for a while so that's fine, also like the tip from a few folk about putting the wormery in a black bin bag to make collecting the escapees easier, will do that tonight.)

I also have a question about bread, as I've read elsewhere that bread and other yeast containing products should not be used as food, can't be right surely?

cheers
DT

[wormcity]

Hi
Yes it's normal for worms to wander in the 1st week - think of it like your new home with no furniture or belongings.


Using a bin liner keeps them in place.


Bread / cakes etc are fine in moderation. If you put in too much then it can create quite a lot of heat - so small amounts are fine.


Enjoy your wormery


Ronnie

[DT]

cheers

no escapees this morning, so looks like they have settled into the coir soil mix as there was only one visible at the side if the paper (or they have all escaped and left the shed without leaving any trails! )

I know the forums' not much used however it is a valuable resource, reading back through the various posts has been very useful and informative.

will report further in a couple of weeks once feeding starts
DT

[WillyWorm]

Hi DT,
Welcome to the fasinating world of worms.
I'm sure your new family will quickly settle in their new home.
Re the bread thing, I use bread as food in moderation. I also dry some bread in the bottom of the oven, I then crush it to a fine powder, which I can use a bit like the dry food provided by wormcity. It makes a great feed if I have nothing else for example the day I return from a holiday, its also great for fattening your worms. Using it dry like this and sprinkling it on the top of the bin I have never had a problem with it heating up or it sitting in an anorobic blob

HTH  Willy.

[DT]

great tip Willy, as it will also keep much better without going mouldy, so you can stick it in the cupboard and forget about until needed (like crispbreads) 

[WillyWorm]

That's the idea. I keep a box of dried food; out of date pasta, breakfast cereals that nobody will eat etc. I also use it if the bedding seems to wet, I add some shredded cardboard and paper the feed dry food for a day or so.

[klompie]

Hi, I've just been reading through previous posts and threads but can't really find any answer to my question.
I'm obviously very much a newbie..not even got the kit yet!
I'm wondering when and how much finished compost I can expect, if my set up goes reasonably well and gets going, say in 6 weeks time from now, nrly august...how long before I can expect to harvest a full tray? 
Might of course be the piece of string answer but I do seem to create a lot of veggy waste as well as garden waste.

[wormcity]

Yes it's a bit of a piece of string question....

The rule of thumb is two months per tray to compost down. The volume will drop so if the tray was full at 25 litres you couple expect to get 5+ litres of compost.

HTH
Ronnie

[klompie]

Yes it's a bit of a piece of string question....

The rule of thumb is two months per tray to compost down. The volume will drop so if the tray was full at 25 litres you couple expect to get 5+ litres of compost.

HTH
Ronnie

Thanks, at least that gives me some idea.

[WillyWorm]

Don't over fed your herd just because you have a lot of food, it will slow them down not speed production up. It can take a newly setup bin a while to get up to speed. I have a 5 tray setup and harvest the bottom tray from it every month.
You said you have a lot of veg wasted! Your worms will eat 1 to 1.5 lb of this waste per day when you bin is up and running.

HTH
Willy