Soil & Biodiversity
Soil is the foundation for life as we know it. It hosts a quarter of our planet’s biodiversity. Billions upon billions of earthworms, nematodes, insects, fungi, bacteria, and other invertebrates call it home. Just one handful of soil can contain tens of thousands of different organisms.
These earth-dwelling microbes use the organic material found in soil as food. They work together to break down complex materials — like dead plants and animals — into minerals and nutrients that support healthy growth for the rest of the ecosystem. Essentially, underground organisms aren’t just evidence of healthy soil. They are healthy soil. They create it. So what can we do to encourage soil health? Creating a composting wormery is one small scale activity that we can undertake to help improve soil health and provide nutrients from veregatable food waste.
These earth-dwelling microbes use the organic material found in soil as food. They work together to break down complex materials — like dead plants and animals — into minerals and nutrients that support healthy growth for the rest of the ecosystem. Essentially, underground organisms aren’t just evidence of healthy soil. They are healthy soil. They create it. So what can we do to encourage soil health? Creating a composting wormery is one small scale activity that we can undertake to help improve soil health and provide nutrients from veregatable food waste.
Making a composting wormery
A worm composter, or wormery, can turn your kitchen food scraps into fantastic fertiliser for your house plants and garden. Compact, smell-free and faster than normal composting, a wormery harnesses the digestive capability of worms to turn rotting vegetable matter into nutrient-rich material for your plants. Your wormery will provide you with a rich compost and a brown liquid, or 'worm tea', that you can dilute and use as a liquid fertiliser.
Only certain species of worms will thrive in a worm composter, so it's best to purchase the correct types or obtain them from someone with an established wormery.
Watch the video above to find out how to make your worm composter. Below, you can find the full instructions and some tips for success.
For your wormery you will need:
- Three stacking boxes (40 x 50 x 20cm), including one lid
- Four bricks
- Newspaper
- Peat-free compost (peat-free compost will be clearly marked as such)
- Composting worms (see What worms do I use in a wormery?)
- A drill
Building your wormery
Take two of the boxes and drill lots of holes through their bottoms and a modest number of holes through their sides. These let air circulate through the boxes and allow the worms to migrate between boxes. They also let the fertiliser fluid drain into the bottom box.
Place the third box in a shaded area and place two bricks in the bottom. Stack one of the other boxes inside this one, then place the other two bricks inside it. Stack the final box on top, without any bricks.
You can now start feeding the worms your food scraps. Suitable food waste includes tea bags (plastic-free ones), banana skins, vegetable peelings, coffee grounds and eggshells. Don't add too much citrus, garlic or onions and do not add meat or dairy waste.
Once the top box is full, switch with the middle box and add food to the empty top box. The worms will slowly move up into the new box. Adding a little compost from the full box can help encourage the worms to move. Once the worms have migrated out of the box you can empty the compost onto your garden.
Maintaining your wormery
Your wormery is a living ecosystem. Keep an eye on the mix of kitchen waste that you add to the composter. Composting worms are fairly voracious and can eat up to their own body weight a day, but if you add too much then the worms will not be able to keep up. On the other hand, the worms will be fine for a couple of weeks without food, so you can go away on holiday and not worry about them.
Too much wet waste can make your wormery smelly, while too much dry waste can slow down the composting process. You can add some shredded newspaper or cardboard if you think your mix is getting too wet.
A well-maintained wormery shouldn't smell, and can be kept indoors if required. If put outdoors, consider where you position it, as it needs some protection from the elements. Placing the composter against a wall or fence will help shelter it from too much sun or rain.
You may have to reduce how much waste you add in colder weather. As the temperature decreases, the worms slow down and their activity stops when it falls below 10°C.
In winter, if it gets very cold where you live, you can guard against the worms freezing by wrapping old carpet or bubble wrap around the composter.
Keep the wormery out of direct sunlight as it may get too hot for the worms. A shady north-facing wall is a good position for the summer. In very wet weather, make sure that the lid is secure, and the boxes aren't flooded with water.
What worms do I use?
The species of worms suitable for a composter aren't the normal garden earthworms that you find living in burrows under the soil. Composting worms live on the surface of the soil and specialise in eating decaying vegetable matter.
It's probably easiest to buy the worms you need from an online supplier. Shops that sell fishing bait also regularly carry the correct species. The most common species sold is Eisenia fetida, which has many common names including tiger worm, red worm, brandling worm and red wriggler. You may also find Dendrobaena veneta, or European nightcrawler. These worms prefer slightly different conditions, so you may find a mix of both gives you more flexibility in maintaining your wormery.
There are many suppliers of composting worms. We are using Yorkshire Worms in our wormeries