Wormery | How to Choose a Wormery

How to Choose a Wormery

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A wormery, sometimes called a worm bin, worm farm, or worm composter, is quite simply just a container that houses worms for use in a worm composting system.  Wormeries are usually kept inside of the home and fed food scraps such as fruit and vegetable leftovers, coffee grounds, tea bags, and egg shells.  In return for these food scraps, the worms return a rich compost made up of worm castings that is excellent to use in gardens, on house plants, and even on the lawn.  In return, homeowners cut down on waste that they send to local landfills.  When taken care of properly, wormery problems are rare.

When choosing to purchase a commercial wormery, a variety of materials are available.  The most popular are plastic or rubber varieties.  Wood varieties are a good choice as well.  The worm bin should not allow light inside and darker, opaque colors are generally considered the best.

Choose the size of worm bin that best corresponds to the weekly amount of table scraps that will be added.  The bin should be at least one foot deep and not more than 23 inches in depth.  Earthworms tend to live near the surface of soil so any deeper and you may end up with smell problems as the worms will not live very deep in the wormery.  The composter should include a draining tray underneath and have enough holes for proper aeration and drainage of any excess liquid produced inside.  It should also include an appropriate lid or cover that keeps out light.

There are many different varieties of wormeries available for commercial purchase.  Some come in a single bin type much like homemade wormeries.  These are fairly simple and inexpensive.  Many people prefer to purchase the stacked bin style of wormery as well.  This structure is nice if you have the space for it.  The stacked style worm bin is very simple to get worm castings out of and many people prefer it for this ease of use.

No matter which type of wormery that you decide to purchase, keeping the bin in proper balance for the living situation of the worms is important.  This will help keep the home free of unwanted odors and pests.  Taking care of worms is a responsibility, so if you own a wormery and will be gone for an extended period of time, make sure to have a friend or neighbor feed the worms occasionally or you may be starting over from scratch when you return home.

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