Mini Wormery (easy)

Easy wormery for kids out of ice cream containers

Supplies:

1. Three ice cream containers with one lid
2. Spray bottle
3. Worms (red wigglers, aka redworms/Eisenia fetida. )
4. Vegetables
5. Egg carton (empty)
6. Compost

Tools:

1. Drill

Drill 1/2 cm holes 5 cm way from each other in the top and middle container (when you drill make sure you drill into wood). Make sure the holes do not line up. Drill holes 1/4 cm (5 cm way from each other) near the top of the ice cream container (where it overlaps) so the worms can breathe.

This is a short and easy step. Put the three containers in each other and put the lid on the top.

• Put your containers on top of each other, starting with the third container and ending with the other two containers. Don't put your worms in the yet - wait for the next step.
• For bedding dampen and shred the egg carton into small pieces and then put it on the bottom of the ice cream container (1.5 cm high) and add some compost - also 1.5 cm high. Then put on the vegetables. The worms will make this into compost. Feed three handfuls of mixed organic waste (decomposing not rotting), every 7 to 10 days (based on 100 worms).
• Turn or mix up your wormery once a week to keep it aerated (full of oxygen) which you can do when you feed the worms.
• Go easy on citrus peels and anything that could attract flies.
• After a while the compost will have risen to the top of the container. Take your ice cream container that is full and put it into the middle of the 3 containers.
• The worms will crawl into the top container eventually. Once the worms have gone into the top container you can take the compost from the middle container and use it for compost in your garden.
• Check on your worms every day for the first week (as they settle) - healthy worms are wriggling and red. Thereafter twice a week.

Now that you what to do, put in the worms

• Make sure your wormery is not too dry (that is what the spray bottle is for). If you think it is too dry give it a few sprays every 2 to 3 days or else the worms could get dehydrated.
• Make sure you don't drown the worms and make sure it is not too wet (it should be damp) otherwise your worms can drown and die.
• Worms like warm, moist, conditions so keep your wormery somewhere shady and as close to room temperature as possible. They don't like to be frozen so move your wormery indoors for winter but in summer you can leave them out for the whole day (including the night).
• For Winter. Take you wormery outside at 8 a.m. (rput it somewhere shady but with a little bit of sun) and bring it back inside at 6 p.m. Same rule applies for summer ☝️. Remember to keep it somewhere shady(NO SUN IN SUMMER) (but you do not have to bring it back inside at night).
• Keep your wormery at 15° and 25°C / 59°F and 77°F.

Clear out worm pee weekly, and put it into a plastic bottle. Put worm castings (worm compost) in a plastic bag and store in a dry place. It will take your worms 6 to 8 weeks to produce a noticeable amount ( 300g) of vermicompost. The castings appear as small, dark, clumps that easily break apart.

Thanks