Not really a reply...but in the pic, there are 3 pieces...our Warehouse in Whakatane has only 2..the lid, and the bin with the holes. When I told them they needed 3 pieces, they showed me the entire stock and it is all 2 pieces...I am glad I could see the bins in here first, or I may have ended up buying a turkey!
You can buy worms, but the chances are, if you dig around in just about any established compost heap you'll find heaps of tiger worms. A handful is plenty to get you going. They soon multiply.
This is what they look like: http://vermiorganics.com/vop/worms.shtml
The worms in that picture are a bit brown on my monitor. The actual worms are the same pinky colour as earthworms but with the distinctive stripes.
I have 2 stacks of those same inexpensive Warehouse bins, each 3 bins high. You can buy extra single bins. They've handled all our uncooked kitchen waste for 3 adults for the last 7 years.
Don't put citrus peel or onions in the bins. A little doesn't bother them, but too much apparently drives them off.
A couple of useful hints....... an upturned 2 ltr ice cream container on the bottom tray is good to enable the worms to either keep out of the water an also to be able to move back up if they need/want. Stops babies from drowning too.
A sack of horse poo feeds them for a long time if the chooks are sharing the kitchen scraps. (make sure the horse hasn't JUST been wormed - if so wait a few weeks then put it in.)
Keep it OUT of the sun - so many people kill them with the sunshine - me included. Under a passionfruit vine or the like is perfect, on the drip line of a gross feeder tree like a citrus is really good.(South side - away from sun though)
Use a sepperate one for doggy doo's. Anything that passes thru a worm comes out o.k - but to be on the safe side - let them alone for a while longer.
The old polystyrene boxes stacked on top of each other work very well too. Specially when around the drip line of a tree. They are better heat insulated and the escape holes at the bottom give the worms a get away if the mix isn't right - hopefully you'll get it right an they may come back - or you'll find them elswhere doing their job.
Fantastic, Michael, and thanks for taking the time to reply. This model was also from The Warehouse. Will get started on the compost today! Is it ok to sit the box on concrete under the eves?
the bin with no holes goes on the bottom then the bin with holes goes on top. theres a few ways to start from here. one way is to add a little compost in one corner with a handfull of foodscraps then add ur worms and cover with a old towel or piece of carpet whateva u have lying around to help keep the temperature and humidity stable, or just add newspaper sum food then ya worms then cover. tiger worms are the best and can be easily brought from a worm supplier, i got mine from ecostore next to vic markets, bout 30 bucks for 1000 worms. from here the main thing is to keep the worm farm in a place that is sheltered, dont over feed them and keep the moisture level right. i brought one like this from the warehouse and it works fine the only thing i found is to keep an eye on the bottom bin for drowning worms. good luck. oh and they say it's good to flush some fresh water through every couple of weeks after the first six weeks.
the bin with no holes goes on the bottom then the bin with holes goes on top. theres a few ways to start from here. one way is to add a little compost in one corner with a handfull of foodscraps then add ur worms and cover with a old towel or piece of carpet whateva u have lying around to help keep the temperature and humidity stable, or just add newspaper sum food then ya worms then cover. tiger worms are the best and can be easily brought from a worm supplier, i got mine from ecostore next to vic markets, bout 30 bucks for 1000 worms. from here the main thing is to keep the worm farm in a place that is sheltered, dont over feed them and keep the moisture level right. i brought one like this from the warehouse and it works fine the only thing i found is to keep an eye on the bottom bin for drowning worms. good luck. oh and they say it's good to flush some fresh water through every couple of weeks after the first six weeks.
Replies
This is what they look like:
http://vermiorganics.com/vop/worms.shtml
The worms in that picture are a bit brown on my monitor. The actual worms are the same pinky colour as earthworms but with the distinctive stripes.
I have 2 stacks of those same inexpensive Warehouse bins, each 3 bins high. You can buy extra single bins. They've handled all our uncooked kitchen waste for 3 adults for the last 7 years.
Don't put citrus peel or onions in the bins. A little doesn't bother them, but too much apparently drives them off.
A sack of horse poo feeds them for a long time if the chooks are sharing the kitchen scraps. (make sure the horse hasn't JUST been wormed - if so wait a few weeks then put it in.)
Keep it OUT of the sun - so many people kill them with the sunshine - me included. Under a passionfruit vine or the like is perfect, on the drip line of a gross feeder tree like a citrus is really good.(South side - away from sun though)
Use a sepperate one for doggy doo's. Anything that passes thru a worm comes out o.k - but to be on the safe side - let them alone for a while longer.
The old polystyrene boxes stacked on top of each other work very well too. Specially when around the drip line of a tree. They are better heat insulated and the escape holes at the bottom give the worms a get away if the mix isn't right - hopefully you'll get it right an they may come back - or you'll find them elswhere doing their job.