Where did I go wrong, with my worms?

Worms were a disaster!

Well i had ordered 2 kilos of composting worms- 1 for our bio-tank (of which I hope these are thriving, but I haven't been game to check. And the other kilo for my worm farm. As I intended to maintain our own stock; to benefit both my garden (through fertiliser) and be able to top up the tank, and maybe even occasionally treat the flock.

I had been fussing as they were in transit, with the long weekend fast approaching... however they made it to our house on Wednesday. Which was a relief, as I had left strict instructions to place them on the doorstep if we were not there. Firstly as I was worried I would they would be cooped up for another day, and secondly for the shade... Well they got one out of two. Thankfully my neighbour moved them out of the sun for me.

So to their new home. I had constructed a worm farm from 2 polystyrene eskies (foam boxes) I bought from the local veg store. Piercing holes in the bottom, side (near the top) and lid, using a small drill bit. I hen place damp shredded newspaper mixed with a bit of straw and manure through. And finally adding some shredded lettuce at the top and just underneath.

Then I place the holey, filled box on top of the second and scattered in the bag of worms. And shredded the damp cardboard (that they came in) in there too. Placed the 2 cloth bag they arrived (slightly wettened over the top, then replaced the lid. Covered the boxes with a damp hessan sack   and left them for the night. This I kept in the shed, to control the light and heat. I had read that they shouldn't smell, but they had a very distinctive smell!

In the morning there had been a lot of action... many had escaped through the upper air wholes and lid! I picked up as many as I could save. Some had already dried out. So with this in mind I Googled  my findings, to be reassured to know they were probably restless and exploring their new environment. Some others experience also suggested they maybe too wet. So with this in mind, and the other half suggesting I make another box with smaller wholes, I set to work.

Pierce the 3^rd box with a smaller drill bit- but this time just the lid and base. Then transferred the contents into this box with some added dry shredded paper.

Well some success, they were not escaping. So I checked them again, before I locked the shed up for the night, still looked good... but they did smell? In the morning, they were all dead. Not a single wriggler...

Well the 'Worm book' and soil tester are still to arrive. I will probably b able to use the soil tester for the garden. But as for the 'Worm Book' I don't think I will be attempting farming my own again, any time soon... So maybe I'll EBay it.

I've ordered worm!

Yes that's right, the new addition to our farm are worms... not your general earth worm, but actual composting worms.

Now a little background information- when we bought this place it had an innovative waste system; as we do not have your general domestic system and 'town supply' for either our water or waste.  Now whilst this does reduce the rates costs (Council tax- to those in UK), it does mean you have to have an alternative source or system in place.

The system installed was actually really good; it is a bio-tank. That breaks down our household waste/sewerage and then supplies our garden lawn and orchard with the 'grey water'.

This system is very affective as long as it is operating properly. A few factors can affect this. So all our household products; washing powder, dishwashing liquid/ dishwasher tablets, cleaning products... basically anything that goes down the sink has to be biodegradable.

This is because the 'biological' process that breaks down our waste are worms!  That and any liquid is pumped into the garden- so chemicals would kill both the worms and our plants/lawn.

The biggest problem we have had with this system (not including the minor set back of cutting the irrigation pipes leading from the tank, which then flooded it in the wet season last year). Has been sourcing worms for it... in theory they should just multiply, but if anything were to upset them and they don't like water- so the flooded system meant they drown. We (or our plumber) needs to source more worms.  

So in the vain of self- suffieincy I decided to breed my own. That and to avoid being charged for the plumber to source them! When apparently they are very easy to keep yourself... I guess time will tell on that one.

But our own supply for our bio-tank is not my only motivation for building a worm farm, as I am hoping a better understanding of these vital creatures will assist in our maintaining their numbers and survival within the tank itself.

 So I have done my research and have ordered a combination of 'Red', 'Blue' and 'Tiger' worms , about 2kg (approx 8000) worms from www.wormsrus.com.au

There are a number of suppliers out there, willing to assist with setting up our home worm farm, just Google composting worms.

The worm farm itself will be constructed from a few recycled Styrofoam boxes, I purchased for a $1 each from a local veg store- I will blog about its construction again.  Once the worm farm is up and running I am hoping it will also produce a very potent, natural fertiliser (liquid/ compost tea and vermicompost) for the gardens, veg patch (which apparently helps with drought tolerance- very important here!)and a food source for the birds! Hopefully win, win, win!

I am not actually too concerned with the advertised benefit or reducing/recycling our waste. As the animals generally get first dibbs on our food scraps anyway. So having another species to divvy our scraps up between, may actually seem more of an inconvenience.  Though they can also consume paper, cardboard, tea bags, coffee grounds, vacuum cleaner dust, animal manure, used animal bedding, garden clipping- things that at the moment I can only place in the over flowing compost bin. So the fact that they can consume their own weight per week should help with this.

So now I am waiting for my worms to be delivered, as they are sent direct to your door. So be like a present when they arrive.

How does your garden grow?

Well I guess the question should be what does your garden grow? And where?

At the moment I have a few seedlings germinating in the shed, so far we have a few lettuce shoots, brussel sprouts, pak chi (red & green), stripy beetroot, chinese kale, thai basil. I shall be sewing some more this weekend. The last of Augusts crops- I'm trying to sew a few every 2 weeks, so we have a continuous supply. But I do get impatient and love to see plants flourish, so try to hold back.

I took a trip to Bunnings last night and picked up a new sprinkler for my veg patch (one of those oscillating ones- apparently it can cover 70m² so then I can use my soaker hoses to water the trees, along the fence line- as with the now drier weather the grass, let alone the fruit trees Iplanted are not lookign so good. 



Wom bok



I also picked up a composting bin yesterday. So hopefully we should be generating our own fertiliser/compost soon enough.  Now I don’t have the greatest amount of kitchen scraps to fill it with- as the pigs, dogs and chickens do pretty well out of these. But am sure I won’t find it hard to fill; we do have a reasonably unlimited supply of green waste and manure, along with used animal bedding (hay, sawdust, paper etc). It has bugged me in the past, as I clean the animals out that all that potential fertiliser was going to waste- since you shouldn’t place animal manure directly onto plants, as it will burn them.  

Pak choi/ Red choi

So to the garen itself, we are beginning to see the fruits of our labour.

   

Capsicum plant



Radishes



Cos lettuce



I was really surprised to see that the Fennel seeds and beetroot has finally germinated, along with the Wom bok, Bok choi, leeks and radishes. We have some success with the one capsicum (pepper) plant and lettuce (this one has re-produced a few). Also the herbs (that should be moving to their own patch soon)- basil, coriander and parsley thriving. Fingers crossed this bay tree is doing well (this is our 3rd attempt) and the "Maltese mint" I had from my neighbour needs pruning to stop it taking over. To be honest I'm nto even sure what it is, Ihave been told by many its edible and it does smell nice. Will have to post a picture, see if anyone can identify it.



 The silverbeet has done well, as has the rocket… though I must admit, neither of us are particularly fond of it, so the pigs and bugs have had the majority of it. The bugs have mostly been munching on my cauliflower and brocolli plants! Need to keep spraying them, though am trying to use natural remedies... I may have to resort to chemicals soon, as I may lose the lot. 



Silverbeet



Cauli plant- already munched

The Bortolli and Cherokee beans have begun to flourish and we are harvesting the last of the snow peas- am hoping to plant more of these next year.

 







Welsh bunching onions



Beans



From last year’s crops the Welsh bunching onions have continued to thrive right through. I would advise anyone give these a try- regardless of your garden/ pot size. As they’re great. You just pull them up, split them; taking what you want, but placing an individual onion (and root) back in the ground/ pot and it will multiply all over again. Also the tomatoes and egg plant (aubergines) have come back on their own… so should have a good supply of these soon enough.