First of all - how do you feel about worms?
- I am a total fan and think they are amazing. Let me hold one now!
- They are a bit meh. Not sure, never thought about it before.
- They are disgusting - there is no way I am touching that!
Let's see if you change your mind!
Meet our wormery worms
Meet our wormery worms
The worms in our wormery are called tiger worms (because they are stripy like tigers) or red wigglers.
Their scientific name is Eisenia fetida - fetid means 'foul smelling' as they release a yellow yucky-smelling liquid when they are scared or when caught by an animal, probably to avoid being eaten (would you eat something if it smelled yucky?).
They usually live in the leaves and top layer of the soil, not deep in the ground, but ours live in a special home called a wormery.
Worms in action
When we look inside we can see worms of many sizes munching through the brown paper bags we use to take kitchen scraps to the wormery. There is more food underneath.
The darker brown stuff we can see are worm casts or poo, which gardeners call 'vermicompost' (worm compost) or 'black gold' because it is so full of nutrients and good for plants.
We might also meet some other recycling creatures like woodlice (slaters) or yellow slugs!
What do worms need to survive?
The bare necessities of life...
This is a picture of a wormery in one of our School Gardens.
Like all living things worms need 4 main things to survive and stay healthy.
They need:
Shelter
Water
Air
Food
Do we need these four things too?
Let's find out how we look after the worms to make sure they get what they need.
Lift the lid of the wormery
Having pet worms is a serious responsibility.
We need to make sure they have everything they need inside the wormery and that the conditions are just right.
Our wormery has trays that stack on top of each other. Let's look at each level in turn from top to bottom.
Lid
The lid helps shelter the worms from rain, sun, cold and things that want to eat them. When we lift it, their natural reaction is is to burrow under the soil so they stay safe and don't dry out.
What creatures do you know that like eating worms?
Top tray
Top tray
The top tray is where we put food for the worms like veg scraps, banana skins, apple cores and some weed leaves.
Worms don't have teeth so the food needs to get mouldy and soft before they can eat it.
They eat the food and poo out 'worm compost' full of nutrients!
Middle tray
This tray is half full with food and half full with worm compost (poo). It has another month or so to go before all the food has been broken down and it is ready to use in the garden.
The worms and other creatures in the micro-recycling crew, like bacteria and mould, still have work to do!
Wormholes!
There are lots of holes between each tray so worms can move up and down.
These do the same job as the tunnels the worms dig underground.
Bottom tray
All the food is gone so the worm compost (poo) is ready to use in the garden.
We dig some out with a trowel, being careful of the worms. Then we add some to the soil before we plant our vegetable seeds and mix some into our potato tubs. It helps our plants grow strong and healthy.
In winter, worms snuggle up together in the lower trays to stay warm.
Liquid tank
Worms need water to survive as they breathe through their moist skin but if they get too wet they can drown.
As the composting process produces moisture it drips down into the very bottom of the wormery.
We open the tap and catch some in our watering can to mix with water and use as fertiliser when we water our plants.
How to be a wormery keeper
As we said earlier, having pet worms is a serious responsibility.
If you find yourself looking after a wormery here are some top tips!
- Check the wormery every few weeks to make sure it is not too dry or wet in the wormery.
- If your wormery has a tap don't forget to drain any liquid fertiliser regularly so worms don't drown in the bottom of the wormery.
- All year round put some scrumpled up paper towels and tissues in as well as food to soak up liquids and smells and to give places for worms to hide. In winter give them extra as bedding to huddle up and stay warm in.
- In spring you can see if your worms have had babies - baby worms are tiny white thread-like see-through miniature worms. You will need to start feeding them more often!
- Chop food up into smaller pieces so it is easier to break down.
- Make sure you give them enough of the right kinds of food. In colder months they slow down a bit but when it warms up they eat their own body weight each day!
- Fruit scraps like apple cores, banana skins, mouldy strawberries.
- Veg scraps like carrot and parsnip tops and potato peel.
- Coffee grounds and the leaves from inside used tea bags (don't put the whole bag in - most contain plastic).
- Scrumpled up used paper towel, tissues or torn up egg boxes.
- Leftover pasta or mouldy bread.
- Old salad, vegetable leaves or small weed leaves.
Food that worms don't like:
- Lots of citrus fruit makes the wormery very acidic which the worms don't like.
- Used tea bags - most tea bags have a thin layer of plastic that is bad for a worm's digestive system if it eats it.
- Cut grass can make the wormery too hot when it starts to rot.
Worms are our friends!
Looking after worms is easy and great fun - you don't have to take them on walks, they don't chew your slippers or sneakily eat that biscuit you were saving for later!
They recycle our waste and help make healthy soil.
Healthy soil means we can grow healthy plants to eat and enjoy.
Worms are our friends!