How to set up a wormery.

 One of the most efficient ways of recycling kitchen waste is to use a wormery, or worm bin. These purpose-built containers house a colony of brandling worms, which consume fruit and vegetable waste, producing a nutritious worm compost.

As well as producing a rich compost, wormeries also generate a nutritious liquid fertiliser. Vegetable waste is largely made up of water, and this will drain down through the bin to collect in the bottom. The resulting liquid can be retrieved through a tap in the base of the bin. It’s a good idea to keep the tap permanently open and collect drips in a bottle or bucket below.

A wide variety of wormery kits are available to buy. Most of them consist of three or four modular trays placed on top of each other. As the worms consume the waste in the bottom tray, they move up to the next one. Simply remove the bottom tray to access the worm compost, rinse it and place it on the top, and continue to add fresh veg peelings.

Wormeries are easy to set up, but if yours is delivered by post, make sure you set up the bin within two days, as the worms may not survive if they are not quickly transferred into their bedding.

More on garden composting:

• Types of composter (video)
• Attract wildlife with a compost heap
• How to turn your compost (video)
• What’s wrong with my wormery?
• Five steps to winter compost

You Will Need

• Wormery kit
• Brandling worms
• Kitchen waste

Total time:

30 minutes

Step 1

Attach the legs and tap, add a single tray to the base unit, and then lay a sheet of paper in the tray.

Set up a wormery – putting the wormery kit together

Step 2

Soak the worm bedding block (made of coir compost) in warm water, before breaking it up into a friable mass.

Set up a wormery – soaking the coir worm bedding

Step 3

Cover the paper with the compost bedding mixture, spreading it out in an even layer.

Set up a wormery – adding in the wetted worm bedding

Step 4

Spread the worms out over the bedding and they’ll quickly start burrowing down into the material.

Set up a wormery – spreading the worms out over the bedding

Step 5

Cover the worms and bedding material with a thin layer of well-chopped vegetable peelings. As these begin to rot, the worms will be able to start feeding on them. Most kits also come with a mat that should be used to cover the material to maintain moisture in the bin.

Set up a wormery – allowing the worms to burrow down

Step 6

Finish by putting the lid on the bin, then move it to a warm and sheltered spot, out of direct sunshine. Regularly drain liquid from the bin, and dilute it with 10 parts water, to use as a fertiliser.

Set up a wormery – covering the worms with vegetable waste and moisture mat

Move the wormery to a frost-free place during winter, as worms may die if left outside.

High potash feed

All plant foods (fertilisers) have printed on their packs the proportion of N, P, & K that are in the packs.
N stands for Nitrogen,
P stands for Phosphorus (phosphates) and
K stands for Potassium (or potash).

7:7:7, this being a balance fertiliser, 10:5:3: a plant growth feed
5:5:12 is a high potash feed or Potash Fertiliser.

Just a note on Tomato Feed: 

They are very high in Potash (K) and initiate flowers and then tomatoes but tomato feed is also high in nitrogen (N) for growth. 

The high N is to balance the very high K (potash) which is very import for tomatoes, this means it can be too ‘strong’ for other plants. 

If you would like to use it for other plants dilute it by 50%.

Nitrogen encourages green growth, Phosphates (phosphorous in soluble form) is essential for healthy growth and good for roots, Potash (potassium in soluble form) not only produces more flowers and good fruit but also, makes plants tougher and resistant to diseases and pests.

Last of all, if you feed too much with high N or balanced feeds you may stop flowers forming (why would they need to flower? They are happily growing away). 

If this is the case stop using these feeds, water with plain water for a week or two & then feed with the high potash food.

Growing blueberries

Growing blueberries in garden soil, add plenty of bulky, acidic organic matter such as pine needles, leaf-mould or composted conifer clippings. 

Avoid well-rotted farmyard manure as this is too rich and alkaline.

Plants That Need Lime

If you've decided to grow a vegetable patch, then the kind of plants that will benefit from lime include legumes such as peas and broad beans. 

Other popular homegrown vegetables that benefit from lime include onions, garlic, parsnips, asparagus, and English spinach.

What to do monthly.

- http://www.nsalg.org.uk/growing-advice/monthly-advice/march/

- https://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-advice-month/

- http://www.paddocks-allotments.org.uk/month-by-month/march/sow-or-plant.htm

- http://www.trapgroundallotments.org.uk/calendar.html

- http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/asparagus-grow.php

What to do monthly.

We use five date zones for gardeners, your town is in zone 2 - Bournemouth, Dorset.
February
Celery - sow seeds indoors
Peas / mangetout - sow early types under cloches
start sowing parsnip seed, but it may be too cold to germinate
Start successional sowing of radishes
Sow your first peas in pots in the cold frame or under fleece direct into the ground
Cover your strawberry patch with fleece or a cloche to warm up the ground
Prune blackcurrant bushes

March
Peas / mangetout - start to sow seeds of early types outdoors
Squash / pumpkins - prepare soil
Asparagus - apply spring fertiliser
Beetroot - sow seeds under cloches
Potatoes - plant out sprouted sets
Radish - sow seed under cloches
Beetroot - sow seed in pots indoors
Squash / pumpkins - sow seed indoors
Swiss Chard - sow outdoors with cloche protection
Turnip - start to sow seed outdoors
It should be safe to plant parsnip seeds
Start successional sowing of chard, beetroot and spinach
Cover rhubarb crowns to "force" them
Cut back autumn raspberries to the ground
Sow cauliflower, summer cabbage and sprouts for summer transplanting

Jan - Mar Gooseberries - prune
Jan - Mar Red / whitecurrant - prune

Sowing timeline.

Undercover, sow
broad beans,
spinach,
lettuce,
peas for shoots,
onion,
salad onion,
early brassicas (cabbage, calabrese, kohlrabi, cauliflower),
radish,
parsley,
coriander,
dill.

Giving some warmth helps germination, such as heating mats: this is the most worthwhile time of plants’ lives to invest in heat, to germinate their seeds.

Assemble a heap (hotbed) of fresh horse manure, to provide heat for new sowings.
In 25C warmth sow aubergine, pepper, chilli – they must have warmth or it’s a waste of time.
Outside, the only sowings now are broad beans, and garlic if you have not already.
You can sow parsnips but seedlings may be stronger from March sowings, even April.

If you have no way of warming seeds, seeds still germinate but more slowly and sometimes unevenly.
Undercover without heat its fine to germinate lettuce, brassicas, peas, broad beans, onions, spinach.
Sowing timeline for vegetables:

A year on the plot.

March
It should be safe to plant parsnip seeds
Start successional sowing of chard, beetroot and spinach
Plant strawberries and raspberries
If you've sown early lettuce, they probably need thinning now
Lift all remaining leeks from last year to give you time to dig over the land for new planting
Plant sunflower seeds in pots in your cold frame
Cover rhubarb crowns to "force" them
Cut back autumn raspberries to the ground
Plant out onion sets
Sow cauliflower, summer cabbage and sprouts for summer transplanting
If warm enough, sow leeks in a seed bed or in pots
Dig, dig, dig to get your plot ready for spring planting

prune-in-summer

- https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/eight-reasons-to-prune-in-summer/