Getting all wiggly at the worm cafe

Don't you love it when folk give you a second chance in life?

It makes you feel grateful doesn't it, especially when you're carrying a whole load of guilt about being a...

...Worm Murderer!

Yes a killer of defenceless little wiggly things.

I know. I am guilty as charged m'lord and I don't feel good about it.

Which is why I am thankful for a lovely gift I received from Wiggly Wigglers, which arrived on my doorstep just over a month ago.



It was their latest wormery...appropriately called the Worm Cafe, giving me the opportunity to make up for my misdemeanours.

The Can-o-Worms wormery that I'd previously been using had been going quite well until we hit winter last year, when I really couldn't be bothered to take my peelings and food scraps along the path, past the spikey plants and delve amongst the wet bushes just to feed the worms. It was much easier to bung everything in the Bokashi bin.

If the wormery had been smaller, we could have simply stored it outside the kitchen door and would have been far more convenient to use. However as useful as the Can-o-Worms was, it was just too big to do that and would have got in the way. I know, because I tried it.

But the Worm Cafe is perfectly shaped to fit into the smallest of corners. And just like the Can-o-Worms, it is easy to set up and comes complete with bedding, worms, a lime mix, worm treat and moisture mat when bundled with the Value Pack. It's also made from recycled plastic, so that's great news too.


I'm now pleased to say that our Worm Cafe has now been established just outside our kitchen for over a month and from a convenience perspective is very easy to use, particularly because its lid rests on the edge, so you don't have to juggle that while adding the scraps.



And as we no longer throw so much away these days, it is now the perfect size for my family, especially as we also have chickens and I no longer use the Bokashi bins.

I am confident that at last we've got a fool-proof system but I suppose I'm going to have to get through the Winter and see the first compost before I can truly celebrate.

In the meantime, I'm pleased to pass on our old wormery to our Beaver Scout leader and make my promise to be better behaved with my new batch of worms.

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More information about the Worm Cafe can be found at www.wigglywigglers.co.uk.

No Sex Please, We're British

I know I'm turning into a girl with a one track mind, (not to be confused with THE girl of course), so for a change, I thought I'd break away from the subject of rubbish and focus on worms.

Last week I emptied out the "liquid gold" from the wormery and noticed that yet again, there were quite a number of the wiggly things in there, all dead.

Since I got the wormery in February, I must have emptied out almost as many as came with the can'o'worms.

Forever feeling remorseful for the number of dead worms that get scattered in my garden, I thought I should order some new ones to keep the spirit of the wormery alive and wriggling.

Yet, when I poked about in the crumbly rich compost, there were hundreds of the wriggly wiggly creatures. All looking very happy indeed.

I felt relieved, but how were there so many? Somehow, I couldn't stop my thoughts wandering in the direction of how worms breed.

I know it seems a bit rude to barge into their personal lives, but I thought I'd have a poke around with an old stick to try and find some evidence.

But there was nothing fruity going on in wormland. They were just all going about their everyday business, as little single worms do.

I am not surprised really. After all, what worm wants to meet his beloved for a date with some cold peas and rice under the watchful eye of their keeper? Let alone get it on after their romantic interlude.

So there was nothing for it but to ring up the experts, Wiggly Wigglers, and pose the question "How do worms breed?" They made it sound so easy.

Worms as you know are Hermaphrodites, which means that they all have male and female reproductive organs. They breed by sliding through each other's saddle, which is the thick part of the worm. An egg is formed and fertilised as it travels along the worm's body where eventually it drops off its nose. It then takes around 4-6 weeks for the little worms to emerge...

Awww...bless...!

Anyway, I think I've got that right. I know it's the simple version, but for someone like me who never even attempted O'level biology, this is just the right level.

So having dug deeper (excuse the pun) into the issue at hand, I think that's enough sex for me thank you. After all, I am British and will have to hide my blushes when I next visit the worms.

Yes from now on, I think I'll just stick to my rubbish, happy that the worms seem content enough to multiply.

Anyway if you're interested in finding out more about my adventures with worms and waste, I've written a guest post for the Wiggly Blog, which which will be published this week, so please wiggle over for a nosey.

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