Compost problems?

[stella]

Talking of worms, do they just turn up? I have had a dalek compost maker on the go for nearly a year now sitting on the soil and have never seen a worm in it and I do turn it

[zazen999]

Talking of worms, do they just turn up? I have had a dalek compost maker on the go for nearly a year now sitting on the soil and have never seen a worm in it and I do turn it

If you've never seen a worm in your composter then you've got problems!

[stella]

Ooops have I what shall I do? I put veggies in wrapped in newspaper, give it a drop of water if it looks too dry, turn it occasionally. It doesnt smell, it doesnt do anything??

[zazen999]

Hard to say from here.

Is it rotting down ok?

[stella]

not sure how long it is suposed to take but eventually it sort of melts? But it has no smell or flies

[zazen999]

I've given this a thread all of its own; for discussion

[Munch]

My compost is much the same, doesnt seem to do anything and no worms...... a hell of a lot of ants tho.

I am interested what the comments will be.

[stella]

Hi munch looks as if ours could be related. Mine is just a big nothing and it has been in there nearly a year

[chris]

No worms in mine, I had to tip it out, to move the dalek to make room for another - it was pretty much all rotted down though... was quite impressed Bit too wet, which is why I'm guessing no worms, so mixed in a load of wood shavings from chicken coop and bunged it back in the small one. Started the other the other day, this time I'll balance it out more.

If it's smelly, surely then you need to add more browns ?

[stella]

No smell, no anything

[bazzaboy]

Interesting problem.... And yes, worms should "just turn up" if the conditions are right... You could check that the soil your dalek is placed on is fairly friendly to worms (i.e. not too cold, compacted or waterlogged or hostile though chemicals, old brick/cement waste etc) - are worms in evidence around that area of the garden? As you dig other areas I don't think it would be unduly harmful to drop any spare worms you happen to unearth into the dalek, they'll sort themselves out... I understand why you wrap kitchen waste in newspaper but that isn't particularly encouraging to the worms (imagine if you had to eat the packaging before getting to the biscuits!) - much more encouraging if you open the wrapping as you put it in so that's it's mixed and jumbled up once in the bin (ok to include the newspaper, tear it a bit...). Worms slow down in the cold and conversely (like humans on Med holidays some would say) speed up both digestion and reproduction in warmer conditions: rotting vegetable materials should produce warmth which encourages them... So in a cold winter they'd rather be in your warm compost than in the cold cold soil... Who can blame 'em, I would too! Make it fun for worms and they will repay you for your trouble! Hope that helps.

[stella]

Just been and had another look. No smell every thing just sitting there looking at me. Quite a few of those tiny flitzy flies floating around or sitting on the lid catching the warmth. The dalek is in a sheltered corner over an old tree stump next to it the ground has a black membrane over it (but I did pull it up before I put the dalek down). I put loadsof veg bits into it but it just goes.....somewhere????? Is it possible it just melts and goes back into the ground.

[weekendwellies]

i have a dalek and it is positioned on paving flags in a shady spot in the back yard which apparently is not ideal, but the worms just turned up in mine. Its positively heaving with them. I chuck on all sorts, veg peelings, guinea pig bedding, toilet roll tubes, egg boxes, grass cuttings, weeds, egg shells, fruit cores, and bruised fruit.. etc. Mine also has lots of little flys, slugs, woodlice, and sundry other critters.
Maybe the worm eggs get in via odd bits of soil that have gone in with weed pullings??

[Suky]

Do you just put veg bits in newspaper or does other waste like cardboard, tea leaves, coffee grounds, gargen waste etc? Since I discovered (on here) that cardboard and paper can be added I have had much better compost.
Check that membrane, if you can't remove it under the bin then just poke/tear some hole in it to allow the worms in. You could also dig up worms from elsewhere in the garden and rehome them in the bin.

[stella]

Yes that is what I throw in but where has it gone?!? Didnt know I had a problem till Zazen bumped me. Thought if I waited long enough it would turn into compost.