How to make a wormery

Give earthworms a dark home and food and they’ll thank you by making compost for your garden.

Materials you will need:

• Three rectangular black plastic bins, about 15cm deep
• Secure lid for the top bin
• Tap
• Old newspaper
• Worms
• Some soil
• Three bricks
• Drill with 10mm drill bit and18mm spade bit for the tap

Drill rows of drainage holes in the bottom of the two top bins, big enough for the worms to migrate through, plus ventilation holes near the top of the sides.
Shred plain newspaper into strips and wet it to make a 12-centimetre-thick bed for the worms. Sprinkle two cups of soil over it, mix and add worms – red wrigglers or Eisenia fetida are best.
Start them off with a cup of scraps – no meat, oil, citrus or dairy – and keep the wormery in a shady spot.
When the top bin is full, swop it with the second bin and continue as before and the worms will migrate from below once they’ve finished the food in the first bin. When you harvest your vermicompost, pick out any remaining earthworms and return them to the top bin.