Womeries can be set up in the smallest garden and even a balcony and these are the reasons to give it a try:

1. To feed your soil. A healthy worm farm can produce enough vermicompost (worm castings) and vermileachate (worm wee) to feed your whole garden. A wormery is a contained way to get a large population of special worms to convert organic waste into products that can be used to increase the health of the soil and the plants in the garden.
2. To decrease your kitchen waste. A wormery relies on kitchen waste added one cupful at a time to convert into the good stuff. Each worm is able to consume the equivalent of its own weight in food each day under ideal As their numbers increase they will be able to convert more and more ‘scraps’ into compost and leachate, eventually dealing with all your kitchen waste and some of your garden cuttings. Avoid adding a lot of acidic kitchen waste such as citrus peel or onions.
3. It’s quicker. To do the same job as a contained wormery, you would need to mulch your entire garden and wait until the earthworms multiplied and wait some more. This kind of system also works faster than a compost heap.
4. It’s totally organic. By giving your plant a good level of micro nutrients as those found in wormeries, make for healthier plants and food crops that are seldom affected by pests and diseases.
5. It’s fun, clean and easy to manage

Visit The Witness Garden Show from the 6-8 September and grab a wormery to start this rewarding hobby. The show is at the Royal Showgrounds, Pietermaritzburg and all the info you need is on www.gardenshow.co.za