Question 1

How much do I need to dilute my Bokashi Liquid?

Accepted Answer

The recommended dilution ratio for bokashi liquid is 1 part bokashi liquid to 100 parts water. This means that for every unit of bokashi liquid, you should add 100 units of water. For instance, if you have 1 cup of bokashi liquid, you would dilute it with 100 cups of water. This dilution ratio ensures that the nutrients and beneficial microorganisms present in the bokashi liquid are delivered in a manageable concentration for plants, preventing any potential harm from over-fertilisation or acidity.

Question 2

How do I feed live mealworms to garden birds?

Accepted Answer

When your worms are weighed and packed here at the farm they are sent with some bedding of wheat bran. As they eat this the resulting material is called frass and needs to be sieved (a normal small kitchen sieve is perfect). Because live mealworms are a bit wiggly the key to feeding them to your birds is to use a steep sided dish so that they can’t crawl out. The ones on sale are all steep sided but they also have the benefit that you can lower the cover section which stops the rain from getting in and also means that only the smaller birds can access the feeder.

https://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/products/i-love-robins-birdfeeder

Question 3

Why have I got Fruit Flies in my Subpod?

Accepted Answer

Fruit flies can enter Subpod when you are adding your food waste. They can also get into the system before your food scraps are added to Subpod if there’s a loose lid.

The more thoroughly you stir your food waste into the bedding, the less likely you will have a problem with fruit flies and other insects. If you add more moist bedding (carbon), it’s easier to bury the food waste thoroughly. Make sure that the larger holes on the sides of your Subpod are below the soil line in your garden bed.

Any fruit fly larvae that finds its way into the Subpod will slowly diminish over time if the above techniques are used.

Question 4

My wormery is too wet - what can I do to help this?

Accepted Answer

Cardboard is great for your worm composter (as is a sprinkling of lime mix) A ratio of 25-30% volume of shredded cardboard or equivalent will ensure the compost doesn't get too wet and there is air circulating. Avoid the really shiny boxes like soap powder and go for newsprint, egg boxes etc.

Question 5

What should I do about mites in my worm bin?

Accepted Answer

There are a few types of mite that love a worm composting kit and this is all normal and part of the ecosystem. However, as with most things if they start to take over the kit this can become a problem. There are two main types – a reddish brown mite and a white shiny round mite. Both are tiny and if numbers become huge they eat the food and your worms will tend to burrow deeper into the kit and this in turn stops the worms from reproducing as effectively.

If you have a problem with a population of mites which seems to have gone mad the things to look at in your Urbalive or Worm Composter are:

Could it be too wet? Feeding lots of really watery waste (cucumbers melons etc) can cause this or is there a lot of water getting in (wormeries usually let some water in and this is fine but some shelter is very useful. The wormery needs to be damp but not soaking wet.

Leave the lid off on dry days or undercover and expose the kit to the sun where possible to help dry it up.

Once conditions are back to a good balance for your worms then of course they will be less favourable for the production of the mites so normal worm service will be resumed.

Question 6

The Wiggly Podcast

Accepted Answer

Download or listen to the new Wiggly Podcast here

Question 7

Why am I not getting any worm juice?

Accepted Answer

Usually a lack of worm juice is one thing… You are not adding enough waste into your wormery. After all 96% of vegetable waste is water and so if you are adding waste there will be liquid draining. It’s not good to add a glut of waste at once for your worms – they need regular feeding so adding waste every couple of days will work best for your worm and your liquid feed production.

Question 8

I Have Some Tiny, White Worms In My Bin, Are They Babies Or A Problem?

Accepted Answer

They are not baby composting worms as these are the same colour as the worms, only smaller. Instead, they are a harmless parasite called entrachyadid. Most worm composting systems have them.

However,they are more able to withstand wet and acid conditions than your standard Wigglers so, if they seem to be growing in numbers, check that the bin is not waterlogged and mix in a little Lime Mix to increase the pH. They can often be lured onto a piece of moist bread for easy removal.

They make a great treat for your garden birds!

Question 9

Do you deliver overseas?

Accepted Answer

No, I’m afraid most of our products are perishable so we don’t despatch overseas.