Blog: newgirl @ council

She'll be sharing her findings and experiences as the newgirl @ council through this blog each week.

What's a Blog?

A blog is like a diary that anyone can read online. It's informal  - just like a conversation. The word 'blog' comes from web log.

If you're interested in finding out more about any of the issues discussed in this blog, email Environment Bay of Plenty at info@envbop.govt.nz or give us a call on 0800 ENV BOP (368 267)

I love my pet worms - all 2,000 of them.

While they do not look good in a handbag a la Paris Hilton’s chihuahua, they are very low maintenance pets.

Last year I took part in Tauranga City Council’s worm farm trial. I went along to a presentation which showed me lots of responsible looking people who were proud worm bin owners and talked about their tactics for feeding their worms.

It left me worried that I would have a mass slaughter of worms on my hands and a visit from the SPCA. I’d never even managed to keep as goldfish let alone several generations of a family of worms.

The bin was easy to set up, it wasn’t heavy to lift and didn’t require any technical knowledge. Best of all the self-contained cmposting system took up less than 2 square metres of my garden so you don't need a big backyard to have an on-site worm farm.

I soon got into a habit of having an empty ice cream tub on the work bench when I chopped up veg for my evening meal, chucked my peelings straight in then they went into the worm bin.

Amazingly the bin didn’t smell although I did have some unwanted visitors – lots of flies. But the worm bin workshop had prepared me for this little issue and I covered all the scraps up with lots of shredded newspaper.

The worms seemed quite happy on an ice cream tub of vegetable scraps every other day and some shredded newspaper. The worms eat more than their own body weight every day and chomp their way through fruit and veg scraps, (but not citrus fruits or onions) tissues, egg shells, paper and cardboard. A much cheaper diet than pedigree dog food or cat cuisine.

I went away for weeks and the worms survived. I didn’t even have to get the neighbour to look after them. And they didn’t require expensive vet fees or injections.

A couple of months later I had a good pile of compost to put on the garden which my vegetable patch looked better for. And the liquid run off was sprinkled on my new seedlings.

Instead of putting out a rubbish bag a week I now put out a bag every two or three weeks. It is the most sustainable lifestyle change I have ever made.

If you have any worm bin tips or worm bin questions email me at newgirl@envbop.govt.nz

Disclaimer: This blog represents the views of Fiona Robinson and should not be taken to reflect Environment Bay of Plenty’s views.