This month Alison Tweedie of Ellwoods of Dumfries
opens a can of worms.

"What a dilemma, here I am fast approaching 50 and all my family are asking me the same question ‘What would you like for this special birthday?’ How do I tell them I would like some worms!

Imagine the look of horror and disgust when finally I found the courage to ask for a ‘Can-of-Worms’ The usual expression was one of horror followed by shrieks of disgust. Cries of ‘No way are we buying you worms for your birthday’ rang out.

It took some time but eventually I managed to convince them that a Wormery was really what I wanted. You see I try and recycle everything, tins, bottles, jars paper, you name it I try and recycle it. I want to make a difference and if I can’t change the world at least I can make sure that I don’t cause much damage. I have always been a bit of an eco warrior but especially after the birth of my beautiful grandson Joshua I looked at the world he will inherit and in my own little way want to know that I had tried to do my bit to ensure he too would see a world full of wonder and that all creatures contribute to creating the world we know.

The big day finally arrived and I waited in anticipation for my gifts, would I get a Wormery? They are not small and I certainly would have noticed if one had been delivered. After a nice cup of Happiness tea in bed I went down stairs, opened my cards and the gifts I had been given – no Wormery…how to disguise my disappointment?
A few minutes later a tap on the door – when I opened the door there it was! What joy, my heart soared they had listened after all and despite their protestations had arranged for my worms to come and stay.

Since them my little ‘wrigglers’ have eaten all my kitchen waste and given me the most nutritious feed for my garden. The plants are thriving, beautiful blooms encourage the bees into my garden and each day I sit and enjoy the beauty of nature. You can keep your hideously coloured, crystalline blue fertilisers – my worms do a far better job. Rich dark compost to top dress my pots, liquid feed and best of all I never throw out anything organic from my kitchen.

Worms thrive on kitchen waste though they are not partial to onions, and eat their own body weight of waste each day. Better than composting as they will consume any left over cooked foods (not meat) and they do it far quicker than traditional composting.

No difficult feeding regimes, no watering, no bedding and certainly no grooming! They just spend each day nestled in their little home nibbling away at my surplus waste – growing fatter by the day so eating more and more!

Now I have the best of both systems and an endless supply of nutrient rich compost for my garden flowers and vegetables. I have already used a couple of trays of their compost this year and am looking forward to harvesting my crops knowing I have only used totally organic and natural methods to grow them.

The Wormery came from the Wiggly Wigglers company and is made from 100% recycled plastic and is ingenious. Take a look at their website www.wigglywigglers.co.uk and order one today."

Alison

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