Quote:
Originally Posted by Pink Hippo  I hope this is the correct forum for my wormy query-
I recently acquired a wormery ( ) and in the instructions it advises against adding citrus fruits to the composting vegetation as the worms don't like them ...
I read somewhere that the peel from citrus fruits deters cats from fouling the garden. Does anyone know if this practice will affect my garden worm population? |
Hi PH, (sorry couldn't resist that awful pun)
There is often a degree of confusion about 'what is meant by a 'wormery' and this has a bearing on how to answer your question:
Firstly is your womery a purpose made system or an adapted plastic bin ? Secondly have you been supplied with a starter population of worms and/or worm eggs ?
If you have been suplied with worms these will not be the common earth worm - which is not happy in an environment of high volume decay products. Wormery suppliers offer a range of exotic worms but the native species often found in garden compost heaps is the most commonly supplied - this is the brandling or 'tiger worm' Eisenia foetida.
In a system where the only input is kitchen waste, citrus peel may well be a problem as the supplied worms certainly seem not to like it. If however if you are using an adapted plastic bin system where you are adding in volumes of garden plant material then the larger scale of bacterial activity will easily process the peel without causing any problem to the worm population. Once broken down the peel represents no problem either to compst worms or to earth worms in the soil.
There is quite alot of confusion about compsters and wormeries - a while back I posted a compost 101 which you might find helpful -
Composting 101
Cats do indeed dislike the smell of citrus peel and drying the peel and breaking it up makes this more effective, however even then the 'warding of effect' only lasts a few days and you need to replace it with fresh material to make the cats feel unwelcome.
CM
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