IT was like something out of a horror film. It was early in the morning and I was only just surfacing from a deep slumber. I had just negotiated another five minutes of rest with my inner self, and was settling back into the pillow, when I heard my name being shouted in an angry manner.

It sounded as though it was coming from the back porch. I waited a few seconds, just to see what would happen next. The shout was even louder and twice as angry. I thought that I had better make an appearance.

I pulled on my dressing gown and shuffled through to the back porch. I could immediately see what the commotion was all about. The place was crawling with worms. They were on the carpet, up the walls, in the shoes and among the vegetables.

My heart sank. It was all my fault. I had to put it right. So I spent the next hour hunting for and picking up small, wriggly worms, and all before breakfast.

The day before, I had held a day's workshop on organic gardening down at the Clow Beck Centre.

The main subject was compost. We had gone through all the usual activities; how to create the perfect heap, what you can and can't put in it, liquid feeds and so on.

I wanted to try something a bit different and ordered a wormery. These are a form of compost bin, but small ones that contain a handful of thin, red worms, which churn through vegetable matter, making a nice crumbly compost, as well as a nutrient rich liquid that can be drawn off through a tap and used as a fertiliser on plants. There are no smells, so they can be kept in the kitchen, handy for all those small scraps.

I searched on the internet for the best value-for-money system and came up with the 'Juniour wormery' from Original Organics. It cost £35 and was guaranteed for next day delivery.

It duly arrived on the day of the course, and I thought that it would be quite exciting if we opened it and explored it together. This would give those on the course a chance to go through building one step by step.

We put the bin together and noticed that there was a small crack in the lid.

Nevertheless, we pressed on and followed the instructions to the letter. We screwed the tap into the bottom, inserted the separator grille, put in some newspaper and compost, and then emptied the little packet of worms into the centre of the small pile of earth.

They all disappeared into their moist, dark home. We piled a few handfuls of sliced fruit and vegetables on top of them, so they wouldn't go hungry.

We enjoyed the process and had a great deal of fun.

Many of those around the table took down the address of the company with a view to getting a wormery of their own.

I took the wormery home to get it settled in and to keep it topped up with kitchen waste.

Little did I know that the very fine crack in the lid, caused by damage during transport, would be just enough leverage to allow the little munchers to creep between the seal and the lid.

All I could do with the worms was release them into a conventional compost heap.

One briskly-written letter to Original Organics resulted in a sincere apology and an immediate replacement bin.

The new one works perfectly, and I am enjoying saving all my potato peelings, carrot ends and leek trimmings, knowing that they will be greeted with glee by my new household pets.

READER'S QUESTION

MRS Patterson from Barnard Castle has recently taken over care of her small garden following the death of her husband, who always did the gardening, and has heard that she needs to protect her apples from the codling moth. What is a codling moth and how can she protect her apples?

The codling moth must be the most damaging pest of apples. They are found in maggoty fruit and you don't know about them until you bite into them. Towards the end of May, the moths hatch from their pupae at the foot of the trees and go in search of a mate. By hanging moth traps in the trees in May you will catch the males in the sticky tape, attracted to the fake scent of female moth pheremones. They never make it to the mating stage, hence fewer fertilised females. Moth traps can be bought from most garden centres.

Published: 19/05/2006