Making a wormery out of pallets

I got some old wooden pallets at no cost - I am going to make a wormery for composting food and lawn clippings etc. out of them.

BUT, is the wood treated with something that is likely to be toxic to worms?

Thanks

Mr F.

Reply to
Mr Fizzion
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Most pallets seem to be untreated softwood.

AJH

Reply to
andrew

Pallets always seemed of little use to me. They're nailed too well to separate the wood. What can one make with them, other than compost cubes?

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Pallets always seemed of little use to me. They're nailed too well to separate the wood. What can one make with them, other than compost cubes?

I went round various industrial estates about 15 years ago and took loads of broken pallets. I separated the wood and made a fence with it. The wood was nailed well together but hitting it with a chisel was enough to split the nails. the fence turned out brilliant.

Reply to
Steven Campbell

I've used wooden pallets as compost boxes for many a year with excellent results. Worms have always introduced themselves as the boxes are on open soil. I presume you know the basics of composting? No meat or citrus etc Grass cuttings thinly spread and layered. OTOH this Q might be better answered in uk.rec.gardening.

Good luck.

Reply to
Nick

In message , Nick writes

I assume the OP is really talking about compost bins rather than a wormery - wormerys are generally an smaller enclosed container with worms living at a high density, producing worm compost from the action of the worms. Compost heaps work by rotting down the materials (though worms move in later on )

Oh there seems to be much rubbish spiuted about things not to put on compost we put on Citrus, cooked food (no meat since veggie) etc. with no ill effects.

indeed

Reply to
chris French

Interesting. Would you like to tell us more about it, or post a pic, or summarise it for a wiki article? I'm having difficulty imagining how the short wood would make a fence, or how you'd split the nails.

NT

Reply to
meow2222

Well, perhaps this will be half compost bin, half wormery. My current compost bins are two cylindrical black plastic dustbins. I would guess they have a hundred thousand worms each, since you can dig out a small sample with a trowel and there are a couple of hundred worms or so in it. Holes are drilled in the base for drainage.

These bins however are far too small, there is still a lot of waste I have to put in the normal wheelie bin or in the council green waste recycling bin. This is why I want a "compost cube" made of pallets. Hopefully there will be some worms as this speeds up the process dramatically.

Reply to
Mr Fizzion

In message , Mr Fizzion writes

Indeed, it's a shame to be throwing stuff away when it can be used.

Worms will move in yes, that's normal in a compost bin. Though not in the early stages when the temp is too high due to the aerobic decomposition

Some useful composting advice on the Garden Organic site:

Pallets are a bit open I think for composting - lets too much of the heat out, some insulation would be good. I've stuffed straw into mine.

Reply to
chris French

Yonks ago I made a complete set of picnic tables/benches from pallets. Bit of a bugger to get apart due to the ring shank nails, but decent timber.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Sorry, I may have lost the plot. I was thinking of a compost bin, not a wormery which I openly admit to not knowing anything of.

We keep a couple of goats. Their used bedding provides ample insulation to our numerous compost bins. Grass cuttings, other soft cuttings, GP cleaning, vacuum bags, bits of dog after grooming, bits of fruit & vegetable after goaties have had their fill. General kitchen stuff. No meat or citrus. I don't put any alium in either. Works for me. Years ago our daughter had a pony. The waste from that creature produced wonderful compost. I miss the compost.

Nick.

Reply to
Nick

Happened to walk past a lorry laden with pallets yesterday. Noticed that about 10% of the ones I could see had the spacers (i.e. the lumps at the corners) formed out of chipboard. Not normal chip, but really thick stuff probably made expressly for the purpose.

Decent timber! Pah! Things aren't what they were... :-)

Reply to
Rod

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:

They vary tremendously in quality - if possible, get the blue GKN pallets or similar, many others are a bit shit, really.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

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