Kid's Stuff

Thank you to all the wonderfully creative kids around Australia who entered our competition to promote International Composting Awareness Week in May. Check out the winners here.

Thank you to all the schools who have entered the "Colour Me In" and "Name a Worm" Competitions for International Composting Awarness Week. We have received over 1000 entries from more than 150 schools across Australia.

Due the amazing response we will be needing a little help in selecting the best Coloured Worms. We will be seeking the help of some active recyclers from a school near by, so keep an ear out to see if your the lucky school.

Have you named our worm's yet? Or sent in your colouring in entry? There is still time. Entries are open until Friday 28th May 2010.

Send your entry to Tumbleweed, PO Box 5182, MINTO BC NSW 2566 or email them to competitions@tumbleweed.com.au and dont forget to upload your photos of what you got up to during International Composting Week to our snaps page.

May 2 – 8 is Composting Awareness Week and at Tumbleweed we’re really excited to be involved!

You to can get involved with your friends. By helping us find a name for our 3 worm characters, you could win 1 of 3 major prize packs for your school.

Each Prize pack includes 5 x 400L Compost Bins, 3 x Aerators, 5 x Can-O-Worms, a box of Worm Blankets, Composting Worms and Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner.

For more information visit our Name a Worm page here

Or colour in your favourite worm to win one of our Can-O-Worms Prize packs here

Making compost is the perfect way to recycle organic garden and kitchen waste into a highly nutritious soil conditioner – and it’s so easy to do!

Compost is made when all the little living creatures in the ground called micro-organisms feed on organic matter - any plant, animal tissue or residues are organic matter - and break it down into smaller and smaller pieces. When the waste is fully broken down, often reffered to as decomposed, it forms humus - or compost – a dark, soil-like material with a pleasant earthy smell.

To make rich compost it will take around 6-8 weeks if the perfect environment is maintained. This means providing the air, water and food that micro-organisms need to rapidly multiply and quickly break down organic waste.

Remember 50% kitchen scraps to 50% garden waste and aerate your compost at least twice a week with an Aerator or Compost Mate.

Worms take your leftover food scraps and turn them into a dark, soil-like material with a pleasant earthy smell – known as worm castings. They also produce a liquid called worm tea. Worm castings and worm tea, diluted 10:1 with water, are wonderful additives to any garden. You will see exceptional results in the colour, quality and quantity of all your fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants.

You can purchase compost worms from most hardware and garden outlets.  We are currently working on our worm sellers list, check back in the next couple of days to see where you can get your worms or check with your local council.

Hi Phoebe, Jasper's comment to your orange peel question was pretty spot on.

If you are adding small peices of orange peel be sure to add some Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner to balance out the pH level. The citrus increase the acidity level in your worm farm.

If the worm farm gets too much acidity it changes the microbial balance and the types of gases being produced in the system, this may force your worms to start leaving the worm farm, or they might eventually die in the highly acid environment. You will know if the acidity level is to high by the smelly odour.

So remember only add small amounts of citrus like orange peels if your worm farm is going great guns and dont forget to add a sprinkle of Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner every week to help neutralise acidity and balance pH levels.

Phoebe from New South Wales has sent us a great letter about getting a worm farm for Christmas. She has asked us a question about whether or not we can feed the worms orange peel.

"Mum and Dad gave me a worm farm for Christmas because I have my own vegetable garden and I’m trying to get it to grow really well. I started the farm off before we went on holidays and now I have loads of worms in there – they’re multiplying like crazy.

Mum said to keep giving them just enough food so they stay full but don’t get smothered. It’s working. I’ve got a little brother and a big sister so we have plenty of scraps to keep them going.

We love watching them hang off the worm blanket, they’re really funny. I’m just not sure whether I can feed them orange peel because Mum says it might be too acidic. Can you help me?"

Stay tuned Phoebe. We will ask our brainmates at Tumbleweed headquarters and come back to you soon.

Join Tumbleweed’s online community for kids where you can meet other keen worm farmers, chat about your worm farming experiences and find information that’s been created just for you (it could even help you with school assignments!)

You’ll also find games to play and competitions to enter … you could even win a great prize by sending us a photo of your worm farm, your wriggling worms, or your garden. So wriggle into action and get blogging today!