Close the loop, start a worm composter

Balkonton has been at your service with personal advice on worm composting since 2014.

I also conduct workshopsfor both children and adults.

I no longer sell the original Balkonton (pictured) that I started with in 2014. But I do sell several other worm composters.

Ireen Laarakker, Balkonton.

Worm composters, worm composters, starter kits and more.

worm bins

compost worms

Starter Package

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a worm tower work?

In a worm tower, compost worms eat your waste before it actually composts or even rots (if it doesn’t get enough oxygen). Most bins consist of a pile of compost rings or bins. Each container has holes at the bottom through which the worms can crawl. The worms crawl towards the food. When the first container is full, place an empty container on top. Until all bins are full. At that moment you empty the bottom bin and put this bin back on top of the stack to start filling it. And so you go on endlessly.
Download free pdf Manual Worm Composting

What are you putting in your Balkonton ?

When starting up, put ‘bedding’ in your worm barrel. A layer of torn cardboard, a hemp mat, a good layer of leaves, maybe some compost from a well-functioning worm tower. Then you will place and feed the worms. The worms live on a mix of ‘green’ (nitrogen-rich) and ‘brown’ (carbon-rich) waste. It is very important to add enough ‘brown’. For example in the form of cardboard. This ensures a good oxygen supply, acidity and moisture balance.

About adding cardboard

Why you shouldn’t feed too many citrus peels

Can the worm tower be left outside in the winter?

Below 15 degrees Celsius, the activity of the worms decreases sharply. So the waste processing also stops. In itself, the colony will survive a normal Dutch winter. But some protection is recommended during long, severe winters.

Read here what you can do with your worm barrel in winter

Can a Balkonton in the sun?

Temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius are disastrous for your worms.

The Balkonton Classic, de and Gevelbak can stand both in the sun and in the cold in summer and winter. Because the earth around and the plants provide cooling.

The Aerobin and the Wormparadise also offer reasonable shelter from heat and cold.

The temperature in the plastic containers can rise if they are placed in full sun at high temperatures. Especially if you have a black container without a plant lid. Take precautions!

Which worms go in the Balkonton ?

Compost worms are litter worms: they live just below the foliage and convert almost their body weight per day if all goes well. Its official name is Eisenia Feitida. The related Eisenia Hortensis (Dendrobena) can also be used well in a worm composter. At Balkonton you can buy a mix of these 2 worms. They are also called tiger worms. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion of tongues.

The normal gray worm or earthworm that you often find in the garden mainly eats the droppings of the litter worms and will always try to crawl down. Which in a wormenton, therefore, cannot be done.
Read more about the difference between litterworms, earthworms and commuters (all earthworms) here

What does a worm barrel smell like?

A well-functioning tank will smell like fresh forest soil, with perhaps a hint of coffee or banana, just what you last fed your worms.

The worms eat your waste with the help of aerobic bacteria as soon as it starts to rot. Before the anaerobic bacteria that cause the rotting fruit stench can develop.

Only if you feed your worms too much waste, or if the box is too wet or contains too little airy structure, it can start to smell. The solution is: remove some excess slimy waste, and mix some extra leaves, twigs or cardboard with the remainder.

Do the worms stay in the Balkonton ?

Have you ever seen a worm crawl out of the earth to crawl over the sidewalk or against a lamppost? The answer is probably: NO. You will not soon see your worms going for a walk. The explanation is simple.

First, worms don’t like light. So they always look for a nice dark spot. If you just got a new Balkonton and your worms are just in the tank, they can still be a bit unfamiliar and start exploring. If you have your worm barrel indoors, it is wise to leave a light on near your worm tower for the first week. This prevents them from crawling out of the tank. Once they are used to it, the night light can be turned off.

Second, worms like a moist environment. They breathe through their skin, and when that skin dries out, they die. If they crawl out of your Balkonton they will not go further than a meter, and then suffocate. If the environment gets too wet, they drown, which is why earthworms crawl to the earth’s surface during heavy rains.

Normally your worm barrel is a paradise for your worms: dark, moist, plenty of food. Just make sure it doesn’t get extremely hot, extremely dry or soaking wet. Then maybe they will try to flee.

What do I do against fruit flies in my Balkonton ?

Unfortunately, especially in the summer, you will always have a chance of fruit flies. Fortunately, there is something that can be done about it.

First, you have the design of the worm barrel . With the Balconyton Classic , the worm tube is not closed from above. This ensures that it does not start to heat and that any fruit flies do not accumulate, but gradually leave the nest. It also helps if you leave the container in the sun with the lid open for a while so that the top layer dries out. That also helps against many other annoying critters.

Secondly, it helps enormously if you always cover your freshly added kitchen waste. This can be done with a thick layer of cardboard or sawdust. Or with a layer of dry sand. That blocks both the entry of new flies and the fledging

Increase the acidity by sprinkling some lava flour through the cover sand or through the waste. Many insects, including fruit flies, do not like that.

Break the cycle. By covering the top with a layer of sand for a week or three and not feeding your worms during that time. flies that crawl out of hatched eggs have nowhere to go and die.

And finally, you can catch the flies that still fly in and around your wurm composter with a fruit fly trap. I myself have a worm barrel and a Balkonton my balcony and have never felt the need to purchase a fruit fly trap. But if you have your worm tower inside, a fruit fly trap is a good idea in the summer

What do I do with my Balkonton when I go on holiday?

You can easily leave your worms alone for a week or two in the summer. If you are going to be away for a longer period of time, ask a good neighbor to feed them once a week. What you really shouldn’t do is add a supply of food for several weeks at once. That will stink and scare your worms away. In winter you can leave a Balkonton outside for longer. Composting will then be slower.

In all cases, make sure that your worm tower is well filled with compost in case you are going to be away for a longer period of time. So wait to empty your bin until you get back from vacation. In this way, the worms also have the compost they have made themselves to chew on.

Do you have a Balkonton of recycled material?

The round black worm tower is made of 100% recycled plastic.

What do the worms in a Balkonton ?

Illustration yellow worm The worms eat a mix of carbon-rich (brown) and nitrogen-rich (green) waste. Do not give your worms ‘red’ waste (see red block below).
Make sure to alternate between ‘brown’ and ‘green’ waste. This is important for the moisture balance and for the acidity.

Brown, high in carbon
Cardboard, paper, shredded prunings, sawdust, dead leaves, straw, hay, corn cobs.

Green, high in nitrogen:
Uncooked garden and kitchen waste, potato peels, fruit and vegetable scraps, Banana peels (preferably from organic bananas) manure from small herbivores such as a guinea pig or rabbit, scraps from vegetable and ornamental gardens, pruning waste (green), coffee grounds.

Red, never give the worms any of the following.
Cooked fruit and vegetable scraps, pasta, bread, meat, bones etc (attracts pests), Cut flowers (lots of poison). Go easy on the onion, garlic, chiles and avoid citrus peels. And with all the green waste that is clearly contaminated with fungi or diseases.

Free e-book

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Close the loop, start a worm composter

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do the worms in a Balkonton ?