The Art of Worm Wrangling (And Why Our Worm Tech Is Currently Arm-Deep in a Bin)

We thought we'd share a photo of our worm tech doing what he does best: reaching arm-deep into the bottom of one of our continuous flow worm bins to scrape out the excellent worm poop that keeps our community gardens thriving.

As you can see, he's laying flat on the muddy ground, shoulder-deep in what used to be a wheelie bin, looking absolutely chuffed with himself. It's not the most glamorous job in the world, but someone's got to coax that black gold out from the bottom where the finished castings collect. The worms do all the hard work up top; he just has to wriggle in and retrieve their efforts. We're considering getting him a snorkel for Christmas.

Now, we'd love to tell you this has all been smooth sailing, but that would be a proper porky. Getting the balance right in these bins is a bit of an art form. Our worms are particular creatures – they like things "just so," and they're not afraid to let us know when we've got it wrong. Too wet and they try to escape like they're fleeing a sinking ship. Too dry and they go on strike. Too much coffee and they get jittery. Too much cardboard and they look at us like we've lost the plot.

We've been learning this the hard way as we get used to all the coffee grounds and cardboard donated by our fantastic partners. The Hilary Step's cardboard took some adjusting to – we had to work out exactly how much shredding and how much soaking before the worms would accept it as a proper meal rather than just moving house to the other side of the bin. The coffee grounds from Mercado Cafe and the rest of our café network needed balancing out with enough dry material so the whole thing didn't turn into a soggy caffeine soup.

It's a learning curve, and the worms are definitely the teachers. We make suggestions; they vote with their migration patterns. But slowly, slowly, we're getting there. The castings coming out the bottom now are absolutely belting – dark, crumbly, smelling of proper healthy soil rather than, well, the alternative.

And here's the exciting bit: our worm tech is currently buzzing because we've just learned we may be adding "coffee chaff" to the mix. For those not in the know, chaff is the papery skin that comes off coffee beans during roasting. It's light, it's fluffy, and apparently worms absolutely love the stuff. We're talking potential worm paradise here – a perfect carbon-rich addition to balance out all those nitrogen-heavy grounds.

He's already planning the ratios, working out how much chaff to how much cardboard to how many grounds. The worms don't know it yet, but their menu is about to get a serious upgrade. If they could write thank-you notes, we'd be drowning in tiny worm handwriting.

So next time you see someone lying face-down in the mud next to a wheelie bin, give them a wave. They're probably not having a breakdown; they're just harvesting compost, or worm wrangling. And if they're grinning like ours was, it's probably because they've just heard about the coffee chaff delivery coming next week.