A guide to giving your worms an annual MOT

It's all very well setting the thing up. But, like many green activities, it is maintaining your halo that matters. It's no good ignoring the little creatures that you have adopted to munch through your organic waste. You have to nurture them. Show them some love. I've just given my wormery an MOT and it's sparkling in the spring sunshine.

Here are my secrets to a healthy relationship with a worm bin - which, by the way, you only need a very small patch of outdoor space to house. I kept mine in a garden-less flat in Kentish Town for two years, on an outdoor step that led to our neighbour's garden. The compost I used as a treat for my houseplants or I gave it to friends with gardens. If you have any questions, please fire away.

1/ Give the outside of the bin a good clean
After a shocking three years of owning mine, I recently noticed how grubby it was getting. A build up of mossy slime on the top and the beginnings of rust on some of the legs. Since it lives outside, in a shady spot in my garden, the bin takes quite a battering. If you want it to last, you need to give it a wipe down and a scrub at least once a year. I use this.

2/ Same goes for your compost collection tub.
Clean it. I use an old ice cream tub that sits on the kitchen worktop, to collect teabags and food scraps. Without a lid, because contrary to what you might think, putting a lid on old food waste only makes the decaying process take place faster (due to the lack of air) so it will end up smelling. On the way back from feeding the worms, I rinse my ice cream tub with a little water from the water butt and throw it on the flower beds. Yes, all very green.

3/ Drain all the liquid from the bottom
In the base of most wormeries, the liquid gold gathers - read about how it works here. This is the stuff that works wonders if you dilute it and douse it on your plants. What also collects here, sorry this is a bit irksome, is dead worms. Little wrigglers that didn't make it ' or passed away peacefully after a happy life wedged between my egg shells. It's not a pleasant job, but it's a good idea to drain the wormery right to the bottom during your annual MOT. Then, using Marigolds if you wish, fish out the dead worms and any other gunk that is blocking the tap.               

4/ Keep an eye on the waterproof lid.
Not only because rainwater pools on top, dripping down into the bin and threatening to drown its inhabitants, but also because after a few years, the stretchy covering can lose its elastic, making it even more prone to becoming a little paddling pool. You can buy them separately from Wiggly Wigglers.

5/ Don't forget the dry stuff.
It's easy to get carried away piling carrot and potato peel into the bin and forget that one third of the stuff you give a wormery should be dry materials. Ripped up bits of cardboard, bank statements, that kind of thing.

6/ Keep your worms warm during winter
Worms work best in mild conditions. A bit of old carpet or an unwanted jumper will do. But make sure you change it every year or so. Originally my bin came with a moisture mat, but the worms ate it, so I gave them an old cardigan. Now this garment is so utterly decrepid- and I suspect infested with fly eggs ' that I recently made the wise decision to throw it out and sacrifice another moth-eaten jumper. Keep the bin out of direct sunlight in the summer. Worms don't like intense heat; you may even kill them.

7/ Throw in a handful of anti-acid lime treatment.
Do this every few weeks to stop the bin from becoming to acidic, as will avoiding giving the worms lemons, oranges and onions. You can find it here.

8/ Don't mind the flies.
It's all part of composting. I defy anyone to run a compost bin or a wormery with no fruit flies or other creepy crawlies making it their home. If your bin is smells horrible or the worms are dying, there is a problem. Wiggly Wigglers do a Worm Rescue Kit that might help. So long as it's all functioning, ignore the flies.

9/ Remember to use the compost.
Don't worry if there still seem to be plenty of worms in the tray. Once the material is dark brown and vaguely soil-like, it's ready to use. See it as a form of population control. I dig my homemade compost into the beds twice a year. Once about now, and again at the end of the growing season in September.

10/ Watch them. 
To develop a better relationship with your worms, study their habits. Where are they gathering? What food do they seem to like best? What weather conditions make them gather in the lid? Mine nestle in avocado skins ' their favourite food ' and try to escape when it rains

Happy worming!