Wormery TinyWorm | 4 plastic feet
With or without wooden or plastic feet, 6 usable litres per tray
71,65 €
Practical guide
Vermicomposting
Guide contents
01Getting started5▸
02Choosing your model5▸
03Daily care4▸
04Solving a problem4▸
05Living with your wormery6▸
Other topics in the guide
Flat wormery: how to set it up properly, with or without a balcony?
Traditional composting needs at least a small garden for your heap or bin. A flat wormery, on the other hand, has been designed precisely to do without one: it lets people living in apartment blocks and flats make good use of their organic waste, without having the slightest patch of ground available. Here is where to set it up in your home, whether you live in a flat or a house, and the precautions specific to each location.
The flat wormery: the kitchen, the most practical spot
In a flat, the wormery naturally finds its place indoors: kitchen, utility room, cellar, garage, stairwell, hallway or even the living room. The kitchen is often the most practical spot, since that is where most of your organic waste is produced — no need to cross the whole flat with every bit of peel.
There is only one real precaution indoors: avoid placing it in a completely closed cupboard with no ventilation, especially in hot weather. Without air circulation, unpleasant smells can quickly develop. We go through all the location criteria — temperature, ventilation — in our guide How to start your wormery
If you are looking for a compact model suited to a small kitchen or a studio flat, head to our range of tray wormeries
What if you have a balcony, a terrace or a garden?
Are you lucky enough to have a balcony, a terrace or a garden? You can certainly set up your wormery there, provided you follow two simple rules: keep it sheltered from the rain, so your worms don't drown, and avoid full sun in summer. If the bedding dries out, moisten it occasionally by spraying a little water, particularly above 35 °C.
This is in fact a set-up many city dwellers enjoy: pairing the wormery with a few planters on the balcony means you can use the vermicompost right where it is made, without having to carry it anywhere. We explain how to protect it against temperature swings, useful both indoors and outdoors, in our guide on protecting against cold and heat.
The small drawbacks of outdoors
Set up outside, your wormery attracts a few more little creatures than when it stays indoors — woodlice, springtails and other decomposers that are simply doing their job in the bin's ecosystem. Nothing to worry about: we help you identify what you might find there in our guide on pests. This is one of the reasons most users prefer to keep it indoors, where it is easier to keep an eye on day to day.
And what about smells – what does it really smell like?
It is the question almost every future user asks before getting started, especially for an indoor set-up. A well-balanced wormery does not smell bad: at most you will notice a faint woodland scent, pleasant and subtle. That is exactly what makes it suitable for indoor use, including in a kitchen or living room. If a stronger smell appears, it is usually the sign of an imbalance that is easy to correct — too much waste at once, not enough carbon-rich material — which we explain in our guide on smell problems and their solutions.
Did you know?A well-maintained wormery does not smell like rubbish: at worst, a faint woodland scent, barely noticeable.
In summary
Whether you live in a flat without the smallest patch of ground or in a house with a garden, the wormery has its place: indoors as a priority, for easy monitoring with no nasty surprises, or outdoors on a balcony or terrace, provided you protect it from rain and full sun. Either way, not having a garden will never be an obstacle.
