Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread

[giglewigle]

Sounds like a lot of effort!

not really its over a period of 2 weeks ive done this it says on the packaging 100 percent leaf extract so im sure ittl work just wondering if ittl make better castings than if i just used coco there seems 2 a few eggs so i gues tats a good sign

 

[Chunky Stool]

not really its over a period of 2 weeks ive done this it says on the packaging 100 percent leaf extract so im sure ittl work just wondering if ittl make better castings than if i just used coco there seems 2 a few eggs so i gues tats a good sign

My worms just get kitchen scraps.
Bedding is coco, sand, shredded junk mail, and oyster shell if I remember to add it.

 

[Mazer]

Greetings Gentlefolks!
I have to start by saying I feel like I just read War and Peace in one go! I read all 64 pages of absolutely delightful info you have spread. Wonderful really. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I started a worm bin last November or so when I was given an entire level of a bin by my best friends' mother who lives in an apartment, has no plant whatsoever, and has been doing VC for the past 5 years to spread the love around to her friends and reduce the volume of her waste.
Well I built a bin out of tiny little totes that I customized to be stackable. Bear in mind that I had no experience with WC before. so I made tiny little holes in the bottom of the totes and same on the lid. I carefully fed the creatures (red wrigglers and the other stripped kind) with gourmet stuff. Organic processed lefto's from my bin + teabags, coffee grinds and every now and then eggshells. my food processor turn everything into a brownish goo and the wormies seem to love my cuisine. I will put the freeze and thaw technic to use now (Again Thanks for smartifying us).
I used coco + cardboard for bedding. and coco on top as well.
the bin is in a basement with very stable temperature. I get virtually no leachate BUT the compost is soggy as a marsh. Very very very wet.
I have limited access to all the funky kelp, alfalfa, comfrey meals you folks use (for now). I am thinking of adding a bit of wheat bran to soak up the moisture AND increasing the ventilation and hole size that are probably between 1/6th to 1/8th of an inch but in large numbers. tons of mites as well but the wigglers don't seem to mind the company.

Now, I started a thread elsewhere (thanks Richard Drysift and Wetdog for your replies) but it should just have been in this thread so here it goes:
Do any of you folks have bins with different diet to support the different stages of plant growth?

BOOM.

WCingly yours,
M

 

[cindysid]

when I get set-up, out in AZ, I'm going to do black soldier fly farming, feed that frass to red wigglers to finish off quickly, and feed excess worms, and all the black soldier fly grubs to chickens, and use their waste as insect chow. a circle

I'm considering adding some of the black soldier fly grubs to my diet also......lol. very high in protein. all the right fats. free-range.....lol. totally serious. I'm preparing for the 'Pocyclypse................

I know that this an ancient post, but I know you're still around. How did the soldier fly farming go, and did you ever try eating any? The reason I'm interested (not in eating them) is because BSFs have taken over my worm bin and seem to be more efficient than the wigglers. I find the flies in my growroom all the time.

 

[Chunky Stool]

Greetings Gentlefolks!
I have to start by saying I feel like I just read War and Peace in one go! I read all 64 pages of absolutely delightful info you have spread. Wonderful really. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I started a worm bin last November or so when I was given an entire level of a bin by my best friends' mother who lives in an apartment, has no plant whatsoever, and has been doing VC for the past 5 years to spread the love around to her friends and reduce the volume of her waste.
Well I built a bin out of tiny little totes that I customized to be stackable. Bear in mind that I had no experience with WC before. so I made tiny little holes in the bottom of the totes and same on the lid. I carefully fed the creatures (red wrigglers and the other stripped kind) with gourmet stuff. Organic processed lefto's from my bin + teabags, coffee grinds and every now and then eggshells. my food processor turn everything into a brownish goo and the wormies seem to love my cuisine. I will put the freeze and thaw technic to use now (Again Thanks for smartifying us).
I used coco + cardboard for bedding. and coco on top as well.
the bin is in a basement with very stable temperature. I get virtually no leachate BUT the compost is soggy as a marsh. Very very very wet.
I have limited access to all the funky kelp, alfalfa, comfrey meals you folks use (for now). I am thinking of adding a bit of wheat bran to soak up the moisture AND increasing the ventilation and hole size that are probably between 1/6th to 1/8th of an inch but in large numbers. tons of mites as well but the wigglers don't seem to mind the company.

Now, I started a thread elsewhere (thanks Richard Drysift and Wetdog for your replies) but it should just have been in this thread so here it goes:
Do any of you folks have bins with different diet to support the different stages of plant growth?

BOOM.

WCingly yours,
M

Funny you should mention bugs. The last time I added scraps to my bin I noticed a LOT of insect activity. A few gnats, but mostly tiny bugs that crawl.
Not sure if they are good or bad.
What do you guys think?

 

[Javadog]

It is really hard to tell....need to know exactly what bug....but it seems
that there are a lot that are harmless. As long as nothing is feeding on
your worms themselves then they are likely competition but nothing more.

 

[Wetdog]

They are likely decomposers and help to get the food down to worm size. The population rises and falls with the food supply. Too many and you are likely overfeeding.

Like Javadog said, if they aren't attacking the worms, no worries.

 

[calliandra]

Funny you should mention bugs. The last time I added scraps to my bin I noticed a LOT of insect activity. A few gnats, but mostly tiny bugs that crawl.
Not sure if they are good or bad.
What do you guys think?

When I see microarthropods in my bin, I'm happy.
But then again, I'm also happy when I see a big predator like this in my finishing tier

 

[Chunky Stool]

OK, the bugs in my worm bin are flying now so I'm moving it out of the garage.
Gonna try some need seed meal + insect frass to control whatever the hell these things are.
Might even top it off with pumice & a little diatomaceous earth.

 

[Wetdog]

OK, the bugs in my worm bin are flying now so I'm moving it out of the garage.
Gonna try some need seed meal + insect frass to control whatever the hell these things are.
Might even top it off with pumice & a little diatomaceous earth.

Calm down, it's really NBD

First off stop feeding the worms 'wet' food, like vegi scraps and such for the time being to get rid of some moisture.

A LIGHT top dress is a good thing.with the neem meal. The worms love it, the flying bugs, not so much.

The insect frass? I don't have a clue.

The DE and pumice? The worms might not appreciate it, but it made me laugh.

 

[DrCannaPath]

OK, the bugs in my worm bin are flying now so I'm moving it out of the garage.
Gonna try some need seed meal + insect frass to control whatever the hell these things are.
Might even top it off with pumice & a little diatomaceous earth.

Whats up bro .... i wouldnt worry too mich about those flying guys. Theyre probably fruit flies or gnats. Just lower the moisture in the bin like Wet dog suggested and their number will go down. Also leave a nice top layer of dry shredded paper on top and things will balance back to where ot should be. Expect a change in the biotic balance in yoir bin with the change in environment (ie moisture and acidity)
Some peoole suggest freezing the food scraps before dumping it in the bin to help mush it a little (easier for them to eat) and kill the fruit flies eggs.
I hope this helps
Happy vermicompostin yall

Check out my new Organic Fruit Garden:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/930415/
and my previous QuadStrain grow :
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/916619/
and my previous TriStrain grow :
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

 

[Mohican]

I just cover it with some promix or cardboard and the flying bugs are stopped.

 

[DrCannaPath]

Also, from the little research i did on the subject, adding neem meal may help control some of those pests while making the worms happy and i believe it helps them grow bigger and multiply!

Check out my new Organic Fruit Garden:
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/930415/
and my previous QuadStrain grow :
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/916619/
and my previous TriStrain grow :
https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/883569/

 

[Chunky Stool]

I just cover it with some promix or cardboard and the flying bugs are stopped.

I moved it outside and covered the top with wet newspaper. Still a lot of bugs but I don't care as much now that they are out of the garage. I've got a fresh bin of scraps to go on top and will be adding a new layer. I'm going to top it with a bunch of shredded paper plus the usual wet newspaper.

 

[MrKnotty]

Started my worm bin today, and I couldn't be more excited. I'd like to thank everyone for helping me on my true organic road path!! On an amazing side note, today I went and picked up my worms. The gentleman whose home I went to was a third generation worm farmer. I did not know this before we met. We sat and talked for almost 4 hours about worms and indigenous microbes. If I may quote the great Ice Cube...."Today was a good day." ( On a super side note, at the end of our convo, he brought me to what he referred to as his holy grail. It was his original box his grandparents started him on. He let me scoop some bonus worms to aid me on my journey....So I got that going for me.

Peace!

 

[Chunky Stool]

What's the best way to separate worms from castings?
My current method:

• Make a pyramid.
• Let sit in the sun a couple of hours
• Take castings off top.
• Repeat.

Is there an easier way?

 

[greg nr]

What's the best way to separate worms from castings?
My current method:

• Make a pyramid.
• Let sit in the sun a couple of hours
• Take castings off top.
• Repeat.

Is there an easier way?

The instructions that came with my worm inn said to remove the castings, then put a piece of melon on the surfave. The worms will collect under it. Just scoop them up and put them back in the bin. I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Chunky Stool]

The instructions that came with my worm inn said to remove the castings, then put a piece of melon on the surfave. The worms will collect under it. Just scoop them up and put them back in the bin. I haven't tried it yet.

That would be awesome if it works, but I've got a feeling melon isn't going to do the trick. It might attract a few.
My bottom trays always have a fair number of adults plus a zillion baby worms. They are tiny as hell. I don't even see them until they move. I'll dump a tray and it looks like there's just dirt around the sides -- but the dirt moves! So I take a watering can and rinse them right into my recycled dirt pile. Lots of dead roots for worms to eat.
A word of advice for anyone who's new to vermicomposting: too much moisture is a bad thing. Your worm bin should have minimal runoff, if any. One thing that helps is mixing shredded junk mail with my scraps before adding them to the bin. The ink is soy based and nontoxic. The paper not only absorbs moisture, the worms eat it like fiber. They also like coffee grounds -- probably for grit.

But ya never know... they might like caffeine!

 

[Wetdog]

That would be awesome if it works, but I've got a feeling melon isn't going to do the trick. It might attract a few.

If 500+ worms at a scoop is a 'few', then yeah, a melon rind will attract a few. I've pulled over 2k worms from one bin over 2 days with one piece of rind (rind of ~1/4 of a small watermellon).

Let it sit for a couple of days, raise it up, scoop the ball of worms underneath. Replace the rind and allow for the next batch to congregate, scoop and repeat as necessary. The 2k worms were to start another bin and was only ~1/4 - 1/3 of the total population.

Freezing the rind really helps break it down faster and cantalopes are great for smaller tray type bins.

BTW, it's an old Southern country trick to get fishing worms easy and cheap.

 

[Chunky Stool]

If 500+ worms at a scoop is a 'few', then yeah, a melon rind will attract a few. I've pulled over 2k worms from one bin over 2 days with one piece of rind (rind of ~1/4 of a small watermellon).

Let it sit for a couple of days, raise it up, scoop the ball of worms underneath. Replace the rind and allow for the next batch to congregate, scoop and repeat as necessary. The 2k worms were to start another bin and was only ~1/4 - 1/3 of the total population.

Freezing the rind really helps break it down faster and cantalopes are great for smaller tray type bins.

BTW, it's an old Southern country trick to get fishing worms easy and cheap.

I will definitely give that a try!