Worm bin questions

[Brandon137]

Hello all I'm looking to set up a worm bin and had a few questions about it...

So I was thinking of setting up a 5 gallon bucket with holes in the lid and bottom 10 1/2" holes I'll use a half bucket to put the 5 gallon into to collect any run off.

I was planning on using some leaves from birch and oak trees mixed with some grass and weeds as bedding then shred some of the above mix for a middle layer then use some un-shredded for a mulch layer as for the greens I was going to use kitchen scraps consisting primarily of egg shells, bannan peals, coffee grounds, lettuce scraps, and watermelon rinds. Are are a few other ingredients buried in the bottom of our kitchen waste. I was planning on chopping up the scraps as fine as possible as I dont have a food processor or blender.

As for the worms I was going to harvest some from my composter looks like we have some red wigglers. How manny should my target be? I'm not currently growing anything just looking to get a bin started and get my feet wet any suggestions for me?

 

[Brandon137]

Can anyone suggest a good book on worm bins looking to learn more about how different fruits and veggies will effect the finished product as well as what amendments work best

 

[loco41]

Can anyone suggest a good book on worm bins looking to learn more about how different fruits and veggies will effect the finished product as well as what amendments work best

I'm no expert and have no books to recommend, so this post may be useless.

i just try to keep em happy, I figure as long as they're active and reproducing then the quality of castings should be on point. diversity in feedings is the only thing I really try to accomplish. I try not to feed the same things back to back constantly. mix in some oats in between fruits n veggies. I think the biggest thing you gain from your castings is the microbial life. so focusing on keeping the worms healthy n happy would be more important than the nutrient values from the feed stock. just my opinion from reading things..

as far as ammendment feeding, I feel like neem and alfalfa have a quicker and more active response than with kelp.

just my two cents and would love to hear from the more experienced guys on this though.

 

[Richard Drysift]

True Living Organics by The Rev is
A primer of all things related to growing in living soil.
I tried to diy a worm bin from nesting tote bins before eventually buying a worm factory 360. They kept escaping because I did not provide enough airflow. You don't have to buy a worm factory but the tray style bins make harvesting castings a snap. If they are trying to leave the worms are not happy with the conditions.
Add some perlite to their bedding and ensure it's not too hot and stuffy in there for them; they like it cool and airy. You can use just recycled soil as bedding or coco coir is good too. You don't have to blend their food into a slurry but you can freeze and let it thaw out completely which will turn everything to a gooey mush. Eggshells make great compost but you don't want raw eggs rotting in your bin so just nuke them for like a minute in the microwave after you make an omelette.
Started out with an order of 250 red wiggler worms from Uncle Jim's. Would have been better with 500 or 1000 because it took about 6-8 months before the colony was well established. There must be several thousand in my bins now. I don't even try to separate them from the castings anymore I just toss the whole tray into my recycling soil bins and mix it all in.

 

[Richard Drysift]

Can anyone suggest a good book on worm bins looking to learn more about how different fruits and veggies will effect the finished product as well as what amendments work best

Cannot for the life of me find which thread has it atm but one of the stickies here in the organic sec. has a list of the npk value of many different kinds of veggies and whatnot...peruse the sticky threads

 

[Aussieaceae]

I'm no expert and have no books to recommend, so this post may be useless.

i just try to keep em happy, I figure as long as they're active and reproducing then the quality of castings should be on point. diversity in feedings is the only thing I really try to accomplish. I try not to feed the same things back to back constantly. mix in some oats in between fruits n veggies. I think the biggest thing you gain from your castings is the microbial life. so focusing on keeping the worms healthy n happy would be more important than the nutrient values from the feed stock. just my opinion from reading things..

as far as ammendment feeding, I feel like neem and alfalfa have a quicker and more active response than with kelp.

just my two cents and would love to hear from the more experienced guys on this though.

Completely agree with all of this, happy worms, happy castings.

Have you had good results using oats? I've been hesitant about it.

One thing i will say i've found, contrary to general advice, is putting large scraps in my bin. I found besides the extra effort turning scraps to smoothie, the worms themselves are actually happier when scraps are large. Worm populations have been larger and they seem quite selective in what the choose. Found the smoothies were causing the media to go nasty before the worms could get to it.

 

[loco41]

Completely agree with all of this, happy worms, happy castings.

Have you had good results using oats? I've been hesitant about it.

One thing i will say i've found, contrary to general advice, is putting large scraps in my bin. I found besides the extra effort turning scraps to smoothie, the worms themselves are actually happier when scraps are large. Worm populations have been larger and they seem quite selective in what the choose. Found the smoothies were causing the media to go nasty before the worms could get to it.

I'm with you as well on the full scraps, I tried blending my scraps the first couple times I fed and never went back. Someone on a previous thread had me thinking of going back and trying it, but I have no issues with just tossing peels and things right on top. Occasionally I will bury/cover them a little bit and I think this helps speed up the decomposition process as more surface area is in direct contact with the existing castings, but mostly I just let the worms/microbes do their things from the bottom and work it all that way. My favorite is avocado peels, i always make sure to put the "open" end down and within a day, the whole peel is literally a ball of worms underneath. I always leave a little film of the actual avocado fruit on the peel to give them a little extra to work with in there. It stays like this for a while and eventually the worms move on to other things, but they definitely flock to the avocado over pretty much everything when they get added. Pumpkin was also a huge hit with my worms.

As far as the oats, I would most definitely recommend them. I didn't use them much my first couple cycles of bins, but have been using them on a regular basis now. I just sprinkle some steel cut organic oats across the top when the last batch of scraps is pretty close to being fully broken down. I would say maybe a 1/2 cup at a time, but honestly no clue. The worms go nuts and are all over the place for them. Someone did warn me against "overusing" oats as the bin can go sour it they sit too long before breaking down. I never even came close to worrying about that, they seem to disappear within days max. Again, I always forget where/who I talked with about it, but I think the protein in the oats helps with the reproduction process along with other benefits I'm sure.

Again, no expert, but these are just my observations. I still have a lot to learn and tinker with. I'll be moving again shortly and once I get settled will start up one, maybe two more bins and try some different things in each one and see how it goes.

 

[Aussieaceae]

I'm with you as well on the full scraps, I tried blending my scraps the first couple times I fed and never went back. Someone on a previous thread had me thinking of going back and trying it, but I have no issues with just tossing peels and things right on top. Occasionally I will bury/cover them a little bit and I think this helps speed up the decomposition process as more surface area is in direct contact with the existing castings, but mostly I just let the worms/microbes do their things from the bottom and work it all that way. My favorite is avocado peels, i always make sure to put the "open" end down and within a day, the whole peel is literally a ball of worms underneath. I always leave a little film of the actual avocado fruit on the peel to give them a little extra to work with in there. It stays like this for a while and eventually the worms move on to other things, but they definitely flock to the avocado over pretty much everything when they get added. Pumpkin was also a huge hit with my worms.

As far as the oats, I would most definitely recommend them. I didn't use them much my first couple cycles of bins, but have been using them on a regular basis now. I just sprinkle some steel cut organic oats across the top when the last batch of scraps is pretty close to being fully broken down. I would say maybe a 1/2 cup at a time, but honestly no clue. The worms go nuts and are all over the place for them. Someone did warn me against "overusing" oats as the bin can go sour it they sit too long before breaking down. I never even came close to worrying about that, they seem to disappear within days max. Again, I always forget where/who I talked with about it, but I think the protein in the oats helps with the reproduction process along with other benefits I'm sure.

Again, no expert, but these are just my observations. I still have a lot to learn and tinker with. I'll be moving again shortly and once I get settled will start up one, maybe two more bins and try some different things in each one and see how it goes.

Thanks man, i'm gonna try the oats out.

Know what you mean about avocados, don't eat much pumpkin, i'll have to consider getting more. I originally thought tomato mightn't be a good thing, but man I think it's their favourite thing. Half a really soft tomato, face down, they eat it all in no time.
Been using sugarcane mulch to cover the food and replace most paper / cardboard. Really digging it, worms seem to like it as well.

Definitely no expert myself either, pretty incredible creatures though. For the most part they really seem to take care of themselves.

 

[Brandon137]

Wow thank you guys for all the info I will definitely have to get some steel cut oats next time I'm at the grocery store. I do plan on eventually getting an actual worm bin just dont have the spare cash right now. Thanks again for all the info very helpful.