New Vermicomposter

[hyroot]

Mo pull them mealy worms out and go fishing or sell them as bait on Craigslist.

my bins are doing fine. I really don't see much difference day to day. Unless I dig in there. I try not to disturb the worms until I need some VC.

I think bokashi is a ripoff. At home depot and nurseries there are all kinds of compost starters that are the exact same thing. You get 2 or 3 times as much for less than $10.

 

[Mohican]

I was doing great until this last week. Only thing I did differently was to add some cardboard!

 

[captainmorgan]

Look what a friend dropped off tonight as a present, good timing because I was going to buy one this weekend.
Took the pic before I cleaned it up.
Ok newb here,what do I need to get this started besides worms?
It's got 5 trays.

 

[jcmjrt]

People use different beddings. I use coco coir, a little perlite (aeration), some newspaper, some cardboard, and leaves from my hedge. I'm switching to rice hulls for aeration but just started that not too long ago. Some folks just buy bags of organic compost for bedding/food. I haven't really done much of that although I did add some organic chicken compost and the worms seemed to love it. I just bury the food that I give them (my fruit and veggie peels, egg shells, and old coffee grounds mostly) under the bedding in the corners. If you don't bury the food, you'll be much more likely to get gnats. I keep some damp newspapers on top of the top tray to try and hold moisture. Occasionally, I have to spritz the newspapers with water and that's all the water that I add to the system other than what comes with what I feed them. I also add a mixture of amendments that would go into my soil such as various rock dusts, oyster shell flour, crab shell, neem, kelp, etc. I just spread a T or two of the mix that I keep in a coffee can over the top of each layer occasionally.
I also do something that I think is important, I leave the worms alone except when I feed them and harvest.

 

[Mohican]

Threw some fruit in there today and there is a shitload of worms! They seem to like the brown grocery bag even though they are not eating it (yet).

 

[SpicySativa]

Threw some fruit in there today and there is a shitload of worms! They seem to like the brown grocery bag even though they are not eating it (yet).

Brown grocery bags (torn into small pieces) make great bedding. These days my bedding is grocery bag, cardboard, rice straw, various dry leaves (cannabis, ginkgo, various fruit trees), and a little bit of peat (helps keep the leaves from matting together). The worms are loving it. This weekend, I'll be harvesting my two bins and building two more. Before long I'll have 4 bins cranking. I may need to start hitting up coffee shops and grocery stores for their organic waste just to keep these guys well fed. They already eat all our food scraps...

 

[nova1992]

Where did all the action go in this thread?
I learned soooo much!
thanks guys, i will be starting my worm composter very soon and couldnt be more excited!
its so great to have people like you on these boards, you guys are so selfless its amazing
keep up the good work!

 

[Mohican]

Not much to post - I keep feeding them and they keep eating! I can't wait to harvest the soil and mix it with my compost pile and used super soil!

Cheers,
Mo

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

i started my bin back up, left it dormant for quite some time. i have a shit load of these little white jumping insects in there so before i use the compost in my garden im going to have to cook it in oven first...

 

[st0wandgrow]

i started my bin back up, left it dormant for quite some time. i have a shit load of these little white jumping insects in there so before i use the compost in my garden im going to have to cook it in oven first...

Likely springtails. They are a-ok to have in your bin.

 

[SpicySativa]

i started my bin back up, left it dormant for quite some time. i have a shit load of these little white jumping insects in there so before i use the compost in my garden im going to have to cook it in oven first...

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! NEVER cook compost or worm castings. You WANT all that life to keep on living. A healthy worm bin will only include beneficial (or benign) insects. Springtails won't cause any harm. Nor will the various species of mite that may be present.

If a bin has gnats or fruit flies, (a) it probably isn't being managed properly, and (b) it's not ready to harvest. Once all the feed material has been processed by worms, any pest insects will likely move out in search of a new food source.

 

[hyroot]

^^^^ I think Carpet Stain was joking. You know his corny sense of humor on here

 

[SpicySativa]

Haha. I knew that... I swear...

You just never know... I'm pretty sure Cervantes, or Mel Frank or one of the other self-proclaimed "experts" actually recommends cooking soil in the oven if you want to reuse it. Duh...

 

[Dr.J20]

I may need to start hitting up coffee shops and grocery stores for their organic waste just to keep these guys well fed. They already eat all our food scraps...

I'm going to be doing this soon too! see if i can't work something out with my local grocer and the baker too; i'd like to have enough so make and sell compost tea at my local farmer's market this spring and summer.
also, here's a great little tutorial for a slightly different approach to building a worm bin >>

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/easywormbin.htm

great thread!

be easy everyone--love your squirm!

 

[SpicySativa]

I think it might be better to sell the castings than try to sell the compost tea itself. Unless you want to lug a giant tea brewer to the market. Teas turn bad QUICKLY when they are no longer being aerated, and they are only at their peak effectiveness for a quick minute at the end of the brew cycle.

 

[RetiredMatthebrute]

duely noted...will take you advice...just hate seeing "bugs" in my soil. i believe they are mites, not like spider mites though and i know that. I was only going to cook it because i personally dont like to look at the bugs.

 

[solst1ce]

duely noted...will take you advice...just hate seeing "bugs" in my soil. i believe they are mites, not like spider mites though and i know that. I was only going to cook it because i personally dont like to look at the bugs.

if you see little gnats flying around too, it could be fungus gnats. The adults don't harm plants, but they lay their eggs in soil and as the larvae feed they can harm the roots of your plants- I'm guessing that they are consuming beneficial fungi as well.
I had that problem and treated it with organically with BT- the product I used is called Microbe Lift and is super concentrated... designed for mosquito control in ponds the dilution is 2.5 ML per 1000 gallons. Ordered it online from "Dr. Foster and Smith" pet supply, maybe a little les than 20 bucks for a 6 oz (177ml) bottle- buy it once and you and about 100 of your closest friends will have a lifetime supply

 

[Dr.J20]

I think it might be better to sell the castings than try to sell the compost tea itself. Unless you want to lug a giant tea brewer to the market. Teas turn bad QUICKLY when they are no longer being aerated, and they are only at their peak effectiveness for a quick minute at the end of the brew cycle.

yeah i agree, the castings would probably be better to sell and easier. But, i was under the impression you had about a 6 hour window for ewc+molasses tea's effectiveness. Certainly, i would think the closer to 6hrs you get, the less effective, but I didn't realize that the drop-off was so steep! thanks for the head's up spicy!
be easy,

 

[MzFarmer]

I figure it's time for me to jump on the Vermicompost bandwagon (since some of my favorite people are there). I use supersoil so when I harvest the vermicompost do I use it as the "casings" or is it something different? Is there a good write up on how I could have "free" potting soil using this and a few other things (talked about earlier in the thread) For a small grow (3x3 veg and flower tents with cloning / seedling chamber) how large would my tubs need to be? How fast do they consume scraps? What do you think of lateral worm bin instead of the verticle. I hear it makes harvesting the VC much easier as it gets them to most completely migrate out of the old side and into the new side without any "worm water" staying in the old VC (I hear it keeps the worms there eating that stuff)?

 

[SpicySativa]

yeah i agree, the castings would probably be better to sell and easier. But, i was under the impression you had about a 6 hour window for ewc+molasses tea's effectiveness. Certainly, i would think the closer to 6hrs you get, the less effective, but I didn't realize that the drop-off was so steep! thanks for the head's up spicy!
be easy,

It happens REALLY quick. I was surprised, too. I did some experiments maybe 6 months ago using a lab-grade dissolved oxygen meter. I'd grab a cup full from the brewer and measure the DO concentrations at various points during the brew cycle. When I grabbed the final sample from the finished tea, the DO in my cup was getting consumed so quickly that the meter couldn't even stabilize and give an accurate reading. It just kept dropping and dropping and dropping. That was all the evidence I needed. I don't turn off the air until I'm actually ready to walk the stuff over to my garden.