My worms arrive tomorrow, I've got everything ready. Would you mind reading my plan and letting me know if I'm on the right track.

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
This is my first bin. My plan is a 3 bin system where the bottom catches fluids, the middle is where the worms live and compost and the top layer I'll make when the bottom is full of castings and I'll put bedding and food scraps to draw them up and that will be the new middle bin. I was going to feed kelp and alfalfa meal that I found at a local feed store and malted barley, plus kitchen scraps and coffee. I'm not necessarily sure when to stop feeding the bottom and start feeding the top but I'm hoping it'll be obvious. I added a bit of extra space between layers, they're maybe 4 inches. What I have in the bin right now in preparation for the worms is some shredded paper and cardboard, aged horse manure, and some compost I started earlier this spring that I've continued to add to. It's got a good bit of grass clippings that still haven't broken down yet. Most of what I heard or read was to wait a few days to feed. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
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0001Cannabis

New Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
This is my first bin. My plan is a 3 bin system where the bottom catches fluids, the middle is where the worms live and compost and the top layer I'll make when the bottom is full of castings and I'll put bedding and food scraps to draw them up and that will be the new middle bin. I was going to feed kelp and alfalfa meal that I found at a local feed store and malted barley, plus kitchen scraps and coffee. I'm not necessarily sure when to stop feeding the bottom and start feeding the top but I'm hoping it'll be obvious. I added a bit of extra space between layers, they're maybe 4 inches. What I have in the bin right now in preparation for the worms is some shredded paper and cardboard, aged horse manure, and some compost I started earlier this spring that I've continued to add to. It's got a good bit of grass clippings that still haven't broken down yet. Most of what I heard or read was to wait a few days to feed. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Very interesting and updates on your progress would be appreciated. Good luck!
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
You're putting horse manure in your worm bin? Why? Worms just need vegan kitchen scraps and a tiny bit of soil.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Trays are overfull when the next nesting tray sits on top of whatever is on the tray instead of the little L shaped rest bracket. Start with one tray only and go from there. No need to stack all three until the bottom two are full.
 
2cent

2cent

Well-Known Member
PJ Diaz said:
You're putting horse manure in your worm bin? Why? Worms just need vegan kitchen scraps and a tiny bit of soil.
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Cause it’s proven that worm poop is more beneficial than any manure and it wraps them ready t go
Anything through the bin is in better form
They say anything you feed even a bag of horse manure they will sort it in little pearly jackets ready to be absorbedx

trained mine to chicken shit there black almost and digest it rapidly it’s not hot but my12 fr wide tomatoes say it’s fire
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
ClaytonNewbilFontaine said:
I see. Thank you
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Another thing I found is that worm bins can hatch gnats among many other tiny creepy crawlers. Drape some mesh netting or a shear curtain or something over the bin to quell them. Soil mites will also start to populate after your bin is established for awhile; they are beneficial so don’t worry if you start seeing them hop around when you harvest castings.
You can go weeks at a time without feeding them if you dump in a whole bunch of veg/fruit scraps and coffee ground in the tray. They will consume it pretty fast if kept at a fairly comfy ambient temp. They seem to be slower when it’s colder. Most will stay in the top layer where the fresher food is but I find so many worms still lingering in the bottom layers; there must still be some food sources down there. If you freeze your kitchen scraps it will help break the cell walls down quicker which will make it disappear in the bins much faster. Just let it thaw first before dropping it in.
 
ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
Another thing I found is that worm bins can hatch gnats among many other tiny creepy crawlers. Drape some mesh netting or a shear curtain or something over the bin to quell them. Soil mites will also start to populate after your bin is established for awhile; they are beneficial so don’t worry if you start seeing them hop around when you harvest castings.
You can go weeks at a time without feeding them if you dump in a whole bunch of veg/fruit scraps and coffee ground in the tray. They will consume it pretty fast if kept at a fairly comfy ambient temp. They seem to be slower when it’s colder. Most will stay in the top layer where the fresher food is but I find so many worms still lingering in the bottom layers; there must still be some food sources down there. If you freeze your kitchen scraps it will help break the cell walls down quicker which will make it disappear in the bins much faster. Just let it thaw first before dropping it in.
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That's all very helpful man thanks
 
TaoRich

TaoRich

Well-Known Member
Corrugated cardboard is your best friend when it comes to worm bins.

I don't bother to shred mine. Instead, I have a pre-soak water drum with a lid. I've added a handful of horse manure to the water, and occasionally some kelp soak water, or worm bin leachate to that. I rip up my pizza boxes or egg cartons or delivery boxes into big chunks, maybe 3 pieces for a pizza box, 4 for a bigger box, and drop those into the pre-soak overnight. That softens it up nicely, and kick starts the microbe rot and it breaks down much faster in the worm bin.

If you ever end up making your bin too hot and you see the worms slithering up the sides then a top layer of corrugated cardboard is absolutely magic at restoring balance. That can happen in mine when I add too much frass, or brewer's grain, or grass in one go. Within a day, everything chills down and no more attempted escapes.

It's also great as a top cover to cut down on fungus gnats when you add kitchen scraps. Just cover the surface loosely with the soggy soaked cardboard. If you reduce the exposed surface then the gnats can't get to lay nearly as many eggs.

Whenever I lift up a piece of cardboard, I'll find bunches of worms congregating either in the cardboard, or just underneath. Mass orgies and feeding frenzy.

If you're keeping a nice balance with the cardboard, you don't need to be nearly as fussy with your inputs. It modulates things and stops runaway nasties. Sure, I avoid too much onion, and too much citrus, but I don't pick out every piece. I add bread and potatoes and a bunch of other stuff on the forbidden list, and yes, those can mould up and grow filaments, and look pretty fuzzy and foul, but it never causes any harm, and I'm a great believer in diversity of input, diversity of rotting fungi or microbes or bacteria.

Lastly, never cover the whole bin surface with any one type of food. Add stuff to one side one feeding, and then the other side next time around. Sometimes your worms will avoid stuff like a whole green pepper in the corner, but a week later, they are all over it. So give them space to stay away from stuff that may not be immediately palatable, but they will literally eat anything once it degrades enough.
 
ClaytonNewbilFontaine

ClaytonNewbilFontaine

Well-Known Member
TaoRich said:
Corrugated cardboard is your best friend when it comes to worm bins.

I don't bother to shred mine. Instead, I have a pre-soak water drum with a lid. I've added a handful of horse manure to the water, and occasionally some kelp soak water, or worm bin leachate to that. I rip up my pizza boxes or egg cartons or delivery boxes into big chunks, maybe 3 pieces for a pizza box, 4 for a bigger box, and drop those into the pre-soak overnight. That softens it up nicely, and kick starts the microbe rot and it breaks down much faster in the worm bin.

If you ever end up making your bin too hot and you see the worms slithering up the sides then a top layer of corrugated cardboard is absolutely magic at restoring balance. That can happen in mine when I add too much frass, or brewer's grain, or grass in one go. Within a day, everything chills down and no more attempted escapes.

It's also great as a top cover to cut down on fungus gnats when you add kitchen scraps. Just cover the surface loosely with the soggy soaked cardboard. If you reduce the exposed surface then the gnats can't get to lay nearly as many eggs.

Whenever I lift up a piece of cardboard, I'll find bunches of worms congregating either in the cardboard, or just underneath. Mass orgies and feeding frenzy.

If you're keeping a nice balance with the cardboard, you don't need to be nearly as fussy with your inputs. It modulates things and stops runaway nasties. Sure, I avoid too much onion, and too much citrus, but I don't pick out every piece. I add bread and potatoes and a bunch of other stuff on the forbidden list, and yes, those can mould up and grow filaments, and look pretty fuzzy and foul, but it never causes any harm, and I'm a great believer in diversity of input, diversity of rotting fungi or microbes or bacteria.

Lastly, never cover the whole bin surface with any one type of food. Add stuff to one side one feeding, and then the other side next time around. Sometimes your worms will avoid stuff like a whole green pepper in the corner, but a week later, they are all over it. So give them space to stay away from stuff that may not be immediately palatable, but they will literally eat anything once it degrades enough.
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Fuck yeah, thanks. I've got brewer's grain so I will watch out for that. Going to pick up some kelp at a feed store today.
 
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