Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread
- Thread starter Rising Moon
- Start date
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
That's reassuring to hear! How long do they usually take to break it down?
HelpHub
Well-Known Member
To be honest I've never paid attention to the time they take because I pretty much just ignore my worms other than feeding them once a week or so. But I have seen little baby worms massed around spots of rabbit poop in the bin. This makes me think the worms may be laying their cocoons where there are these large pockets of poop.
Javadog
Well-Known Member
RuRu.The.Half.Elf
Well-Known Member
Read through this thread, but didn't see any advice on bedding material ratios. Figure it would be different based on user, but might as well ask.
Would you all say 8qt of coir to 10gal bin is a sufficient worm bedding? 10gal=40qt(160cup) 40/8=5, so 20%?
Also, add 2 cups pearlite? 2/160= .0125, 1.25%?
Built a sterlite bin, 10gal, and a 3/4"PVC spacer to separate the juice from their future home. 'Bout to order worms sometime this week.
Would you all say 8qt of coir to 10gal bin is a sufficient worm bedding? 10gal=40qt(160cup) 40/8=5, so 20%?
Also, add 2 cups pearlite? 2/160= .0125, 1.25%?
Built a sterlite bin, 10gal, and a 3/4"PVC spacer to separate the juice from their future home. 'Bout to order worms sometime this week.
RuRu.The.Half.Elf
Well-Known Member
I was reading about how worms take time to break down paper beddings. I also add coir to soil. So I figure this and that, maybe, maybe not. I have not added anything to the bin as of yet, but I do have a freezer container filling up with refuse.
What guesstimation is your peat ratio to container size?
What guesstimation is your peat ratio to container size?
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
i just like compost and old soil for my bedding, works perfect, plus then when it's "ready" I don't have to worry about adding more aeration , you could fill it up with wet leaves too.
greasemonkeymann
Well-Known Member
I don't think it's that scientific, in my experience redworms will flourish in most beddings, just treat it like they are in the wild. Give them a bunch of vegetative detritus and that's all you need.
RuRu.The.Half.Elf
Well-Known Member
Aha! Found where it was I read about coir bedding.
http://www.wormladies.com/pages/aboutourworms.html
At the bottom there is a tutorial on a diy double bin. The site says "plantation soil" but it is coir. Same one you can buy at petstores, which is where I get mine. I chewed a piece for a second to see if it was salty, wasn't and all I got was a piece stuck in my teeth.
I guess I am overthinking, still am, with everything, always.
Also, I just harvested a fire lobsters molt from the bottom of my fishtank, rinsed and soaked in fresh water, crushed it up in a bag with my foot and added it to the freezer bucket'o scraps. Bucket getting full and worms don't ship out till Monday, expected Tuesday, latest Wednesday.
http://www.wormladies.com/pages/aboutourworms.html
At the bottom there is a tutorial on a diy double bin. The site says "plantation soil" but it is coir. Same one you can buy at petstores, which is where I get mine. I chewed a piece for a second to see if it was salty, wasn't and all I got was a piece stuck in my teeth.
I guess I am overthinking, still am, with everything, always.
Also, I just harvested a fire lobsters molt from the bottom of my fishtank, rinsed and soaked in fresh water, crushed it up in a bag with my foot and added it to the freezer bucket'o scraps. Bucket getting full and worms don't ship out till Monday, expected Tuesday, latest Wednesday.
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
I came across an article that showed a guy that put a worm bin under his chicken roost. I thought that it was clever and I was going to follow his example. It just didnt cross my mind that the chicken manure would be too hot or something. I thought that it would be great to keep the coop clean and disease free, plus give me some castings. Anyways, I would like to hear some thoughts on it!
http://permaculturenews.org/2013/03/20/worm-bin-and-chicken-poop-compost-catch/
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
To be honest I don't know a whole lot about chicken manure, it's a cheap ingredient so I usually avoid it but I was experimenting and figured what the hell. Plus the manure I used was supposed to be composted, so it shouldn't have gotten hot. Maybe I just had too much? Your coop set up might be ok? If the worms try to crawl out then you will know.I came across an article that showed a guy that put a worm bin under his chicken roost. I thought that it was clever and I was going to follow his example. It just didnt cross my mind that the chicken manure would be too hot or something. I thought that it would be great to keep the coop clean and disease free, plus give me some castings. Anyways, I would like to hear some thoughts on it!
http://permaculturenews.org/2013/03/20/worm-bin-and-chicken-poop-compost-catch/
They do love rabbit manure, and that doesn't get hot. So if you're boy has a rabbit Hutch, I'd throw the bin under that. I throw the bedding and everything from my friends rabbits pen in my bin. I'm still in my first month though man, they're still chomping, I don't have results yet.
RuRu.The.Half.Elf
Well-Known Member
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/reader-questions/vermicomposting-with-chicken-manure/
"The key will be to soak it down, mix it with C-rich materials, and let it age for quite awhile. You sound like you are on the right track, but you might think about adding some water to help drain off excess salts."
"shouldn’t add worms as long as there is a strong odor of ammonia. It should almost get to the point of having an ‘earthy’ smell. Your best bet is to test it out on a small scale before adding the worms. "
Hope this link helps a bit. I got a bunch bookmarked and saved searches lol.
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
I guess that I never updated my worm bin on here, I started a thread about it instead. I found a 70yr old guy that has 160 rabbits and he really cannot clean up after them anymore. So, he listed free rabbit manure on craigslist. I paid one of my in-laws to pick up a truck load for me and he said that we could fill a 16ft trailer 3-4 times. We would be doing the guy and his rabbits a favor if I do go and clean up.
The previous owners of my house built a deer stand to practice with his bow. I didnt have a need for it, so I turned it into the coop that I have been talking about. I only put a couple of hours into it so far. My chickens are free-ranging and they mostly need protection from owls and hawks, which are protected by law and heavy in population in my area.
I could just build a worm box under the perches... I am still not done building the coop, just at a creative loss at the moment. I am thinking about doing the nest boxes higher off of the ground because of snakes mostly. We have copper-heads and 2 types of diamond back rattlers here. Might have to bring my .22 with me to check eggs lol.
MustangStudFarm
Well-Known Member
I have a healthy population of reds in my yard. The worms in my compost look healthier than my indoor worm bin. I was at a loss about the bedding. I know leaf compost would probably be best, but I dont have enough ready. Coco coir is not really that expensive. I will read that link for sure!
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
It's been a little over a week since I set up my multilevel rabbit manure fed worm bin. So I gave my little drainage nozzle a twist and out came about 1/4 cup of compost leachate! Now I've heard that it can go anaerobic so I figured I should use it right away. Granted 1/4 cup isn't much, so I diluted it with a gallon of water and foliar fed it to my veg plants and three of my flower plants that I just moved into the flower room (nowhere near bud development).
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Tyleb173rd
Well-Known Member
Cool stuff in this thread.
DonBrennon
Well-Known Member
You got an pictures and plans for that?...........I think rabbits are my next project