DIY worm/compost bin with pics...

whitebb2727 said:

I would fench that area off with some cheap fench if at all possible. Open if and let them run. They are easily killed at night.

A worm bin might work. I put old tin where mine poop and shovel it out every so often and add to my compost pile.

I chicken poop is pretty hot. I know you can build worm bins under rabbits but I'm not sure about chickens. I can't say for sure if the worms can handle it.

I say as long as your adding hay and other organic materials you might be OK.

I guess you would have to try it. If it works I say it would be worth it.

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http://permaculturenews.org/2013/03/20/worm-bin-and-chicken-poop-compost-catch/

Here is where I got the idea from. The guy is from the Amazon and the web page had to be translated... I dont think that this is a popular thing that I am doing???

MustangStudFarm said:

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/03/20/worm-bin-and-chicken-poop-compost-catch/

Here is where I got the idea from. The guy is from the Amazon and the web page had to be translated... I dont think that this is a popular thing that I am doing???

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I just didn't know it it would work.

Cool. Try it out. I would be willing to bet though that you can't let the manure get too deep.

Spread the poop in a thin layer then maybe a sheet or two of newspaper and the straw, repeat. I think it would be easier on the worms.

I would take and weight the poop every day and average it out. When you know the weight of manure daily it will tell you how many worms are needed to eat it.

Look into designing one with a bar at the bottom where you harvest the castings. It won't ever fill up.

whitebb2727 said:

Look into designing one with a bar at the bottom where you harvest the castings. It won't ever fill up.

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I am having a hard time picturing this? It sounds cool for sure!

The chickens like my back porch because it is covered. They have to deal with hawks in the morning and owls at night. We only lose a couple of baby chicks here and there. I have dogs that keep the stray dogs at bay.

It would be like my wood one with a bar that you move back and forth to make the castings fall through.

Just search bottom harvesting worm bin.

A lot of bigger commercial u its are built that way.

Here is a nice before and after with my rabbit bedding...

Before: From May 30th


It has been looking like this for a couple of weeks now, like soil!!! LOL Can you spot the corn cob? I tried to get worms in this, but no...

Red wigglers and black soldier fly larvae

greasemonkeymann said:

ahh that's just lovely...
seeing hairy fat dudes in small clothes... equal long-term impotence..

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Didnt you say that you liked avocado?

They are active little fuckers, they got my attention when they pushed the seed out the skin...

Steaming hot pile!

MustangStudFarm said:

Here is a nice before and after with my rabbit bedding...

Before: From May 30th
View attachment 3743793

It has been looking like this for a couple of weeks now, like soil!!! LOL Can you spot the corn cob? I tried to get worms in this, but no...

View attachment 3743795

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I love the before and after pic, I am going to borrow my brothers digi cam to make a cool lil video showing how friggin LOADED my compost is with redworms
I easily have two or three times the worms in there than in my worm bin
crazy!

greasemonkeymann said:

I love the before and after pic, I am going to borrow my brothers digi cam to make a cool lil video showing how friggin LOADED my compost is with redworms
I easily have two or three times the worms in there than in my worm bin
crazy!

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I found a few worms trying to escape the bin this morning. We did get rain yesterday and BSF larvae are heating up the bin a little, I noticed a little steam coming off of it too...

Im building an EWC factory. I am using primarily african night crawlers to make harvesting easier. They deposit castings on the surface and can be scraped to a side, left still for 2-12hours to allow worms to leave the pure castings mound. Then harvested with a shovel.

My worm bin is going indoors and i feed fermented kitchen garbage in small but regular feedings.
im using 2-3ct 12v pc fans,
a diy carbon filter exhausts,
a black plastic trash can with wheels,
pvc to level the bottom of the trash can flat,
plastic soda crates to stack up and place inside the trashcan for cycling the food and castings.

Im putting a 12v solar panel in my living room window and charging a lawn battery which will power the fans and any other 12v dc things nearby.

iHearAll said:

Im building an EWC factory. I am using primarily african night crawlers to make harvesting easier. They deposit castings on the surface and can be scraped to a side, left still for 2-12hours to allow worms to leave the pure castings mound. Then harvested with a shovel.

My worm bin is going indoors and i feed fermented kitchen garbage in small but regular feedings.
im using 2-3ct 12v pc fans,
a diy carbon filter exhausts,
a black plastic trash can with wheels,
pvc to level the bottom of the trash can flat,
plastic soda crates to stack up and place inside the trashcan for cycling the food and castings.

Im putting a 12v solar panel in my living room window and charging a lawn battery which will power the fans and any other 12v dc things nearby.

Click to expand...

Any photos of your setup...sort of interested in making an indoor setup..?

Any problems with fruit flies or the like..?

Chronikool said:

Any photos of your setup...sort of interested in making an indoor setup..?

Any problems with fruit flies or the like..?

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At the moment iv been baiting my worms out of their bedding. Some red wigglers have been breeding in there. Theyre some bitches to keep out o the vermicastings. African night crawlers dont live in their poop. 1000× better than red wigglers.

Anyhow, up until this past week theyv been in a outdoor worm bin. Im trying to reduce the manure and fermented vegetable bedding into just fresh and fermented veggies.

The box is in the works. Im moving to an apartment next week and have to take my "pets".

The stack of soda crates is only two high for moving sake. But should end up 4-5 high in the trash can. Im not terribly sure what to do about flies other than fly paper and onion type companion crops. Iv been treating the bedding and containers with a neem and EMe foliar spray every few days to help kill down the insect and pathogen populations.

There are options still in the realm of automated systems like mushroom culture. Ill probably identify a few dozen african nightcrawlers and breed isolated for a while. Im trying to phase out the red wigglers.


Also or sake of sharing, i pseudo soundproofedmy vortex brewer. The lid can be placed on top and the motor is enclosed in plexiglass. Little bit of duct tape on the motor and itll be kickin away in the kitchen 24-7 making teas and oxygenated waterings.

iHearAll said:

Im not terribly sure what to do about flies other than fly paper and onion type companion crops.

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I have one of these hanging over my trash can and it seems to work out well. It has a loud crackle when it zaps, it bothers some people and makes my animals jump, but it dont bother me at all...

https://www.amazon.com/Aspectek-Electronic-Indoor-Insect-Mosquitto/dp/B00I0G0JXE/ref=lp_3017452011_1_1?srs=3017452011&ie=UTF8&qid=1470110035&sr=8-1

Lol a tesla coil would be funny. I doubt itd be more energy efficient. Probbly nowhere near as.

And the glass would have to come off.. and itd zap me. Unlessibuild a proximity sensor onto the lid. Ehhhhh.... nah.

So yea, i mayhave to pick up some kind of extermination device.

Beneficial nemotodes too. Im researching how to sustain a store bought culture. Theyll eat oatmeal in tupperware like buying worms for fishing. Pin holes in the lid and cooked oatmeal as the substrate.

Atore bought nematodes onlylast a week.or two un the fridge after opening the container. So it makes it appear to be an unwise investment for an indoor gardener. But they dont advertise.that you can raise them like any ol worm. That might be what i do. 20$ start up and theres a breed specidically designed to eat roach and fly larvae. Itll certainly be some intesnive cleaning the first few weeks of it being indoors. But i harvested a 5gal pail of.pure castings two days ago. Thats what this is all for!

Here is a write up on my first worm bin. I thought that I would bring it back in rotation...