New Vermicomposter
- Thread starter theQuetzalcoatl
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Kind Sir
Well-Known Member
I have my worms in a single, 27 gal tote without any holes yet just the top on loosely(the worms dont try to get out, just climb around sometimes.) I used newspaper, cardboard, leaves and a big handful of ocean forest. I have 1k worms in there, and only gave them about 6 strawberry tops and few pieces of banana (everything is frozen and thawed, super mooshy lol)
1. How much and how often do you guys feed worms?
2. I wanted to add another inch or two of bedding, I was thinking about mixing up some sphagnum peat moss with some leaves. Suggestions?
3. Lastly, since the worms eat the bacteri on the food opposed to the food itself would a compost tea be beneficial?
1. How much and how often do you guys feed worms?
2. I wanted to add another inch or two of bedding, I was thinking about mixing up some sphagnum peat moss with some leaves. Suggestions?
3. Lastly, since the worms eat the bacteri on the food opposed to the food itself would a compost tea be beneficial?
JohnDro
Member
Mushy is good. I use a blender and puree everything, then i just dig a shallow hole dump it in and cover it back up. 1k worms is about a pound or so, so if your worms are well acclimated i'd feed em a half to a full lb of food a day. They can eat a very fast. I would also put a few holes on the side near the top of the bin, air is a very important part of vermifarming. Worms will break down leaves, but i believe they prefer newspapers and cardboard. Peat moss is fine but not necessary, if you do add it you may add some oyster shell flour to buffer the ph a bit, plus its a great calcium source. Compost tea wont hurt, but idk if it will help, ill defer to others on that question and we can learn together.
Kind Sir
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the reply, ya Id very much enjoy to learn some info on vermicomposting with ya. How often n how much do you feed yours?
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
You can feed them as much or as little as you want. They survive in my containers eating amendments I assume because there's no other food but they thrive anyway. They really don't need much & in the absence of food will simply burrow until they find something to eat all the while releasing microbes & aerating the soil. Feeding them a little less actually improves the compost they make so it's really up to you. It's possible to overfeed them too which will cause a lot of gnats to swarm in as the worms can only consume it so fast.
I prefer to give mine more solid veggie & fruit scraps then anything else because it breaks down very fast. I don't even really chop it up much; I freeze all the scraps first & then take a few handfuls of food out about every other week to thaw while I'm at work & then I just dump it on top & cover lightly with coco to keep most of the gnats away. After thawing, even whole apples squish right down into mush.
I have a daughter who loves apples but has never actually finished one...lol. She puts them back half eaten with bite mark on the bottom in the fruit bowl for unsuspecting grownups to gross out on. She contributed more food to the worms this year than she probably ate herself.
That love lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, and even starches like cereal & pasta. I have given them potato peels, moldy bread, and their favorite: rotten strawberries. Each new tray I start I mix in some oyster flour, a tiny bit of garden gypsum, a handful of perlite, and coco for bedding. I always give them all my cannabis leaf; I leave it out for a week or 2 to dry & crumple it on top of the bedding/food scraps. They eat the leaf quickly but stems take a bit longer to break down in the compost so any stem not attached to a leaf gets tossed in the outdoor compost pile.
Kind Sir
Well-Known Member
I just used newspaper, leaves, cardboard. Its only like 6in deep, but a pretty big tote theyre in. I have strawberries thawing, should I moisten some coco and put them under a layer of coco, like 1.5in layer?
Edit: I could imagine running into one of those apples, thats fun to hVe your daughter on your team.
While i have you hear rich, 2 questions quick.
1. You just put your ingredients in the bucket with air stone, I wanted to make a tea to water my soil before it "cooks," should I just use compost/ewc/molasses if so what ratio for half gallon?
2. I want to make a tea for veg plants, add microbes and nutrients. Im trying to not use my Peruvian bat guano for whatever reason, but I was thinking alfalfa/kelp/ewc/compost and a dash of glacial rock dust I read was good for bacteria n such to climb on. I also have fish bone, oyster for ph possibly.
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Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Coco is great bedding plus it's good base for compost. It doesn't need to break down unlike newspaper or cardboard. When you see your finished castings in a month or so you'll see what they liked & what is left still uneaten. Sure thaw the strawberry scraps & cover with some coco- you'll see them wiggling around them soon.
Don't have to be exact or remotely accurate with ratios just add about a handful of EWC/compost & a tsp of molasses. Bubble for 24 hrs min & should be good to inoculate your cooking soil. Once your worm bin has a burgeoning population you can add live worms directly to your recycled mix which will keep it supernaturally active for a long time.
Sounds like a plan on the veg tea but I say don't hold back on the guano; it really ups the bacteria levels & foams up real good indicating high populations of microbeasts. I used to add guanos to my mix but I find its available to the plants much faster when brewed in a tea.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
Super brain storm idea. For indoor bins with rubermaids. . Soma style soil beds. The soil part is the worm bin. No drainage. But theres the bed of air beneath the soil.
To save money and time. Use a rubbermaid tote instead of a wooden box and pond liner and lava rock instead of hydroton
To save money and time. Use a rubbermaid tote instead of a wooden box and pond liner and lava rock instead of hydroton
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
Save that fish bone meal & add it to your recycling soil; good phosphor source once it gets broken down. The oyster flour only works to regulate ph when it's in close proximity to the root zone; won't do anything but clog up your stones in a tea but good to add for grit in your worm bin.
Nice design- was thinking about building similar rolling beds
hyroot
Well-Known Member
An aluminum trash can is probably worse Tons of chemicals leeching out. Plus I'm sure there's rust down below caused by the moisture which is no good either.
hyroot
Well-Known Member
I was just reading about using hemp stalk fibers in the same injection molds to make hemp / plastic totes. Now if only they were made in the U.S. and in every home depot, lowes, target etc ...
I've been storing my soil in sterilite brand totes for years...........
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Grandpa GreenJeans
Well-Known Member
Just whipped up a new bin and bedding this morning. I prefer shredded newspaper and brown paper bags. Add a little bit of potting soil for grit and done.
No holes, no drain and no lid. Just a piece of cardboard to cover bedding.
No holes, no drain and no lid. Just a piece of cardboard to cover bedding.
JohnDro
Member
coir is great, thats what i add whenever i start a new layer. you can also scoop a handful of ground soil from outside its full of microorganisms. kelp and oyster shell is fantastic, i stay away from alfalfa because it may heat up your bin as it composts. Important to know that you shouldnt overthink it. if its good for us its good for the worms. soil amendments are fine for the most part, but if you have spoiled or left over fruit and veggies, those are excellent additions. used coffee grounds, bread, pasta newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons, ground peanut shells, rice, ground eggs shells (insides cleaned or baked in the oven for 30 mins) all great additions for our new family members!
Grandpa GreenJeans
Well-Known Member
If anyone's interested....
Look into fermenting your food scraps first via bokashi composting. The process actually breaks down the scraps and worms love to gobble it up. It's essentially "pre chewed" by lactic bacteria. They don't consume the food as much as the natural sugars that are in them. The finished product is more nutritive than just tossing scraps in and allowing aerobic microbes to break it down. All microbes need a food source. But this food is for the worms so why loose nutrient values. Your worms are what they eat, and the final quality of casting matters, otherwise why would we be going to the lengths of having a bin in the first place.
There are easier ways to vermicompost but that's not going to give to the highest quality and nutrient retention in the casting.
As a worm farmer it's my responsibility to care for my worms and keep them healthy and multiplying. Fermented foods are they key to doing just that. Same as humans. Ever heard of keifer? How about pro biotic yogurts? Yup, digestive health, better nutrient absorbtion, and immune system benifits.
Anyone serious about producing their own castings that are better than any store bought bag, I'd encourage you to ferment first. And Research doesn't lie. To each their own, but quality is where I focus.
Look into fermenting your food scraps first via bokashi composting. The process actually breaks down the scraps and worms love to gobble it up. It's essentially "pre chewed" by lactic bacteria. They don't consume the food as much as the natural sugars that are in them. The finished product is more nutritive than just tossing scraps in and allowing aerobic microbes to break it down. All microbes need a food source. But this food is for the worms so why loose nutrient values. Your worms are what they eat, and the final quality of casting matters, otherwise why would we be going to the lengths of having a bin in the first place.
There are easier ways to vermicompost but that's not going to give to the highest quality and nutrient retention in the casting.
As a worm farmer it's my responsibility to care for my worms and keep them healthy and multiplying. Fermented foods are they key to doing just that. Same as humans. Ever heard of keifer? How about pro biotic yogurts? Yup, digestive health, better nutrient absorbtion, and immune system benifits.
Anyone serious about producing their own castings that are better than any store bought bag, I'd encourage you to ferment first. And Research doesn't lie. To each their own, but quality is where I focus.