New Vermicomposter

Pic of the business. This was first thing this morning, a few seemingly trying to escape. Things are a bit mixed up in there now from me looking around in the stuff to see where they are and what they are doing. I did find some today in and about some moldy food so I think they are starting to feed, and they seem to be more dispersed rather than clustered all together in a bunch. Smells a bit bad in there now, but I only find a few dead worms, not many. I am wondering about serving more food, but thinking they might need to deal with what is already in there first. It still seems like mostly all the stuff I put in there mixed up rather than worm castings. There are still masses of bedding which they are not really particularly hanging around in.

There isn't enough shredded paper/dirt in there to cover the smell. It doesn't look wet enough either. A great start though!

Agreed. I'd add more dirt and make it just moist

It is quite moist in there.

I'll do some more digging under the snow and tear up a bunch more paper.

Wow, by far the best and most informative thread I've run across here in RIU. Mad props to all the contributors, and especially the OP. It's awesome to see so many people chipping in to help others, no flaming, no BS. I'm subbed.

Absolutely happy to welcome you aboard. Thanks for all the likes and rep!

Love this thread - thanks!

Started mine today. It was a quick fix just to get the worms out of the cup. Shredded apple, sunshine #4 mix, some garden dirt, shredded brown paper bag, a little water, all in a 2 gallon pot (temporary). The pot is in a beer can party tub covered and in the shade (it is 82 degrees today). I have some nematodes I was going to release tonight - should I add a little to the worm party? Should I add anything else? Egg shell?

Cheers,
Mo

I think it's always best to add eggshell or another good calcium source (I understand this is NOT a place for lime of any variety. Not even Dolomite) I can't imagine it would hurt to release some nematodes in there. anything that breaks down organics should be beneficial.

And the worms will access this Ca and incorporate as bioavailable Ca in the castings. Beautiful.

Could I use a rotating compost barrel?

For compost? Sure. For worms? No.

The best piece of advice I can give is to blend your scraps with a decent amount of water before putting it in... The worms seem to make quicker work of the smaller particles. It seems I don't produce enough scrap for them now!

this is because by blending them you are providing more surface area..

its not just worms working on eating the scraps, theres bacteria and other organisms in there breaking that stuff down too...the worms can only eat so much at a time but when you provide a larger "surface area" this allows the bacteria to multiply and consume at much faster rates than the worms. and then when the food supplies are gone the worms will actually eat the dead bacteria and organisms.

freezing your scraps also helps for a faster breakdown. when you freeze plant cells the cell wall is destroyed and they become much easier to eat. so if you want to see really fast results, puree the food scraps in a food processor and then freeze them, then add them to the bin and they will be gone before you know it.

feel free to correct any wrong info this is what i have garthered from my small amounts of reading on the subject

I didn't know about the freezing but have been freezing mine by throwing them outside. Maybe that's part of why I'm having such spectacular results.

Spectacular indeed!

So this is what a weeks worth of worm tea looks like (Pre dilution).



Here's hoping the rabbit shit and hay have added enough triacontanol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triacontanol) to the mix to see some interesting results. Anyone have any experience with this particular growth hormone?

Was away for a week, they perished.

Sorry to hear about your loss

A week ago I moved the worms and their soil to a #7 smart pot along with a fresh batch of blender mixed eggshells and veggie scraps. Put a 2" base of sunshine soil under the pot in the beer party tub to collect the liquid goodness.

On Saturday I used some 1/4" mesh screen to sift out the worms and big bits out of the enhanced soil. It smelled very strongly of fresh manure. I was amazed at how little food was left - scarry :0

Used the casting soil and the bottom layer of sunshine to fill another #7 smartie for the Beefsteak tomato. Added some bone, kelp, and blood. This should be good





Burned the trunks and branches from last season's grow and collected the ashes to add to the garden:







The compost bin is darkening up quickly and is steaming




Cheers,
Mo

I love the design on your worm composter. I've been just using single rubbermaids with holes drilled in the lids and sides.

some things those little critters really love are: avacadoes, mangos and bell peppers. Also keep the composter well away from your garden. They are a magnet for fungus gnats and fruit flies.

I have found that a regular dose of used coffee grounds keeps the bugs down, but it isn't 100% effective.

The tea makes a great foliar spray

The composter has a seam in the center where a little liquid leaks out onto the grass and there is a huge tuft of grass growing there!