Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread

[getogrow]

thanks, since i'm indoors I hesitate to use leaves from outside thinking it might bring bad bugs indoors. But maybe some herbs and edible flowers from outside because I can wash and dry them. i leave my indoors spider buddies alone they help a little bit. I would like to use fan leaves too. and paper shredding that's soaked. I have outdoor piles I use outdoors for the garden. I'll try again but I hope I have more luck.

Im with loco. there was a year or two that went by that i didnt do anything at all and in the end , i just had less worms with a bin full of castings.
If the bin is too wet or dry they want to leave. that is the most common reason they would want to leave. (if you had a bunch of tea coming out the bottom it was too wet ..... too dry is pretty easy to not fuck up. )
I would not worry about bringing in bugs from outside. they will not survive the worm bins. of course there are a few species that can escape , like knats but nothing that will hurt your plants. I have never had bugs in the bin besides rolly pollys.

I would use all the trash from the plants except the biggest stems. they take too long to break down. If its still wet, put it in the "green" pile. if it is dry , put it in the brown pile.

I dont do the traditional stacking method with my totes. I had one tote that i had been using , then i decided to up the production so i added another tote. I wait till the bottom tote is pretty close to "done" then i just toss the second tote on top with fresh bedding in it and it takes awhile but i would say in abnout 2-3 weeks , the majority of the worms will make it up to the new bin leaving thebottom bin to easily harvest without losing all your worms.
Red wigglers/composting worms are the only species that like this style of composting. so you have to choose that type of worm for your bins. nightcrawlers are completely different in what they like and how they eat so they are out of the question.

Red wigglers do not like to go to deep in the soil so keep your bins under 20" deep. They breed so fast that a 1/4 lb is enough for about anyone.

 

[getogrow]

hi all, ordered an urban work bag 2.0 a few weeks ago, should be here within a week or two(was on back order). So I'm a total noob to the worm bins and have a few questions.
1. Does it matter what kind of paper you use? I don't get to many papers but i get a shit ton of paper mail, can i use that? And how fine does it need to be shredded up?
not sure how much food scraps I'm going to put in as the wife doesn't even know I'm starting a worm farm

Newspaper is best because its not shiny. Newspaper, brown paper bags, cardboard, ect.... yes i use my mail. i try not to get the glue in the bin or the lil plastic windows in the bills, other then that any paper will work. i have used the shiny paper too but its not recommended.

2. Can i put in all my cannabis waste material? Big stalks and leaves, do i let the stuff dry out at all or put in in fresh? Or is there a ratio between the two?
also have some crushed oyster shell(bigger chunks) and oyster shell flour is that good to ad for some grit? Also have a bunch of gaia green dry amendments along with some neem meal that i could add if that would be beneficial for the worms/ewc
[/QUOTE]
Do not use the ganja green or any plant food. Yes all your cannabis material can go in there but the big stalks will take a while to break down so i would leave them out.

3. How much works should i buy? 1/2 pound or a full pound? I really don't have a clue on how much i need. Oh and they are red wigglers, anyone ever put the worms people use for fishing in there bin? I can buy them in a vending machine...lol, says they are dew worms
[/QUOTE]
Use reds not crawlers. 1/2 lb should be plenty.

 

[P10p]

Newspaper is best because its not shiny. Newspaper, brown paper bags, cardboard, ect.... yes i use my mail. i try not to get the glue in the bin or the lil plastic windows in the bills, other then that any paper will work. i have used the shiny paper too but its not recommended.

2. Can i put in all my cannabis waste material? Big stalks and leaves, do i let the stuff dry out at all or put in in fresh? Or is there a ratio between the two?
also have some crushed oyster shell(bigger chunks) and oyster shell flour is that good to ad for some grit? Also have a bunch of gaia green dry amendments along with some neem meal that i could add if that would be beneficial for the worms/ewc

Do not use the ganja green or any plant food. Yes all your cannabis material can go in there but the big stalks will take a while to break down so i would leave them out.

3. How much works should i buy? 1/2 pound or a full pound? I really don't have a clue on how much i need. Oh and they are red wigglers, anyone ever put the worms people use for fishing in there bin? I can buy them in a vending machine...lol, says they are dew worms
[/QUOTE]
Use reds not crawlers. 1/2 lb should be plenty.
[/QUOTE]

The worms would actually love the gaia in small amounts. Its literally just a combo of amendments, all which look safe/beneficial at first glance. All organic too.

 

[CrunchBerries]

I haven’t begun my worm bin, but my experience with newspaper is that it does take a while to breakdown in my compost bin. I believe I read that it is clay based and doesn’t break down easily. Correct me if I’m wrong...

 

[CrunchBerries]

I haven’t begun my worm bin, but my experience with newspaper is that it does take a while to breakdown in my compost bin. I believe I read that it is clay based and doesn’t break down easily. Correct me if I’m wrong...

Am going to use coco, peat, dried leaves, cardboard and shredded paper grocery bags as bedding.

 

[hillbill]

I have brought in hundreds of centipedes, more tha a couple 5 Lined Skink, unidentified reptile eggs and Spider Mites from outdoors. Lesson learned until next time.

 

[myke]

Hello all work farmers. I’d like to get one started. I usually have 6-8 plants going at any time. What size tote would be a good start?im in Canada so if someone could point me to where and what kind of worms to get that would be great thanks.

 

[CrunchBerries]

I have brought in hundreds of centipedes, more tha a couple 5 Lined Skink, unidentified reptile eggs and Spider Mites from outdoors. Lesson learned until next time.

If you freeze leaves for an extended period of time would that kill off most of what you describe. Or naw?

 

[CrunchBerries]

I haven’t begun my worm bin, but my experience with newspaper is that it does take a while to breakdown in my compost bin. I believe I read that it is clay based and doesn’t break down easily. Correct me if I’m wrong...

Quick note: I don’t turn my compost piles as much as I should which definitely plays a role in decomposition.

 

[myke]

Hello all work farmers. I’d like to get one started. I usually have 6-8 plants going at any time. What size tote would be a good start?im in Canada so if someone could point me to where and what kind of worms to get that would be great thanks.

A quick check on what the bait shops have. Euro red wrigglers and night crawlers. lol have no clue what that means.

 

[getogrow]

I haven’t begun my worm bin, but my experience with newspaper is that it does take a while to breakdown in my compost bin. I believe I read that it is clay based and doesn’t break down easily. Correct me if I’m wrong...

I guess that would depend on how long your "while" is. Ripped up newspaper is my main bedding and it goes fast. Cardboard is about the same.
Using peat/coco or soil as a bedding is going to be much harder to maintain and kinda defeats the purpose if you ask me. If you use paper as your bedding then there is no question on when its time to harvest. You put in 100% paper and scraps and when its done , its soil. clay like soil. Black Gold! You KNOW that its been through the full cycle of the worm bin.
When using peat/coco/soil as a base bedding then you never quite know when its "done" (but can be done successfully with a bit more work)

If you really want to "recharge" your soil/peat or coco then its much easier to put it in the regular compost bin and turn until its done. Then add all your amendments plus some fresh EWC.

 

[getogrow]

A quick check on what the bait shops have. Euro red wrigglers and night crawlers. lol have no clue what that means.

i would stick with composting worms from a worm farmer on the internet. The euro red wigglers are pretty much the exact same except they have not been kept in an active worm bin .....they are in the fridge at the bait shop. It will take them longer to get used to all the food your are giving them at once in their new bin. If you get the ones from the internet , they go right to work. They are used to eating paper and scraps as their primary diet and they breed fast!

Im thinking the bait shop red wigglers are bred for their size and not so much for their ability to eat and breed all day. They are always bigger then the "composting worms" from the net.

 

[Mohican]

For big stems and branches I burn them for the char. Mix the char in the bin.

 

[hillbill]

European Or Belgium Night Crawlers are Leaf and top layer inhabitants and will die if refrigerated, I sell them as bait. They are sold by most top compost worm dealers. Canadian Nightcrawlers are what you see in the bait shop refrigerator. They are deep soil dwellers and not suitable for most composting situations.

 

[JustBlazin]

Hello all work farmers. I’d like to get one started. I usually have 6-8 plants going at any time. What size tote would be a good start?im in Canada so if someone could point me to where and what kind of worms to get that would be great thanks.

not sure what part of canada your from but if your in
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I'm sure if you looked around on google you might find a few places that sell them

 

[myke]

I found a worm guy an hours drive away.Ill be picking them up over the holidays thx.

 

[CrunchBerries]

Hey y’all,
Received my can o worms last week and is already set up. It came with a coco block, so added that and a mix of cardboard, paper bags, and dried leaves. Lasagna style! Pretty much followed the recipe in the pic below +- a few things.Worms are supposed to be here tomorrow!

 

[CrunchBerries]

Was digging around in my compost pile and found clumps of worms in decaying matter. Thinking they may be red wrigglers as they they were found in a ball rather than more solitary. Should I add some to my bin?

 

[JustBlazin]

any thoughts on using ground barley and ground oats from bulk barn instead of malted barley from a brewery store?
would it be the same? Or are they different products with different results?

 

[thecosmicgoat]

Barley is just barley, malted is a process of sprouting the seed just abit. And in the malting process is where the enzymes and etc come from.
You want malted barley.