Continuous Flow/Flow Through Worm Composting

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Comment by Jerry Walker on November 24, 2009 at 2:46pm

My worms seem to like the generated by the decomposing food

Comment by Eve on November 23, 2009 at 6:23pm

I have only harvested by scraping my barrel twice. Both times the compost slid down to the bars in around a week. The second time i believe it was 8 or 9 days.

Most of the time the compost slowly falls down a little bit at a time. I am talking about around a half inch a month. I just leave it in the bottom and keep it damp. So the worms that fall with the compost can survive. i don't worry about separating the worms until i need the compost.

Comment by Don F on November 23, 2009 at 5:06pm

How successfully has the "finished compost" always "dropped down" from higher altitudes for people as they have scraped away from the bottom? Are we talking a number of hours, days etc. Or is this something that just takes time? I would also think the shape of the bin has something to do with it, correct? I am wondering because I have a barrel with curved sides and wonder what harvesting will be like once the bin has matured enough.

Comment by Eve on October 22, 2009 at 2:01pm

The wheels are a good idea. I have already moved mine into the garage for the winter. It would have been a back breaking job with them.

Comment by Len on October 22, 2009 at 3:31am

No Eve, I'm not much of a tech type person yet. The bin is plywood with the working area about 4 ft high, 3 ft wide and one foot deep. Used part of a metal closet organizer shelf as the grate. Have an old dresser drawer in the bottom to collect the castings (later) and have large wheels on it to ease moving. Although don't know if it'll ever leave the friendly environs of the garage.

Comment by Eve on October 21, 2009 at 7:12pm

Do you have photos Len?

Comment by Len on October 21, 2009 at 7:02am

just moved my guys from an overcrowded bin to a home-built wooden flow-thru.

Comment by Bones Stiziles on August 16, 2009 at 12:10pm

I used to get lots of fruit flies in my bin (which is literally 24 inches outside the kitchen door) until I started keeping a 2-3 inch layer of shredded newspaper on the surface. I modeled this from nature establishing leaf litter layers on grade. I observed in the garden, every time I found composting worms they were always in the lower layers of the moist decomposing leaf litter. Also, since I’ve been using my bin mulch, I’ve observed that it works similar to mulch in the garden with the added benefit of reducing any odor, maximizing airflow, and blocking light & fruit flies. Because of the bin mulch I don’t use a lid anymore. I just use two small pieces of scrap plywood across the top which doubles as a workbench when I push them together.

As for feeding, I mix all kitchen scraps into a worm salad before putting it under the mulch in the bin. The salad consists of crushed kitchen scraps mixed with peat moss, seasoned with ground eggshells, a sprinkle of sifted sand, and tossed with a handful of shredded cardboard. It heats up a little bit, but depending on the volume of worm salad I spread it on thin or make a pile where they can get away from the heat if they like. It’s worked great so far and the end product is rich and fluffy. Still, it can always be better.

Comment by Eve on August 15, 2009 at 8:11pm

Ants don't like it when the bin is on the wet side. If your bin design allows place the feet in pans of water with a bit of soap in the water to break the surface tension.

Comment by Diane Kerchner on August 15, 2009 at 1:56pm

Ants; I have too many in my wooden bin. Anyone have a suggestion on how to eliminate or reduce the numbers in an outdoor bin? Thanks

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