Outdoor Vermicomposters

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Comment by Mickey Damelio on November 1, 2009 at 4:02pm

Is the heating cable on the OSCR necessary in Florida do you think? We get freezing temps, but never past morning when the sun comes up. Michael, I might look ya up when the time comes :-)

Comment by Bill Ross on November 1, 2009 at 3:23pm

For ventilation, my cover on my larger bed is just a piece of spun polyester (similar to garden cloths that they sell to put on the bottom of raised beds. On my smaller bed, I have a screened lid covered by a solid lid, but with a gap, so air can come through, but rain is repelled.

You might want to think about painting the outside off your bed black, to gather heat, and leave it in the sun. They'll move to the warmer middle at night.

Comment by Michael Wellik on November 1, 2009 at 1:26pm

BTW: Mickey asked about bulk pricing. I can supply worms for a good bulk price.

Comment by Michael Wellik on November 1, 2009 at 11:01am

I just built an OSCR bin with modifications. Like, I made it only 2' wide instead of 3' wide to I can get it through doors.

I haven't put it outside yet because it's getting chilly here in Delaware. I'm working on installing the heat cable. I'm confused by the plans and by some online postings about the heat cable. Does it go IN the bin (like Marks) or under the ropes/cables?

Also, I don't think there is enough air circulation. I'm thinking about installing a solar fan in the lid. Anyone have thoughts on that?

Comment by Andrew on October 29, 2009 at 5:10pm

Dang! I just noticed that the guy building that OSCR bin is none other than Mark from Kansas, another member in this group. There's also this thread here:
http://vermicomposters.ning.com/group/outdoorvermicomposters/forum/topics/oscr-bins-full-size

Comment by Andrew on October 29, 2009 at 5:05pm

Mickey, here's a recent blog post (on Bentley's site) about the OSCR/Vermatopia type bin:
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-bins/mark-and-his-oscr-worm-bin/

Bentley has good bulk rates for worms, but you might want to first post on your local freecycle & craigslist to see if anyone can donate worms to you.
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/buy-composting-worms/#red-worms

Comment by io_vs_jupiter on October 29, 2009 at 3:58pm

Oh my god you're right, sorry it's midnight here and I've totally gone blind. http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/schools/
this is the site for composting at school, it has some videos, too.
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/curriculum/Worms/
this is for worm composting, there is a downloadable book.

Comment by Mickey Damelio on October 29, 2009 at 3:55pm

Another question that I just thought of. Where is a good place to obtain 16lbs of worms without paying out my month's salary to do it? Andrewthio posted this link to me: http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~compost/methods.html and a vermatopia sounds perfect. I bought my first pound of worms at 25 bucks though, I imagine there are bulk discounts, that's still a lot of dough. Any suggestions??

Comment by Mickey Damelio on October 29, 2009 at 3:48pm

Hey Jupiter thanks for the link! That looks very promising, in a quick browse of the site, I didn't find anything about worm composting though, did I miss a section?? Definitely interested in incorporating this into the mix!

Comment by io_vs_jupiter on October 29, 2009 at 3:37pm

Hi Mickey, that's your link, and good luck!
I'm glad you asked, I was thinking to make something similar for a social center but this link will work for me, too.
http://www.growinggrub.co.uk/

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