Vermicomposting, worm bin, composting with worms community and forums
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Beth & Dave
- Antioch, CA
- United States
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Beth & Dave's Groups
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Vermigardening
35 members
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Eisenia Hortensis Wormers
19 members
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eudrillus eugeniea wor...
5 members
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Indoor Vermicomposters
115 members
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San Francisco Bay Area
14 members
Beth & Dave's Discussions
Worms in the White House
Replied Nov 28
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Beth & Dave's Page
Profile Information
- What do your worms like to eat?
- Fruit & vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, newspaper, horse manure.
- What kinds of worms do you have?
- Red wigglers, European Nightcrawlers, African Nightcrawlers
- What worm bins do you use?
- Cement mixing tubs and a Gusanito Worm Farm Bin
- How many pounds of garbage do your worms recycle each week?
- 70 pounds and growing
- My Vermicomposters.com Map Entry URL:
- http://www.MonsterWorms.com
- About Me:
- We are worm farmers in Antioch, CA. We collect fruit and vegetable scraps and coffee grounds from local merchants to feed our worms. We also collect manure from a nearby horse stable. We love turning all that stuff into beautiful castings!!
- Website:
- http://www.MonsterWorms.com
Comment Wall (26 comments)
- At 7:01pm on November 28, 2009,
Andrew said… - Sorry, Beth. I'd forgotten about your power outage/solar blog post. The solar setup I was suggesting involves a small battery bank so the lights and fans would keep on going regardless of power outages. With LEDs it may even be possible to keep the lights burning on those rare overcast days in Antioch.
- At 2:01pm on November 28, 2009,
James Campbell said… - Thanks for your response. I like Rubbermaid bins because of its design. Large surface area. I have to keep the lid cover on because I have four young children, all under 7. The bin is on the top of staircase landing off by kitchen to the basement. We use the staircase all day everyday. I do not want my kids putting their hands there and play... I think my biggest problem is that I didn't put few inches of newspaper at the top. There is nothing cover that... hence fungus gnats are having a party there.
- At 1:30pm on November 28, 2009,
Andrew said…
- Hi, Beth. Windy but not too cold. Really clear skies! Noticed tons of leaves everywhere on our morning walk...I'm tempted to pull a Rom-like move and rake some neighbor's leaves. :-) Bear says "thanks!".
Have you ever considered a small, off-grid solar system to power your vermi operations? I think there was a mention in Bentley's blog recently about someone who used LEDs to light his worm bins. It wouldn't take a very big solar system to keep that going along with small fans in the summer if needed. I just mention it in case either you or Dave are handy with building those kinds of things.
~Andrew
- At 6:30pm on November 27, 2009,
Andrew said…
- Beth, the only significant shower came through Berkeley just this past hour. My dog demands his daily walk earlier in the day, so we missed the 'fun' of getting drenched. He's a fuzzy fur-ball who doesn't mind getting wet, but he's a pain to dry out. Bear's a 13 yr. old Chow, but he was only a couple of month's old in the photo...just a leetle beeet bigger now, but his tongue is just as purple. :-)
Your website notes that you use scraps from sandwich shops along with rabbit droppings. Do you pre-compost or otherwise prepare the scraps before giving it to the worms? A local pet shop offers free droppings, but they're mixed in with newspaper bedding slightly wet with urine. I may try to put that into my regular compost bin, but hesitate to put that directly into a worm bin.
Thanks for the invite - I may take you up on it next time I need to head out your direction. It would be interesting to see a professional setup. Last question: do you use lights to discourage adventurous worms from peeking out beyond the burlap?
Andrew
- At 3:59pm on November 27, 2009,
Andrew said…
- Hi, Beth. I "overheard" your comment to James about using the shallow trays instead of a Rubbermaid bin. I understand the shallow trays make harvesting easier for you as a worm farmer. Since I don't need to harvest the worms, wouldn't one of the flow through designs work just as well in providing airflow? Or are there other benefits of the trays that I'm missing?
My current priorities are:
1. increase worm population so that I have enough worms to...
2. process most my fruit & veggie scraps (some will still go to compost bin)
3. maximize worm density to be able to produce compost faster
4. allow for easier harvesting of compost (few cocoons & worms)
Do you think it would be better to use 2 or 3 shallow trays or 1 small (6 sq. ft.) flow through to accomplish those priorities?
Thanks,
Andrew
- At 8:36am on November 27, 2009,
James Campbell said…
- Beth,
Many thanks for excellent tips to manage fungus gnats. I changed the bin design from stacked bins system into a single bin, reducing the number of holes from 200 to 25. With this change, the number of fungus gnats was reduced by 80 percent. My single bin has no drainage holes. 10 holes on sides and 15 holes on the lid for air movement. Yes, fungus gnats are the problem, they usually mate under the bin, between bin and the tray, I think they are using the side holes to lay eggs. Putting old cotton shirt on the top is excellent but what about side holes? I am thinking putting the bin inside the big cotton sack and tie it up so everything is covered. What do you think? Will gnats get thru the cotton threads/cloth?
- At 6:27am on November 22, 2009,
Erick said… - Hi Beth and Dave,
I have no problem with you using my comments. Now I also checked out your site and I must say great job! Easy to navigate and very informative. I'll be sure to keep an eye on your blog.
Thanks again,
Erick
- At 9:20am on September 10, 2009,
Mark Carreno said… - I'm currently do my research on everything and trying to get an idea of where to start. I'm thinking of raising redworms, I'm also thing about raising mealworm also. I'm trying to get an idea on how many bins I would need to start to support a small part-time business and how long to get the bin producing to the point that I can start selling.. thanks for anything you can share.
- At 5:35pm on September 8, 2009,
Mark Carreno said…
- I'm looking into starting a small business from my home in central Florida and I was wondering how many bins do you recommend to start out with and the size of them? Thanks
- At 12:35pm on July 24, 2009,
Tatjana Vuckovic said… - Hi Beth and Dave,
thanks
tanja
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