April 2011 Blog Posts (22)

Yesterday I set up my worm bin, I put together my Worm Factory and then opened my package of 450 live worms that I ordered from Ebay... I added coffee grinds with filters, cilantro, bananas,  and some apple cores.  I'm very new to this so any advice would be helpful.  I noticed today that there are little flies buzzing around the bin.  They look like fruit flies, should I be worried about them yet?

Everything seems to be going well.  I've got lots of little baby worms :)  They're really pale, though.  Do they get their color with age, or is that only affected by their food?  After I gave my worms the first week to settle in, I gave them a (cored and chopped) small apple that had been at the bottom of the crisper for far too long.  The other day I tucked about a handful of old leftovers in the opposite corner.  There were still traces of the apple, all gone to…

This info is about Red Worms only. (I also raise--or at least, nurture and then stock into my garden in general--Amn nightcrawlers, who are  "free-range" volunteers in a huge leaf pile, and I've just started with Canadian nightcrawlers in a 5-gal bucket. They are alive and well, have made burrows in their bedding, and are eating regularly. However, I'm told they're not much help making VC because they don't really eat the bedding, since it's where their burrows are. Redworms will eat both…

We are officially in spring bloom now in Virginia (I can tell cause my truck is now a solid pollen-yellow).  I in the front yard messing around and I overheard my wife talking on the phone.....

" My Peonies are blooming for the first time ever, both of them.  And all the Azaleas are blooming, and the Columbine is just gorgeous!!!.  And the Gardenia, which had a couple of flowers last year is just loaded with bud.  I'm telling ya, it's that worm juice. Yep, I've never had my plants…

I am confused, I was transferring worms and changing bedding. I have a combination of Red Wigglers and 15% of European Night Crawlers. I am coming up with a red worm that has a beautiful blue color on part of its body.  I have gotten worms from 5 sources over the last year, but I am confused, maybe that's why I only have small explosions of worms instead of a massive worm population.

Now that Spring has sprung, I sense that some folks wish they had more VC to use in their gardens. Short of buying more worms and building more worm bins, what are the most effective methods of getting the most from your existing wormeries? I'll start with some thoughts. Any other ideas?

• Maintain bin temperatures of 65-75ºF. Scroll down and read Steve's comments on how he achieved that without using electric heat sources.

• Pre-compost feedstock. That means…

Got my first batch of worms today!

I hope I put enough bedding in with the mixture.

I used newspaper & office paper.

So far investment is $120 - I hope they live!

04/14/2011Update- Well the new FT is finished and I am very happy with the outcome. Pictures can be found at http://vermicomposters.ning.com/photo/albums/new-flow-through-and-old. The first pictures are what happens when you use spray in foam insulation in a wall - bad idea! The rest of the pictures are of the new bin during and after construction.

Other than a few small mistakes…

Most of these are links to pages here, but some go to Gardenweb or The Garden Forums. This is mostly for my own reference, but I've put them in an order that I think will be most helpful to a new vermicomposter.

Vermicomposting topics list (a sort of FAQ)

Vermi-vocabulary…

I didn't realize how pretty they are.  I mean, there's photos all over, but they're much more striking in person, with the scarlet and yellow stripes.  Unfortunately they weren't too keen on being photographed or held.

I also didn't realize they make noise from squirming through their bedding.  That was pretty amazing.  Even when I can't see them in there, all I have to do is shine a light on them, and I can hear them running away.

I started with a pound - it…

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to swap worms for food grade diatomaceous earth? I have several (25+) lbs. of it left and it's great either as a dietary supplement or for getting rid of pesky ants, fleas, earwigs, flies, beetles, and other hard-shelled pests. I've used it in my worm bin, in my horse feed (for grain beetles), as a dietary supplement for the chickens and horses (it seems to help reduce the flies around the barn), around the pantry (again for flour/grain beetles), and…

Using materials on hand, I built my bin. (Ok, to be honest, I let my father-in-law operate the 100 year old table saw which has no safety features.) I added a drawer to the design when I realized the bottom 3-sided frame would support one perfectly. The weight of the thing started to seem imposing once it put it together, so I ditched my plan for stainless steel Ikea legs and added casters instead. It certainly took some doing to build it, but it was a fun project. I sure hope the worms like…

I'm excited, I get my worms tomorrow.  Tonight I  had my husband drilling holes in 10-gallon plastic totes.  I'm using the directions over at www.working-worms.com for a stacking system.

We have pet rats, and I'm hoping to be able to use their old bedding for the worms' new bedding.  I'm a little worried about whether it'll have too much ammonia, but we'll see how it goes.  For now I've got aspen shavings (we'd set an…

This is my new 132 Gallon Compost-Air flow through system.

More pictures

 …

Emptied the truck last Friday.  Everything is stacked in the garage and I will slowly unpack.

But I did setup my WF and my FT with old mildewed, shredded egg flats, threw in some frozen shredded lettuce and will let them sit for a week or two.  Am now just placing my order for 5lbs of reds to start things off again.  Was thinking about buying a bunch of Alabama Jumpers to let loose in the yard and do their magic on the clay soil.

I had made a worm tower for dog poop about a…