Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread

im4satori

im4satori

Well-Known Member
good info on the bugs

answered many of my questions

being new to organics I was shocked at how much the addition of neem cake eliminated my on going fungus gnat issue

ive also read gnatrol is safe for worm bins

on another note;
I tossed a couple rotting potatoes in my bins and they freakin grew large root balls... had to pull the potatoes lol

almost dark and they where growing like champs omg

also got some pepper sprouts growing from a red pepper I tossed in
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
im4satori said:
good info on the bugs

answered many of my questions

being new to organics I was shocked at how much the addition of neem cake eliminated my on going fungus gnat issue

ive also read gnatrol is safe for worm bins

on another note;
I tossed a couple rotting potatoes in my bins and they freakin grew large root balls... had to pull the potatoes lol

almost dark and they where growing like champs omg

also got some pepper sprouts growing from a red pepper I tossed in
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I've also had potatoes growing out of my bin. They do surprisingly well in worm bins.
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
Mazer said:
Greetings Gentlefolks!
I have to start by saying I feel like I just read War and Peace in one go! I read all 64 pages of absolutely delightful info you have spread. Wonderful really. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I started a worm bin last November or so when I was given an entire level of a bin by my best friends' mother who lives in an apartment, has no plant whatsoever, and has been doing VC for the past 5 years to spread the love around to her friends and reduce the volume of her waste.
Well I built a bin out of tiny little totes that I customized to be stackable. Bear in mind that I had no experience with WC before. so I made tiny little holes in the bottom of the totes and same on the lid. I carefully fed the creatures (red wrigglers and the other stripped kind) with gourmet stuff. Organic processed lefto's from my bin + teabags, coffee grinds and every now and then eggshells. my food processor turn everything into a brownish goo and the wormies seem to love my cuisine. I will put the freeze and thaw technic to use now (Again Thanks for smartifying us).
I used coco + cardboard for bedding. and coco on top as well.
the bin is in a basement with very stable temperature. I get virtually no leachate BUT the compost is soggy as a marsh. Very very very wet.
I have limited access to all the funky kelp, alfalfa, comfrey meals you folks use (for now). I am thinking of adding a bit of wheat bran to soak up the moisture AND increasing the ventilation and hole size that are probably between 1/6th to 1/8th of an inch but in large numbers. tons of mites as well but the wigglers don't seem to mind the company.

Now, I started a thread elsewhere (thanks Richard Drysift and Wetdog for your replies) but it should just have been in this thread so here it goes:
Do any of you folks have bins with different diet to support the different stages of plant growth?

BOOM.

WCingly yours,
M
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I've been adding all natural, non-clumping clay kitty litter to absorb excess moisture. Seems to be working...
(Special kitty from wal-mart)
 
Mazer

Mazer

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
I've been adding all natural, non-clumping clay kitty litter to absorb excess moisture. Seems to be working...
(Special kitty from wal-mart)
Click to expand...
Dear Chunky Stool,
I just read "worms eat my garbage" interesting read. this thread is so informative that I learned very few things. Anyhow, after finishing the book, as I use plastic stackable DYI bins, I probably need to review the aeration. I just purchase some very fine mesh nylon screen. I will cut holes on the low side and the opposite side of the bin and add the mesh. It should enhance aeration and decrease dampness.
Darn! I only grow 4 plants and spend soooooo much time on this hobby! it is ridiculous and yet sooooooo satisfying.
I am really thinking of adding a couple of bins and just topdressing with WC often.
TimeConsumingly Yours,
M.
 
Rasta Roy

Rasta Roy

Well-Known Member
Mohican said:
I have mine in a compost tumbler. They have been living in there for two years now.
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I threw some in my compost tumblers this spring and it's going well, lots more random bugs then my inside ones. And I'm gonna have to remove them from the tumblers to an inside bin when winter comes. But they are killing it out there right now!
 
calliandra

calliandra

Well-Known Member
giglewigle said:
Feed my worms hemp seeds meal now theres what i think is mycelium and tons of these white worms any one know wtf this is if its good bad
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Hey giglewigle, the white worms are fine to have.
It's said they indicate that your bin is currently more on the acidic side, nothing to worry about though, their populations ebb and flow as the type of foods they like do too.
The downside to the way they process the material they eat is that apparently they don't have the highly beneficial gut fauna the compost worms do. But since it'S very probable the stuff they processed will get reprocessed by the compost worms, that shouldn't be a worry either.
HTH! :bigjoint:

Moe Flo said:
I found similar sized tiny worms but normal color in my rainwater tank. I've never seen either of them before.
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haven't seen these before either. Though baby compost worms look kind of similar, this being in your rainwater tank sort of scraps that possibility. :rolleyes:
Cheers!
 
Moe Flo

Moe Flo

Well-Known Member
[QUOTE="haven't seen these before either. Though baby compost worms look kind of similar, this being in your rainwater tank sort of scraps that possibility. :rolleyes:
Cheers![/QUOTE]


Matured cricket Larvae they are.
 
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MJCanada

MJCanada

Well-Known Member
shameless plug of checking out my worm identifying thread (close to top right now), let me know if I got it right!!

Also adding a watch... all the while shameless plugging :D
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
Has anybody been able to compare the vermihut 5 and the worm factory 360? Leaning towards the factory but really I would just like minimal labor.
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From long time users, once everything is settled in and cranking, you end up harvesting 1 tray/month for ~2 1/2 gallons of VC.

Myself, I use the DIY 18gal Rubbermaid totes and have 2 that I use as 'nursery' bins to supply worms for other bins (6 total). Anyway, both of those bins were started in July 2016 and have yet to be harvested over a year later. I bait worms with a piece of melon rind and scoop them up when they cluster under the rind. Even taking over 1k worms out doesn't seem to affect the overall population much and whatever is taken out is quickly replaced.

I'll harvest it when I get energetic, but harvesting once/year is pretty "minimal labor". The smaller bins started with those harvested worms get used 'as is', worms and all.
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
Has anybody been able to compare the vermihut 5 and the worm factory 360? Leaning towards the factory but really I would just like minimal labor.
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The nice thing about the worm factory 360 is that the tray is 15.75" X 15.75" X 15", which is common. My local landscaping wholesaler sells them for 5 bucks (made by Anderson).
The worm factory works well, but it's WAY overpriced for what it is. Four trays only cost $20, so they want $80 for the stand and a lid. :oWTF???
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
greg nr said:
Hey, I have one of those kitchen compost cans (to the lower right in your picture). Is there any way to clean the carbon filter in the top? It doesn't look it comes out.....
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They are flexible and you can pull them out. (There are two filters in the lid.)
Those two claw cultivators were on clearance for 25 cents at wal-mart!
It's a good time to buy shit like that... :hump:
 
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