Worm factory 360! Just ordered one

Like I said, I just ordered one and I hope to understand how to operate it before it gets here... I am afraid the worms are going to show up days before the farm does. I have seen others use soil amendment in the bin. Does this lessen the cook time for super soil or does it bypass the step altogether.
What kind of scraps are best? I am in the middle of reading books, so I am not being lazy. I am just behind the learning curve. I am ready to ditch my bottle ferts. I have about 3yrs exp, but not in organics. I have a feeling that I will not miss my hydro!
I would like to see how others are doing it, homemade systems or whatever. I may build one after I understand it better.
I have a problem with plants fading in week 5. Leaves turn yellow from top to bottom and many dried leaves. I am using Foxfarm soil and bottle ferts. I think N def but I cannot fix it. I even stopped using bloom and feed with Growbig, still cannot solve... So here I am. I think that I need to go organic and use the shit out of the worms lol.

-Pick your bedding: Coco coir, shredded paper, shredded carboard, leaf mold, peat, etc.

-Food scraps: All veggies and fruit except citrus fruits, onions, garlic, and anything with oil/salad dressing all over it. Coffee grounds are great, egg shells, tea bags, etc. No meat, and no dairy

Put some bedding in a rubbermaid tote, wet it down a bit, then bury some food scraps a couple inches down. I like to freeze the food scraps over night before using them. This will kill any pests and/or their eggs prior to hitting the bin. I then give those scraps a quick run through the blender to break them downb a bit and increase surface area.

Do this ASAP, before the bin/worms get to you. This will allow the microbes a chance to get to work on the food before the worms nestle in. The worms require the microbes to process the scraps before they can do their thing. Then just add the bedding/food to your worm farm, and put a layer of leaves or something similar over the bedding. Wigglers work near the surface of the soil, but like to be under leaves or something similar as they are stressed by light.

I've been looking to "grow" worms to, but for fishin'

BarnBuster said:

I've been looking to "grow" worms to, but for fishin'

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Same deal. I would suggest "red wigglers" as they provide excellent results for composting and fishing.

Also, drill holes in your rubbermaid ( top, bottom and all sides ) so your compost gets air.

MustangStudFarm said:

Like I said, I just ordered one and I hope to understand how to operate it before it gets here... I am afraid the worms are going to show up days before the farm does. I have seen others use soil amendment in the bin. Does this lessen the cook time for super soil or does it bypass the step altogether.
What kind of scraps are best? I am in the middle of reading books, so I am not being lazy. I am just behind the learning curve. I am ready to ditch my bottle ferts. I have about 3yrs exp, but not in organics. I have a feeling that I will not miss my hydro!
I would like to see how others are doing it, homemade systems or whatever. I may build one after I understand it better.
I have a problem with plants fading in week 5. Leaves turn yellow from top to bottom and many dried leaves. I am using Foxfarm soil and bottle ferts. I think N def but I cannot fix it. I even stopped using bloom and feed with Growbig, still cannot solve... So here I am. I think that I need to go organic and use the shit out of the worms lol.

Click to expand...

You don't need bottle ferts. A soil mix of 40% FFOF, 40% Happy Frog, 15% Perlite and the remaining 5% a mix of worm castings/bone meal/blood meal/ and dolomite lime will take you thru 30+ days. From there you need only teas ( depending on your veg/bloom schedule as to what you need ) you can easily grow quality cannabis without nutes. Many many threads here about teas. I highly suggest finishing off your girls with a molasses/banana tea. Happy growing.

banana tea

abe supercro said:

banana tea
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No fear little monkey, we only need the peels for tea !!!!!

BarnBuster said:

I've been looking to "grow" worms to, but for fishin'

Click to expand...

red wigglers are the best composters, but very small. small trout, on small hooks. they drown easily, and need frequent change. if you compost on the ground you will also have night-crawlers; I prefer them. tough, active bait.
you could do black soldier fly larvae. you'll have tons of bait.

banana peel tea is Santaria Ju-Ju. until microbes break it on down, those macro-molecules are useless to your plant. throw them into your compost

I always sacrifice a goat when I use the banana tea, so I'm feeling good about my feedings.

Starting some good compost now before everything gets here sounds good. I drink coffee religiously and I get whole bean coffee from "kick-ass coffee" and it is great stuff. I also have a lot of bananas and eggs. I have been composting outside but I probably use too much citrus in it. I will keep separate bins and use the good stuff for worms.
I have 2 1/2 acres and want to start a garden outside also. This would give me a reason to make a much larger worm bin in the future. I just wish that I started with organics instead of hydro. Thanks for the replies!

It looks like my worms are going to be here Monday and the bin on Thursday. How should I keep the 1,000 worms safe until then? Should I go get a brick of coco or peat? Its a no brainer when I think about it. lol

abe supercro said:

banana tea
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That had me laughing for a while.

I,m jealous.

MustangStudFarm said:

Like I said, I just ordered one and I hope to understand how to operate it before it gets here... I am afraid the worms are going to show up days before the farm does. I have seen others use soil amendment in the bin. Does this lessen the cook time for super soil or does it bypass the step altogether.
What kind of scraps are best? I am in the middle of reading books, so I am not being lazy. I am just behind the learning curve. I am ready to ditch my bottle ferts. I have about 3yrs exp, but not in organics. I have a feeling that I will not miss my hydro!
I would like to see how others are doing it, homemade systems or whatever. I may build one after I understand it better.
I have a problem with plants fading in week 5. Leaves turn yellow from top to bottom and many dried leaves. I am using Foxfarm soil and bottle ferts. I think N def but I cannot fix it. I even stopped using bloom and feed with Growbig, still cannot solve... So here I am. I think that I need to go organic and use the shit out of the worms lol.

Click to expand...

I felt like I was posting too much. I was excited... I had to use the billmelater on ebay, so I would not be too jealous lol... Do I need to raise goats now?

YOU NEED RABBITS NOW.

I really was not serious about the goat.. I saw someone local to me on craigslist, they were selling rabbit poo for $5 a bag... I have too many dogs to own rabbits. They catch wild rabbit pretty often, so it would be wrong to tempt them like that.

that could get complicated fast.

My cats had a baby rabbit yesterday... They are not safe around here lol... My worms came in today and I had some compost waiting for them. Thanks for the idea!