New Vermicomposter

I just use the shallow 10-gal Rubbermaid tubs with holes drilled in the bottom. They work great (I have 3 going). I harvest about 15+ gallons of worm castings every 3 months or so. Plenty for my gardening needs.

The line between "vermicompost" and "worm castings" is thin and blurry. If you stop feeding the bin for a few weeks before you harvest, you can get nearly pure worm castings. If you just grab a handful from the bin without cutting off the food supply, you will have vermicompost; a mix of castings and partially degraded bedding material, etc.

For all intensive purposes, the two are the same, only pure castings are a little better.

SpicySativa said:

It happens REALLY quick. I was surprised, too. I did some experiments maybe 6 months ago using a lab-grade dissolved oxygen meter. I'd grab a cup full from the brewer and measure the DO concentrations at various points during the brew cycle. When I grabbed the final sample from the finished tea, the DO in my cup was getting consumed so quickly that the meter couldn't even stabilize and give an accurate reading. It just kept dropping and dropping and dropping. That was all the evidence I needed. I don't turn off the air until I'm actually ready to walk the stuff over to my garden.

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SS, thanks so much for this! I'll definitely not dawdle with my AACT applications!

How's everybody's worms doing?!?

Gave them some banana peels and coffee yesterday and there were so many worms!

Mine love them some banana peels but they go gah gah for apple cores. I've also been adding some coir to the bin and they love that stuff too. I also made up a blend of alfalfa, kelp, rock phosphate, greensand and crushed eggshell that i use at a rate of 1/2tsp per cup of worm food. I find they really like lettuce as well, breaks down real easy.

Very nice thread.
I have a few requirments before I get started maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

I want 15 gallons every 60 days

Made from wood

no longer than 8ft long

Hoping that having a larger volume
will make it safer in the winter being
outdoors.
If not I will need to address heating

Easy collection and maintenance.

My guess is there is a plan for this somewhere but I have not found it.

Any answers to any of these questions
are appreciated.

Mohican said:

Gave them some banana peels and coffee yesterday and there were so many worms!

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They love the coffee grounds.. That really gets their mojo going. I never threw coffee grounds in my bins til this past month. I don't drink coffee. My mom and sister save all their coffee grounds for me now. I've thrown veggie slurry, various nutes, dried plants, egg shells, compost, oatmeal. The coffee grounds and romaine lettuce seem to be their favorite, The worms seem to bulk up and multiply quite a bit after munching on lettuce and coffee grounds. More so than other worm foodies.

I was blown away by how much they really love cardboard!

hyroot said:

They love the coffee grounds.. That really gets their mojo going. I never threw coffee grounds in my bins til this past month. I don't drink coffee. My mom and sister save all their coffee grounds for me now. I've thrown veggie slurry, various nutes, dried plants, egg shells, compost, oatmeal. The coffee grounds and romaine lettuce seem to be their favorite, The worms seem to bulk up and multiply quite a bit after munching on lettuce and coffee grounds. More so than other worm foodies.

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i dont drink coffee but my paw-in-law gives them to his chickens

You can get them from coffee shops and doughnut shops

Mohican said:

You can get them from coffee shops and doughnut shops

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damn good idea Mo i will do that

After much consideration I opted to
with small stackable that will fit in my grow room.

In the pic they arent stacked correctly
as im just using the light to get the worms to burrow.

It makes no sense to not keep worms if you have the space imo.

I have not read this whole thread but was hoping to find out if dry cannabis leaves
are suitable for my worms.
Just the large water leaves

They will eat anything. I am sometimes afraid to put my hand in the bin!

Mohican said:

They will eat anything. I am sometimes afraid to put my hand in the bin!

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I gotta say the fact that they can eat like that makes me wonder.

Im a little nervous about the dried
pot leaves due to the thc.
Not sure if it would have a negative impact like too much citrus.

If its fine though tgat should make a nice edible bedding.

If not ill just throw them outside.

My worms eat ALL of my cannabis "trash" after harvest. Fan leaves, stalks, mush left over after hash runs, everything. They love it.

I usually feed them a couple handfuls of wet leaves right at harvest, then dry the rest out in brown paper bags for later. Each time I mix up new bedding, I incorporate more of the dry leaf material. I just run a 600 watt garden (well, now 1200 watt), and my three small worm bins have no problem keeping up with the supply of leaves.

SpicySativa said:

My worms eat ALL of my cannabis "trash" after harvest. Fan leaves, stalks, mush left over after hash runs, everything. They love it.

I usually feed them a couple handfuls of wet leaves right at harvest, then dry the rest out in brown paper bags for later. Each time I mix up new bedding, I incorporate more of the dry leaf material. I just run a 600 watt garden (well, now 1200 watt), and my three small worm bins have no problem keeping up with the supply of leaves.

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Nice, I happen to have some dried out.
Your three bins are of great concern to me. I have a hard time keeping hobbies
within reasonable proportions..
At least I can stack them in 1 spot so I won't look like a worm hoarder 6months from not.

Haha! Ya... One bin quickly became two, and now three. I even built a wooden rack/shelf to store them on... This hobby is addictive.

Goin to buy a couple totes here in a few hours, plenty of bedding laying around to use and a nice place to store them. Just need to source some worms now, bought enough castings, tired of throwing my money away on poop that can be made in the garage. Anyone know a local source in NoCo for redworms or should is it reliable to get them online?

thay5212 said:

Goin to buy a couple totes here in a few hours, plenty of bedding laying around to use and a nice place to store them. Just need to source some worms now, bought enough castings, tired of throwing my money away on poop that can be made in the garage. Anyone know a local source in NoCo for redworms or should is it reliable to get them online?

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I ordered from uncle jims in PA
they shipped monday and I received them them yesterday.
Im like 2000 miles from there so that was good time.

They ship on mondays so if you order friday they will not ship until then

Same here uncle jims. They guarantee live worms delivered within 3 days. I've gotten worms from farm supplies and uncle jims was a far better deal.

Awesome will check it out thanks!