Vermicomposting (Make your own Worm Castings)

Thanks for sharing that Sam! Its definitely cool to see what mom nature shows in that bin. I never got anything like this when I was doing the bedding made paper and such. Im not saying that recycled paper/cardboard bedding is not good but since going with bedding made from finished compost, I think that the worms are much better off and I am seeing alot of new things like the plasmodiocarp (new word for me!). Even my youngest is getting in on the act and asking questions like "why dont the worms try to get out?" Sparking some thought outside of Call of Duty! 

 

I get quite a bit of leachate depending on what raw material I put into the worm bin.  This time of year it is a lot of watermelon rind which has quite a bit of water in it.  some days I will get up to a pint of leachate, which I have been using, undiluted on my plants. - I have read that the leachate is a great fertilizer and surprized to read here that most of you don't use it in the grow room.
 
    Despite the fact that you say there is too much moisture in the bins, the worms are doing great

 

Here's me trying to get some WCs going. 3 months in, another month to go, for good measure. I think they're ready but i really find it difficult to tell. It's nice and dark, clumps and breaks easily.
 
Before (Left) After (Right)

 
They get fed kitchen scraps including teabags, melon skins, carrots, potatoes and the like (no citrus), ground up in a blender. Initial bedding was of shredded paper but ended up using coco instead which is dirt cheap here; equivalent to 80 cents a block. 
 
 

 

 
This is how i get them delivered from local nurseries dotted all around the city. About a 1000 or so in there collected and shipped (from a few neighbourhoods down) in a big clay pot. 
 

 

Just screened about 3 gallons of vermi. Seems this tray is much better than the first one I did.

 

Thank you very much! It's a fun process, and makes me feel a little better that I'm not wasting so much.

 

 
That looks much richer than mine. What did you do different from the last time?

 

I just do the normal food scraps, I dont feed them anything specific really. Strawberry tops, watermelon rind, coffee grounds, banana peels, etc.

I also have the BAS cover crop and the barley grows so damn tall I cut it off and feed it to the worms also. When I throw a handful of food in there in the corner and cover it with this "premium compost" that I buy for my soil mix as well. Then I throw a sprinkle or Bokashi bran and neem meal on top and cover with a piece of moist cardboard. It works really well for me. I dont chop anything up unless its huge, banana peels go in whole, etc.

If I have any laying around I do occasionally throw in some pumice to keep the castings aerated. Thats it! otherwise I just let them do their thing

 

I need to build a screen to extract some castings. Whats the best and easiest way to build one??

 

What I did was purchase whats called "hardware cloth" at HD or similar store. I could only find 1/4" but works great. I then built a frame out of 2x4s and nailed the hardware cloth to it. Thats it!

 

Yup... that would explain it. Fantastic.
 
I just threw in whatever was at had at the time. Next bin i plan to add neem leaves and maybe leave the critters in for a bit more. 

 

This is how I did mine aprox. 28x36  Basically just like LoneRanger11220 1/4" hardware cloth and 2x2. I drilled holes in top of kiddie pole and put pins in the bottom part of my wood fram to hold it in place.

 

Nice that is what castings are supposed to look like coffee grounds. That is what mine look like when they are ready right out of the bin. I don't have to do much to em at all. Good job you did excellent!
 

Thats a nice set-up I hate screening but if you have to that is the way to do it. A massive amount at once
IT!

 

That's why I like putting all table scraps in the compost bin and then feeding the worms with finished compost as there is no excess moisture.

 

@[member="Clackamas Coot"] or anyone else, have any opinions/advice on Windrow Vermicomposting. (larger scale field windrows where composting takes place in long rows along the ground) Just wondering if it would be practical for a homeowner with some extra property... I think I could keep the temps decent here in the deep south... (not that I live in the deep south, just saying ) curious if the birds and ground critters we have here would pick the windrows clean... I image I could cover with some landscape fabric perhaps? Thoughts and discussion welcome.

 

Thanks for the reply CootMaster. Ya, I can just see myself out there with a .22 busting cranes, crows, armadillos, and rats, trying to keep em from pilfering my precious worms. Perhaps some scarecrows staggered along the windrow would help. I'm really thinking of giving it a shot. I am also in the process of researching the best way to build a DIY worm trommel. As you so kindly pointed out the other day, you use one. I'm curious about the right motor to use. Also considering the possibility of manual operation. Do you have any good ideas/advice for making your own?