Hi Jerry, Thanks! Sorry missed your post, this thread is moving fast They are pretty universal, those tubs, mine had a lot of chores done until it had a crack on the side of the bottom part and became no bueno for catching liquids, but I drilled some extra holes in it and have been using it as a planting container, spinach and microgreens grow just fine in that shallow soil. I love recycling and repurposing, always makes me feel good. I've seen your table and it's super! It was quite a while ago though when I read your thread, I've been wanting to re-read it.
Man...that aqua culture in the greenhouse (with perch ) has me dreaming of big things.... I want one....in every neighborhood. Still can't believe they can do that over in Wisconsin weather, year round...
Thanks, nice to meet you to jerry. and yeah you're exactly right. thought I'd start a pile early so ill be extra ready for next season. damn I can't wait to see how THOSE buds turn out.
I actually made my worm bin out of plastic tubs that contained sunflower seeds. Like this one I was hoping I could use this as its pretty deep, but now that I'm reading more about it deep bins are less preferred due to less surface area. I've moved my bin to my garage (due to the gnats mostly) where its slightly warmer ~74-75 degrees. Also I put a fan blowing directly on it to give it more airflow. I haven't fed them kitchen scraps because it kept getting more moist. I think you are right and airflow is my issue. Thanks for your help and suggestions! I'm going to make some changes for sure.
"I haven't fed them kitchen scraps because it kept getting more moist." Guest, try partially composting kitchen scraps prior to feeding to your worms. All the goodness is still there but much moisture is gone. They like it. J
Thanks! I'm planning on turning my pile this week. I will try to grab some tasty morsels out of it for the bin.
I have honestly never had good luck using fresh kitchen scraps in my bins (worm bins), so these days I just use my compost - it works great, the worms like it and I don't have to worry about wet and sloppy medium. This fall I'll bring a couple of contractor bags of compost into the cellar for worm food/bedding and have enough to last until spring. I'm sure that this isn't the case for everyone; I hear of plenty of folks using fresh kitchen scraps in their worm bins but I just found it works easier for my own setup. Sams advice to bury kitchen scraps was good advice - those darn fruit flies will drive you crazy. GL J
I never put just scraps in my bin. They always get a 5 gallon bucket of compost layered over the top. Most of our kitchen scraps go to the chickens anyway and will eventually end up in the compost or worm bin.
Chunk, I really liked the idea of the turkey pellets in your flow through bin. How often are you able to use this simple and effective worm food? J
I used the leftovers from last years turkey breeding. There was a third of a bag of game bird starter (we feed that to the turkeys because it is high protein) and it had gotten moist, was clumped up and had strands of mycelium growing in it. I knew it wouldn't hurt the worms but I wasn't going to feed it to this years turkey poults. I know that Blue Ridge Vermiculture feeds their worms a poultry crumble. They were telling me that it ups their cocoon production which is a major part of their business.
Right on - I have no doubt that one could make up a 50/50 mix of the poultry pellets and compost as a weekly food regimen and do perfectly fine. I might wonder about assorted antibiotics/whatever in the pellets but I'm sure if you looked around you could find pellets that didn't have any bad stuff in them. Perhaps bad was the wrong wording. J
Do you get silage in your part of the country? Its a fermented corn feed product and I understand it is a good food stock for worms. I think Worm Power includes it in there huge reactors. I'm pretty stoked with my reactor.....I've harvested about a cu/yd this spring/summer and have a good supply going into the fall/winter. Its nice to be able to augment the regular feed with GRD, oyster shell, kelp meal, neem and various other meals that ultimately increase the fertility of the vermicompost.
"Its nice to be able to augment the regular feed with GRD, oyster shell, kelp meal, neem and various other meals that ultimately increase the fertility of the vermicompost." I'd say... I do the same thing but different. These items go directly into the compost and then at least some makes its way into the vermi bins. Yep - I think silage is everywhere, at least with the biggest farmers. I've never played with it though. J
Thanks for the silage remark Chunk...I know a few guys who grow field corn....lol I made my bins bedding using dairy manure, comfrey and a couple c.f. of recycled soil, amended with the usual Neem, kelp, crab shell, GRD, etc. Had it cycle for a week or so, activated it with an ACT the day I had mixed it up and yesterday placed 2k reds in.... Just wondering, but how many worms do you think it will take to reach "full capacity" in the bin I made? 4' L x 2' W x 16" H dimensions if that helps.
I have started to harvest the compost pile started last fall. The original pile started with a collection of leaves in the fall 6x12x3'. To this base I added all the kitchen scraps, yard wastes, coffee grounds generated by our household. When building the pile, to each layer was added a few handfuls of my organic meal mix additives, granite dusts, comfrey leaves and comfery mash from FPE's, Yarrow cut after bloom cycle, alfalfa pellets, dandelion roots, curly dock, red root pigweed, and other weeds harvested throught the yard. This pile was turned frequently at first, then left to overwinter till spring. When the weather warmed up in spring the pile was turned again adding another layer of meal amendments alfalfa and more rock dust to each layer as it was turned. The pile was allowed to rest through the summer, turning infrequently until this harvest. The finished material is screened through 1/4" hardware cloth to remove larger unfinished compost products. Harvesting and screening only a few shovels of compost resulted in 20 gallons of fine compost today, ready for soil preparation, compost teas, and seedling mixes. When finished screening this pile I will harvest about 150-200 gallons of fine screened compost for use in future grows and on my vegetable garden as a result of my composting efforts. The coarse material left from the screening will be used to inoculate the layers of the new pile constructed when the leaves fall and the process will start over. Yes, I plan on using this on inside grows as well as outdoor. PW
It's a wonderful, fulfilling feeling making your own high quality compost eh PW? Beautiful job! You sure cant buy that material at Home Depot or the Hydro Store. Now get another heap going... ^^^^^ THIS is what organic gardening is all about. J
Ive got 3 piles going, first is newer material second older and third is ready to go. My dad started these piles back in the 60's and have been goin ever since. Plenty of things around the yard to go in them plus some other items I like to add. Just made a large batch of soil last month and was able to use my own compost and know it's far better than anything I can by at the store.
"My dad started these piles back in the 60's" Lucky!! I'd take cold, long term compost over faster thermal compost all day long. Of course thermal compost will mature over time but what happens is different types of bacteria take over the compost when it's allowed to sit for an extended period - good bacteria that will help your plants be disease and pest free. It's well documented that passive long term compost is a better product than fast thermal compost. This is why it's always recommended to allow your thermal compost to sit and mature for at least 3 months (minimum) once it's completely broken down. You're very lucky you've got that old compost to work with! I'd be using it in my next soil if I were you for sure! I have no doubt it's a fantastic material. The worms have probably had their way with it for years, loading it up with castings and slime - you're psyched! How about some pics? J