My RW bins have been thriving like never before. I even baited out a pound or so from each one and released them in my leaf mold, and finished compost piles. I like the idea of "free ranging" them for the summer. These 2 piles were surprising low in worms. I couldn't figure it out until I turned a pile that's 'in the making'. They all were there. A trick I just started doing with the bark nuggets, is to soak them in water in a bucket for a while, before I mix together my bedding mix. Has been working really slick, allows me to get even more moisture in the bedding initially. I started the soaking trick for adding bark nuggets to compost piles I was building. One day I 'stole' the soaking nuggets to make bin bedding. Low and behold, I now pre soak them for everything, whether its a soil mix, compost or worm bin bedding. cheers os
Never thought of the pre soak bit, but you can bet your bippy I'll be doing it in the future! Now, it seems such a obvious move to get things going. DOH ! Thanks for the hack. Wet
I buried a ton of stems and stalks in one of my beds and that seems to be where the euros like to hang out. Only been working with them for 6 months so it's hard to know for sure.
Nice tip. I will try burying some straw in the Euro bin and see if they migrate that way. Maybe its more about structure, than food type for the Euros. Rancho, I have a question about your new flow thru you use to dispose of 'canna waste'. Have you noticed any adverse affects from introducing a bunch of canna material all at once? I have always been cautious and introduced very small amounts at a time, but have often wanted to use quite a bit. (when there isn't snow I straight up compost it, in the winter the worms get it. I just hate the idea of having to slowly feed it, bit by bit.) cheers os
The inspector came and I haven't added any worms to that bin yet. Got 100 gallons of horse poo laced w redworms ready for it. She started blowing out on one side so I need to get in there and beef it up. I use my old 4x4 bed for a worm bin now. I put a garbage bag of leaves and at least a totes worth of stems. I put it all in the center 1/3 of the bin. It was done just as a set it and forget it kinda thing. This was also done a couple months or so after starting the bin. The horse poo w redworms is in old bags of Roots Organic soil 20-30g each. They've been sitting outside in the shade for at least a couple weeks. I know that horse poo heats up...it'll be interesting to see if they survive.
Sinse brings up a valid point about overheating a bin. The only time I've ever done this was outside in a 2x4 horizontal bin. It was winter and the temps were around 0F if I remember right! Fried all of them. Curious if anyone else has overheated a bin and what it took? RD
I overcooked a static bin (20 gal), I threw in 4" of fan leaf trim. I didn't really figure out what I had done till about a week later. It was still warm, and shouldn't have been, since it was sitting on a cold ass floor. I am more curious about worms possible OD on too much fine trim stuff. I haven't heard of it happening yet from anyone, but in my mind, it seems like a possibility. The other possibility of course, is that after they got to town on the fine trim, they will eat like heck, everything else in the bin (which would be a win-win). cheers os
It killed all but the very bottom dwellers. I do feel that if I had better air flow, it would have made a difference. Its the only time I have cooked a bin or tray. It was a lot of material to add to a bin. It had the effect of drying the bin out fast, which seemed backwards of what should have happened. I went a week without looking at it, and it was to late. Live and learn, and try not to do so many things at the same time. I added more worms after a second week, and adjusted the moisture level. In the end, that batch of vmc has been producing some outstanding tomato plants. cheers os
Yeah I was going to say that I have never had an issue with my smart pots with worms. I put all my canna waste in there...even my roaches. I can throw three inches or more in there and have never had an issue. Just throw it in and spray it down with water. I have also put a layer in and then put cardboard on top then spray. I have never put that much in a "hard side bin" but I could see where heat and humidity could cause an issue. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
I just read this entire thread as I am new to vermiculture. Thus I would like to thank @Organic sinse @wetdog @ElRanchoDeluxe @Captain & El Presidente @Chunk @BongJohnSilvers for all the knowledge they have imparted on me! I have had 2 plastic bins going for the past 6 months or so. While I have been mildly successful (have kept them alive), I want to improve upon my methods so next season my canna crops can reap the full benefits. I just converted these "regular" bins to a flow through system following this method. Here is a list of the materials that I would like to incorporate, as I am able to source them locally and either free or cheap: Bulk Materials Horse Manure C.S.P.M. Spent Coffee Grounds Leaf Mold Aeration Perlite Bark Fines Biochar Rice Hulls Additional Inputs Kelp, Neem an Crab Meal Eggshell Flour Granite Dust Malted Barley Powder Possibly Comfrey next season if I decide to cultivate some My objective is to have a "No Feed" style. I want to continuously add nutritive "bedding" mix to the top of the flow through as I harvest castings from the bottom. I don't want to ever add food scraps unless necessary. Top dressing with dry inputs that I listed would be fine, although I don't see why I wouldn't just mix them into the bedding. These castings will be for soil mix for next season. Then after that I will be using them mostly for top dressing. I am hoping some of you veteran vermi-composters can help me out with the ratios I should use of my listed materials. NOTE: I'd prefer not to use C.S.P.M., even though it is cheap, I'm trying to keep my costs as close to free as possible, so Horse Manure would be my main bulking material. On a side note as well, I'm interested if any of you guys ever feed "worm chow" or what your thoughts on it are? It is basically a 1:1 ratio of cornmeal and ground oatmeal. The purpose I read is to fatten up the worms if they are on the skinny side and is used between feedings.
I would compost material first and then feed it to the worms. Horse manure is great! The only problem is it may contain persistent pesticides. I have access to a wonderful horse manure pile that is loaded with redworms already. The horse owner doesn't spray the pasture and doesn't use dewormers either. Sometimes I just use the manure alone. Here is a pic of horse manure that was put in old soil bags and left all summer without doing anything. I'd do a bioassay and try to find out what the horses are fed. I'd stay away from Purina worm chow. Use a coffee grinder and grind up barley, wheat, oat etc. Mix this with our usual amendments and you'll have something to treat them with and plump them up if that's your goal. RD Sent from my XT1609 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I agree with Rancho plus an explanation. I would mix all the bedding ingredients and store it in a tote or bin (could be a pile outside if you don't have winter freeze), so that the ball is rolling with things composting. Then just feed the flow thru from that tote. Its what I do in the winter, except I don't use a flow thru, I use a tray system. My storage tote is teaming with worms in itself like a static bin. The results are well worth it. Don't be afraid to feed a little at the beginning of establishing the bin. Some melon rinds or pumpkin rinds really helps get the population "swinging". My ratio for bedding mix is 2 gal leaf mold or compost (aged manure is fine) 1 gal small bark nuggets, soaked in water to capacity 1/2 gal rice hulls 2 Tablespoons each kelp, neem, crab, and fish bone meal 1 Tablespoon each gypsum, oystershell flower, and rock dust For best results, I have the mix to max water holding capacity. I wet it till its sloppy, then let it drain for a bit before I add it to the trays or bins. hth cheers os
Thanks OS! That sounds like a simple mix. @Organic sinse So it is almost a 1:1 ratio of compost to aeration? I do want to incorporate the biochar though. Also, I want to try an experiment to hopefully accelerate the leaf mold process. Since the decomposition process is fungal, I thought I would try to apply some of the methods I learned while growing mushrooms. The first is to soak the shredded leaves for a full day so they reach full saturation. The next is to toss the pile/bags of leaves after about 6 months. This increases the fungal inoculate points throughout the substrate. I may also mix in some sawdust as this should may assist the mycellium in moving through the medium more rapidly. The last thing I want to try is to bag my pile into trash bags and bring them into the basement during the winter. Most fungal growth occurs at warmer temperature ranges and slows or completely stops at colder temps.
Instead of 'worm chow', I use chicken laying mash, a trick I learned from bait worm farmers. The laying formula is fortified with calcium for the eggs. "Mash" is a size designation (the finest grind), but doesn't seem to be available anymore. Now, it seems the smallest is the 'crumbles' and they are smaller than what they used to be a year or so ago. They do work fine. A 50lb bag is ~$14 and frequently on sale for $10 or so. Still a 50lb bag last a looong time, even with 6 bins going. You can't top dress too heavy with it or it will sour. But, you mist it enough to get it damp and it's usually gone the next day and I've never had it last over 2 days. It molds and is consumed really fast. It also seems to spur cocoon production in addition to getting them fat. 2 big handfuls over the surface in a 18gal tote is my normal top dress. Have more to say after I reread OS's and RD's threads for new to me info/insights. Wet
I will be sure to ask my sister in law what she feeds the horses and if she gives any worm meds. As for the worm chow, I wasn't referring to any store bought brand. I was referring to what a lot of worm farmers use which as I stated, is a 1:1 ratio of corn meal and finely ground rolled oats. I believe a lot of them supplement with ground eggshell as well, which serves as both a calcium source and grit. @wetdog Are you running any "no feed" bins? Or batch bins as I believe they were referred to in this thread. If so, what is your bedding mix? Still using a lot of coffee? @Organic sinse I love the idea of "pre-composting" the bedding in a larger bin. Absolutely going to try that. Also, I was wondering what purpose the gypsum served in your mix? I hope my worms can live through the transition to this new bedding. It should be an improvement as they aren't thriving like I'd hoped in my current bins. I got a lot of compaction in them and the bottom of the substrate was quite wet and smelly. I mixed in some dried horse poo to help soak up some of the moisture.
By all means add the biochar to the mix. Add whatever percent you would want in your soil mix. This is actually the best way to 'charge' it. I always forget to mention Biochar because I often add it to my compost and leaf mold when I build my piles or turn them. cheers os
This truckload of horseshit ought to keep the worms busy for awhile! Also, these little critters are a new sight in my work bins and there are quite a few of them, up on the sides of the bin. Are these ok? Or a sign that something is wrong? It's not a good pic, with the naked eye they look like thin white elongated grubs with a dark head. Maybe a quarter inch in length Sent from my LG-LS998 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
The reason I add the gypsum is I want it in my soil mixes. I feel sulfur brings out the tastes and smells, and the extra calcium never hurts. Most manures actually have sulfur, so you could certainly skip it. I actually add the same amendments at the same ratios in both my bedding and soil mixes. Its my style of growing. cheers os
I think the grubs are called 'rollie pollies' based on your description. They are another decomposer and pose no threat. cheers os