Worming 101

[Harry Hoosier]

Use it or keep it moist. Castings should not be allowed to dry out. There's life in them thar castings and without water ........well, the microbes will go dormant or more probably perish.
If you just harvested a few days ago I imagine they are still fine. If you are not ready to use them just yet, mist them with water.

 

[420stoner]

thanks alot for your help Harry Hoosier

 

[MrSterling]

Good news, bad news! Good news - My 2 lbs. of red wigglers arrived in the mail today! Bad news - The order had supposedly been cancelled on the shippers end, so I haven't built a worm bin yet. I guess getting them in a temporary box with some food for now is a start.

 

[Harry Hoosier]

Good news, bad news! Good news - My 2 lbs. of red wigglers arrived in the mail today! Bad news - The order had supposedly been cancelled on the shippers end, so I haven't built a worm bin yet. I guess getting them in a temporary box with some food for now is a start.

If you have a rubbermaid bin and some compost they will be fine until you get their permanent domicile built.

 

[Dirtboy808]

Hi Worm guys.
I want to do a large outside bin. Any suggestions on a way to build one. A book or website if I can see it I can build it. I live on 3 acres in the country so have lots of space and scrap material left over from building houses. Aloha

 

[singingcrow]

Thanks, I still have a lot of time to read up on this, as my wife don't allow me to grow marijuana, and even less wants worms indoors. I've saved your post for future use.

Hey, I'm a women who grows MMJ as well as worms and bokashi. Want me to talk some sense into her? At any rate, tell her, "Lisa says to let me grow a healthy, natural pain, anxiety and depression medication that is a million times better than the sterilized stuff you buy at CVS." 'Nuff said.

 

[h.h.]

Lisa wants to get us hurt.
I can hear it now. "and just who is Lisa?"
"My friend on the internet."
With all due respect, Not in this lifetime.

 

[MrSterling]

Made some worm bin changes, looking for some input. My original bedding for the worms was newspaper, which they've almost finished up. Rather than just put more newspaper in, which I felt dried out really quickly, I took BlueJay's advice and screened out a bunch of semi-finished compost from my heap as bedding. I've also added in some dolomite lime, azomite, and spare kelp meal to feed them. I'm a little concerned that I've added too much in, but the bin was getting down to just casings. The worms should go through the lime and rock dust fairly quickly, right?

 

[Zen Master]

I throw my coffee grounds and any produce scraps I have in the bin, can't recognize it in 3 days.

 

[Harry Hoosier]

MrSterling,

What type bin are you using (rubbermaid type, wooden flow-through[reactor], etc.)?
I use mostly composted screened material in my bin asz well. I also mix in corrugated cardboard. This helps to balance the C:N and supplies aeration.

I put a mix of kelp, neem, crab and flax in, too. As far as mineral dusts, i use oyster flour or glacial rock dust.

Lava rock for aeration as well. If you are in plastic type bins, aeration is your biggest concern.

If you feel that you have added too much of something and can't get it out, then add more bedding. The worms will need a haven to escape the excess of whatever.

Hope this helped.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Made some worm bin changes, looking for some input. My original bedding for the worms was newspaper, which they've almost finished up. Rather than just put more newspaper in, which I felt dried out really quickly, I took BlueJay's advice and screened out a bunch of semi-finished compost from my heap as bedding. I've also added in some dolomite lime, azomite, and spare kelp meal to feed them. I'm a little concerned that I've added too much in, but the bin was getting down to just casings. The worms should go through the lime and rock dust fairly quickly, right?

Worms don't have a stomach = they can't eat anything.

They do suck up bacteria and bacterial slime which the enzymes in their digestive tract converts to 'castings'

The mineral compounds you're adding will be made available from a number of processes (enzymes from the worm's skins, microbes) but that's another story down the line when roots move through the soil.

HTH

CC

 

[MrSterling]

CC, worms don't have stomachs or teeth as we do, but I believe it's incorrect to suggest that they can't eat anything, or only suck up bacteria or fungi. In addition to microbes worms will eat food particles broken down small enough to fit inside their mouths where the gizzard helps break the particles down for digestion. The addition of rock dust or sand to worm bins is specifically to aid the gizzard in digestion. If worms were only eating microscopic life their strong mouths and gizzard would be unnecessary.

Now this may be an issue of the worm only eating the small particles to get at the microbes on it, but all the science classes I've been in and books I've read have indicated that worms will eat material small enough to fit into their mouth.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Your information is coming from Mary A's Worms Eat My Garbage which is responsible for a plethora of bad information such as 'worms like this but don't like that' and others more egregious.

Her books get referenced over and over at worm bin sites but seldom at vermicompost sites for good reason.

CC

 

[MrSterling]

CC, my information is coming from basic high school science dissections and university level classes. I've never heard of, nor read "Worms Eat My Garbage" but I appreciate your review - I'll be sure to avoid it.

 

[Neo 420]

@CC

I think its time I start my indoor worm bin. I'm going to look at some different designs to build in the morning. Any ideas for a good design?

 

[jerry111165]

@CC

I think its time I start my indoor worm bin. I'm going to look at some different designs to build in the morning. Any ideas for a good design?

Neo - worm bins can be fancy or not. I see all different designs online for too much money.

I run several big (the giant ones from Wal Mart) totes. A very simple and quick worm bin can be made by taking one of these, drilling small holes throughout for both drainage and aeration ( you do not want your worms sitting in soup), adding compost to be used as both bedding and food and in ovulating with some red composting worms. Over several months they will work thier way through the compost, eating it up and making harvestable vermicompost.

I think this is the simplest way. Some folks add uncomposted produce scraps but since I have big compost piles here I find it's easier to just feed them my compost. It also avoids wet spots and fruit flies.

One of these days when I get time I'm going to build a big flow thru worm bin...food goes in the top and finished castings fall thru the bottom into a collection chamber - I think this is the ideal way to go about it. If you Google "flow through worm bin" you will find some designs.

I think raising your own worms is a must for a serious organic gardener - this way you control the quality of the worms food - do you think any of the commercial wormers out there feed thier worms kelp meal?

J

 

[SeaMaiden]

CC, worms don't have stomachs or teeth as we do, but I believe it's incorrect to suggest that they can't eat anything, or only suck up bacteria or fungi. In addition to microbes worms will eat food particles broken down small enough to fit inside their mouths where the gizzard helps break the particles down for digestion. The addition of rock dust or sand to worm bins is specifically to aid the gizzard in digestion. If worms were only eating microscopic life their strong mouths and gizzard would be unnecessary.

Now this may be an issue of the worm only eating the small particles to get at the microbes on it, but all the science classes I've been in and books I've read have indicated that worms will eat material small enough to fit into their mouth.

Yep! I've actually worked with many different species of annelid worms, but I won't mention in what capacity here (Polychaetous Annelids) , some folks seem to think the information doesn't translate.

Annelid worms often have almost the exact same physiology, so what you're looking at below is damn near the same physiology you're going to see from, say, .

So there may not be a proper stomach, but there is an intestine, esophagus, a crop and gizzard that are an awful lot like those of birds, which is a trip considering we've just transitioned from invertebrate to vertebrate.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

CC, my information is coming from basic high school science dissections and university level classes. I've never heard of, nor read "Worms Eat My Garbage" but I appreciate your review - I'll be sure to avoid it.

Vermiculture Technology: Earthworms, Organic Wastes, and Environmental Management - Dr. Clive Edwards (over 60 years studying composting worms used around the world), Dr. Rhonda Sherman & Norman Q. Arancon

This is an anthology of work from 30 entomologists from every continent. Used as a text book in upper division studies.

Dr. Yasmine Cardoza's work at NCSU on disease & insect suppression is another good body of work worthy of reading.

Worm Bin Sites vs. Vermicomposting - 2 separate worlds

 

[ClackamasCootz]

@CC

I think its time I start my indoor worm bin. I'm going to look at some different designs to build in the morning. Any ideas for a good design?

Neo 420

This is a photo of my vermicompost reactor I had built - flow-through design. Feed from the top and harvest from the bottom. The plans are available from Oregon Soil Company - this is the design used by Dr. Clive Edwards for the past 10 years in his research.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Here's another flow-through design offered at RedWormComposting.com - you buy the plans and then build it. No big deal