Worm farming

[Dave_the_stoner]

I Was working the other day and found some worms crawling through the ground I was digging up, so I took em home with me and decided to build a worm bin.
So basically I dont know if these are the proper species for composting, but I put together a rubbermaid tub with a bunch of shredded up brown paper bags in the bottom, then I added some old soil, then I added a bunch of expired produce (Lettuce, brocolli, tomato, nectarines, plums, peaches, potato, bell pepper, sugar snap peas, potatoes,ect) then I added the worms, and covered the whole works with more potting soil, followed by a misting with water.
So what do you think of my project? I only had 4 worms, so I'm thinking of propositioning the kids that are always playing around down stairs (with parental permission of course) to dig some worms up for me and pay them $0.50 each, or should I go to a bait shop and buy some there?
Heres some pics of the project:


Heres the scraps




Heres the worms










Shit i forgot to upload the pic of the other 2, but they look alot like the first one. The worm in the second pic looks different than the rest.
And heres a picture of the finished bin







And my lady just told me to add some bouncy faces so here you go

 

[bounty29]

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Redwormsedit.htm
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

 

[Dave_the_stoner]

Thats some real good info

 

[bounty29]

After seeing your pics and finding those links I think I might have to make one for myself!

 

[quadracer]

Nice. It's great to see people start a wormbin. I just harvested some beautiful castings today, and had enough worms to start a new bin that I can bring to work and start one there.

Judging by your pictures, I have a couple of tips for you. The first is the bin. Drill some holes in the bin (1/4" works) for ventilation and some at the bottom for drainage. There will be lots of leachate from the fruits and veggies.

I avoid potatoes in my worm bin, even after cutting them up. They don't really break down and the worms don't eat them. I also don't put in alliums (garlic and onion), they won't break down and the worm bin does a great job of preserving them too. Avocado seeds are another, and I have seen plenty sprout even after cutting them up.

The bedding below the food scraps should be moist. I can't really tell how moist it is by the picture. What would you say?

The worms you are looking for are commonly called "red wrigglers" and are a lot smaller than nightcrawlers (earthworms). The red wrigglers can be found within the first couple inches of the soil, and near roots of plants. I pull up weeds all the time that also get a worm pulled up too.

 

[Dave_the_stoner]

I found these while digging small 1'x1'x1' concrete forms out of the ground, the worms were within the first couple inches of soil.
As for the bedding it wasnt moist at all, I figured I'll mist the top and let the moisture fall through, plus the produce was heavy in moisture.
Also I have 2-4" holes covered in tyvek for ventilation I figured this would be better than exposed holes to keep bugs from finding thier way in, and too keep any potential smell from escaping.
No holes in the bottom however. I put about 1.5"of shredded brown paper bags in the bottom hoping it would hold any excess moisture, but I'll suck any excess up with a turkey baster if necessary.

 

[Guest]

just go online and order them .they will send you a box of 1000 worms .and in about 6 months you will have some working worms making your plants very happy and then returning the favor in good sweet buds.

 

[HighonPottery]

Sweet. I love my worms!

Like said before...drill some holes along the top edge of the rubbermaid. It will help with ventilation. Aerobic is the key. If you go too big on the holes/more than 1/8", bigger insects might be able to get inside and breed...like flies. You also won't need to spray it down with water, there is plenty of it in the veggies/fruits that you throw in there.

I've been told that you don't really need the holes in the bottom of the bin to drain the leachate, but occasionally you might need to suck it up when you put something really watery in there, like strawberries. I like to add a bunch of shredded newspaper on top of everything every now and then to help soak up some of the juices and keep a nice bedding on top - seems to help with gnats, too.

In the beginning stages, try not to overfeed them because there aren't enough worms to eat it up, instead you'll get some probs with smell/gnats. Personally, I produce more veggie waste than my worms can handle, so I like to reserve some for them and put the rest in a compost pile. I heard of some people saving up their waste in a sealed container and putting it in the garage to let it rot a little bit...this way it is easier for the worms to consume and the volume is considerably less, less chance of heating up/composting in the bin, and you can also pour off the leachate if there is too much.

If it's organic, they'll probably eat it save fatty items, meat, cheese, etc. Napkins are cool, cardboard, newspaper, whatever. Just don't put in too much of one thing at one time...like the all rinds of a 25lb bag of oranges. Although I did think I was gonna kill my worms once when I put around 2oz of moldy chronic in there...instead they loved me for it

For worms, you CAN buy them online, but I'm a cheap ass and can't justify spending what they are asking for some worms. Stores that carry fresh bait should have redworms in stock. When I started my worm bin, I found out about a "vermicomposting workshop" at school and they hooked us up with free bins and a scoop of worms that had maybe 15 worms in it and a few eggs. After about 6months, I've harvested twice, expanded my bin to 2 bins and have LOTS of worms.

As a tip, I find that a bit of old soil containing big chunky perlite helps keep things from compacting too much.

Good luck!

 

[jaykush]

there is a worm composting sticky. might want to check that out.