Massive amounts of coffee grounds in worm bin?

[OZZ_]

I have a very well established worm bin with several levels and have been harvesting worm castings regularly. At my work, we go through a massive amount of coffee grounds.

While we all know used coffee grounds are great for adding to worm bins, Im wondering if I was to add that amount of coffee grounds to the worm bins if it would negatively affect the PH of the worm castings and in turn negatively affect the soil mix PH when I use it.

For example, Ive definately run into problems when using used coffee grounds straight into soil mixes. Ive experienced this first hand they definately can alter the soil PH to much and cause problems, but when adding them to a worm bin I havent run into troubles.

The thing is, we are talking about a LARGE amount of grounds. As in 1 - 2 gallons of used grounds per day. Im considering feeding the worm bins only the used coffee grounds exclusively with the idea being the worms would be able to eat through the grounds extremely quickly due to the small particle size. The worm bins may become extremely productive and I could probably harvest in half the time if not even quicker.

Im just wondering if feeding a worm bin 1 gallon of used grounds per day... and only those grounds, would the castings themselves become very acidic or would the worms digestive system neutralize it??


What do you guys think??

 

[mad librettist]

overfeeding with coffee grounds will give you the same problems as overfeeding with anything else.


you can get your bin to eat faster if it has enough calcium (save your eggshells, and keep them in a jar of vinegar), grit, and very high worm count. However you have to build up the population gradually. Suddenly increasing food a whole lot will simply attract pests.

 

[mugenbao]

I use a lot of coffee grounds in my bins, but as ML said above, you can definitely overdo it. For what it's worth, I also use a lot of ground up eggshells in my bins. I can't quantify the benefits, but I started using them about a year ago after seeing the tell-tale signs of "acidic bin" and they really seem to help.

Here's a blog post on using coffee grounds from the local coffee shop in worm bins that might be of some interest : http://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-composting/coffee-grounds-vermicomposting-fall-update/

The author seems to like using a lot of grounds:

For the most part, all I’ve been doing is continuing to add layer upon layer of grounds onto my outdoor windrow beds (formerly known as “vermicomposting trenches“). In all honesty, I haven’t added much else to these beds (although there were certainly some deposits of food waste periodically throughout the summer). I thought for sure that the grounds were going to end up being a real challenge to deal with during the heat of the summer, especially once the serious drought hit – as I’ve written previously, coffee grounds seem to have a tendency to dry out really easily and then be difficult to re-wet.

As it turns out, the wet grounds ended up being very important for my beds – actually helping to ensure that there were moist zones down below where the worms were able to do ok. I must say that the cumulative benefits in terms of overall bed health have become readily apparent as well. The number of worms in beds now is very impressive!

There are a few factors that I think have made all the difference as compared to some of my previous coffee grounds trials. For one thing, these are used, wet grounds with lots of filters in them. Most of the grounds I experimented with previously were either unused or at least VERY dry, and contained no filters, so it took some effort to get them to the point of being “worm friendly”. These grounds I’ve been adding have also end up being exposed to the elements for quite some time, which really seems to make them even more appealing to the worms (although I’m surprised how quickly they can move into new deposits sometimes).

 

[OZZ_]

Can you clarify on what the tell tale signs of an acidic bin are??

 

[mad librettist]

I think he means sour bin.

I am thinking my bin pH is actually on the low side right now, from mushrooms.

I get inky caps and other fruiting bodies on a regular basis.

 

[OZZ_]

Thanks for the input

Can you clarify on what the tell tale signs of an acidic bin are??

Also, I'm not talking about overfeeding here, I don't think I explained properly. What I'm referring to is feeding a bin coffee grounds exclusively (within its capacity ). Will this cause problems with the bin or the resultinhg castings?

Not talking about overfeeding, but just feeding the bin the grounds with little else added.

 

[h.h.]

I don't find coffee grounds attracting bugs, though as a general rule, overfeeding usually seems to.
They do pack tight however and when I see that in the bin, I don't see worms. I could see them causing trouble if used exclusively.

 

[mad librettist]

if you aren't overfeeding it's fine. don't forget the egg shells. I dissolve mine in vinegar as I said. I start with 25% acetic acid and keep adding shells for a while. The resulting liquid is chock full of calcium the worms can use in their glands.

 

[h.h.]

25% acetic acid or 25% vinegar (3-5% acetic)?

 

[mad librettist]

25% acetic acid baby!

strong stuff. you can find it in asian groceries. the one i get comes from germany.

 

[mugenbao]

I guess it is commonly called "sour bin", but for me the biggest indicator was a massive proliferation of some type of mites. Others report strong odors (should never happen in a healthy worm bin), white worms and other critters, and worms attempting to escape.

I probably caused it by overfeeding, but slowing down on the feeding and adding eggshells had a significant positive effect.

 

[supermanlives]

i add lime to bin . no ph issues

 

[OZZ_]

Thanks for the input.

When I say my bins established, I guess I should clarify. Theres some comments in this thread that make me wonder if Im maintaining my bin properly. My castings do look sticky and gooey, more so then the store bought castings Ive purchased in the past. The bin is easily a year old. I started with 1 lbs of worms in an 18 gallon rubbermaid, then I added a second about 6 months later and harvested the bottom bin. I must say that I only add things when I think about it. However I have added some very slowly digestable objects and there always seems to be a little organic matter in there for them to feed on even when Im neglecting them. I may not add anything for a month, then I add quite a bit... other times Ive added small amounts regularly for a few months ... it just depends and when I think about it I do it.

They always seem to be doing well.

Now, I have converted to 5 gallon buckets. I like the setup better. My current "bin" consists of 5 x 5 gallon buckets stacked in each other. The bottom bin I harvest, then replace it on top with fresh bedding. I feed the top bucket and periodically check the bottom bin, when it seems ready to harvest I harvest it and start over. In the middle theres buckets with varying degrees of finished product.

Im not sure what you think about this technique. Im not really sure how many worms I have total now. Its been easily over a year.

Also, when the bottom bin looks like its time to harvest I always have to sift through to make sure theres no worms. Theres always tons of cocoons... and usually not many worms but there is some in there ... maybe 20-30 .....50?? in the bottom five gallon bucket.

Does anything seem off here? Im not sure if Im using my worm bin to the best of its ability, thats the reason for this thread. I thought if I used - used coffee grounds, the worms might be able to produce castings faster.

 

[OZZ_]

Alright, well I think my main problem is that I have been neglecting them too much, not feeding them enough and not harvesting the castings soon enough. The castings in this system have been there over a year.

The neglect is about to change though....... I just built a new flow through bin and am going to transfer the 5 gallon bucket tower to it with a ton of new fresh bedding. Im thinking that Im going to harvest the bottom two bins, and put the top two bins in the new flow through bin. Then add a ton of bedding and a small amount of food at a time until they breed and populate the container more as I believe I need a TON more worms


I think this will make harvesting the castings much easier. Although, Im not really sure if this trash can is sturdy enough to hold the amount of weight that will end up being in it. I used 50# test fishing line to make the grate at the bottom, and the trash can is a 45 gallon trash can.

Soon Ill try it out I have to get a ton of bedding first.



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[rckymtnthuglife]

Honestly I liked the 5 or 18 gal containers you were using, that is as long as the worms are able to travel from the bottom container to the top container at their own leisure. Don't feed them coffee grounds alone, the more diverse your ingredients the better your ewc will be. If you do use alot of grounds just make sure and add some lime or eggshells or both to balance the pH.

It sounds like you are interested in speeding up the process and producing a greater amount of EWC.

Simple.

Set up a compost bin outside or inside if ya got the room. I wont go into detail on how to speed up a compost bin, its a matter of oxygen, temperature, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and well timed turning of your pile. Once you have compost its just a matter of letting your worms run through it for a couple weeks instead of months. I'm about to do this today myself. I use two 18gal rubbermaids stacked on top of each other with some holes drilled so the worms can pass through as they please. The bottom bin will contain the compost and worms for a week or so and I'll leave the top bin empty. When I feel like the worms have done the job I'll add some coco, coffee grounds, banana peels, and their favorite fan leaves to the top bin. After about a week a majority of the worms will migrate to the top bin in search of food.
Any worms left in the bottom bin (shouldn't be a whole lot) will just help make the soil mix better and aerate the soil. If you feel like you don't have enough worms, try using some local worms in your bin as well. If you compost outside this will happen regardless. Hope this helps.

Rocky

 

[mad librettist]

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/growing-oyster-mushrooms-in-coffee-grounds.html

 

[moses wellfleet]

anybody else using large amounts of coffee grounds in soil mix or worm bins?

 

[VortexPower420]

Bad idea to use more then a sprinkling. Imho. They heat up real quick if you make it to thick and kinda start growing this weird green mold.

Great in small amounts.

 

[Boyd Crowder]

i will take coffee grounds and bokashi them for two weeks and use as much as the worms can eat after its been fermented, moses

 

[moses wellfleet]

I threw about 250kgs of coffee grounds in a heap in the garden. After it was finished composting and cooled down the worms moved in and they absolutely love it. I have never seen worms thriving like this. It forms a black sticky mass that looks similar to molasses, if you break a chunk open there are so many worms inside!!