Worm Bin Question

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #1

I'm building a worm bin and was curious, since the worms already need a little grit to make vermicompost, could I use nutrient & mineral amendments like Crustacean Meal, Basalt Rock Dust, Gypsum Dust, Oyster Shell Flour & Greensand be used to serve such a function?

Here is my theory, take a bale of Peat Moss, and some Buildasoil Coot's mix and layer it in a worm bin with some paper shreds, kitchen scraps & manures....add a shit ton of red wriggles & African night crawler, grow a nitrogen-fixer cover crop mix for a month, chop & drop, then deep mulch it...let that cook for another month, cut with aeration amendments and plant into as a no-till bed from there on out...I figure I could run three of these in different phases as a perpetual ROLS setup.

Are there any fatal flaws in my logic here and does this sound like it would work well?

 

aridbud

automeister

ICMag Donor

Veteran

• Jun 6, 2019

• #2

Worms don't require much...egg shells, coffee grounds, some dirt/soil and some paper shreds, kitchen scraps & manures....add a shit ton of red wriggles & African night crawlers.

Add kitchen waste weekly.....no fat/dairy.

 

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #3

aridbud said:

Worms don't require much...egg shells, coffee grounds, some dirt/soil and some paper shreds, kitchen scraps & manures....add a shit ton of red wriggles & African night crawlers.

Add kitchen waste weekly.

Click to expand...

Sounds just about like what I was already planning to feed them, and the extras are for my sake not there's...I shall proceed.

 

B

Bird_Dog

New member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #4

Sounds like an interesting idea. Just watch your pH with the peat, they like a neutral pH, as well as the crustacean mix, but if you keep things balanced they should thrive.

 

B

Big Nasty

Active member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #5

As long as you add each amendment in moderate quantity,yes,you can do that...it's what i'm doing anyway and it works.

 

troutman

Seed Whore

• Jun 6, 2019

• #6

Sand is good and so are crushed eggs shells.

After I boil eggs to eat I boil the shell alone for 5 minutes and then crush it to dust.

 

Q

QQNPK

Member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #7

Worm bin.. I NEED TO MAKE ONE RIGHT NOW, damn its nice when these kinda threads pop up as a reminder. Good luck with yours m8 ! And thx for the tips guys !

 

A

Amynamous

Active member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #8

If you’re going to have three going, consider going to your local feed lot and see if they have Purina worm chow. No joke. Kind of like bacon for dogs or tuna for cats. It’s worm crack.

 

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #9

Amynamous said:

If you’re going to have three going, consider going to your local feed lot and see if they have Purina worm chow. No joke. Kind of like bacon for dogs or tuna for cats. It’s worm crack.

Click to expand...

*leaves work heading to the feed store w/o even clocking-out*

 

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 6, 2019

• #10

Btw, if anyone is looking to source worms online I found these links to be helpful:

African Nightcrawlers

Red Wrigglers

Purina Worm Chow

Happy farming folks!!!

 

W

wetdog

New member

• Jun 13, 2019

• #11

If finding the worm chow is difficult or expensive, get some chicken "laying" feed in the smallest grind you can find. It is the main ingredient in worm chow anyway and cost ~$12 for a 50lb bag.

Just sprinkle some on the surface (don't bury it, it will sour), and moisten. It's what makes the worm chow like crack for worms.

Wet

 

Frosty Nuggets

Well-known member

ICMag Donor

• Jun 13, 2019

• #12

Worm farms are great.


You can add beneficial bacteria and fungi for a healthier worm farm such as Great White.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GREAT-W...RIA-TRICHDERMA-FOR-HEALTHY-ROOTS/122830732752
Hint, make an offer of $150 and it will be accepted.

 

troutman

Seed Whore

• Jun 13, 2019

• #13

^^^^ I've used Great White too.

I've fed my worms yellow corn meal and whole wheat meal purchased at a food supply place.

 

troutman

Seed Whore

• Jun 13, 2019

• #14

Here's how I started when I got my 1st my worm bin. I got European Nightcralwers.

I started with a small plastic bin and lined it with corrugated cardboard and moistened it.

I then added my 1/2 pound of European Nightcrawlers I purchased.

This is what it looked like for a few days with some added moist cardboard.

I collected this fresh Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss near a guerilla growing spot.

The nice fresh Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss added to my worm bin. The white particles are crushed eggs shell.

 

troutman

Seed Whore

• Jun 13, 2019

• #15

Eventually, I transferred my worms to a larger bin and even planted soft Winter wheat by broadcasting seeds into
it. It grows very easy and no light is required. This is about a week later. The lid was on the whole time also in case
you're all wondering. I used scissors to cut it into tiny pieces for the worms to enjoy. They like hiding among the
natural cover too.

Circled worm.

Recently, I planted some red clover by broadcasting the seeds and they really like that chopped up.

The worms really like hiding just under this vegetation as you can see when it's pulled back.
If you look closely you can see a bunch of them crawling around.

 

Rodehazrd

Well-known member

• Jun 13, 2019

• #16

Timely thread for me I just used the last of mine in some outdoor tubs and need to start fresh.

 

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 13, 2019

• #17

Frosty Nuggets said:

You can add beneficial bacteria and fungi for a healthier worm farm... such as Great White.

Click to expand...

Prolly means you could add Real Growers ReCharge, hmm, I wonder if you could add LABs?

 

ThePhiloStoned

Member

• Jun 13, 2019

• #18

troutman said:

Here's how I started when I got my 1st my worm bin.

Click to expand...

Oh hell yes!!! I'm definitely doing my idea then...thanks for the confirmation.