[HighonPottery]

i've never seen that design for a vermicomposting bin. looks simple. are there any issues with the bottom getting over compacted from the height? i was worried about this in my rubbermaid totes before. in the tower, by the time height/weight becomes an issue it's time to harvest the lower bins. i think when it's time for me to expand my bin, i'm going to make a large box in the garden out of 2"x12" and put a hinged lid on it.

the bin i bought is neither of those 2. the one i got is the gusanito/worms wrangler bin because the design seems to incorporate more air due to the lid design. i also drain it a few times a week. i'm gonna start leaving it open with a glass underneath to hopefully provide air from the bottom. it also has a small gap(1/16"-1/8") around each tray to provide some air. in this new bin i have way less gnats, too.

i didn't toss the rubbermaids. instead, i drilled more holes in them and gonna use them for some bushes in the hydrohut. after that, that's where i'll be aging recycled soils.

[Clackamas Coot]

Originally Posted by HighonPottery

the bin i bought is neither of those 2. the one i got is the gusanito/worms wrangler bin because the design seems to incorporate more air due to the lid design. i also drain it a few times a week. i'm gonna start leaving it open with a glass underneath to hopefully provide air from the bottom. it also has a small gap(1/16"-1/8") around each tray to provide some air. in this new bin i have way less gnats, too.

HighonPottery

I should have mentioned the bin that you purchased - it is a much better design than either the 'Worm Factory' or the 'Can-O-Worms' products in that it has a much better aeration system than the others that I first mentioned.

The worm bins that I had built, 4' x 4' have a small fan at the bottom of the bin to move air up and into the specific bins. Keep in mind though that these are for breeding/growing worms more so than simply making castings. That's the main reason for the heating cables as well as the bi-weekly addition of pure humic acid to control the PH levels.

Since I feed the worms a highly-acidic food, i.e. bokashi compost (PH of around 3.5) I also add calcium carbonate (crushed oyster shells) to lower the initial PH until the microbes in the bins correct things as they always do. By 'pre-digesting' the worm food via bokashi composting, the actual time it takes for the worms to convert the bokashi compost into worm castings is reduced by as much as 60% but you do have to be concerned about the PH.

Peat moss is around PH 3.5 and that's why I opt to use coconut coir which has a PH of between 5.8 to 6.8 or so. This is helpful in my system but may not be necessary in how you're running your bin.

HTH

CC

[Clackamas Coot]

If you're having trouble sourcing composting worms or you feel that your local suppliers are too expensive then you may want to consider buying worm cocoons.

Here is one supplier Blueridge Vermiculture and his prices on 1,000 cocoons is $25.00 which includes shipping & handling.

Assuming that you get the normal rate when they hatch, 1,000 should provide you with 3,300 (or about 3.3 lbs. when mature).

HTH

CC

[jaykush]

just harvested a wormbin, got 5 gallons of top quality castings, and a few lbs of worms to start it all over again. its time to make some compost tea!

[emmy75]

jay how many worms did you start out with. my worms are slow. i only got half pound and most of the coir is still there. although the food is going fast the coir is not.

it was so hot for the last couple of weeks and i kinda forgot to water. i opened the lid and it was so dry, thats how i know there is still so much coir left. i couldnt find any worms. then in the middle of the box i found a ball of worms all tied together with the only moisture in the bin. now i spray it down everyday.

[jaykush]

i used unfinished sifted compost for the bedding which imo beats the newspaper bedding to shame that i see reccomended. the way i see it newspaper can only have so many different nutrients and other benefits, diversity is key with the unfinished compost. but you have to have a composting system going on the side of the worms for extra worm bedding, im sure the coir takes some time longer to decompose.

cant say how many worms i started with, someone gave me the wormbin, they were doing an ok job at best, i added lots of fresh ( well fresh to the worms) bedding( unfinished compost sifted to get all the big chunks out) i also added lots of rock powders and some biochar i made that has been crushed pretty good. the castings are awesome now. then the worms went nuts-o haha. they love biochar because microbes love biochar

[emmy75]

the guy who sold the worms to me recommended the coir. i never thought about using unfinished sifted compost.

what do you use a a "bedding" in your nonvermicomposting? ill have to wait until early winter for the dry leaves to use as a bedding in my composter. then after a while i can transfer that to my worm bin.

i did add a little shredded paper to my worm bin but i dont think ill ever do that again.

ill have to read your info on biochar and find some rock powder. ya know im gonna try and copy you hehe

[maryjohn]

i'm switching to coco because I'm sick of running newspapers through the shredder, but I had great luck with it for quite some time, especially in my "worm bin bag", which makes managing moisture levels a non-issue. Also junk mail or sensitive documents get composted after shredding.

Worms are crazy about newspaper soaked with effective microbes, so I'm assuming coco reconstituted with em will be even better.

for regular aerobic composting, you don't have to have leaves, just the right ratio of brown to green (color at the time of removal from the plant, not the color at the time of addition to the heap). And not all leaves are a good choice. certain trees make leaves that take forever.

[jaykush]

odd he recommended coir.

the bedding from my normal compost is comprised of as many different materials as possible. diversity is key when making killer compost. at the moment i am using mesh ring composters because they are too easy to use. when the compost is 80% done i harvest it and sift the big stuff out( not very much left just a few big sticks and some rocks that got in there ) then its put into a very large container or an old bathtub we have, then at that point i take some out for worm bedding, the rest goes into a big container to "cure" and finalize for regular garden use or compost tea.

for the biochar just do a search here for terra preta( amazing stuff), and the rock powders im almost sure you already have ( azomite)

its just weir coco does not seem like a good medium for worms to me.

emmy, you can also use leafmold for worm bedding, an easy way to do it, is in fall. collect a ton of leaves, put them in garbage bags and leave them be in a big pile. ( caution does not look to pretty in your yard) in a few months( i left mine over winter) you have individual bags of rotten decomposing leaves, some of them even will have worms and castings at the bottom.

and of course pm me if you need anything else

[maryjohn]

Jay i'll let you know how it works out on my end. I've heard good things. I know everything else works so if my bins go bad it's probably the coir.