Come and show off those worm bins!
- Thread starter Sumbolt
- Start date
S
Stankie
Here is mine, looking down in an empty trash can. Spare fire grate from a grill, a cut up board wired to the can for support, and a window cut in the bottom for access. Harvesting isn't the easiest, but it's not too bad. Pretty much I take some bong rips, grab an old screwdriver, lay on my back, and scrape out the shit.
I just harvested some finished castings last night. I had been running them back through the bin to try to get them more finished, but I am finally going to start using them.
T
tuinman
Very cool design. How far up do you end up filling this with bedding & food before harvesting?
S
Stankie
I made the mistake of putting in too much bedding when I started the bin. It's better to start with a small amount and let the worms population slowly increase with the size of their habitat. My worm density is still pretty low, but they seem to go through the food pretty quick still. The can is all the way full now.
Mizzafishkilla
Member
There was a question or two about the "flow through" style of worm bin and how it works. I just harvested 1/2 of the bin so you look see inside and see the ropes that hold everything in.
The second pic of the approx 3+ wheelbarrows that I took out of there today. There was 1 1/2 more, but I loaded up a raised bed garden with that already so that's not in the pic.
Big_Daddy, some of these are for you. Want/need a few more 5 gal buckets of these? Give me a ring...
The second pic of the approx 3+ wheelbarrows that I took out of there today. There was 1 1/2 more, but I loaded up a raised bed garden with that already so that's not in the pic.
Big_Daddy, some of these are for you. Want/need a few more 5 gal buckets of these? Give me a ring...
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Chronic Don
Member
Mizzafishkilla
Member
Chronic, in the next week I'm going to cut the bin in half. So I harvested everything out the side that's going away. Over the past few months I've only fed the side of the worm bin that I'm keeping, anticipating that the worms will migrate to that side. For the most part, they did. I 'm buried with more castings than I or my friends can handle, and it takes a lot of room in the barn, too.
Under normal operating conditions, the worms are in the top 1/3 of the compost bin and the most beautiful castings can be raked from the ropes through that trap door on the bottom.
Under normal operating conditions, the worms are in the top 1/3 of the compost bin and the most beautiful castings can be raked from the ropes through that trap door on the bottom.
G
greenmatter
hey killa .... i don't want to be a pain in the ass but i can't see much in the pic of the rope system (blurry) could i talk you into taking a couple more. very interested in this
i've got a little tote system. 18 gal (the one on the left. the big one my friend built for her huge ass veggie garden).
I have it on a riser so that there is more airflow to the bottom. the lower tote is just to catch the leachate.
i have another worm farm which is just two 15 gal nursery pots each 3/4 full, with the top one resting on the soil of the bottom one, and a bag of soil on top to help trap moisture. this actually is a much healthier system for them, and they really thrive in here. plus the bottom container is like 80lbs of amazing castings. i need to figure out why it works so well and then create a new bin based on the positive elements of this happenstance...
I have it on a riser so that there is more airflow to the bottom. the lower tote is just to catch the leachate.
i have another worm farm which is just two 15 gal nursery pots each 3/4 full, with the top one resting on the soil of the bottom one, and a bag of soil on top to help trap moisture. this actually is a much healthier system for them, and they really thrive in here. plus the bottom container is like 80lbs of amazing castings. i need to figure out why it works so well and then create a new bin based on the positive elements of this happenstance...
Mizzafishkilla
Member
Greenmatter, here's a few pics that might clarify how it's built. Look at the 2 X 6 that wraps around the bin. That's the key part of the bin. That's where the holes for the rope are drilled. When you pull the ropes tight, the 2X6's want bow and come together, hence the bracing to keep them apart and the bin square.
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I have a couple small-ish bins and now that the temps are warming up they are really tearin thru stuff now.
I transplant some of the sprouts that pop up from seeds I composted. I actually got a nice roma and cherry tomato last season outa that
I kinda just let em do their thing and try not to disturb em too much, just adding back on the top.
heres whats goin on in the bin now
tossed some red potato scraps in there and they are takin over! I actually wasn't sure what kinda plant it was when they first sprouted because I thought it was another tomato (haven't grown potatoes before as they are so cheap) so I kinda just let it do its thing. will probably transplant em outa there soon but thats what happens with absolutely no input from me other than dumping scraps in there. No watering, nothin, goes to show how nutrient rich the vermicompost is.
I transplant some of the sprouts that pop up from seeds I composted. I actually got a nice roma and cherry tomato last season outa that
I kinda just let em do their thing and try not to disturb em too much, just adding back on the top.
heres whats goin on in the bin now
tossed some red potato scraps in there and they are takin over! I actually wasn't sure what kinda plant it was when they first sprouted because I thought it was another tomato (haven't grown potatoes before as they are so cheap) so I kinda just let it do its thing. will probably transplant em outa there soon but thats what happens with absolutely no input from me other than dumping scraps in there. No watering, nothin, goes to show how nutrient rich the vermicompost is.
Chronic Don
Member
I'm a total newbie to worm bins. so I should do a lot more reading but hey who does right?
I have a 25gal plastic tub which I put 8 fluffy inches of lawn rakings ie dead leaves and rotten partly dried crabapples. then I added 10 gal of old wet weed from hash making which had sat outside in a slight hole covered all winter til just yesterday. there were lots of weed seedlings but they all got tossed in, as I was shovelling out the wet weed I noticed there were lots of earthworms in the top layer of the dirt and bottom of the wet weed. so I shoveled a bunch of them into the tub along with a bit of dirt. then today I added a old pumpkin carcass that was partly rotted. and when doing yard work we/kid found 25-30 more worms and threw them in.
so I need to ask how much moisture does it need and will maybe 40 earthworms do the job?
will it take long for the population to multiply?
will I get a tub full of castings?
how long would it take 20 gal of stuff to be eaten by the worms?
thanks for any help/info guys
I have a 25gal plastic tub which I put 8 fluffy inches of lawn rakings ie dead leaves and rotten partly dried crabapples. then I added 10 gal of old wet weed from hash making which had sat outside in a slight hole covered all winter til just yesterday. there were lots of weed seedlings but they all got tossed in, as I was shovelling out the wet weed I noticed there were lots of earthworms in the top layer of the dirt and bottom of the wet weed. so I shoveled a bunch of them into the tub along with a bit of dirt. then today I added a old pumpkin carcass that was partly rotted. and when doing yard work we/kid found 25-30 more worms and threw them in.
so I need to ask how much moisture does it need and will maybe 40 earthworms do the job?
will it take long for the population to multiply?
will I get a tub full of castings?
how long would it take 20 gal of stuff to be eaten by the worms?
thanks for any help/info guys
you better get a whole lot more worms or get rid of a whole lot of that food before it becomes a stinking mess.
be careful not to overfeed.
Chronic Don
Member
then another question... can I get away with buying a bunch of worms from a fish bait place or would I need more of the same worms?
I expect the bait store will have red wigglers not earthworms but not sure yet.
I expect the bait store will have red wigglers not earthworms but not sure yet.
yes wigglers from the bait shop is fine. also, if you put out some wet cardboard outside, they will come. keep trapping them, you have a lot of food in your bin!
regular ole worms aren't the best for vermicompost, specifically red wrigglers are ideal, I've heard nightcrawlers compost too but I'm not sure.
I got a bag of worms at a farmers market for ~$10, they reproduce pretty quick so I never have to worry about more worms, infact I've given relatives ziplocks full of worms so they can start their own bins.
I got a bag of worms at a farmers market for ~$10, they reproduce pretty quick so I never have to worry about more worms, infact I've given relatives ziplocks full of worms so they can start their own bins.
Chronic Don
Member
I went and found some cardboard in the hedge and checked for more worms under it, found none, but did find lots of that white moldy shit and partially composting leaves. I threw it all in the tub as well. except for the dry part of the cardboard. was this a good idea?
Chronic Don
Member
I will set up a better system yet, this was a last minute getup as its yard cleaning weekend and I needed to do something with it before the wife garbaged everything!!!
Finding red wiggles is the next step I guess, should I get rid of the earthworms or can they live symbioticly?
also I noticed I must have got some tiny red ants in it. but without the nest they would die out and not be of bother or??
Finding red wiggles is the next step I guess, should I get rid of the earthworms or can they live symbioticly?
also I noticed I must have got some tiny red ants in it. but without the nest they would die out and not be of bother or??
mold and mildew are just fine to toss into the worm bin, actually the worms dont eat straight produce scraps, they eat what is partially broken down by other bugs or fungus'.
if I have something produce wise that goes bad in my fridge, I just toss it in the worm bin and within days its unrecognizable.
the regular worms will reproduce as will the red wrigglers, I can't imagine it being detrimental, however the speed/quality of vermicompost will be better with straight red wrigglers.
I have all kinds of bugs in my worm bin, fruit flies and whatnot, most are just fine as they assist with the decomposition process.
only thing I never throw in my worm bin is weeds that I've pulled up because I dont want those seeds propagating....
you can put a very small amount of citrus in, but I completely avoid it as I threw in a ton of orange peels I juiced one time and the acidity pretty much killed all my worms and made a stinky mess.
straight citrus (oranges/limes/lemons etc) isn't good, however they LOVE strawberries. weird.
if I have something produce wise that goes bad in my fridge, I just toss it in the worm bin and within days its unrecognizable.
the regular worms will reproduce as will the red wrigglers, I can't imagine it being detrimental, however the speed/quality of vermicompost will be better with straight red wrigglers.
I have all kinds of bugs in my worm bin, fruit flies and whatnot, most are just fine as they assist with the decomposition process.
only thing I never throw in my worm bin is weeds that I've pulled up because I dont want those seeds propagating....
you can put a very small amount of citrus in, but I completely avoid it as I threw in a ton of orange peels I juiced one time and the acidity pretty much killed all my worms and made a stinky mess.
straight citrus (oranges/limes/lemons etc) isn't good, however they LOVE strawberries. weird.
johnnybsmokin
Active member
My DIY worm bin
My DIY worm bin
Hello all, here are some pics of my own bin
A couple of stacking bins from "Bunning", the bottom one for the leachant.
I only run the 1 bin, when it is about 1/3 full I scrape it all to 1 side and put new bedding and food into the other half. In a few weeks all of the worms mirgrate into the new bedding and the old is ready to use. The next pics show this and the fresh 1/2 is only a couple of days old and you can see the activity already going.
The last pic is a close up of the under side of the newspaper that I use as a "cover" over the WMC. It shows the other inhabitants that share the bin, a real little micro habitat
Thats mine for you all with all the goodies...lol
Cheers Johnny
My DIY worm bin
Hello all, here are some pics of my own bin
A couple of stacking bins from "Bunning", the bottom one for the leachant.
I only run the 1 bin, when it is about 1/3 full I scrape it all to 1 side and put new bedding and food into the other half. In a few weeks all of the worms mirgrate into the new bedding and the old is ready to use. The next pics show this and the fresh 1/2 is only a couple of days old and you can see the activity already going.
The last pic is a close up of the under side of the newspaper that I use as a "cover" over the WMC. It shows the other inhabitants that share the bin, a real little micro habitat
Thats mine for you all with all the goodies...lol
Cheers Johnny
