WOW! Sure has been awhile since I have been able to write! I have a day or 2 to get a couple posts out before we get into July.
First I will talk about wooden worm bins, Wood worm bins keep worms much cooler then the plastic bins in summer temps.
In my last post, I wrote about my Wood Worm Bin I made for our local Schools, These Bins are Not For Sale, These bins are for a GREAT program I have started in our local schools only, and they are working great! I am also going to post some pics of putting the bin together in steps 1 to the last step, (anyone out there that has woodworking skills will be able to build their own).
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5 Complete..
There is also a great post about fighting summer heat over at www.redwormcomposting.com.
Here is the link http://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-composting/help-your-worms-beat-the-heat/
Thanks
The Friendly Worm Guy
Written by Jeff on June 30th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting in the schools and Composting with composting worms and News and Worm Stories.
For a while now I have been trying to come up with an upward flow worm bin, that has stacking trays deep enough to bury the food waste, to make the bin work very well! Yes they are all over the internet, I have tried a few. but in almost all the cases, the trays were NOT deep enough to bury the food waste well. on average the trays were only 3″-4″ high. And in turn the bin maybe gets fruit flies etc,
This is a picture with 1 tray added. I will also say, I am not a person that is very good with woodworking, I know how to raise worms! I know what kind of environment the worm needs to live and compost well. so I was able to get a friend of mine to help me build these bins. I told him the way we needed to build it and he did.
First of all my trays are 6″ high, not 3″ or 4″ high. This gives us a whole 2″ higher, yes it doesn’t sound like much but it really is. 2″ is a great deal to bury that food waste properly
This is a picture of the bin complete, with all trays added. I made these bins to put them into our local school board’s classrooms, The reason I added the 2″ to each tray is to make sure these bins will not produce fruit flies, The main concern of the School Board is the fruit flies, These bins will not produce fruit flies, if all food waste is buried properly. In the short future I hope to have one of these bins in all our local schools. if all goes well!!!
Written by Jeff on May 20th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting in the schools and Composting with composting worms and News and Worm Stories.
For about a month now we are the keepers of a pair of Guinea Pigs, the male is named Mario, and the female is named Suzie, They are very nice little pets.
They sure like to be handled,
After a few days of having the little guys,it was time to clean their cages, so where would I think of putting the contents that you find in the bottom of a Guinea cage, but into the worm beds of course, These guys eat about the same as a rabbit does. Not saying you can feed your Guinea pigs rabbit pellets,because you can’t. You have to buy Guinea Pig food, So I was sure I could put this stuff into the worm beds.
Oh Boy!! was I right! The worms LOVE this stuff. So any of you Guinea Pig keepers out there, I can help you out, A worm bin is a great way to get rid of your Guinea Pigs poo poo!!(haha)
The Friendly Worm Guy
Written by Jeff on May 4th, 2008 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and Worm Stories.
The Old Vault
The Old Vault Restaurant in Webbwood Ontario (Canada). Makes alot of great coffee and fantastic food. As a result there is alot of organic waste that will feed my worms. I pick up the coffee grounds and filters, along with potato peels, by the pail full.
All my readers don’t need to find a restaurant to feed your worms, with a home vermicomposting bin, you have all the food waste you need to feed your bin. Because I feed alot if worms (hundreds of thousands), I am greatful to find all this organic waste from the Old Vault to feed my worms
Written by Jeff on April 6th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and News and Worm Stories.
The older farmers in my area sure gave me some funny looks when I started asking them If they had an Old Fanning Mill hanging around their farms. “What in the world would I want a thing like that for”? . They had not used them since the 1950’s. I heard the story from each, about cranking those old things all day, just to clean that grain so they could plant that years crop. Those machines were hard work, what are you going to do with something like that.
I told them, I was going to try and harvest worm castings with one. I had not even seen one before, but had only heard of them. After harvesting all my worm casting by this point by hand, with a little 1/8″ screen all night to get ready for a garden show the following day, I was ready to try anything.
The Orange one on the left came from the farmer next to me, It was made between 1913-1915, by the Young Brothers of Almonte Ontario,Yes that makes this machine about 95 years old. This unit is the first one I got, it is still operated with the hand crank on the side of the machine.
The red one on the right is one I got at a farm sale, the farmer had sold his farm. When I went and looked at it I was very happy to see what I saw. Someone had put an electic motor on it.
Even though the orange one had a crank on it,and made harvesting the castings much easier. If my hands could be free to handle all the used up bedding I was putting through this machine, I could make alot more finished worm castings in a shorter time. After a few adjustments it works great.
I have made a video of the red one in action! Harvesting Worm Castings
Written by Jeff on March 25th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and News and Worm Stories.
Worm Composting With Red Wigglers or the European Nightcrawler
Indoor composting with worms is great fun for all ages. There is NO smell and in return you get wonderful organic fertilizer, all made by these great little worms. Worms have been called ” the Intestines of the earth”. The bacteria breaks down all the organic matter, and the worms eat the bacteria. Isn’t it great that we could keep all our organic waste out of the land fills, and in turn we get all the fertilizer we need to grow our great organic food.
Since we live in the north, our bins would need to be indoors for all, or part, of the year. As far as bins, there are a lot of options available at our finger tips, from rubber made containers to old wash tubs. The more surface area the better, as long as there is a lid to keep the worms in the bin. There are a couple of breeds of composting worms that can be used here in the north. One breed is called the red wiggler (Eisenia fetida), this little red worm is the most popular composting worm in the world. The other breed is the European nightcrawler (Eisenia hortensis) that is fast making a name for itself as a great composting worm and as fishing bait. Both these breeds require NO refrigeration. If you make a bin with the European nightcrawler, you will have an endless supply of bait worms for fishing.
This is a handful of European Nightcrawlers.
When setting up a worm bin; First decide on the kind of bin of your choice. It will need a lid to help keep your worms within the bin. You will need to have some air flow, but not too much. Too much airflow will dry the bin out too fast. We have drilled holes about 1/8 ” in diameter so that the worms do not crawl out. Start with a small amount of holes that would be good. Remember you can add more if it looks necessary. This takes alot of observing at first. When buying plastic bins (recyclable ones are most ideal for the environment), you can often find bins which already contain holes.
Next you can add bedding to your worms new home. Get a bin ready before buying your worms. This will make it easier and food scrapes can start decaying and becoming food before they arrive. Add some food scrapes, in different sections of the bin. Then add the shredded paper on top. Before you add the paper, will need to soak it in some water and wring it out by hand. You should be able to squeeze hard and only get 2 or 3 drops of water out of it. If there is more, then it is too wet. Then spread it all over the bin. Fill it about half full. Always put the scrape food underneath the bedding, this will keep any odour of the decaying foods from escaping. Once the worms eat all the remains of the food it will then become odourless. Burrying the food will also help the scrapes to heat up and rot faster. I suggest using small portions of different types of food at first, to experiment and observe how fast the worms eat the food and how much to put in the bin. Once you have observed the bins enough you will know just by looking. You get to know your worms just like getting to know any pets diet. There is lots of learning as you go, but it is fun!
Time to add your worms. Find a reputable supplier and start with at least half a pound, or a pound of worms. When they arrive add them to your bin. The arrival is the fun part, especially when you are waiting for them to come. Leave the lid on when not observing. Leaving a light on in the room will help to settle them down into the bedding. Some worms will crawl up the sides. That is alright, do not worry. Worms will stay in the bin, as they don’t like light for long periods of time. They may just want to explore their new environment.
Taking care of the conditions of a worm bin environment is alot like taking care of a plant or a pet. If you notice it is too wet add more dry shredded paper so that it is damp not wet, or add a spritz of water from a water bottle when it is too dry. Add food to bin as it is getting eaten. The more variety the better, and given at different intervals. This gives the worms a good food supply and choice. The bacteria will produce faster in some areas than others and leaves them with a constant supply of food. Shredded cardboard is a great thing to add to the bin, just rip it up into many small pieces.
Egg shells will help the worm in digesting it’s food, as they have no teeth. So,dry and then crush egg shells into your bin in fine bits. Add things like fruit and vegetable food waste, such as banana peels, apple cores, potato skins, grains( including rice, stale cereal), tea bags, coffee filters, and coffee/tea grounds. Do NOT add things like onions, acidic fruit (eg.oranges, lemons), meat or poultry, bones, milk or milk products (no chesse,yogurt,etc.), or anything that is not organic(eg. plastic, cans, glass, cleaners). When you become more experienced in vermicomposting you may add SMALL amounts of acidic fruit.
Now you are ready to help keep the earth green. After everything is turned into worm castings (poop) in about 4-6 months, it can be used to fertillize your soil for house plants, garden crop and for starting your seeds. You may want to make a big drum of worm tea for your garden or your lawn. This could be done by adding water in a large container, or barrel, and soaking a bag of castings in it, for 2 days. Using an aerator (like a fish Bubbler for instance) will help the microbial count (which is better for your plants) is a bonus and will further develop the growth of your plants. Applying this to each plant from a watering can is easy. Worm tea will improve the growth of small trees, flowers and shrubs, vegetable gardens and house plants.
For starting seeds, a teaspoon of vermicompost castings added to each hole with the seed is a great boost to the plant. This will ensure all the nutrients needed for good growth along with a sufficient amount of water on a regular basis. If you want, experiment in the garden with the vermicompost. Plant seeds with it and some seeds without. Compare the difference. We find the extra experiments add some more excitement with watching the garden grow.
For house plants, you may want to top dress the vermicompost or use worm tea. You may also want to do this for trees and shrubs or in your garden. A gardeners choice. Whatever works best for each person.
You now have a good idea how to start this project. The Friendly Worm Guy
Written by Jeff on March 2nd, 2008 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and Worm Stories.
