Here at Friendly Worm Guy its been my plan for a couple of years now to do this on a larger scale, and so I am now doing it. Vermicomposting with shreaded Tim Hortons paper coffee cups, I am using the coffee cups as the carbon % of the new bedding that I am adding to the worm beds.
I will keep you readers up dated with pics and final product (the Worm Castings made from Tim Hortons Coffee cups)
Written by Jeff on September 4th, 2011 with 3 comments.
Read more articles on Composting Tim Hortons coffee cups and Composting with composting worms and larger scale vermicomposting and News and Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons coffee cups and Worm Stories.
Well it is so funny, I pick worms all the time.and that doesn’t bother me one bit.. but if I see a snake in the worm bed… OH MAN!!!! its not the fact that they eat alot of our worms…. I just can’t stand to even look at them without getting this funny feeling all over my body and almost have to run away from them…If I was to kill the snake I wouldn’t hear the end of it. SO I JUST CALL ON THE WIFE! she comes over and picks it up and brings it to a nice safe place across the road far away from me and my worm beds..
Written by Jeff on August 22nd, 2011 with no comments.
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This is something I have been wanting to do for a while now, build worm beds out of straw bales, the past 2 winters we had no frost in the ground in the winter months because of the feet and feet of snow we have had up here in Northern Ontario. So having the worms on the ground with 1 straw bale high will work fine if we have the same winter as the last few years.
These worm beds are now full of bedding and worms, I made the bedding with grass clippings,shredded paper,shredded cardboard, wood shavings and aged manure. I added these in layers till the worm bed was full to the top of the bale, Then I got the Old Allis Chalmers B-10 with a 32″ tiller on the back and tilled all the layers a few times, and let it sit for a couple weeks. By this point the bin was on its way to being stocked with worms I have soooo many euros in my soil around the yard they stock the bed on their own.. So far it is working great.
Written by Jeff on August 3rd, 2009 with 5 comments.
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Liz Lessard, CEPIT
Project Manager
Environmental Division
Trow Associates Inc
In Mid Winter Liz and I talked regarding this office (Trow on Regent) getting set up with vermicomposting. there are about 50 employees, about ¾ of whom are office staff, working year round.
They have been composting there for a while now (Liz has been bringing it home!), and Liz would like to get setup properly there, Her bin is getting full at home!
They produce about a Large ice cream pail per week, possibly more if we get going on the rest of the staff who are not currently composting.
Most of their organic waste is coffee grinds and filters, with a bit of fruit,
The worm bin in the pics is the second bin we setup, The first bin was on the small side, with the amount of organic waste that was being put into the bin for the worms to compost.
The first bin was started with 2 pounds of Red Wigglers, and was about 60 litres in size. good size for a family. but we soon found out it was way too small for the waste Liz was adding to the bin, so we steped up to a 120+ litre bin, this bin has been going for a couple of months now, this bin has been working just fine.
Liz is doing a Great job with her worm bin, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK…. Liz.
Written by Jeff on August 3rd, 2009 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and larger scale vermicomposting and News and worm bins and Worm Stories.
For the 10 days that the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto Ontario is on. The Northern Ontario Agri-Food Education and Marketing Inc. will be selling our worm castings. In the Northern Ontario Agriculture Pavilion. So if you are going to be at the Fair be sure to pick up a bag of Worm Casting and watch your plants grow like never before.
Written by Jeff on November 6th, 2008 with 1 comment.
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For awhile now I have been making Worm Bins, and making sure they work!! and guess what! they work great. The 2 bins I am going to talk about are both plastic worm composting bins, A small apartment size and a 58 L bin great for a small family. And YES they are both FOR SALE here at Friendly Worm Guy.
First we will talk about my nice little Apartment Size bin.
This nice bin is great for the starters and kids out there.this nice little bin is made with a vent in the lid,comes with enough bedding to start the bin,how to take care of the bin paper and a Worms at Work sticker. this bin should be started with 1/2 lb of worms.
This bin sells for $29.99 (without worms) and $45.00 with 1/2 pound of composting worms. (Shipping is extra)
Second we will talk about my 58 Litre bin, Great for a small family.
These bigger bins always have problems with a lack of air making it to the bottom and middle of the bin causing smells in the bin. I have made this bin to correct this problem. I have made this bin with an AIR VENT TUBE through the middle of the bin. No More lack of air making it to the middle of the bin, and great composting at all times….
I have a little vent on each end of the bin, connected to the air vent that passes from one end of the bin to the other.
Here is a picture of the Air vent Tube that runs from one end of the bin to the other, and YES this air tube is VERY Strong, it would be very hard to break the air tube, I think the bin would break first.
This bin sells for $39.99 (without worms) and $79.99 with 1 lb of composting worms
(Shipping is extra)
Yes each bin comes with Bedding to start bin and how to take care of the bin, paper.
Written by Jeff on September 8th, 2008 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and Pet Food and worm bins and Worm Stories.
Taking Care of Your Friendly Worm Guy Worm Bin
Taking care of a Friendly Worm Guy worm bin is not as difficult as you may think. There are just a few things that you should know about them and what I feel we should avoid. First I will tell you what kind of foods that do well in a bin. Then I will give you a list of foods I feel we should stay away from.
NOTE: The food must first start to rot and turn into bacteria before the worms can ingest it.
So cutting the food into smaller pieces will speed up the decomposing process.
That will help the worms to eat the food up faster.
Be careful if you try using the blender to cut up food (called a slurry), this can make your bin wet. Small amounts are fine, each week. You would have to experiment with small amounts at a time. However large amounts will make the bin too wet. I do not advise experimenting with this until you are used to feeding worms for a good while. First you should get the feel of what works well and the moisture level they seem to like best. European Nightcrawlers like more moisture then Red Wigglers. If worried just stay away from using slurries, as they are the trickiest to feed with. Researching about this type of feeding is advisable before attempting this method.
Foods that work well in Worm bins
-Coffee grounds and coffee filters
(I believe you can actually use all the coffee/tea grounds that you get, they love it!)
-Finely shredded paper/newspaper (no shiney, waxy paper)
-Dried leaves (in fall)
-Fruit- bananas and their peels or any other fruit and their peels,apples and their cores,celery,pears,peaches,etc.
-Vegitables – Potato peelings,carrot peelings, left over peas, green beans, lettuce,cucumber,etc.
-Bins do well with left over watermellon, cantelope and honey dew mellons (caution- these types of fruit have lots of water and will add more moisture to your bin. So don’t add too much that your bin can handle it) even the seeds can start growing in it, this is good in the bin as well.
-Plain Maccaronni,(I won’t put anything spicy)(remember no hamburger or meat)
-Dried Bread ,crumbled in moderation
-Egg shells are most important as they neutralize the PH of your worm bin and add grit for the worms to digest the food in their gizzard (keep all egg shells and crush up fine for the bin after they are completely dried out). You can put dried egg shells in a used bread or sandwich bag and roll with a rolling pin to crush it fine enough for the worms. When it is finely ground add it to the bin.
Smaller amounts and different kinds of food waste is the best type of feeding. It makes more variety of nutrients and a very healthy environment within an inside home bin. The breakdown of foods will be at different time intervals when variety is given. Also, alot more nutrients are availiable to the worms. This also will be good for your castings(worm poop)-100% Natural fertilizer(with no chemicals added). Keep the bin decomposing the foods but try not to fill it faster than the worms can possibly eat it. Over feeding could cause problems in the bin. Thus making the bin too wet and could make it stinky. Remember, if the bin is in good working order the bin will not stink as long as you always bury all the food that you are putting in your bin. Then the smell of decomposition will not escape. My tip, START SLOW, don’t feed excessively and take your time. Experiment on what they enjoy to eat and how slow or fast they are at eating certain foods. Experimenting with smaller amounts of new foods is safe, watching carefully and taking your time. You will then understand how and what you want to feed them. Healthy FRIENDLY WORM GUY WORMS are very hardy and are good keepers. Just take good care of your bin weekly. Let them have enough time to do their work. In time, you will have a good idea how much food scraps to put in and the correct moisture level. You will know by the appearance of your worms and soil in your bin. When the bin is getting to dry you can moisten it with a fine water mist from a water sprayer. I have balanced the moisture level in the bin at times with adding dry shreaded paper/cardboard when I find it too wet. I like to move all the bedding around once every few weeks or so to aerate the environment. I also add a bunch of moist shreaded paper/cardboard on top to stop any odours from arising in/out of the bin.
Foods to KEEP OUT of your worm bin
-No Bones
-No Onions/Garlic
-No Oranges,tomatoes,lemons (no acidic fruit)(more experienced bin owners can or will get away with small amounts of these added)
-No Meat or poultry
-No Milk or milk products,don’t forget about yogurt and cheese products being a milk product
You may see warning signs as a problem in your bin, for eg. if the worms seem to be trying to get out. Most often worms are just exploring in a new bin or just exploring their space and all is fine. They also will crawl around on the inside lid and around the sides just before it rains. I would not worry just watch how the bin is acting and you will get a good idea what is happening. Allow worms in a new worm bin to get used to it’s new environment. It may take them a little adjustment at first. If you like, you may take the lid off and have the bin under a house light to get them down into their new space at first. KEEP OUT OF SUNLIGHT, they are too fragile to be in the sun. Worms need it dark and moist. Later you can put the lid back on. Make sure your bin has enough air vents to breath or buy one of our FRIENDLY WORM BINS already to go.
Other reasons that may make the worms crawl about their bin. Think about the latest things you fed them, is there lots of noise around them or vibrations, is barometric pressure dropping? Some foods may not be as favourable to the worms and you may recheck you list of what not to feed. If there are vibrations / the barometric pressure is dropping and the worms think it is going to rain they are going to head out of the bedding. That’s their natural instinct. The worms like the bedding just damp to very moist(not wet). (Again, European Nightcrawlers like the moisture more then the Reds.) Remember, it is good if you can squeeze the bedding and get only about one or two drops out of it, this is the safe zone!
Having a worm bin can be great fun!! Experimenting can be the best part and the majority of kids love it too!! They can get dirty in the dirt, even in the winter, and hold the worms. They also learn about worms and their habitat!
Note : Grandparents also will find this hobby fun with the grandchildren! We have two children of our own and we see it is fun for all. When we show them, they really like to check out the worms. Our oldest likes to help feed them too! He asks lots of questions and he likes childrens books made about them. We bought our own children books on worms but your local library could do just fine too!
The bins can make you your own castings which is the best ever fertilizer that nature intended!! Also, when you want to go fishing, the worms are always around. It’s easy to get worms out and take with you, fresh and wiggly, even during the very early morning hours!! If taking care of worms properly, you can have plump juicey worms and never have to buy worms again. Not to mention another bin can be started on your own or you can even add a percentage of worms each year into your garden. The worms can aerate the soil and make the castings in your garden as your own personal garden workers. You could add an outside compost bin and slowly start to put worms in it as your worms reproduce more worms in your indoor bin. I also believe an outdoor composter can also be a necessity as the excess food scapes that you can’t use indoors may be put in the outdoor composter. If you do not have an outdoor composter you could always freeze excess food and label it worm feed. Then you can use the frozen feed at a later date when it’s needed. In the long run, very little waste of food scrapes come out of your home. Food gets recycled, we can use the worms for our gardens and fishing. The worm fertilizer is used to improve our plant growth and soil and it is a neat and inexpensive hobby once established.
The bin must be harvested about every 4-6 months or so, the worms can’t survive in their own waste once it is overtaking the bin. The castings(worm poop) is no longer food for the worms to consume. The waste is no longer good to the worms but for us it is odour free and the complete nutrients needed for our plants to grow to their potential. Castings make the ideal thing to use in starting garden seeds. Scientists have tested this in the past with great results. It has proven itself to be the best out of many different ways for starting seedlings.
We have had several customers who commented on how the castings worked so well on their plants and that it works better than any fertilizer method they have ever used. I am also worry free about the health of my vegitables I eat from my garden because I know it is healthy. Summer is a healthier eating for us all, at our home. Worm castings are a nice reward for our efforts!! The indoor bin can be fun for many people. If it is not fun, those people may benifit by having an outdoor compost bin and just buying their worms and castings from a local worm and vermicultural business. This keeps us in business too!!
The biggest complaint about an indoor bin could be if you get fruit flies in your bin. With a CAREFUL,WATCHFUL EYE this will NOT HAPPEN. Excessive amounts of food or food not carefully burried may cause this. Neglecting the bin could also cause this to happen. If it does happen a homemade trap can be made to rid them or a sticky fly box can be bought at a local hardware store to trap them. Then note what went wrong and avoid the problem from re-occuring. Also burying your food under the bedding or shedded paper bedding should stop flies from arriving and hatching and keep down the smell of decomposition. Note: I have had a bin in my kitchen for food scapes for a long time. With a watchful eye, the bin did not give off odours. I burry all food and when they finally get eating then I add more to the bin. We also have an outdoor compost bin we use in the summer (so far without worms in it), with the outdoor bin there is no need to be as watchful.With an outdoor composter you must just be careful not to put foods that will attract animals to your home. I have enjoyed our bin, still learning(always learning), only tried using a slurry once. I just cut up my food in small pieces by hand with a knife. I am confident that if I can do a worm bin then anyone can. Just take your time and experiment slowly.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FRIENDLY WORM GUY WORM BIN!! THANKS FOR RECYCLING!!
Advice by -The Friendly Worm Guy and his Wife (the one who feeds the worms in the indoor worm bins)
Written by Jeff on September 7th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and worm bins and Worm Stories.
Here is some great questions from Gwen. here is the questions!
“I too am interested in worm farming. I live in Central Oregon which is a great place to raise worms. I have started 3 bins, 2 plastice bins that are each 5 levels and one 30 gallon tub with lid. I am wondering how do you know when it is time to harvest worms and start a new bin? Seems simple, I get how to separate them , feed them and all but how do you know when to harvest? Should the bins be overflowing with worms??? Should it be when the composting is complete?? I feel silly not knowing but in all the books and websites I have visited this is not clearly addressed….. HELP!!”
Gwen
I am postings pics of the bedding in the bin, and finished,or mostly composted bedding that is in need of harvesting the worm casting.
The first question is 1) “I am wondering how do you know when it is time to harvest worms and start a new bin? Seems simple,Should the bins be overflowing with worms???”
here is the answer: It is time to start a new bin when the worm numbers are very high, so “yes” when it seems that your bin is overflowing with worms, it is time to start a new bin. because as the bin continues to be processed by the worms, the bin starts to fill up with worm castings in turn making less space for food, For the worms to consume, so in my opion, the worms are in their greatest numbers when the bin is full of food sourses. So this would be 2-3 months after starting the bin, as long as the worms have had a good food supply up till now. If you wait till the composting is complete, the number of worms will have dropped in big numbers.
so Gwen! I hope this answer helps
Jeff
Now I would like to post some pics of, worm bin bedding, composted bedding, pre-composted bedding etc.
Here is a pic of pre-composted food waste that I pickup from the Old Vault rest. please check out the post on the Old Vault Food waste.
Next we have a pic of shredded cardboard, this stuff is great for adding to a worm bin, If your bin gets too moist, cardboard will take care of the excess moisture very quickly.
Another bedding material I like to use is shredded paper, YES you will hear my worm buddies say that shredded paper has chemicals in it, in numbers to high to use this material for worm bedding, I have had only one problem when using paper, It will pack down in the bin if used in thick layers, so if you mix the paper and cardboard together, the combo works great.
Now on to the worm bed, this is a pic of the worm bed completely composted ready to be harvested.
This a pic after the composted bedding is screened and turned into Worm Castings(worm poop)
I hope these pictures of the different processing steps in the worm bedding helps alot of you people out.
Lets hear what you have to say!! was this post helpful??
Thanks Jeff
Written by Jeff on August 26th, 2008 with 5 comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and Reader Questions and Worm Stories.
Well , its a little more then a week since my last post on the Giant Sunflowers Growth. But it was worth the wait. This week the flower is coming on the plant, and it is now 10 feet and 10 inchs TALL.
I am sure the plant is not going to get any taller, but lets see if the plant will be able to remain standing with the weight of the very big Sunflower head that is going to grow on this plant in the next couple of weeks. now from guessing how tall this plant will get, now we can guess the weight of the finished sunflower head.
Till next time!!
Giant Sunflower #1
Giant Sunflower Update #2
Jeff
Written by Jeff on August 26th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and playing around and Worm Stories.
The last couple of days, I have got some emails with some really good questions about taking care of the worm bins, some of the questions included.1) How do I tell if the bin is wet enough? 2) when should we harvest the worms? 3) What does the bedding look like when its time to harvest the Worm Castings?
In this post I will try to answer all these great questions and provide some pics of the bedding in the worm bins through to the finished (completely composted bedding)
Here are some questions from a customer of mine, here is what Ed asked!
I read that it should be “like a damp sponge”. I also wonder if I actually have enough worms…In time , I’m sure I will. Would it be possible for you to take a few pics of one of your bins so I may guage conditions? Maybe lift some cover to show conditions inside the pile? Should I rotate the bottom to the top or occasionally break up to aerate?
1) How wet should your worm bin be? well the wet sponge idea is the safe zone, not much will go wrong if you follow this tip. In my opinion your bin has to be a little more wet then the wet sponge idea, So that your moisture is almost wet! if you are using a plastic bin, you should see moisture on the sides of the bin, European Nightcrawlers like the bin with more moisture then the Red Wigglers do.You need the moisture for the bin to operate properly, in quoting my wife (Lorie) she tells our customers that in time after buying worms and or a complete bin from us, That taking care of the worms just starts to come natural to you, you soon start to learn how much to feed the worms, what food waste the worms just love, and what food takes a while to break down so the worms can consume that food.
2) Should I rotate the bedding in my bin bottom to top?
Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty in your worm bin, moving the bedding around in the bin doesn’t hurt, it gets the air moving in your bin, but you don’t have to do this, the worms will work all the bedding in the bin like little plows, the worms soon turn all the bedding into Castings(worm poop)
I hope Ed that these pics of my worm bin gives you an idea of what the bedding the bin should look like.
In my next post! I will answer these great questions from Gwen.
I too am interested in worm farming. I live in Central Oregon which is a great place to raise worms. I have started 3 bins, 2 plastice bins that are each 5 levels and one 30 gallon tub with lid. I am wondering how do you know when it is time to harvest worms and start a new bin? Seems simple, I get how to separate them , feed them and all but how do you know when to harvest? Should the bins be overflowing with worms??? Should it be when the composting is complete?? I feel silly not knowing but in all the books and websites I have visited this is not clearly addressed….. HELP!!!
Gwen
check back soon!
Jeff
Written by Jeff on August 18th, 2008 with 25 comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and News and Reader Questions and Worm Stories.
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