Any other Vermicomposters here? We just started!

[peppero]

Originally Posted by dice

Old school vermiculture (just fyi stuff):
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_lib...oliverToC.html

I find that decaying leaf piles tend to be full of redworms,
with a lot more of those than any other kind of earthworm.

The advice that I once read to not put tomato and pepper
seeds in worm bins turned out to be wise (the result of
including unscreened tomato and pepper debris in the
worm food is volunteers from hell when you finally use
the earthworm castings, ie weeds in your containers that
never seem to stop sprouting until frost). I have not seen
any negative effects from including crushed egg shells in
their feed stock (advice that I also ignored).

DITTO,DITTO AND DITTO.

jon

[Chucker]

This thread inspired me to order a worm factory 360 this weekend so I will soon be joining the ranks as a fellow Vermicomposter . I'm not sure how I will be able to put the castings to good use as I only grow in SWCs, but it should be a pretty fun thing to play around with anyway.

[kayrobbins]

If you grow your own seedlings you can use your castings then. When I plant my self watering containers I always put a handful of worm castings in the planting hole too.

[Chucker]

Originally Posted by kayrobbins

If you grow your own seedlings you can use your castings then. When I plant my self watering containers I always put a handful of worm castings in the planting hole too.

Thanks for the ideas kayrobbins! I will give those a try.

[mensplace]

My vermicomposting start this year was totally scientific...initially layered with all of the sorts of things they love..green and brown, followed by table scraps every few days and half a bag of corn meal sprinkled between the layers and some cow manure from the cattle auction barn. Costs zero. Each shovel of that cow dirt included countless dozens of huge long worms and I added red wigglers week to week. I just wish I could carry more than a bucket load of that manure at a time, but there is always plenty after the Saturday auctions. Occasionally ,I add a bucket of water over the top when it is dry out. I find this compost pile vermin home far easier to manage than any kind of structure that would get hot. So far a LOT of worms have gone into this mound, and with the rain and occasional layering of weekly scraps and leaves, I am confident of a bountiful crop of worm castings later. Too, its a good use of kitchen waste like coffee grounds, old bread, veggies, etc.. which makes the garbage we take to the landfill less stinky as we wait. I do have to control the amount of green matter to avoid heating, so this is a modified pile that is a longer term project than most composting or I would be cooking the worms in this summer heat. By late July/August it should be settled down. I had never seen night crawlers in cow dirt, but they just love it and the wigglers are a natural for kitchen waste. Haven't used paper, but know I could. Hope they enjoy my good English tea and fine coffee. Any self respecting southern worm is bound to like cornmeal and grits!

[mensplace]

Two of my worst experiences with worm bins....coming home and discovering that they can easily scale walls and slip right between and out of the covering of a Rubbermaid storage bin. Imagine the sight of thousands of red wigglers radiating from all sides and slithering across the kitchen floor. The other was a high ticket version just a few inches inside direct sunlight in the summer..can't even begin to describe the stench of well rotted worms by the thousands. Once had a bin indoors, but even with proper care the aroma and stumbling around it was a pain. That one took all the produce from a family of five. Now, many years later, I have the perfect system that works perfectly for me..outdoors. If there really is anyone who wants to find a new foster home or simply has too many you can surely send them this way in a box. I don't really believe this GA clay could ever have too many of any variety!

[sdzejachok]

I bought the Worm Factory because it was cheaper than the Can-O-Worms. The Worm Factory trays fit together too tightly and it is hard to get them apart once they are loaded. After years of trying all sorts of things for spacers to hold the trays up to keep them from sticking, I finally used some plastic cash register tape cores in the corners and they work perfectly. The Can-O-Worms we had where I used to work, and it was much easier to use. The customer service where I purchased the Worm Factory was very good.

[Delerium]

You want happy worms add old used up Oyster mycelium substrate.. They go nuts! All my outdoor Oyster Mushroom containers are full of worms. I usually dump the old substrate in the compost bin.