new worm bin! :)

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Hey Mp,

For all you canadian growers out there, just thought i'd share my experience with hxxp://www.wormcomposting.ca/. Worms/compost made it to my door in under a week, even in the extreme +30' C temps they arrived in good condition. Tons of little babies and all sorts of worm life going on inside the bins. I think it was right around $45 but I think it was well worth it. Worms came in their own bedding, i'd say around 2 gallons worth. Complete with mommies/daddies and babies and eggs. Makes for much happier worms they claim, to ship them as is, rather than sorting out the worms.
 
How much trim can I give these worms before it would start to become a problem? A big handful a per week per bin, think that will be alright?
 
interesting, im subbed, sorry cant help with the info though
 
½ their weight per day in ideal conditions. What type of worm bin do you have?
 
Congratulations on having your own worm bin! Depending on the size of your bin, I am guessing that they will eat a lot more than a handful per week.
 
I used two 40 L totes. I figured if I split the worms up into 2 bins I had two chances to mess things up. The first bin I setup before the worms arrived, I added newspaper, some fresh homemade compost to get things started, and some veggie scraps. The second bin I didn't add any compost, just newspaper n veggie scraps.

I don't really know how many worms I have, was going to play the guessing game. I checked yesterday and the food I originally put in there is all gone.

pcduck - Can you overdose worms on trim? That is pretty much my question, I planned on feeding them vegetable / fruit on a regular basis, as well as the trim. I don't mind them getting a lil buzz, but I don't wanna overdose them on thc. :p
 
How much trim can I give these worms before it would start to become a problem? A big handful a per week per bin, think that will be alright?

Problems start when you add 'food' faster than it can decompose/get consumed by the worms.

Remember that worms don't *eat* anything, but rather slurp up the bacterial slime from the decomposing food.

Once the bin gets established (worms self regulate population), and the microbes are well established, THG is right, a handful/week would barely be an appetizer. Seems like it takes ~2 months for a fresh bin to get to the right densitys. That's either a brand new bin, or an established bin with fresh bedding, like after a harvest.

ALWAYS be sure to add some of the old bedding to the new bin, to inoculate the fresh bedding with microbes.

Wet
 
Heya Droopy!

I knew about the worms only eating the decomposing food, thats why I went ahead and set the bin up before they got here. I sprinkiled some neem cake, and soft rock phosphate in there as well.

Oh hey I found some Comfrey yesterday!! I got it from a friend, not sure what "Type" it is, but its in my garden now :)

Was tempted to try and grow the comfrey indoors in a large pot... had any experience with that?
 
I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom of the totes, about every inch I drilled a hole. Then I drilled 3 larger 1" holes on opposite side up high. I used a glue gun and attached some mosquito netting around the 1" holes to prevent fruit flies.

I was having trouble having enough separation between the bins, so I used water line insulation to line the top of the bottom bin, works pretty good, I have about a foot of seperation between the bins.

Noticed a few fruit flies in the top bin, so I had to put some coffee cans ontop to get the lid to seal. Since then no more fruit flies.. I used comic book backer boards to make up for the indentations on the totes. I realllllly wanted to build a nice wood worm bin but I never got around to it. The wood I have, isn't quite wide enough to do what I was thinking. Since then I have had thoughts of a horizontal bin, I don't like the idea of lifting the bins all the time. I would like to take these worms full scale, see how far I can go with it.. there is alot of demand for these worms around here.
View attachment 20150815_101718.jpg
 
I treat trim just like any green added.

I am not sure what you mean by all the time, but horizontal bins starts as one and by the time the third one gets full your first one my be ready to harvest. I only pick the bins up when ready to harvest.
 
Thanks for the quick response duck

Right now both those bins have worms in them, so in order to feed the lower bin of worms I have to take the top bin off. Is that a bad idea?
 
Thanks for the quick response duck

Right now both those bins have worms in them, so in order to feed the lower bin of worms I have to take the top bin off. Is that a bad idea?

Well, sorta. Stacked like that is not very stable, but the bigger consideration is weight. I use 18 gal totes and by the time I harvest I need help picking them up. Like Duck, that's the only time they get picked up. The bins sit in another bin with no holes to catch any drippings, and there WILL be some. Several bricks keep the bin raised up a bit off the no holes tote.

Side by side will do you better over time, but I think you would have reached the same conclusion in a few months when that sucker starts packing on the weight.

Wet
 
I did see that being an issue in the future. I'm going to have to put some thought into this... not a big fan of the totes, but they seem to do the job for now.
 
Thoughts and idea's for creating separate bin's, one for veg, and one for flower?

Do you guys bury your food, then top with shredded paper..
or do you mix shredded paper in with the food, then bury and top with shredded paper?
 
I'm thinking bout building a bin that measures 36"L x 18"W x 8"H. Should give me 4.5sq feet. I will build it out of 1x4's, and make two tray's so one can be stacked of the other. When the bottom one gets full, add the 2nd tray ontop, fill with food / bedding and wait for the worms to migrate up. Then harvest the ewc from the lower tray.

Here's the freshly planted Comfrey that came to join the party.

I had a container of coffee grounds that I let dry out, then I added the following amendments to it.
2tbl kelp
2tbl ground oyster shell
2tbl azomite
2tbl alfalfa
1tbl green sand
1tbl neem cake

I was going to sprinkle this on their food :D

View attachment 20150815_094806.jpg
 
I built the new worm bin, the wood version. Had to quit early due to rain, so I didn't get a lid made for it. Just one tray for now, depth ended up being 5" 7/8.

After adding 2-3" of fresh bedding, then dumping / moving the worms over, I almost filled it up. I did put some dry shredded paper on top, as well as a pillow case that fit quite nicely.

Regrettfully, my phone batter is dead and no charger to be found so I didn't get any pictures of the build / moving of the worms. I sprinkled a fair amount of the coffee ground / amendment mix ontop of the fresh bedding / cannabis leaves.

Looked like happy worms in there. The babies are soooo small. Kinda cute too. I'll get pics in a few days when I feed them again. I have about 10lbs of left over / gone bad zucchini, and it has the worms' names written all over it.
 
Do you have air holes in your totes please, i hope so?

I love my worm bin and mine are multiplying like crazy. Don't' over feed, and why Neem? poor worms.
 
Rose ... Worms love neem meal sprinkled in small amounts on the surface, like 1/4 cup or so. NOT the oil, NEVER the oil in the bin or in the soil for that matter.

*I* never bury food, it's just asking for trouble IMO. I put food on the surface, let it break down a good bit and then add a layer of bedding over it. Much like making a lasagna.

Wet
 
What type of bin do you have Rose?

Uh oh, is the neem cake a bad idea? - I read that it helps Nitrogen stay in the soil, while composting occurs. I figured it would be a great thing to add. Might keep the fungus gnats and fruit flies at bay as well im hoping. I was incorrect, they weren't fruit flies, i think fungus gnats.. small black, kinda jumpy like a tick, but a fly.

The lid is a little ghetto, but i'm quite impressed with myself overall.
View attachment 20150817_122035.jpg

View attachment 20150817_122046.jpg

View attachment 20150817_122142.jpg
 
I use rubbermaid totes with a million air holes drilled in it. I do bury the food and next week when i look it is gone. I guess they won't crawl out the holes if they are happy. Then when they are finished with that box they move to the one below it. I am thrilled how well they are doing and multiplying. I think i will have my first box of finished wc in another week or two.
 

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