new worm bin! :)

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Thanks for the responses so far, really appreciate the input.

Do you guys n gals think this wood box will need vent holes? The bottom is 1/4" screen, and because its made out of 1x4's, there should be small gaps between the boards.

I haven't made a lid yet, so I could incorporate some vents into the lid. Suggestions?

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They could be Springtails, Next.
I get a million of those and they are good for the bin.
 
Handles would come in handy. And they help to keep the compaction down.
 
Handles would come in handy. And they help to keep the compaction down.

Could you explain that for me? Handles help to keep compaction down..?

Somehow I pinched a nerve in my neck.. Ouchhhh! Managed to finish the lid to the worm box. I think it looks quite nice.

pcduck - I was thinking some small leather handles would look nice. Gotta make it look purty if I expect the wife to put food inside it. :evil:

I might add a larger hinged door in the middle, or 1 smaller one on each side, so it will easily open to put food inside. Not very convenient taking the whole lid off at the moment. Needs a brace for the front legs as well, I was in a hurry, got rained out, then put the worms in before it was finished. :O
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Most wooden worm bin plans have handles that I have seen.
 
Aww, they need more air?? I did pick a few boards with knot holes for the lid. So there are 2 visible holes in the top, and the boards don't fit flush together. From what I read I didn't think as many vents were needed with wood, because of its ability to breath. Am I wrong, I can make more holes, but the worms won't like me drilling the box I don't think. They will like air tho :p

Rose - if you look up wooden worm boxes, no one has any holes for vents in them.
 
I was just always taught they needed air holes, but I don't like neem either so maybe you better just go with duck and dd. I just have really happy worms. They both have way more experience in worms than I do. I was taught that when they finish a bin they move to the one below it.. thru holes. They don't leave the main one if they are happy until it is finished.
 
Interesting, I read that they move to the bin above them when they finish the food.

Thanks for the advice Rose, always appreciated.
 
Air holes for wood not really needed, plastic yes.

Next I was thinking of a different design when I mentioned compaction.my bad.
 
In a vert they move up to feed and move down to breed. Reason why most verts are 3 bins. I have 5. By the time the 4th one is full and ready for the 5th one, no worms hardly or eggs in the bottom one
 
Do the bins need to be touching each other in order for the worms to be able to travel through them?

The only way I can see to accomplish that is either having the trays completely full, or putting a sag in the screen on the bottom of the tray so it hangs down a little into the tray below it.
 
I was just always taught they needed air holes, but I don't like neem either so maybe you better just go with duck and dd. I just have really happy worms. They both have way more experience in worms than I do. I was taught that when they finish a bin they move to the one below it.. thru holes. They don't leave the main one if they are happy until it is finished.

Why don't you like neem Rose? I kind of added it by mistake, I thought I had read it somewhere but I was wrong. Luckily enough I don't think it will do much harm, some people claim it helps cut down on fruit flies.

If the worms are happy that's all that matters!!!

The bottom of the box is framed with 1x4's, then there is a large piece of hardware cloth with 1/2" or so screen. I'm certain the worms will have no trouble making it out the screen, i'm just hoping that when the flat newspaper in the bottom gives out that everything else doesn't come with it.
 
I think neem is yucky and doesn't work. That sounded like a five year olds answer.

i quite using it when i went to master gardeners. It puts an oil on the plant that can clog the surface of the leaf.

It leaves a residue and in mho doesn't work. I just hate it.. I want my plants clean.. not yucked.. Now that sounded like a 15 year old. LOL
 
Ah, are you talking Neem oil? I think Neem Cake or Meal is what is left after the oil has been pressed out. Either way, if it aint broke don't fix it. I've never used it as a foliar feed, I did add it to my pro-mix tho.

Whats the deal with making sure their ph is correct...? I've heard of people pre-composting their food first to help keep the ph in check. Or adding lime to the food? You guys heard of this? Could I use the Lactobacillus bacteria to help out?

Here is the finished product
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And an under shot of the 1/2" screen
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Should a person be mixing dolomite lime in the worms food / bedding?
 
I don't...Did once and I put to much in and killed them. What ever the worms eat it come out pretty much neutral pH.
 
Should a person be mixing dolomite lime in the worms food / bedding?

*I* do, but it's a peat based bedding and too acidic without the lime. Many other beddings aren't that low of a pH and don't need it. I never add it to food.

Wet
 
This is how I do mine greens and browns just like a compost pile. I add greensand, azomite, and glacial dust with each new tray. Once in awhile spray them with AEM. I don't blend or compost their food. Layer of greens layer of browns(shredded newspapers).
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate it. :vap-leafy_wave:

I will stick with the ground up egg / oyster shells for the little guys as a calcium / ph buffer.

How much greensand/azomite/glacial dust do you use pcduck, like 1tblsp per sq foot or so?

I am using shredded newspaper, I managed to get a box full of old newspaper and a paper shredder. But I'm not real fond of how it looks in the bin.. I'm interested in this peat based bedding you use Droopy. It looks so much cleaner when its a soilish type material instead of shredded newspaper. With time the shredded paper will break down, but by that then I will probly have to add more bedding and restart.

I checked in on the worms, and noticed a fairly large piece of brown cardboard I didn't remember puttings in there.. The little guys have been busy, I read about stashing food inside a paper bag / cardboard box to help reduce smells, allow it to decompose, ect.. And I had saved up some toilet paper rolls, I folded the ends over, filled them full of food scraps, put them together so they were nice little burrito's.. I put 3 of them in there. Needless to say, the food was all but gone, all that was left was the brown piece of cardboard :) I searched around found another "burrito" it was half gone, half full of worms, inside and out.
I gave them 4-5 hand fulls of zucchini that I let "cook" for a day or two, I pre-mixed it with a little unfinished compost, I figured the dirty deed had been done, and there's actually more worms on the side of the box that I had used wheat straw compost for bedding. I can tell because there is wheat trying to grow -.- I shoulda hot composted that wheat straw.

Should I get it wet enough that lechate / water runs out the bottom?
 

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