Vermicompost- Worm Farm

[BudAbbott]

Another 6 weeks in and they sump now has a dark cloudy liquid in it, although it doesn't reach the tap yet. The bottom tray looks pretty dark and composty, and there are lots of big fat worms all through the 3 layers.

I expect them to slow down over winter.

[ripthedrift]

Another 6 weeks in and they sump now has a dark cloudy liquid in it, although it doesn't reach the tap yet. The bottom tray looks pretty dark and composty, and there are lots of big fat worms all through the 3 layers.

I expect them to slow down over winter.

... sounds like you have got to grips with them dude ....you could always insulate your worm bin with an old sleeping bag or lagging from a immersion tank or straw and cover with a black bag to keep the rain of ..... if it gets very cold the worms will go in to a torpor like state and the feeding will slow down a lot, so be aware of this fact as a lot of folks have problems in the winter months by over feeding ...........

................

[Flowery Haze]

Worms are pretty resiliant in the winter, I put my farm in the shed last winter but it still froze solid, the worms just went to sleep. But after a few days after I bought it in the house they were all wriggling around again.

[Mr Frisian]

This thread upsets me.... I had a worm farm a few years ago,i put them all in a big pit which i made out of pallets for the winter . I had noticed for a few days some rain water collecting on top the tarp i put over them. It was about a week later i had a look and my beloved worms were submerged in 2" of water ..... WAS gutted , But brilliant things worms

[Happy Hippy]

Hi guys

Im about to embark on my 1st home made wormery and in my keeness to get going i have a couple of Qs...

I grow using coir so as i have coir already knocked up with rockdust,seaweed etc all added to the mix will this still be ok as bedding,or should i knock up just plain coir?

I also have 3 sacks of 5yr old black horseshit,that seems to have loads of little red worms in already,am i better off using just this with a bit of coir on top until they become established?...i could do without laying out any money as i just bought PM soil supreme and Oldtimers bloom :wink:and i dont want to but worms if the ones in shit are the right type.

peace

[agito]

Hi guys

Im about to embark on my 1st home made wormery and in my keeness to get going i have a couple of Qs...

I grow using coir so as i have coir already knocked up with rockdust,seaweed etc all added to the mix will this still be ok as bedding,or should i knock up just plain coir?

I also have 3 sacks of 5yr old black horseshit,that seems to have loads of little red worms in already,am i better off using just this with a bit of coir on top until they become established?...i could do without laying out any money as i just bought PM soil supreme and Oldtimers bloom :wink:and i dont want to but worms if the ones in shit are the right type.

peace

okay where to start. coir and rock dust is fine but a alot of raw seaweed should not be added until established. the little red worms from the horse poop will work fine people sell them as red wigglers aka Eisenia foetida . people who supply worms normally sell them with a coir brick anyway

[Happy Hippy]

Hi guys

Im about to embark on my 1st home made wormery and in my keeness to get going i have a couple of Qs...

I grow using coir so as i have coir already knocked up with rockdust,seaweed etc all added to the mix will this still be ok as bedding,or should i knock up just plain coir?

I also have 3 sacks of 5yr old black horseshit,that seems to have loads of little red worms in already,am i better off using just this with a bit of coir on top until they become established?...i could do without laying out any money as i just bought PM soil supreme and Oldtimers bloom :wink:and i dont want to but worms if the ones in shit are the right type.

peace

okay where to start. coir and rock dust is fine but a alot of raw seaweed should not be added until established. the little red worms from the horse poop will work fine people sell them as red wigglers aka Eisenia foetida . people who supply worms normally sell them with a coir brick anyway

Cheers agito

So i will be fine to line the bottom of the 1st worm box with horse shit and then start adding small scraps with nothing else needed and let the worms already in there establish?

Peace

[ripthedrift]

Hi guys

Im about to embark on my 1st home made wormery and in my keeness to get going i have a couple of Qs...

I grow using coir so as i have coir already knocked up with rockdust,seaweed etc all added to the mix will this still be ok as bedding,or should i knock up just plain coir?

I also have 3 sacks of 5yr old black horseshit,that seems to have loads of little red worms in already,am i better off using just this with a bit of coir on top until they become established?...i could do without laying out any money as i just bought PM soil supreme and Oldtimers bloom :wink:and i dont want to but worms if the ones in shit are the right type.

peace

okay where to start. coir and rock dust is fine but a alot of raw seaweed should not be added until established. the little red worms from the horse poop will work fine people sell them as red wigglers aka Eisenia foetida . people who supply worms normally sell them with a coir brick anyway

Cheers agito

So i will be fine to line the bottom of the 1st worm box with horse shit and then start adding small scraps with nothing else needed and let the worms already in there establish?

Peace

Hi dude

you should really wait a month or so till the worms have settled down in there new home and then feed them ...

its also a good idea to have the food waste sitting for a few days, so as to make it easier for them to digest, they actually feed on the microbes in the waste as it breaks down rather the food waste its self.

let the bin dictate how and when you feed it, not just every days for a few months.

it will take a few months for the bin to really get going

wet cardboard is good for them as a bedding mix (simple type cardboard)

see ya

e2a the biggest cause of killing you worms is over feeding ....

[Happy Hippy]

Hi guys

Im about to embark on my 1st home made wormery and in my keeness to get going i have a couple of Qs...

I grow using coir so as i have coir already knocked up with rockdust,seaweed etc all added to the mix will this still be ok as bedding,or should i knock up just plain coir?

I also have 3 sacks of 5yr old black horseshit,that seems to have loads of little red worms in already,am i better off using just this with a bit of coir on top until they become established?...i could do without laying out any money as i just bought PM soil supreme and Oldtimers bloom :wink:and i dont want to but worms if the ones in shit are the right type.

peace

okay where to start. coir and rock dust is fine but a alot of raw seaweed should not be added until established. the little red worms from the horse poop will work fine people sell them as red wigglers aka Eisenia foetida . people who supply worms normally sell them with a coir brick anyway

Cheers agito

So i will be fine to line the bottom of the 1st worm box with horse shit and then start adding small scraps with nothing else needed and let the worms already in there establish?

Peace

Hi dude

you should really wait a month or so till the worms have settled down in there new home and then feed them ...

its also a good idea to have the food waste sitting for a few days, so as to make it easier for them to digest, they actually feed on the microbes in the waste as it breaks down rather the food waste its self.

let the bin dictate how and when you feed it, not just every days for a few months.

it will take a few months for the bin to really get going

wet cardboard is good for them as a bedding mix (simple type cardboard)

see ya

e2a the biggest cause of killing you worms is over feeding ....

Thanks Ripthedrift

Im cool about how long for the worms to settle in but in principle i can get going straight away with what i have and some cardboard bedding,then just forget about feeding em till they establish,happy days.

peace

[agito]

i agree accept for waste sitting as they dont like rotten food actuall the microbes/bacteria. to speed it up after the worms settled freeze the scraps before putting in to make it brake down quicker and kill fruit fly eggs the biggest nusience ive had as mine inside. you can take it another step further and blend it.

remember not all food is good in excess such as onions and citrus

my bedding is shreaded newspaper

[Puff Adder]

Hi dude

you should really wait a month or so till the worms have settled down in there new home and then feed them ...

its also a good idea to have the food waste sitting for a few days, so as to make it easier for them to digest, they actually feed on the microbes in the waste as it breaks down rather the food waste its self.

let the bin dictate how and when you feed it, not just every days for a few months.

it will take a few months for the bin to really get going

wet cardboard is good for them as a bedding mix (simple type cardboard)

see ya

e2a the biggest cause of killing you worms is over feeding ....

Ahoy rtd, when I got my worm farm set up I started feeding them from the get go and it's been up and running for almost a month now and the worms seem to be lurving it so not sure it really matters when you start feeding imo. I also put a good bit of well rotted fym (cow) in there as I reckon their alternative name 'manure worm' suggests they're fine with any amount of it. That said it is starting to get colder here now so I think I might need to start limiting the amount of worm grub I put in.

PuFF

[Artificial Emotion]

Rockdust is a very good thing to add to a wormery. It really helps feed the worms and improves the quality of the vermicasts greatly.

They also seem to like crushed egg shells (they lay their eggs in these) and coffee grounds as well.

I've started growing Bocking 14 Comfrey and plan to add the foliage from this plant from my garden when I get the wormery set up. Any opinions on this? Does it work well?

Also, I was thinking of ripping up a load of nettles from the side of the country roads around where I live and dumping a load of them in the wormery as nettles contain a lot of trace elements.

Any other advice wrt to goodies the worms like?

Because worm poo contains thousands % more beneficial bacteria than normal garden compost it is great for making AACT. I've read that worm shit is not overly strong and doesn't burn plants but someone recently made a comment at odds with this when they said to be careful as they found it burned their plants. What do you guys think? Is it 'hot'?

Finally, I read that the leachate collected at the sump at the bottom can contain toxins (or something bad at least) and is best added back to the top to create a richer vermicompost. Is this true?

Edited July 10, 2010 by Artificial Emotion

[Puff Adder]

sorry im in black background so will sort it out now ........... thanks for telling me .............. :puke:

How did you get that sorted mate?

PA

[agito]

Rockdust is a very good thing to add to a wormery. It really helps feed the worms and improves the quality of the vermicasts greatly.

They also seem to like crushed egg shells (they lay their eggs in these) and coffee grounds as well.

I've started growing Bocking 14 Comfrey and plan to add the foliage from this plant from my garden when I get the wormery set up. Any opinions on this? Does it work well?

Also, I was thinking of ripping up a load of nettles from the side of the country roads around where I live and dumping a load of them in the wormery as nettles contain a lot of trace elements.

Any other advice wrt to goodies the worms like?

Because worm poo contains thousands % more beneficial bacteria than normal garden compost it is great for making AACT. I've read that worm shit is not overly strong and doesn't burn plants but someone recently made a comment at odds with this when they said to be careful as they found it burned their plants. What do you guys think? Is it 'hot'?

Finally, I read that the leachate collected at the sump at the bottom can contain toxins (or something bad at least) and is best added back to the top to create a richer vermicompost. Is this true?

i would not add the liquid back through just water it down to 10 to 1 ratio and feed plants or add a little sugar and bubble with an air pump do get rid of bad bacteria.

anything that adds air is great for worm ive used rock dust and shells but my no.1 recomendation is plenty of airy bedding as ive hit moisture problems in the past

[Puff Adder]

i would not add the liquid back through just water it down to 10 to 1 ratio and feed plants or add a little sugar and bubble with an air pump do get rid of bad bacteria.

anything that adds air is great for worm ive used rock dust and shells but my no.1 recomendation is plenty of airy bedding as ive hit moisture problems in the past

Seconded As far as I'm aware it's normally only not worth using when it smells bad and it only smells bad because of all the anaerobic bacteria (those which thrive in low oxygen environments) that have colonised the leachate. As soon as you get oxygenating that stuff the aerobic bacteria (good guys) neutralize all the bad stuff. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but that's my understanding thus far.

PA