Vermiposting

[YankeyMCC]

Hello all,

Anyone else using vermiposting at home (composting with worms)?

I just started a few weeks ago and everything appears to going ok. I started with a simple bin: http://www.composters.com/vermiculture-worms/worm-friendly-habitat_50_4.php and 1 pound of red wigglers.

I had to back off the food for a bit it seemed the worms were not keeping up. There was no smell, or maybe just a bare hint of that sweet decay smell, but now the smell is getting stronger and I'm getting those little flies in the house you get when you leave food out.

Any suggestions or thoughts? What might I check? I've looked at a few vermiposting faqs and haven't seen anything obvious that I'm doing wrong.

[silverweb]

1. Yes, I have a vermicomposting bin.

Are you turning the material daily? If I forget to turn everything over on a daily basis, my bin also gets the tiny fruit flies and even some mold.

I've had my bin for a couple of months now, and the worms seem to be doing well. I really want to get one of the stacked-tray worm farms, but haven't done so yet. In the meantime, the bin is doing okay as long as I remember to turn everything daily.

[YankeyMCC]

2. I thought with worms you did not have to turn everything over regularly

so I haven't.

Here are the instructions I followed:

Step 1
Obtain bin and order worms.
step 2
Fill the bin with bedding. The worms need a home that contains about 75% moisture: add 3 pints of water to every 1 pound of bedding. Continue to add bedding and water until you have about 5 to 7 inches of wet, but fluffed up, bedding. The bedding should be as damp as a moist sponge that if squeezed very hard would give a drop or two of water. Let the prepared bedding sit for 1 to 2 hours before adding the worms so that the water will reach room temperature.

step 3
Spread the worms over the top of the bedding. The worms don't like light, so they will move down into the bedding. Leave the lid off and a light on overnight so the worms can become accustomed to their new home.

step 4
Place your worm bin in a convenient, but somewhat out of the way spot, such as a basement, a mudroom, or under the kitchen sink. Redworms do well in temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit Garages, unheated out-buildings, and the outdoors can be used seasonally in New England locations.

step 5
A day or two after the worms have been in their bedding, begin feeding them by burying food waste that decays relatively quickly, e.g. banana peels spaghetti noodles. Bury the food in the bedding every few days but at least once a week. Dig a hole in the bedding, place the food, and cover it with bedding. Pick a new spot each time you feed them. If the bedding dries out, mist it with water from a spray bottle.

step 6
Within four to six months, most of the bedding and the food wastes will have been converted into a finished compost product (vermicompost), which is uniformly dark and soil like. At this point, harvest the vermicompost and provide the worms with fresh bedding. To separate the worms from the compost you can Move all of the finished compost to one side of the bin, and then add fresh bedding to the empty side. Begin feeding the worms in the fresh bedding, and within a month most of them will have moved over to the clean side. Now you can remove the finished compost and replace it with fresh bedding. or Dump your finished compost into a pile, shaped like a pyramid, and place a bright light over it. The worms, repelled by light, will move down into the compost leaving the top layer worm-free. You can remove the compost from the top of the pile and repeat the process until you have nothing but worms and a little compost left in your original pile. Place the worms in fresh bedding.

==

Actually this is just one version of essentially the same method described on several sites. Do you put a new top layer of paper every day too?

[silverweb]

3. No, I haven't put new paper.

The instructions I've been following are the ones that were given to my daughter at her university. All interested students in university housing were given a bin and some starter worms. They were told to start with the bedding, add their (vegetarian only) food waste, and turn the bin contents regularly (if not daily).

The instructions for separating the worms from finished compost were pretty much the same as you describe. I haven't gotten to that point yet, though, so I don't know how easy or tricky it will be.

I have noticed that when I turn the bin contents, there's always some grown-up worm hanky-panky going on and there are lots of little ones, so I assume they've been pretty happy. :)

[YankeyMCC]

4. LoL worm porn

maybe I should not be doing this when my son is around!

just kidding of course.

[silverweb]

5. LOL

The first time I saw it, I thought it was an extra-long worm with some kind of tumor in its middle.

After poking at it for a minute, I figured out that the "tumor" was body overlap. :blush:

Live and learn.... :D

[hippywife]

6. I was looking at the possibilty of doing it

but I don't have the space for it, really. But I did read this book and it seemed to have loads of great info in it. I got it at my library, so you might check to see if yours has it. It's a pretty small, short book so it's easy to read in no time flat.

http://www.wormwoman.com/acatalog/Wormwoman_catalog_Worms_Eat_My_Garbage_3.html

[Stevenmarc]

7. To eliminate the flies

freeze it before you put it in composter, it kills the fruit fly larvae.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

8. I have two bins

started out with one a year ago. I keep a mini trash can with lid next to the sink and all the organic waste gets thrown in there and taken out to the worms.

My soil was amazing and the plants did well.