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[plantlight]

Just harvested some worm castings today-sharing my setup.  I got the thing as a gift from a relative that bought it but decided it was too much trouble.  My sister-in-law asked "would you like my worm farm"?  My first question was, what is it?  That was about 6 years ago.

Pictures:
1.  About 2.5 gallons of fresh worm castings - for those who were just dying to know what it looks like.
2.  A tray just about a week old.  Upper left -- last weeks mix, bottom left -- yesterday's addition and right half - shredded cardboard without any kitchen scraps.
3.  An empty tray.
4.  The bin with 3 trays.   

I like it because it is compact and space is at a premium in my yard.  Ask any questions you like.  I'm happy to answer any and all.  See my first question above.

Oh, if you want one, try to get it as a giveaway for the same reason I got mine.  There must be others out there somewhere.       

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[TBM]

So you feed the worms table scraps and cardboard shreds? Anything that you should avoid feeding them?

[plantlight]

Anything that you should avoid feeding them?

No meat or dairy.  I also avoid feeding salty food, oils like salad dressing, citrus and figs.  I mostly put in food prep scraps like apple cores, banana peels, carrot and potato peels food that's past prime -- lettuce leaves and such.  Also, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells.  I mix the above with shredded cardboard or paper and a bit of water to keep it moist.

I  used to tear the paper and cardboard by hand but now I have access to a shredder so I just run it through.  Also, I began by chopping the food scraps by hand but I now use a blender.  Saves a lot of time.

1 Like TBM likes this.

[plantlight]

Inexpensive alternate solution here:

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/easywormbin.htm

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[plantlight]

Test Results:

This explains a lot.  I noticed  my Psychotria Viridis reacted poorly when my mix was too rich in worm castings.  Also, using store bought compost in my potting mix wasn't sufficient feeding even for a short while.  I had always heard that compost was very rich in nutrients but perhaps this doesn't apply to all compost. 

I stopped making my own aerobic compost once I got the worm farm and started buying a local brand of pre-packaged compost.  I used both compost and castings in my soil mix and determined the best ratios by experimentation.  It was very puzzling until I tested.

 Results for Ph, Nitrogen(N)and Phosphorous(P) are all color match.  Potassium(K) is determined by cloudiness:

photo 1.  Results from store bought local brand of compost
Ph around 7 is ok but NPK is low

photo 2.  Standby for hyperspace core transfer.
The worm castings are hitting all high marks.
The cloudy ph tube doesn't show up well in the photo but it is about 6.5.
N&P there is no mistaking-- supercharged
K super cloudy -- supercharged.

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[BubbleCat]

Your store bought stuff looks like theres hardly and N & P  Id assume its a good choice for seedlings.

[plantlight]

Good point!  I wasn't thinking of it that way.  Maybe it is useful after all.

Still,  I don't think I'll buy it anymore.

[The Clam]

Hey, I had a question about worm reproduction, I have about 100 or so worms in my bin that are all pretty large at this point and was wondering how many new worms to expect  in a few months? Also I wanted to share this story, so I had a banana that was gonna go bad so I figure I feed it whole to the worms to see how they do, I come back about 2 days later and they ate through the peel, ate the whole banana and almost all of the peel and a lot of the surrounding material. It was kinda crazy but my first time really seeing nature at work.

[plantlight]

Hey, I had a question about worm reproduction, I have about 100 or so worms in my bin that are all pretty large at this point and was wondering how many new worms to expect  in a few months?

I raise the compost worm, Eisenia fetida. They multiply quickly in the summer and probably double in population every 3 months.

1 Like SKUNK likes this.

[nahuatochtl]

very nice set up bro! i wish i had some 

i been trying to collect worms from the wild, but still not managed to save them from the heavy rain as theres no place i could put them, so i just let them go, been like this 2 yrs

cheers bro

1 Like plantlight likes this.

[The Clam]

Hey, I had a question about worm reproduction, I have about 100 or so worms in my bin that are all pretty large at this point and was wondering how many new worms to expect  in a few months?

I raise the compost worm, Eisenia fetida. They multiply quickly in the summer and probably double in population every 3 months.

Alright, Do you have any tips for winter? Its gets below 40 here in the coming months but I want to keep them active.

[plantlight]

Do you have any tips for winter? Its gets below 40 here in the coming months but I want to keep them active.

The instructions on my bin give optimum temperature between 40-80F.   However,  it seems to me that they aren't very active if temperatures are below 50F.

The winters here are usually very mild.  I don't do anything to adjust for temperature unless it is expected to dip below freezing for an entire day or more.  The unit is small enough for me to lift and I carry it into the garage where it doesn't freeze. 

[The Clam]

Alright, I think il do that

[LIBERTYNY]

Cold is my problem hear as well in NY

But I have had sucess with "Worm Towers"   It's simply a piece of 3"-4" PVC with lots of about 1/2" holes drilled into the bottom, and burryed about 9"- 12" into the ground, with a removable cap on top.
  you just 'feed' the tube like you would a worm-farm and they naturally migrate their way their, and in the winter burrow deep to survive.

  I can most always tell the difference by the towers. 

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