Red Wiggler Wranglers

[dogofwar]

I know that at least 8 folks in the club now have red wigglers (AKA compostng worms).

How did you set up their bins?

What's working for you / not?

What fish are you feeding them to?

Matt

 

[dogofwar]

I'll go first:

In a nutshell, my bin is two 18g rubbermaid bins nested inside of each other (only the inside bin has a cover).

I drilled really small holes in the sides, top (lid) and bottom to allow some air circulation and to allow fluids to drain from the inside bin (into the outside one)....Drill them small enough that worms can't also "drain" through... I added some plastic yougurt cups to keep the inside rubbermaid off the floor of the outside one (allows fluids to drain easier).

I've been feeding leftovers of what we eat: some pear and apple cores, some banana and mango peels, even some junk mail and paper towels (shredded).

The easiest way for me to use the worms is to keep a plastic cup by the bin (in the garage) and whenever I add stuff to the bin (or go into the garage), I just take off the lid of the bin and grab whatever worms are hanging out on the sides. Quick rinse in the utility sink and they're fish food.

I feed them to all of my fish...but have been giving extras to some acaras I'd like to breed...and some pikes, which go bonkers for them.

How about you?

Matt

 

[verbal]

I recently set mine up. They were in wet newspaper in a sytro as a temporary home.

I based my design on this(I saw the link on LakeTang.com):

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

Although I think my bins are 16 gallons. I have fed some fruit and veggie scraps.

 

[Tony]

Mine are in a 5 gallon bucket right now - yes, I've been lazy.

Probably will setup something more like Matt's design as I'm looking for it to take up a fairly small space. Already been feeding them to my fish - mostly the eartheaters in the 150, the west africans and my Parachromis. Occasional feedings to my big haps and peacocks.

Pretty happy with the results so far.

Thanks again Matt for hooking us up.

 

[dogofwar]

My pleasure - I'm sure a 5g bucket will work for some time... Just pour off any excess "worm tea"... and keep a lid on it (they can climb)...

Matt

 

[verbal]

Matt(and others),

What do you feed your worms? How much do you feed? The ratio 1/2 of weight per day seems way too high.

I tried bread, but it seemed to just make a moldy mess. An old sweet potato seemed to work well. I just added some sweet potato scraps.

 

[dogofwar]

They eat the scraps of whatever we eat...watermellon rinds, banana peels, pear bits. I've also found bread to get moldy. Just work it around in the dirt and it will disappear...

Matt

 

[msjinkzd]

I have mine in a bit bin, double binned with holes drilled int eh innermost bin. I have some sort of something holding it up for airspace, dont' really remember what I used but I know it was kid food in origin (perhaps yogurt containers). I have them outside int he shade by my turtle pen and lettuce garden. I feed them scraps of lettuce and coffee grounds and harvest them daily.

 

[jonclark96]

I've used romaine lettuce stump (we get the whole heads to cut up for salads), corn cobs, pineapple, and any other veggie scraps around the house.

I'm still having a tough time finding a cleaner way to harvest instead of literally digging them out of the dirt...

 

[Avatar]

Matt(and others),

What do you feed your worms? How much do you feed? The ratio 1/2 of weight per day seems way too high.

If it's organic they can probably ingest it. As for the ratio, seems very reasonable given that their entire physiology is basically a processing tube - sort of like many Wal-Mart shoppers. Anyway it's a lot less than a shrew for example - they have to consume five times their body weight every day just to appease their raging metabolisms.

 

[chriscoli]

I still have mine from Matt from the CCA holiday party. I thought I had killed them over the winter...I had them in the garage, but forgot about them and feared that they had dried out. But, under the crispy newspaper and the dried leaves was a little patch of moisture and apparently a few made it to the oasis.

I'm sort of doing the double bin method. I'll see if i can find the link of the design I used.

They get a little of the stuff that goes into our compost bins anyhow. Last week they got a good number of strawberry tops.

I read that they absolutely hate citrus. True in your experience?

Feed them to fish? I haven't yet. After the near dessication over the winter, I lost quite a few so their population is currently on the rebound. I dont' have a lot of worm-eating fish but I'm sure I'll find someone that likes them (like my Ctenopoma). But I really just think that they're jsut cool to keep, and I like saying the word "Vermiculture."

I was worried about them over the winter in the garage (gets down to the low 40s) so I threw a seedling heat mat in with them for a few months. It kept the bin about 10 degrees warmer (and probably contributed to the drying-out incident).

 

[dogofwar]

The easiest culture approach that I've found is to take them from the outer bin.

A certain number seem to slip through the holes in the bottom of the inner bin and find their way into the outer one (along with the liquid that drains). I drain and scoop them out.

Also, once they get settled and start reproducing, you'll find that they congregate around food that they like (mellon, banana, etc.) - easy to scoop them as well. I usually find a few on the sides also.

They seem to not like citrus too much. Although it's not toxic to them, per se (at least according to the guy who farms them).

They need some moisture...but not too much. Mine weathered really cold weather a couple of years ago in our garage. Reproduction slows but they seem to make it through!

Matt

 

[mchambers]

Rainbow cichlids?

Feed them to fish? I haven't yet. After the near dessication over the winter, I lost quite a few so their population is currently on the rebound. I dont' have a lot of worm-eating fish but I'm sure I'll find someone that likes them (like my Ctenopoma). But I really just think that they're jsut cool to keep, and I like saying the word "Vermiculture."

You have rainbow cichlids, right? They love earthworms. I'm sure they'd love red wrigglers. And you can keep saying "vermiculture", although you might want to be careful to whom you say it. Not everyone will share your enthusiasm, I fear.

 

[chriscoli]

Yay for funny words!

good point about the rainbow cichlids...

Vermiculture, Vermiculture, Vermiculture, VERMICULTURE! (alright, I think I'm good for the day, now)

 

[Tony]

I got off my butt a few weeks ago and set up a double-bin deal myself. Used about the smallest Rubbermaid I could find at Lowe's - probably about 6 gallons or so. Drilled holes in the inner container and started with a shredded newspaper base. Threw in most of the dirt that the worms came in and mixed it in with the newspaper a bit.

I keep the dirt covered with a piece of cardboard that I cut to fit the container.

For feedings, I have been tossing them mostly lettuce from salad trimmings along with cucumber pieces.

I've only been pulling a few here and there - mostly wanting them to get to growing and multiplying. It is a pain in the butt to pull them out. They supposedly collect under the cardboard, but this hasn't been my experience so far.

 

[chriscoli]

I did the same thing as Tony did with the cardboard since I had read somewhere that they are supposed to collect there, too. Yeah, NOT!

 

[dogofwar]

Check the outer bin...

 

[Prince]

I use a chopstick to stir the soil. It allows me to harvest them rather easily and choose what size I want to harvest.


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[verbal]

Does too much moisture encourage mold? I haven't added any water, but it seems pretty wet. They are in my garage which is pretty damp.

 

[jonclark96]

I had some tomato pieces that were left on the top of the pile for a couple days and they molded over pretty quickly. I try to stir it up every day to keep it under control. I have found that the more fruit I add, the wetter it gets. I added some torn up newspaper to try and dry it out a bit.