chriscoli
Administrator
You just have to dig through it and pick out the ones you see.
chriscoli
Administrator
I added another tray to the worm farm tonight. I've started seeing baby worms, too....so I guess they're happy. I'm up to four stacked trays. I think at 6 trays I can start removing the bottom one, picking out the straggler worms, and putting the castings out in the garden.
I'm really blown away by how many worms there are in each tray and how fast they go through the scraps. And, I'm really glad I got that paper shredder a few months back....this is a great way to get rid of unwanted credit card applications....shred them and then feed them through the gut of a worm.
This pic is pretty typical of the top tray. When you peel back the sheet of newspaper that covers the top, anywhere you dig has a ton of worms.
I'm really blown away by how many worms there are in each tray and how fast they go through the scraps. And, I'm really glad I got that paper shredder a few months back....this is a great way to get rid of unwanted credit card applications....shred them and then feed them through the gut of a worm.
This pic is pretty typical of the top tray. When you peel back the sheet of newspaper that covers the top, anywhere you dig has a ton of worms.
dogofwar
CCA Members
Awesome, Christine... I harvested a couple of handfuls of worms from my bin last night.
Mine's in the garage so things have slowed down a bit but lots of worms!
Matt
Mine's in the garage so things have slowed down a bit but lots of worms!
Matt
Prince
The ONE who is The ONE
what size are the plastic totes you guys are using? I am redoing me set up and need some advice. I was planning on a three bin set up. I have three bins that are 18"x 12 5/8" x 7 1/8". I planned to have the substrate 3.5" deep in each one. I got clear ones to because I want see whats of on when the lights in the basement are on.
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Last edited:
verbal
CCA Members
I think mine are 18 gallons, a smaller size should work ok. It probably has a little less margin for error in terms of keeping the moisture level correct. I brought part of my culture inside in a 5 gallon bucket in case the main one doesn't make it through the winter in the garage.
Not as sure about the clear working well. I think you might have worms spending time/energy getting away from the light rather than eating and growing. If it is only a few minutes of light per day, then the transparent container would likely be less of an issues.
Nesting a clear bin in a similar sized translucent one could work well.
dogofwar
CCA Members
I think I use 18g as well. Nesting a colored one in a clear one would allow you to see how much worm juice has accumulated (and when it needs to be emptied)...
Mine are in the (attached) garage and have all headed for the deepest parts of the bin. Normally, though (and even in the winter), I'm able to pull a dozen or so off of the walls of the bin without having to pick through the substrate.
Matt
Mine are in the (attached) garage and have all headed for the deepest parts of the bin. Normally, though (and even in the winter), I'm able to pull a dozen or so off of the walls of the bin without having to pick through the substrate.
Matt
chriscoli
Administrator
I just put tray number seven on the stack. I can probably start emptying the bottom ones any time. I saw lots of baby worms tonight.
chriscoli
Administrator
Has anyone overheated their worms before? My worm bin smelled a little off, so I opened the lid and all of the poor little beasties were all vying for space on top of the bedding right under the lid! The temp in the center of the tray was 98F! So I stirred it a bit to aerate, and have left the lid open a crack. Temp is down to 92F today.
jonclark96
Past CCA President
I think I froze mine. Not much going on in the bin after this winter.
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chriscoli
Administrator
Oh, so sorry. Let me know if you need some.
dogofwar
CCA Members
Mine are doing great despite living in the (attached) garage for the winter.
I recently added a couple of kiwis that Hunter smashed and the skin of a few others (H-Mart had a basket of a dozen for like $3) and the worms were all over them.
I need to do a good spring cleaning of the bin: removing a bunch of the built up "mud", draining the leachate and adding some fresh shredded newspaper.
There always seem to be about a dozen adult worms that hang out on the side of the bin, which makes them easy to collect!
Matt
I recently added a couple of kiwis that Hunter smashed and the skin of a few others (H-Mart had a basket of a dozen for like $3) and the worms were all over them.
I need to do a good spring cleaning of the bin: removing a bunch of the built up "mud", draining the leachate and adding some fresh shredded newspaper.
There always seem to be about a dozen adult worms that hang out on the side of the bin, which makes them easy to collect!
Matt
chriscoli
Administrator
My red wigglers have slowly been fleeing their bin. I am quite disturbed by this....it's just a matter of time until we have a houseguest over that has issues with crispy worms on the downstairs floor. So, clearly something is off in my bin.
Recently, I had the bin temperature rise to nearly 100F. I mixed in some shredded paper and left the lid cracked open for some extra ventilation. The temp came down in a few days. Today I noticed an ammonia smell from the bin, and when I poked around in the bin, the top layer had become really dense and compressed again, so I mixed in some more shredded paper. I'm hoping this works. I've been feeding very lightly since the temperature incident.
Anyone of you other wranglers have this happen?
Recently, I had the bin temperature rise to nearly 100F. I mixed in some shredded paper and left the lid cracked open for some extra ventilation. The temp came down in a few days. Today I noticed an ammonia smell from the bin, and when I poked around in the bin, the top layer had become really dense and compressed again, so I mixed in some more shredded paper. I'm hoping this works. I've been feeding very lightly since the temperature incident.
Anyone of you other wranglers have this happen?
dogofwar
CCA Members
Massive fleeing worms is a sign that something is amiss - too much water / moisture... too hot ... a food that they don't like.
It happened once last year when I dropped half a rotten watermellon into my bin.... and subsided when I took it out, removed the excess water and stirred things up.
Don't be scared to dump or otherwise get rid of extra substrate (dirt). As temps get warmer, the worms reproduction and metabolism increases. They'll make more
Matt
It happened once last year when I dropped half a rotten watermellon into my bin.... and subsided when I took it out, removed the excess water and stirred things up.
Don't be scared to dump or otherwise get rid of extra substrate (dirt). As temps get warmer, the worms reproduction and metabolism increases. They'll make more
Matt
chriscoli
Administrator
Definitely something's amiss right now...can't seem to figure out what it is, though. But, I'm tempted to remove several of my lower trays and process a new one in on top to hopefully give them a better place to go that's WITHIN the worm farm. Crawling up the outside of the downstairs toilet is not an acceptable place for them to go to die!
dogofwar
CCA Members
A fresh tray should work.
Worst case, just dump out a stinky tray into your garden (or a rubbermaid bin outside)...
Matt
Worst case, just dump out a stinky tray into your garden (or a rubbermaid bin outside)...
Matt
verbal
CCA Members
My guess would be that excessive heat is the issue.
According to Uncle Jim's worm farm a temperature of over 84 will kill worms.
http://unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/FAQs/
Looking at a reference on composting, compost piles get much hotter than this:
http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/much-can-compost-pile-heat-3025.html
Apparently the Nitrogen is the key to increasing compost temperature. So I think the key is to have the bacteria working, but not as active as true compost heap. I think paper does help lower the temperature because it breaks down slowly.
According to Uncle Jim's worm farm a temperature of over 84 will kill worms.
http://unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/FAQs/
Looking at a reference on composting, compost piles get much hotter than this:
http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/much-can-compost-pile-heat-3025.html
Apparently the Nitrogen is the key to increasing compost temperature. So I think the key is to have the bacteria working, but not as active as true compost heap. I think paper does help lower the temperature because it breaks down slowly.
chriscoli
Administrator
Temp WAS hot, but I've brought it down (the Worm Farm comes with a thermometer, fortunately....it's even marked with worm happiness zones).
I agree, the nitrogen is to blame. We'll see how fast this most recent batch of paper breaks down.
Matt, I'd toss the top (culprit) bin, but that's where 99% of the worms are! If I can get another bin started on top of the bad one and get at least half of the worms to migrate up to the new bin, then I can toss the one that's gone sour.
Thanks for the links, Jesse....I was looking for them lastnight but got distracted from my search....
I agree, the nitrogen is to blame. We'll see how fast this most recent batch of paper breaks down.
Matt, I'd toss the top (culprit) bin, but that's where 99% of the worms are! If I can get another bin started on top of the bad one and get at least half of the worms to migrate up to the new bin, then I can toss the one that's gone sour.
Thanks for the links, Jesse....I was looking for them lastnight but got distracted from my search....
Becca
Members
I just picked up my first culture of these guys on Saturday at the auction. It wasn't a super large culture, so I set them up in 3-gallon rubbermaid-ish bins that I had sitting around. I followed the instructions of the runner and drilled holes in 2 bins, with a third on the bottom to collect drippings. I did add a layer of paper towel to the middle bin to stop worms from getting through the holes into the bottom bin, but so far it doesn't seem to be an issue. I fed them some carrots that are past their prime, but haven't noticed much going on.
Honestly, had I really thought about it, every time I pick up a door mat or rake leaves on the patio there's a boat load of these guys just laying around.
Honestly, had I really thought about it, every time I pick up a door mat or rake leaves on the patio there's a boat load of these guys just laying around.
verbal
CCA Members
They don't seem to be interested in their food until it starts breaking down. Chopping/cutting the food may speed the process.
from http://unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/FAQs/:
It probably should be fine to try them, but they are likely a different species. Some of the species are a lot more likely to leave the bin. Apparently night crawlers are really bad in that regard.
Becca
Members
Ah, yes, nightcrawlers - as an avid childhood fisher"man" I know what those guys look like!
I make pureed pea water for my daphnia and then strain the peels, large pieces out. Usually I spread them in a pan and bake at a low temperature until they dry into a sheet that I can break apart and feed to shrimp and plecos, but this pea "mash" would probably be ideal for them. Now I can kill 3 birds with one stone... or one bag of peas.
I make pureed pea water for my daphnia and then strain the peels, large pieces out. Usually I spread them in a pan and bake at a low temperature until they dry into a sheet that I can break apart and feed to shrimp and plecos, but this pea "mash" would probably be ideal for them. Now I can kill 3 birds with one stone... or one bag of peas.
