Sorry rickD, credit to you for the help. Cheers

That looks like a big system, marauder01. What are you composting - I assume it's more than just your kitchen waste, unless you have a large (vegetarian) family?

Also, I noticed that you called it a worm factory. Does that mean that you're primarily raising worms rather than making compost?

Thanks again for the photos.

Hi rickd,

There are no photos of my worm factory (brand name "Reln Worm Factory") posted here, but they are in the album on photobucket:

I am primarily composting my kitchen waste and all junk mail and cardboard in the totes and WF. You are right, it is going to be way overkill if I let the totes fully develop, but here is the plan:

(1) Start at least 10 totes to have plently of breeding stock (and room for oops')
(2) Once running well and stocked with at least 2000 each (s/be in about 6-8 months and half full), give them away to other people who are interested in Vermicomposting. I fugure about 2000 well settled adults (plus cocoons and young) is enough to take care of most of an average household's kitchen scraps.
(3) Maybe accept like a $20 donation, which will allow me to setup the next 2 totes, and so-on.
(4) Perfect the bin (simplicity for the newbie, holes or no holes, that is the question....)
(5) Feel good about doing something for the environment and reducing landfill.

I'd never really thought about what I'm going to do with the castings. I haven't seen one dot of castings from my WF since it started, and of course the totes are new, and mostly won't be harvested (by me anyway).

I suppose you've hit the nail on the head. I am breeding worms at this point rather than focusing on composting. The composting will just happen as a result of the other I think.

If I end up with 10 totes at various stages of developement, I'll have around 20,000 adults just in the totes. Wow, that's a nice thought.

I am not in this for financial reward at all. If I can cover costs, and share the worm message to as many people as possible, I'll be happy, VERY happy!

More to come.....stay tuned and thanks.

Cool, marauder! Those totes look big. Hats off to you for being patient enough to start with 100 worms in each bin. Anyone would be lucky to be a recipient in your "give away program".

Your commercial Worm Factory looks a lot like the Wriggly Wranch system here in the states. It served me well for many years until I passed it on to my sister.

Andrew

Hi marauder,

Very cool pics! Everything is so nice and orderly. Wish I was were on the 'receiving' end of this. Your wormies look really nice and happy. If you are not planning on using the vermicompost, perhaps you could donate it to a local co-op or something. Maybe you could even hook up with a school or city program where you could teach kids to do this. That would be way cool!

Great job and thanks for sharing! :)

Sandra

Thanks Andrew. Never thought of myself as patient, more scientific. I've always liked know quantities, like start with 100, predict an outcome, and then see what happens. So far, I reckon my worm calculator is on the conservative side, but in principle, spot on. 100 to 2000 in 6 months. I never believed this was possible until I am seing it with my own eyes. Nature is amazing!
"Wriggly Wranch", better name for it I think. It took a long time for me to get it really happening, but now I can appreciate all of the help I have received here(forum), and am less jealous of all of your wonderful results. lol. At this point, I wouldn't give it away (WF) for all the tea in China. It's my stock-pot for new inhabitants for the totes!
As for the vermicompost, I'm going to have to harvest a few totes to check numbers and assumptions, but hadn't planned on harvesting at all for the give-aways. K.I.S.S. principle I guess, (thats Keep It Simple Stupid!). why should I do all the fun work? I'll leave that to the recipients. lol.

Thanks Sandra! I've seen others do the pic thing and hoped one day to be able to do it myself. I think a pic really is worth a '000 words. As for orderly, I framed the pics very carefull so as not to show the rest of my pigpen shed lol! It helps if you buy all the totes together at the same time, as now they are all identical (except for the holes experiment). I guess that will change with availability.
Hadn't thought of teaching kids, what a great idea! Maybe I could do a give-away to the local (my kids's) school. Imaging each prep (5 yr old) class room with a tote. Now that is Cool! Thanks for the thought, I'll let you'll know. lol.

Thank you for posting the pics. I always love to see other's operations. Looks like you have a neat, tidy, worm ranch there. Experiments are fun and we all learn as you share yours with us. I've always maintained that bins with very few holes (just the ones around the handles already provided) work just as well as those that are riddled with holes, but I'm biginning to wonder if I might just be wrong(wouldn't be the first time). Anyway, thanks for sharing...steve

Do you compost 'glossy' junkmail. I was for a while, but kept finding strips of coloured stuff in my vermicompost and I wasn't sure whether it was glossy junk mail or glossy cereal boxes that were the main culprits. I suppose I should do a side by side experiment!

I know what you mean Cath. I try to avoid the glossy junk mail, but every now and again I'll get a beer box with glossy stuff and just can't help myself but to add it to the worms. It does disappear eventually. I also add all the cereal boxes as well. I don't think the guys mind at all.
Cheers