Bin set up and best foods

16 years ago

Well Im starting my bin to help recycle my kitchen waste. But if certain foods are better for them, especially in the beginning, I would be totally open to eating them more to have them as scraps for the little guys. So what do you think would be the best foods for the first month or so? I had some fresh spinach leaves from a salad that got a bit too old that Ive been saving and some misc scraps of tomato and very small potato peels that Ive had set aside for 4-5 days. I could easily freeze it and save it for later on.

Also, I thought cardboard was a good bedding option, but recently Ive been 2nd guessing myself. I dont get the newspaper so I dont have much to shred for bedding just the weekly grocery store junk mail and I found that the office paper clumps really bad when I "dunked" it in water before adding it to the bin. I have a easy supply of cardboard and office copy paper, the newspaper I can seek out but I haven't found a source yet. Is that something I should work on? Or would a mostly cardboard some copy paper mix be ok? I really want ideal items to start, give myself less room to botch it up :)

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Comments (2)

tclynx
16 years ago
First, during the initial time go easy on the acidic stuff like tomato. Actually, go easy on the amount of food in the earily days as over feading is a normal problem in the beginning. I hear that they really like a sprinkle of corn meal on occasion. I can say they seem to love sweet stuff like old mellon too.

Corrugated cardboard is great, especially if you have a shredder that can handle shredding it without breaking (I've broken two shredders so far but the fellows powershred seems to do cardboard much better.) Corrugated cardboard is about the only material that is both food and bedding at the same time and doesn't seem to pack down or ball up the way paper does.

Even if you can't shred the corrugated cardboard, it is still great to use. I like to line the bottom and sides of the bed with the corrugated stuff before putting shredded stuff and worms in the bed. I've also found that if you have a bin or tub of water you can dunk the cardboard in, it makes ripping it up much easier (also pealing plastic tape off is easier sometimes that way.)

Box board or paper board like cereal boxes are not so great in the worm bin.

My first batch had lots of shredded paper and paper board and there were lots of bits to pick out of the finished castings. I now mostly use the shredded corrugated cardboard in my beds.

If you can pulverize some egg shells (let them dry and then use an old coffee grinder is a really easy way) to sprinkle over the bed when you get your worms, it will give them the grit to help digest the food when you start to put it in. If no coffee grinder for the purpose, I've heard a rolling pin on a cutting board works.

I didn't have any food in the bin when I got my worms. I just sprinkled the grit and a tablespoon of corn meal over the bedding. I opened the cardboard box the worms came in and place the whole box with the worms open on it's side right in the bedding of my bin. tat way the worms could spread out in their own time and not be shocked by the change. Give em a couple days and then check to see if they have moved out into your bin, if so, try a hand full of food buried in the bedding somewhere (remember where so you can check on it.) Wait untill that is gone or mostly gone before feeding again in another location. As your worms settle in and breed, you will be able to feed more but be patient for the first month or so.

That is the hardest part with new worms, being patient and leaving them alone to do their job.

I like to keep a big bit of cardboard over top of the bedding in my bin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Worm Bins.
roselover_5b
16 years ago
If you have a recycling center in your area, try asking them if you can take some newspaper. That ought to surprise them! Or ask a friend if you can have their Sunday paper when they are done with it. Unless your bin is huge (or your Sunday paper small), that ought to keep you in good shape for a long time.

Cooked acorn squash is also a favorite. Anything in the curcurbit family is well-liked by the worms, but the acorn squash creates a real feeding frenzy in my bins. As you mentioned, kelser01, corn meal is something they like, but use it in very small doses. Sprinkle it lightly and mist it. My worms will devour it in the space of 12-24 hours.

Finally, you don't actually have to peel the tape from any cardboard you put into the bin. I used to but don't bother now. When I harvest, I find the tape is picked clean. The worms get every bit of cardboard from it and I just remove the tape.

Leaves make a great bedding and food source, as well. If you are worried about critters coming in with them, you can boil the leaves. (I don't, but I know someone who does. It smells like pot pourri with a fall scent!) Some people say to crumble them up or shred them first. I just layer them: a layer shredded newspaper, a layer of leaves, a layer of shredded newspaper. Others have expressed a concern that the leaves can matt. But I've found that that is exactly where the worms love to hang out-- in between the leaves glommed on to each other. They also like to leave their cocoons there. So, it works for me and they seem to really like it.

RoseLover
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Thanks for the replies. I just added some food to the bin. I took a few carrot ends, some celery tops and bottoms, some lettuce, a little corn, an apple core, and a coffee filter and grinds. It was maybe two handfuls tops. I put it in one of the corners. I then took the worms and compost I got from the community garden and dumped it over the food and sort of spread it out so the dirt/compost would get in with the food. I then covered it with a few inches of newspaper that I soaked and squeezed until there was very little water if any dripping off of it. I am going to try my best to not open the bin for a few days. I didn't realize how much scraps I collected from one evening of cooking. It makes me want to go out and buy three more bins! Now it is time to freeze my left over scraps. I never thought I would say that.
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Posted by canarybird (My Page) on Sat, Sep 5, 09 at 21:57 Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - How to set up a Tripod Hi again everyone. I'm back with another entry on how to use your digital camera for taking tabletop photos. Sorry my tutorial is a few days late this time. It's been a busy week over here. I wanted to give several camera tips today but once started on how to set up a tripod, I was carried away when creating the photos and diagrams, so it took longer than expected. As there are many photos, some may be small size, but all will expand with a mouse click. Setting up a tripod can be a little more confusing than one might first imagine. If you have tried it for the first time by turning all the knobs and flipping the locks, you may have ended up with legs that won't sit still and a top piece that hangs over and won't stay upright. Whatever you do, try these suggestions without a camera attached until you have got the hang of it. 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Attaching the camera to the tripod: Two ways to attach the camera to the tripod are 1. by a screw on the tripod head which screws up into the base of the camera or 2. the quick-release plate, which comes in different forms, but is a fast way to put on and take off your camera from the tripod. The tripod I show here has a quick-release plate, which once screwed to the bottom of the camera, will enable the camera to be snapped into place on the quick-release platform of the tripod head by opening the lever. Here below is a camera, the quick-release plate with its screw and a small coin. The coin is used to turn the screw, attaching the plate to the camera. 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Set it up on a firm, level ground or floor and check that all levers are locked. If indoors be careful that small children or animals won't be tripping over the legs. I hope you understand all and if you have questions please ask here or PM me. So thanks for joining me. I'll be uploading the next installment soon. And please feel free to save the pages on your computer. Next time I'll show a little about photographing silverware, the flash menu and self-timer. Sharon (Canarybird) :-) (All text and photos copyrighted) Free for personal, non-commercial use Follow-Up Postings: o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by publickman (My Page) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 2:38 Kevin has a tabletop tripod similar to the one you pictures, and he also has a unipod, which I have not used. We used the tabletop tripod for the Spanokopita demonstration, which you may recall. Lars o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by canarybird (My Page) on Mon, Nov 2, 09 at 5:21 I love that little tabletop tripod although it's not been as useful to me as a floor length model. I've never had a unipod or monopod and I think they're best for crowded places where tripods are too bulky, such as sporting events where support is needed for heavy long lenses. The spanokopita demo was great but the camera seemed to be hand held. I think you were using the tabletop tripod in your demo of making little chocolates way back when. I've forgotten their exact name but they looked good. o RE: Food Photo Tips: Part 9 - Setting Up a Tripod clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by publickman (My Page) on Wed, Nov 4, 09 at 2:28 You're right - Gina was holding the camera for that video, as you can tell from her voice, which is the most prominent. I have a lot of raw video with other demonstrations that I have not had time to get around to editing yet. I don't even have my sewing room completely organized yet for video editing, although the computer I use for video editing is already set up there - along with two sewing machines, which have been getting a lot of use lately. When I finish making all the drapes, curtains, pillows, and cushions that I need, I will convert the room to a video editing room. Unfortunately, it is too small to be both simultaneously. I'm still in the process of settling in, and I guess it's going to take a full year. 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Bin set up and best foods

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tclynx

roselover_5b

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