Ok so I read the manual that came with a worms and the lady says to make it at least 8" in height so I just added more compost ontop of everything, for what it's worth, sprayed it with some water lightly, and then put 2 sheets of newspaper ontop of it all (also sprayed w/ water lightly)

I hope I didn't bury the worms too much? I did everything very lightly and did not push anything down so they should be ok.

cool, thanks master-bill ;)

Luckily, the newspaper is on the bottom of the bin. This should help with keeping the air available down there since they're crumpled up lightly.

I just added a little little bit of pureed apples to one corner, and then layed another layer of moistened old, half-decomposed and hand-ripped leaves. then the 2 newspaper sheets layed ontop just for moisture and coverage.

The worms seem to be doing well, I lift up random places and I see them chuggin along. This is pretty cool

glad to "see" ya smilin!! it's really not rocket science, they're just garbage recyclers after all, give'em some rotten food and enough water with a bit of air circulation and they're happy

Bill

I'm just going to start a bin also. Sounds like I have a similar size bin as you do Monkey. Rubbermaid, has a latching top and small air holes at the top on the sides.
It's about 32 inches by 16 inches and about 10 inches deep.
I drilled 16 holes (1/2 inch) on the bottom. Do I need more on the sides?

I also have a brick of "expandable substrate" that expands to 8-9 liters when soaked. Probably this is coconut? made for vivariums... Was thinking I could use on the bottom along with shredded newspaper, instead of using any peat moss for "fluffiness". Also will add some Cedar Grove compost.

In the summer may leave the top open and just close partway in winter. I'd like to keep them in the carport unless the temperatures become extreme. They are between two walls and out of the sun, wind, rain, etc.

It will be on a cart about 2 feet off the ground. There are postings here about ants. I hope not to have any in my bin.

Glad your bin is working out, I'll be checking back for progress reports. ( I hope to go get my worms this week some time.)

leaving the top off can cause it to dry up rather fast and also since its in the carport it will introduce many new insects which is not bad but its a preference(I don't like).

Thanks for the feedback, anisten.

I'd just prefer not to attract too many insects also. Have a problem with aphids/ants already and there are a lot of spiders (not poisonous but I don't especially want them).

So if I close the plastic lid will that heat it up too much? some here have posted about using fabric or light plastic.

guess I'll try it and see. Rather temperate right now at least.
In fact is there much chance of spiders moving in? that would be a problem if I wanted to bring it inside in the winter...

Diane - in your area, shouldn't be a problem w/ heat from the environment as long as the bin is never in direct sun, just watch you don't add to much high N material at once so the microbial activity doesn't generate heat [as in hot composting] - best to "pocket feed" rather than mixing large volumes of material right thru the bin - also best to get the bin set up with some feedstuffs at least a few days before you add the worms so there's microbialy active material to interest the worms and keep them from wandering away looking for food and moisture - remember that a worms body is mostly water, they don't like dry environments [fruit is a fast starter, especially melon scraps]

if you have ants around, they'll find the bin if it stays too dry, and if you also have aphid problems, the ants will be herding the aphids, try to break the connection!! many other insects will show up, especially flying ones - good to have some spiders about to help control the others :)

also don't know why folks always seem to think they need fancy stuff for bedding - at the compost demo garden here we fill wood bins 12-18" deep with wet shredded office paper and newspaper, dump in a small bucket of worms with some old compost, and start chuckin in the dinner scraps - works fine, and the worms will consume the paper as it gets contaminated with other waste and starts getting bacterially active - remember paper is just pulped wood!

Bill

I keep seeing how everyone uses all kinds of paper. But don't worms prefer leaves? I have lots of leaves that we collect in fall, and we also scavenge leaves off neighbors curbs on trash day to use in our compost bins. But I thought if I had a worm bin I would use leaves. So what's the best thing?
Cheryl

whatever you have easy access to is best! worms are all about recycling, after all, and aren't too picky when it comes to different flavors of carbon - but in a bin setting, the leaves would also be best shredded, for better aeration and drainage and faster decomposition

Bill

Don't overcomplicate things. I am a worm bin newbie, but I open the lid on my bin and I hear all sorts of chowing down noises from the worms.

Seriously. They are chowing down and making chowing down snap crackle sounds as they do it.

Open the lid to your bin. Do you hear the sound of worms feasting? If so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

i dnt hear anything but they do seem to be doing well. i only put in a half handful of apple mush a few days ago. i havent fed them since. they seem to have a good amount of stuff to eat so far (compost, leaves, newspaper, wheat bran)

not sure when i should put more fod in next. maybe soon? hmm..it's tough to guage when they need to be fed

I love the post about the noises in the bin. Believe me, you 'll know the chowing noise when you hear them. It takes about a week before you start hearing the noises. Heidi

That sound you hear when the bins are opened is the worms retreating back into their holes and under something to get away from the light. Worms dont chomp. they suck on the mush that the bacteria makes along the edges and surfaces of the food and bedding. I had some large beds in my basement one time and when I turned the lights on it would sound like you scared someone and they took a deep quick breath.

Monkeyman is doing his best to set up his worm farm and to learn about worms and feed them and enjoy his new interest like the rest of us.

It does no good to tell him misleading rubbish about worms making noises and taking deep breaths. If you have nothing constructive to say to help him it would be better to say nothing.

Monkeyman,

You should be able to see when they get into the apple mush. Don't feed any more until the apple mush is nearly gone then give them a bit more food. I found my worms didn't eat quickly in the beginning but got quicker later. They will also snack on the bedding, especially the compost.

Marshall

I said nothing about worms taking deep breaths! That is what the noise sounds like with a lot of worms. I keep my worms in the dark all of the time and when they have a light all of a sudden they retreat back into their borrows all at one time and it defintly makes a noise. This probably will not happen in a verma-bed as they are to small and will not support large numbers of worms. (thousands)

Sorry, wfike, I thought you were misleading a newbie.
Marshall

I am sorry that monkeyman may have felt mislead, however,we were just sharing our excitement about the "living" noise you hear coming from the bin. I would think that that is just a encouraging sign that there is life in the bins. My apologies. Heidi

Heidi41,

Sorry, I must have been having a bad day. I really thought you were sending up a member.
Marshall

I just pocket feed whatever kit. scraps I have and don't worry too much about overfeeding. The newly added stuff won't be of interest to the worms until it starts decomposing, so they work on the older scraps and when the worms are ready to move on, the more recently added stuff is ready too.

If I overfeed, I know it by the bin being too wet and starting to get smelly, so I hold back feeding and leave the lid off a bit. I cover scraps carefully to reduce fruit flies, etc.

One thing I have to stay on top of is sprouting seeds. They'll take over the bin if I don't mix them in regularly. Not sure what they are, maybe cantaloupe. I've had mango seeds sprout also.

I am also a newbie at worm composting and have some questions... Just reading through here had given me so much information and so many ideas! Thank you everyone.

I am having some concerns about my worm bin. I have the Rubbermaid style bin with holes in bottom and on sides. It is inside my house and no one even notices it until I point it out. It doesn't smell at all unless I open it, and then it smells like old moldy food.

The food scraps I have put in there do not seem to be getting eaten and are getting moldy, I know worms like the decomposing, are they okay with mold? I've stopped adding food, but am hoping to add it soon!!

I also have a fly infestation, they are small brownish flies and seem to mostly stay in and around the bin. I would really like to get rid of them, but don't know if they are a menace or harmless. I also don't know how the best way to get rid of them is.

I have torn paper and some torn cardboard pieces (all moistened) for bedding, I didn't have much soil to add, but just realized I have a bag of commercial compost I can add some of it if needed. Would that be helpful?

I have about 200 worms (according to the container they arrived in) and know we will need more, but am hesitant to order them... I would like to find some in the yard, but am concerned about the how to and about getting the wrong ones...

I stopped adding food after the first batch just sat there, but hate throwing away good worm food/compost material. Any suggestions? I have tried local cooperative extension offices and waste management sources, but no help there.

My husband is tolerant at this point, but if it begins to smell worse or if flies get bad, he won't be happy for long! I guess I have more questions than I realized! Thank you all for the help!

Hi,

200 worms is not many for a bin, but if you wait long enough they will multiply and you will have more. I would feed very very little food at the moment ... say a teaspoon a day. It doesn't matter if it goes mouldy.

You can't add worms from the garden. They are different kinds of worms and will not survive in a bin.

I use my worms to get rid of waste so I don't buy anything to feed them. All you need for bedding is torn up cardboard and newspaper, not the glossy kind, and some old leaves if you have them.

You will get flies and odour if there is uneaten food in the bin. It is better to feed less and always feed just as much as the worms will eat.

Such a small number of worms would survive in bedding alone without food at all.

Marshall

I am a newbie to vermicomposting also. I have been adding worms i find in my compost pile..most are red wigglers I think. They seem to be loving their new home in my rubbermaid containers and my can o worm...a couple have died but mostly they are just reproducing at a very fast rate. I am finding lots of cocoons and new baby worms.

That's grea, Gatatl. Keep it up.

to keep the bin from smelling and attracting flies you want to bury the food in the bedding. Leaving it on top will allow the smells to eminate and attract pests.

Yes 200 worms is a small number so you will have to be patient and go slow.

Have you concidered doing some regular composting with the scraps that your worms won't eat yet?

Hi,
I'm a worm farm newbie too and was just wondering if anyone can tell me whether or not I should put prawn shells in my farm?
Thanks,
Adele.

You could always put one in and keep an eye on it to see if the worms avoid it. It is likely to take a very long time to break down to a point where the worms can actually stat digesting any of it. I've noticed that peanut shells take forever to break down.

Newbie here, too.
I'm guessing the 30 red worms I bought from a fishing shop will compost roughly one grape per week...lol
How quickly do they reproduce? or should I think about buying a pound or two for 20 bucks a pop?
Also, are there different types of worms? I have a 4x8 bed on concrete, and a tiny, warm compost bin (open, chickenwire) that I've just started. Can I hope to use these worms for either of them or are they just for vermicomposting?

shilohyn,
I suppose it all depends on how patient you are. Once the worms get used to their new home they can eat their weight every few days. If you only have 30 worms, you don't want a huge bed for them as they will have trouble finding eachother to reproduce. If conditions are optimal (food, temperature, bedding, space, etc.) they can reproduce quite fast.

-When I first started my bin 2' by 4' I only bought 2# of worms. They recomended I divide the bin in half and start off only using half of it so that the worms would be closer together and more likely to mate. It seems to have worked well and now I am letting the worms into the other half and feeding them over there so that hopefully I can harvest castings from the original half soon.-

There are different types of worms. Many worm breeders sell a few different varietys together and these are the composting worms people talk about. What you get from a bait shop may or may not be composting worms.

If your compost bins are located on dirt, you will probably attract local worms into them as they cool off. On concrete it is less likely that you will get lots of worms but not impossible. If conditions are right the worms will stay but with winter comming and such a small amount of worms, you might be better off making an indoor rubbermaid worm bin for this winter and concider what you wish to do come spring.