feeding worms LOTS of cardboard
joefalco
18 years ago
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garnetmoth
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
How do you feed your worms?
Comments (35)Charlie I have to agree there are many variables. In the beginning even if you start out with 1000 or so worms they have to become happy with their environment. I would just put a little dab in corner with food as it is just sitting there letting time work and boy is that every slow. Then you learn that food needs to be as small as can be , in other words if you have a food processor , juicer or similar asset will help. Early on you may only need to put down 1/2 lb of food but once the worm machine gets going you can put down more, its a learn as go process by how fast the herd is eating the food. Before the worms tear into the food if you look closely you will see the top surface covered with bacteria/microbes which will start the breakdown process thus the term "teaming with microbes' comes into play. So to make a long story less long how often do I feed once a week. I do not put new bedding down everytime I feed. I always keep hand shredded newsprint on top to cover food and help keep any smells down and fruit flies away. Keep in mind bedding is also food and when the food supply is low they will be eating the paper so I try to keep a good supply of newsprint which I will long strip by hand. This covering is much easier to maneuver than machine shredded. This cover is kept moist. I will add that when I ordered my factory 360 and I got an extra tray free and in this tray I keep dry shredded paper which is to keep unwanted fruit flies from getting to the food to lay eggs. This tray is on top of the actual feeding tray. Keep in mind my systems are inside if yours are outside its a different ballgame....See MoreWorms in the Greenhouse, & feeding
Comments (5)Yes, I was planning to use Red Wigglers. 77 during the day won't be a problem (and humidity in the bin won't be a problem)...it's at night that will be the hard part. Don't they have a natural night time drop where ever they're native to? I assume that since they don't live under the soil, but rather in the natural "composting" conditions of leaf piles and such, that night temps drop in thier natural habitat as well. I'm just wondering what that would be normally. I did read a lot of posts about what others here do in the winter - wintering in the garage, etc. Someone mentioned thier worms survived down to zero outside as well. I guess what I want to know (and haven't found here searching/reading) is what the lowest nighttime temp is that I could keep them at, and still have them warm up and be active during the normal warmer daytime temps. I'll keep looking/reading - it's got to be somewhere. In any case, what about the feeding? Are lean table scraps and more paper/cardboard okay, or do they need to be fed heavier on the kitchen scrap side?...See MoreFeeding worm bins
Comments (12)Many of the suggestions you read on how much a worm can eat and how much the bin can/should be fed are misinterpretations of recommendations that come from Mary Appelhof's book "Worms Eat My Garbage". Many of these recommendations were not based on scientific research, but were generalizations Mary had to make to aid a public demanding answers that science had not yet found or about which could not make general statements. As such, she intended them as guidelines to aid people in beginning a bin, as she recognized better than almost anyone that how much a worm can eat depends on the character of the feedstock, the enviornment, etc, etc. The internet turned Mary's generalized guidelines into "facts" and "rules" for worm behavior and worm bin management, however, and have now become so overstated as to be incorrect. When beginning a new bin, following the guideline that the system will process a weight of feedsock roughly equal to the weight of worms for the first week or two is a reasonable expectation. As the system matures, however, it will be able to process more and more, dependant, of course on the chararcter of the feedstock and the environment. The wise vermicomposter will feed their bin not based on the suggested feeding rates found in a book, but on their own observations of how quickly their system is managing new feedstock additions. Each time the worms move into a new addition of feedstock this should be an indication that more feedstock can be added. The first feedstock does not have to be fully processed, it simply has to have worms actively working in it, indicating that it is sufficiently biologically active to be available to them. Adding new feedstock at this point gives the new stuff sufficient time to become biologically active while the previous addition of feedstock is being processed. the average healthy home worm bin supports about 1.5 pounds of worms per square foot of bin surface area on the average. The most populous vermicomposting system every documented supported roughly 4 pounds of worms per square foot of bin surface area, but that population density could not be sustained indefinitely. Don't get too caught up in the question of "how many worms are possible in the bin?" or "how many worms should my bin hold?" as the worms will populate based on the amount of available food and space. Put some worms in the bin (hell, you could begin with just two, or, believe it or not, even ONE, and end up with a maxed out population in several months), keep it moist, add some feedstock and they will make more worms for you at just the right speed and to just the right population level for the system as you are managing it. As to recommenations to add "decomposing material", that is exactly what you are adding when you put feedstock in the bin. Some folks suggest "pre-composting" the feedstock before adding it to the system, but I have to wonder what they perceive is the advantage to pre-composting it in a bucket separate from the bin over simply allowing it "pre-compost" IN the bin where there is massive biology to aid in the process. Sometimes the suggestion to add "decomposting material" refers to the use of compost or worm castings as a part of the bedding in a new bin to ensure the system has a relatively high level of biology at the outset, and this is actually good advice, though is certainly not a requirement. Compost in the bedding often helps the worms settle into the new environment more quickly than they would in a bin full of shredded paper and kitchen scraps alone. I know, I know, this is another of my long-winded posts, but the answers require some explanation if what we want is a truly educated vermicomposting public! I am working on brevity (you should have seen this post before I edited it!), so please be patient with me; brevity is not a general part of my nature and at 43 changing takes some time! Let me know if you have more question, Robin, or if any of this needs further explanation! Kelly S...See MoreVermicompost Colored Paper Feed Sacks? Processing Cardboard?
Comments (1)There is a lot of discussion about this on both sides, yes colored paper is okay and no, colored paper is toxic to the worms. I do know that Mary Applehoff did not think colored paper was good for the worms, but that was about 50 years ago and the paper manufacturers have changed what they use for dyes. You might try small quantities and see what happens. Whether glossy paper should be used depends as well. Pages from many magazines are glossy from the manufacturing process while the ads may be glossy because of the lacquer used to keep the inks from smearing. kimmq is kimmsr...See Moregarnetmoth
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoPuraVida
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agobillr12
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agojason_mackenna
18 years agolast modified: 9 years agogarnetmoth
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18 years agolast modified: 9 years agoKelly_Slocum
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