I Got Worms - Part 2
This is a reference to this post, so if you want to learn about the basics of setting up a bin, and understand the mistakes I reference here, read that one first.
I've been vermicomposting for a couple of years now, and as you'll see in the photos in this article, I'm a lot better at it. Where I left my last post, my bin was slimy, stinky, and had a lot of beady things that I now believe were some kind of mite. It ended up working okay. I harvested the castings, used it in my garden, made a lot of worm tea, etc... but my objective since then has been a clean worm bin, and it's much more enjoyable now.
I've found it's helpful to start with a lot of stuff in a bin rather than starting with a small bin and building it up over time.Make a vermicompost lasagna by layering paper, coffee grounds, and eggshells, spraying each layer down. When you're spraying your water remember:
The biggest advantage of starting with a deep bin is that it's easy to cover your food completely to keep flies and smells away. I scaled back my food contributions to the bin substantially. At least once/week I'll put a couple of cups worth of food in there, but for the most part, the worms are eating the coffee grounds. This prevents the slimy, stinky muck that took over my first bin.
The #1 most popular food I've put in the bin so far was a portobello mushroom. It went bad, and I had a small hope that it would grow other portobellos if I set the mushroom on top of my worm bin. Over the next week or so I watched as the mushroom pulsed with worms. They loved it.
The challenge is, you still lose a lot of worms who don't move. You also end up with a lot of clumps of unprocessed banana stems, or other large clumps that are difficult to work with.
The best method I've found to sift your castings from your worms and unfinished compost is using a metal mesh basket like this.
I recently found a Youtube video introducing me to this method, but I can't find it now. If I ever find it again, I'll link it here so I can give credit to the guy who thought of this. Using a mesh basket like that allows you to sift out anything you want to keep, and the end result is a really nice, fine pile of pure, unadulterated worm shit.
I've been vermicomposting for a couple of years now, and as you'll see in the photos in this article, I'm a lot better at it. Where I left my last post, my bin was slimy, stinky, and had a lot of beady things that I now believe were some kind of mite. It ended up working okay. I harvested the castings, used it in my garden, made a lot of worm tea, etc... but my objective since then has been a clean worm bin, and it's much more enjoyable now.
Vermicompost Lasagna
To start, I recommend using shredded paper that's been through an actual paper shredder, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, and a lot of water. I think the leaves in my other bin might have introduced the mites that took over my bin, so I've stayed away from leaves in my recent bins. Luckily my neighbor is old and gets A LOT of junk mail which he shreds, so I have a never-ending supply of shredded paper.I've found it's helpful to start with a lot of stuff in a bin rather than starting with a small bin and building it up over time.Make a vermicompost lasagna by layering paper, coffee grounds, and eggshells, spraying each layer down. When you're spraying your water remember:
- It's much easier to add more moisture later than it is to dry out your bin
- Coffee grounds suck up a lot of moisture
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| My current bin, all lasagna style |
Feeding The Worms
Once I've got several layers built up (6-12 inches) I'll let the bin rest for a minute and the worms get to work on the coffee grounds. After a week or so of getting the bin established and making sure the worms aren't trying to escape dry, wet, or acidic conditions, I start adding food.The biggest advantage of starting with a deep bin is that it's easy to cover your food completely to keep flies and smells away. I scaled back my food contributions to the bin substantially. At least once/week I'll put a couple of cups worth of food in there, but for the most part, the worms are eating the coffee grounds. This prevents the slimy, stinky muck that took over my first bin.
The #1 most popular food I've put in the bin so far was a portobello mushroom. It went bad, and I had a small hope that it would grow other portobellos if I set the mushroom on top of my worm bin. Over the next week or so I watched as the mushroom pulsed with worms. They loved it.
Harvesting The Castings
So far I've used a passive approach to harvesting my castings. My bins have holes in the bottom, so I just place my second bin on top of the castings in my first bin and only feed my second bin. Over the course of a month or so, a lot of worms follow the food, through the holes, into the second bin.The challenge is, you still lose a lot of worms who don't move. You also end up with a lot of clumps of unprocessed banana stems, or other large clumps that are difficult to work with.
The best method I've found to sift your castings from your worms and unfinished compost is using a metal mesh basket like this.
I recently found a Youtube video introducing me to this method, but I can't find it now. If I ever find it again, I'll link it here so I can give credit to the guy who thought of this. Using a mesh basket like that allows you to sift out anything you want to keep, and the end result is a really nice, fine pile of pure, unadulterated worm shit.
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| My finished castings |
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