UPDATE – HARVESTING WORMS BY MIGRATION -TWO PLASTIC TOTES – CHEAP & EASY WORM FARM
One week after I stacked these totes, the worms are heading up to the new food. They have nestled themselves into the damp shredded cardboard and newspaper. …
13 Responses to UPDATE – HARVESTING WORMS BY MIGRATION -TWO PLASTIC TOTES – CHEAP & EASY WORM FARM
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I ran out of characters.. just wanted to thank you for helping! 😀
gardenvespers777
June 23, 2013 at 4:00 pm
It smelled ok. Actually as I was cleaning it out it was smelling like dirt. (you know that good dirt smell). It didn’t seem anaerobic.
I couldn’t really tell if it was too wet or too dry. The worms seemed a little dry in the middle, but the sides of the bin and cover were wet.
Hopefully the new bedding will be better.
I just went and took a peek and there are no worms climbing up or condensation. 🙂 so far so good!
I was probably being too motherly by overfeeding.. lol
poor li’l guys!
gardenvespers777
June 23, 2013 at 4:54 pm
I have had worms trying to escape too. My problem was it was too wet. I add more newspaper and cardboard. Also, I make sure that I put a DRY piece of cardboard on top of the worm farm that fits snugly. I don’t think they like to crawl against dry things. I sometimes leave the cover off for three reasons. Helps dry it out, more air circulation and the worms head down because they don’t like light. My problems usually came from over feeding. Does your bin have a bad odor?
LARK KULIKOWSKI
June 23, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Eek Lark! Help! lol
Its a mutiny! The worms are climbing out of the bin! I did some research and it seems there’s something that they didn’t like in there. I have it in the basement, but I think I had too much food in it or something.
Not all of them were trying to exit..but there were quite a few.
I but new bedding in with a handful of compost and some damp newspapers. I thought I would keep it basic. I think I had too many coffee grounds and food in the first bedding.
Any advice?
gardenvespers777
June 23, 2013 at 5:22 pm
It takes about 3 months for these 10 gallon totes to be finished. I have 3 totes going right now. Each tote was started at about 1 month intervals. I started the first tote back in October 2012 & harvested the castings in January, that is 3 months.This system should give me enough castings to get me through the gardening season. I will have 1 WORM FARM TOTE outside during my Wisconsin gardening season, so I can show people how to worm farm. I will have 3 totes active downstairs all the time.
LARK KULIKOWSKI
June 23, 2013 at 5:28 pm
How much vermicompost do you get from your bins each month? I’m thinking about setting up a bin in the basement with the kids. I like your tote idea.
OhHowHappyGardener
June 23, 2013 at 6:23 pm
My lettuce is doing well and so is my basil. My spinach did not do as well as I had hoped and then got aphids so had to trash them. Lights are great, but some stuff just needs real sun I guess. Hope we meet us in the Spring also. 🙂 Lynn
WisconsinGarden
June 23, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Thanks, Lynn. My indoor lettuces and Japanese Red Mustard are doing pretty good and love the WORM TEA. I have also been using SEA-90 on my veggies. My spinach died, I will try again. They would probably all do better if I had them under lights, but I don’t. They are in my south windows. Hope to see you in Spring. Smiles, Lark
LARK KULIKOWSKI
June 23, 2013 at 7:22 pm
Good to see you and your healthy, active worms. Mine are doing well also, making lots of good compost for my houseplants and saving some for Spring. So glad it snowed, finally. We really needed the moisture.
WisconsinGarden
June 23, 2013 at 7:53 pm
It is about 65F in my basement. They are VERY WIGGLEY. :0) Thanks for stopping by and visiting. It is always nice to chat with other gardeners.
LARK KULIKOWSKI
June 23, 2013 at 7:59 pm
They look very healthy! Do they stay in a cool place? I have mine in the garage and they dont seem to be as active as they were when it was warmer.
cfenster
June 23, 2013 at 8:43 pm
Lark: Thanks for the update. The only worms I raise are in my compost pile. My garden at the river had no worms when I started 8 or so years ago and now they are quite a few. I have taken my compost to the river garden for 8 years and the eggs have given me my garden worms which help improve my soil.
navajopa31
June 23, 2013 at 8:44 pm
Your worm farm seem to be doing very well
The Productive Garden
June 23, 2013 at 9:41 pm