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Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

ok, I have been asked by a couple people to post about raising composting worms for worm compost aka ( vermicompost)
I am no expert but have been doing this for about 20 months, going from 8,000 worms to around 1.5 million in that time.
I will try to provide some techniques i have been successful with and answer any questions for those that may be interested in doing this for themselves.
First off , you need a place for them. To get an amount most are going to want, you will need a few large bins or 1 pretty HUGE bin. I use 4x8 sheets of plywood with 12 inch sides and i have 10 of those and an area beside my deck that is 2'x16'x8 inches deep. some people use raised beds built from cinder blocks with no bottom but depending on where you live, you may have to put down hardware cloth to keep moles(predators) out. These worms ( red wigglers) are NOT soil dwellers, you do not need nor do you want dirt. You want compostable material for them, i.e. horse/cow manure, shredded newspaper/cardboard/junk mail, leaves from your trees. put this around 6 inches deep and wet it to the point that when you sqeeze it, you get 1 or 2 drops of water, check the temp after a couple of days and if its not heating to over 80 deg F. then you can add your worms. They like temps of 68-80 the best, 75 being optimal. you need to cover them either with a lid or a tarp to keep sunlight off them, it WILL kill the worms. depending on the amount of square ft of surface area, you have will determine how many worms you can have in that bin. about 1000 worms to each sq ft of surface area. Give them a month or 2 before you add additional horse manure and the like. They will multiply very quickly if you provide these conditions i have talked about. They will double in bio-mass every 60-90 days, so 10#'s becomes 20, 20 to 40 and so forth and so on. I will keep adding info to this over the next few days. Feel free to ask me anything and i will do my best to answer any questions.

4/13/2008 10:00:25 PM

Logan Utah

any good places to get the worms to start off with

4/13/2008 10:38:44 PM

Colorado

will, good post!

thanks for the vermicompost last week!

4/13/2008 10:44:39 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

The Brothers Kunz,
I have a real good guy i have bought from a few times out in california. Not sure if i can post links on here or not, but i can get the info to you by email, There are several good ones out there but have to watch others as they wont give you what you pay for if you know what i mean. instead of a pound, they will send you a 1/2 pound and 1/2 pound of bedding. Another good source this time of yr is out in cattle fields under their dung, they are hatching out right now and the manure will be loaded underneath the piles of dung.

Longmont pete, you are more than welcome bud.

4/13/2008 10:55:00 PM

Minnesota

Will, do you sell worms, a million and a half sounds like a lot, or do you sell vericompost?

4/14/2008 12:32:58 AM

Pinedale, WY

Will was at the Rocky Mountain meeting, the guy knows more about worms then anybody I've seen. He looked at the Wiz's worms for about 2 seconds and told him about 10 different things he needed to do. Will has some serious worm knowledge.

4/14/2008 12:39:21 AM

Hobbiton New Zealand

Will, I have been feeding my worms (which live in an old bath tub raised off the ground so I can collect the juice that runs off) just cow manure they seem to like it but I not sure if they are gailning in numbers should I be feeding different stuff?

4/14/2008 4:01:50 AM

Connecticut, USA

Don't forget to check out this article from the How To section of the website written on this topic by Monty Wallace.

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/HowTo/WormRaising.pdf

4/14/2008 5:51:39 AM

Ohio

Will, I cant visualize what your bends look like in my mind, now do you stack the bins on top of each other somehow, so that when the worms are done with one ben they move down to another? Or do you just dig a hole in the ground and set one big ben down inside the hole? If you only use one bin how would I separate the wigglers out of the vermicomposting with out sitting there for hours separating the two?
I'm going to give this a try once I understand how you do yours, and I like the cinder block idea.

Do you have any pics or a web site I could go to,that will give me a rough idea what your bins look like?

Thanks for posting about this Will,
Brooks

4/14/2008 6:03:12 AM

Somers, CT

Thanks Will.

4/14/2008 9:11:47 AM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

ok, answering a few of you a time here.
Richard B. right now i am not selling too much at all, I will be dividing my bins again here in another month so as to let them continue to breed, My goal is about 3million worms before i really start trying to sell or give away too many. I do sell some vermicompost but not much yet, been using it adding it to my patch.
steve, Do you have lots of worms in that tub, remember, they will self regulate in numbers according to sq ft surface area, food supply. Also, you have to keep that bin harvested every 6 months about because their own castings become toxic to them after a while, you also need to keep the bin light and fluffy, remember they are not burrowing worms.

Brooks, B. I will get a pic of some of my bins up today. They are seperate from each other. As far as harvesting, most (90%) of your worms will be in upper 4 inches of your bed/bin, so after about 6 months, you scoop all top 4 inches to one side and harvest whats underneathe. I will also post a simple harvester i made from hardware cloth and plywood. If you use the cinder blocks, you can dig or just remain on top of ground and build up from there. But remember to put hardware cloth down if you have mole and armadillo's and such. they do love some worms. I will put pics in my diary right now.

4/14/2008 9:19:41 AM

Little-TON - Colorado

Way to go Will,...Great Post!.... by the way my WiZZle Worm Farm and the WiZZles are going to town now, the babies are crawling all over the inside of the top lid, actually pretty cool to see young wiZZles like this, they are almost thread like and some a bit larger. All my food is disapearing now. I cranked up the temp and they are more active now. Thanks Will

4/14/2008 9:31:54 AM

Logan Utah

how do you harvest the compost?

4/14/2008 10:21:13 AM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

the brothers kunz,
I built a harvester out of 1/8 hardware cloth.
cut 2 circles out of plywood, about 24-36 inches diameter. get some 2"x2"x36", 5 of them. now take the 2 pieces of round plywood you cut. put one piece on top of those "legs if you will out to the edge of plywood but not past the edge, like a table top. flip it over and attach the other piece of round plywood. Now you have what looks like a barrel. Run you a piece of 1 1/2 inch of pvc pipe through the center of the plywood through both ends. so now you have a barrel with a pipe through the center of it.
you need to attach that pipe to the plywood so when you turn the pipe, the barrel turns, follow me here. Now, get some 1/8" hardware cloth/wire mesh and rap around the outside and attach it to the plywood and the legs accordingly. now build a frame so that the pipe on the barrel sits on it where the barrel can spin freely. between 2 of the studs, you need to build a lid on a hinge so you can fill and empty whatever doesnt go through the wire mesh. I will get a pic up shortly of the one i built. make it easier to picture.

4/14/2008 1:17:47 PM

Logan Utah

ya still lost sorry

4/14/2008 4:40:21 PM

Ohio

Thanks Will!

4/14/2008 6:04:46 PM

Littleton, Colo

..Everybody SSSSSSHHHHHH !! Don't tell Iceman !! Keep this a secret !!

4/14/2008 9:08:48 PM

Williamsburg,KY

HI Will, perfect timing with the worm article. I got a worm bin for my birthday and will be getting worms soon. I found a place for worms here in KY, called Triple G Worm Farm..Price seems good. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, it is appreciated..Croley

4/15/2008 8:51:44 AM

Minnesota

Monty Wallace's article on the topic was what I followed, it works. I also threw a scoop of horse manure with the worms, they like it.

4/15/2008 10:34:22 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

What do you do in winter? Around here, and probably where you are as well, things are frozen solid for months at a time. Do you just bring some worms inside and let the others freeze?

4/15/2008 2:11:15 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

I use the worm farm from Peaceful Valley my worms are presently in the basement........so far so good, after Will told me I was drowning the poor critters, and I was, the book that comes with does say to wet them down, but we found out different.

4/15/2008 2:57:05 PM

Minnesota

I've had mine indoors all winter, there is no smell except for a earthy/dirt smell. I plan on moving them outside soon.

4/15/2008 4:34:03 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

cliffwarren, all but 1 of my bins are inside, i have the one that is outside froze solid during the winter, but you have to take into account, when becoming stressed, they breed like mad and leave cocoons, they will come back yr after yr just like they do in the wild. Now, that being said, i know this one of mine was froze solid because i physically checked it, soon as it thawed beginning spring, i went out and turned some over and low and behold, worms, not just baby ones, full grown adult, don't ask me to explain it cause everything i have read sais they die, well somehow they didnt die. Hopefully that helps ya.

4/15/2008 6:53:21 PM

San Jose [email protected]

worms are very resilient you people in freezing areas, build something, stack hay on top for winter, dig big hole put hay bails on bottom, sides and top, keep another group in your basement in a plastic bin with a lid. if you have them outside do not worry what you put in with them, if it heats up too much they will move out till it is comfortable for them. you have to feed them though,, they self regulate to the amount of food

4/17/2008 2:29:56 AM

Colorado Springs.Co

Hey Will, The worms you hooked me up with are doing great in my raised bed. I just have two questions, I've been taking the tarp off when it gets warm just for awhile to warm the soil for them. Good or bad idea? also If adding to your hole mix would'nt you want some of the worms in the hole for aeration and such because you can always mulch and keep the little buggers alive or am I way off the mark.

4/18/2008 1:12:18 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

Shaker,
Has to be plenty of organic material for them to feed on, and remember, they arent soil dwellers. They will stick around in a little dirt but will want to migrate up to feed on the fresh organic stuff for food. As for the tarp, the light will kill them but if they can dive deep enough to get out of the light, they will be fine. Ground should warm up pretty good through the tarp though.

4/18/2008 9:24:02 PM

San Jose [email protected]

shaker

i have put redworms in the patch, with the high OM we have they can survive. If you have plenty throw some of them in your soil

4/19/2008 1:42:02 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

wow, forgot about this thread, lets add to it.

1/14/2009 7:38:05 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

i will repeat this again, these worms will not live in soil, no way , no how. maybe for a short time, but will die off very soon. sunlight kills them within an hr if they cant get away from it.

On to the next thing, i had the red wigglers and last summer lost over half my herd due to getting some horse manure from a pile that had been limed to keep the smell down and i didnt know, to date i have stopped the dying off and manage to keep around half, i have also taken the plunge and ordered 15 pounds of enc's( europeon nite crawlers) eisenia hortenses, for the scientific name. I did this last summer. i have noticed they like the bedding on the moist side better than the ef's. they also eat tons more but reproduce a little slower. they are much easier to sift through come harvest time as they are twice the size of the red wigglers.
I am starting a new bin and will take photos and put links up in here for anyone who is interested in trying this. this way we all learn at the same time and get a visual of things and why we are doing them.

1/14/2009 7:49:27 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

to start off with, lets get the material list. you can adjust the size to fit your needs. keep in mind i have the room to keep mine indoors in a 5,000 sq ft shop that i run my business out of. so adjust accordingly to your space or place. they do NOT have to be kept indoors but much easier to maintain temp levels if you have a space in garage or something of that nature.
We are going with a 4'x8'x12" deep bin here.
plywood or osb 3/4" 1 sheet
2x12x8 3 of them
4x4x8 1 of them
you can use 1x12x8 for this if you want, i just choose the 2 x's for personal preference.
these things need to be untreated. so pine is fine :)

take your plywood and 2 of the 2x12x8s and attach them long ways along the plywood for the sides.
take the 3rd 2x12x8 and cut it 45 inches long, you will have 2 of these when you are done for the ends and attach those to the end, you now have your box made.
cut your 4x4's in 24" lenghts. this will give you 4 legs. place them one on each corner and attach them to the outside of your side walls, 3" screws will be fine for doing this or you can use lag screws.
now you have a free standing worm bed.

1/14/2009 8:12:38 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

now, i use a confetti shredder to shred all my newspaper for bedding. i put about 4 inches deep shredded newspaper and around 1 inch of horse manure and mix it in real good together. now, we need to wet it down to the proper moisture level. use a hose or water can, hose is much easier with a nozzle on shower. spray and mix is the ticket here getting everything in the bin nice and moist. what we want to achieve here is the consistency of a wrung out sponge. So when you pick up a handfull and sqeeze it, you want to get no more than 2 drops of water. you may have to leave this for 30 minutes or so and come back and test it again to make sure it's right.
Now you want to give this a couple of days to get the biological activity going before introducing your worms to this. this also allows time so you can check to see if its heating due to the manure and newspaper composting on its own. if it is, give it time to quit heating and then you can add your worms. you can use red wigglers or europeon nite crawlers. ef's and enc's for short from here on out.
i get the best deal from www.carolinapetsupply.com for the enc's. i am in no way affiliated with them so you can buy from whomever you like.
i would start with at least 5 pounds of worms, this bin can hold easily 32 pounds and up to 50 pounds. each pound of worms needs 1 sq ft of surface area.

1/14/2009 8:25:11 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

continued from above
now, enc's are know to crawl alot until they get settled into their new home. you can put a light above the bin for a few days to keep them down until they become adjusted. once they are happy and not trying to crawl off, you can remove the light and they will stay put. now, to help control moisture, you can build a plywood lid or use burlap or cardboard to lay over the top, this helps retain moisture and also keeps light out. worms like it dark and moist. there is no need to worry about feeding them for a week or so. they will eat what's there and be happy.
now, we need to understand what worms really are eating. they dont actually eat the food stuffs that are in there. they eat the microbes that break down the food stuffs. after a week or so, you can start adding your left over veggie scraps from the kitchen. always feed on top, never bury this stuff as it can cause heating in the bin, you want your bedding to be around 60-75 deg f. ambient temperature doesnt matter as much as long as the bedding is right. do not add any more food until you can no longer recognize what you have already put in there. reason for doing this is the worms eat their bedding as well, so this gives you an idea of how much they are eating so you dont overload your bin and it become smelly and turn anerobic. if this happens, you need to remove the food and let it settle down before adding anything else.

1/14/2009 8:46:29 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

Let's talk about what foods you can add
anything organic is fine, but no meat or dairy products.
meat and dairy products attract rodents not to mention the smell. All of your veggie scraps can be added, the smaller the better, some folks go as far as to run the food through a blender, the smaller the particle size the better, but this is not a have to deal, strictly preference. Everyone always ask about coffee grounds. you can add some coffee grounds, but remember, coffee grounds are acidic and high in Nitrogen, therefore they can cause heating and can turn your bin acidic, so add these in moderation. If you find yourself without enough veggie scraps, you can always add horse or cow manure. be sure its not fresh because it will cause heating if it is. you can add leaves and dried grass clippings but be sure you always allow room for the worms to escape in case any of these start heating!!!! keep an eye on moisture content and if you see it starting to get too moist from the food your adding, just add shredded paper over the top of the bedding, this will draw moisture out and also keeps fruit fly's down. speaking of fruit fly's, you can microwave your food scraps before adding them to the bin, this kills any fruit fly eggs before going into the bin.

1/14/2009 8:46:37 PM

Gays Mills, Wisconsin

Do the worms need sand or similar for digestion? something about gizzards. thanks for sharing John

1/15/2009 10:35:22 PM

Colorado Springs, Co ([email protected])

john, they do have gizzards but there isnt any need to add sand or dirt. you can put a handfull of compost in there to jump start microherd if a person wanted to but there isnt any real need to do so.

1/16/2009 7:30:58 PM