When, not if, a bin disaster presents its ugly self

Your bin is gonna revolt against you sooner or later.

It'll develop too much water, or too much odor, or too much illegal immigrant activity, or......one fine day.....too much vermicompost and/or worms. At any of those points, you'll have to plunge into that goopy thing and take matters into your own hands.

This ain't as bad as it sounds......it's bad, but not that bad. Latex exam gloves are a very good item to have handy, but many bin disasters can be remedied without the hands-in approach.

Once again, bin disaster can almost always be synonymed with "too much", as in too much water, or food. The best way to remedy a bin disaster is prevent it....not cause it to happen; not put "too much" of anything into it. But, if you did........


.....come back for the next installment. Right here....soon.

chuckiebtoo

Feeding them babies

It's time to give your worms something to eat, ain't it? Well, it might not be...matter of fact, it probably isn't. Most everybody, especially brand new wormers, overdoes it on food (thus moisture) because they just can't help themselves.

Feed the bin at the same rate the bin eats the food. If you put food in on Monday and today's Thursday and food remains from Monday, don't feed until it's gone. I will say that over and over because it is crucial for avoiding problems in the bin.

Assuming your bin is a plastic tote with newpaper bedding, the best way to feed and adhere to what the previous paragraph says is to spot feed. Each time, pull back the newpaper from the previous feeding site to make sure all that food is gone. In another location, pull back the paper, dump about a cup of foodstock, and replace the paper.

Many people are not ashamed to mark the spot so they can remember where the damned spot is. My marker is a plastic coke top.

I'll give everyone a chance now to disobey these suggestions, develop a bin problem, and come back here a believer and ready to do the right thing.

Next: How to clean up that bin mess you've created.

Chuckiebtoo

NOTE: If you really, really need to ask a worm-saving question, do so in the comment thingie.

Now that you got 'em, whatch gonna do??

If more than a few worms tried to evacuate the bin the first night, you might have to leave a light on in the room they're in. They don't like it and will dive for cover and stay there mostly. Try NOT using a light, though, because it shouldn't be necessary if they're liking that bin you've prepared for them.

Understand that we're talking about lots of worms hauling ass...not just a few confused, or even ambitious ones.

Observation of the bin, and the worms' acceptance of it, will go a long way in assuring you that it is OK with them.

Food? Well, if you fed them when they first arrived, see if that food is gone. If so, feed just a little more than before. When that's almost gone, feed in another location in the bin.

Next: Your first likely problem

The worms are here!!!

The worms have come and now you've gotta put them into the right frame of mind. They've been banged up and thrown around during the "fragile, live animals" shipping process, and they need a little love.

In a 10 gallon bin, put the 1# of vermi, bedding and all, gently therein atop the composting horse manure or other bedding material. Spread the worms and shipping bedding gently and cover that whole layer with the newspaper bedding.

Add a little of those veggie scraps you've been hoarding since you began this adventure into a spot underneath the newpaper layer...maybe a cupful.

Now, the first critical decision of your worming career: how much moisture to add to the bin to make it "as damp as a wrung out sponge".

Just a little bit, that's how much. Sprinkle a little water on the bedding. Maybe half a small bottled water. Tomorrow, look under the bin for "leachate" (a fancy word for too much water). If there's none, you're doing good.

I don't mean to be redundant with this water thing, but it is the most important thing you'll every learn to do correctly with a plastic worm bin.

Next up: Keeping your worms from abandoning the new home you've provided for them.

All worms want is a nice place to eat, poop, and make little worms!............. Lesson 2

As you can see, I've started adding some pics to this, and all posts, as soon as I can get them in some orderly fashion. Keep coming back because they're damned good stuff.

Next......, we'll talk about what the hell you're gonna do when that box of worms comes knocking on your door. Coming Soon!

Future further review....Lesson 1 redux.

Be advised, should I decide/find it necessary to change anything in Lesson 1, I'll do it here....if it's OK with ya'll.

Coincidentally, I just thought of one thing: You'll read about drilling lots of air holes into your plastic bin. Don't do it yet. I'll tell you what I think about all them holes in lesson two.

I'll be the sixth or seventh to admit I'm doling this out in small, easy to digest doses. If you're really into it, Google composting worms for the bland, boring, uninteresting facts of the matter.

What I think about them air holes is that you don't need em. They're OK, and if you want some, drill them...in the bottom, and the top, and all around the sides. When...not if....you get excess moisture in the bin(s), it'll have a chance to escape your worms.

OK, after reading what I just wrote, I now realize you probably are gonna need some holes in the FIRST bin because you'll overly mother those babies damn near to death and drownation.

Put some water escape route holes in the bottom of your FIRST bin about <.....................this........................> far apart and about this.......O....... big.

I couldn't find any pics of just the bottom of a bin, so this one with the old, outdated holes everywhere bin will have to do. But remember, you ain't gonna need all them holes.

Wanna be a Wormer? Lesson 1

I've been raising worms, composting worms mainly, since well back into the 20th century, and I want to pass on all the good stuff I've learned as well as all the things I learned aren't so good.

I just divorced myself from a relationship with a vermiforum I was involved in since its inception and will miss almost all the people I grew up with...worm wise...there.

So, lets build a worm bin!

I am gonna tell you how I like to do it. You can raise worms in plastic bins, dresser drawers, buckets, holes in the ground, old shop vac's....just about anything. But because of moisture retention, I'll talk about building a plastic tote worm bin.

Day 1:

Buy a 10 gallon Sterilite or Rubbermaid plastic tote...or two. They should be opaque because worms love being in the dark. Tear newspaper into narrow strips for bedding.

Go online for a worm farmer/seller/raiser of your choice and order a pound, or two, of red wigglers (look up the Latin, official name for red wigglers)

Begin denying your garbage disposal of veggie scraps, and apple cores, and other non-meat and fat products, and salty stuff, and coffee grounds and tea bags, and....other stuff by putting them in a safe place, like a freezer, or a nice decanter-type slop jar for when the worm's arrive pretty damned pissed about being in a USPS shipping box for two or three days.

In those few days, depending on the postal service, and weather (don't buy worms from a place where they'll be shipped through freezing weather), the worms will be very anxious about their new surroundings so get that bin welcome prepared.

Day 2-arrival:

Prepare the bin with a little bedding. Composting horse manure is good, and my favorite, but you can use leaves and yard waste, with the newspaper stripping, of course

Wait for the worms to arrive.

Come back tomorrow for the next installment.

Relax. It ain't rocket science...but if you have questions, ask me @here.