Yeah that is a good point. Just figured at least starting out, adding 250 would help kick things off. But based on some of the stuff I have seen and read im under the impression that one of these bins should be able to be home to well over 250 worms. But maybe I will try to hold off for now. Maybe if I get really board one of these days I can do a head count...errr.....worm count.
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I GOT WORMS!!!
- Thread starter crazy8
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I started off with around 250 over a year ago and now I have at least that per tray in a 7 tier tray. Once they start multiplying you will have more than you know what to do with. My biggest problem is collecting enough scraps to keep them all feed. I think they can eat their weight in food per day and no matter how much I give them it's gone pretty fast.
Well I think I have so far been doing a great job with maintaining my worm bin. Every once in a while I go in and mix it up just a little to get some air in it. I also like to check in on the worms and see how they look and how they are growing. Well I have noticed many of them are getting that ring around their neck and thus becoming "breeders". Over the weekend just before I fed the worms my lettuce harvest and while I had my hand in the bin and digging up some worms to give them a once over, I noticed something fantastic, a little worm. It obviously went unnoticed for a little time because he wasn't tiny, but it was much smaller than the others. This was also reconfirmed because another time I was in the bin doing a little more poking around I noticed 1 or 2 more little ones.
So all in all I think I am doing the correct things now. I noticed it was getting a bit hot in the bin so I took the lid off for now. However I am installing 2-80mm pc fans to act as exhaust. One fan will bring in air the other will draw it out from inside the bin. I now to have any issues with them trying to get out of the bin any more so I think it may have been just a bit to warm at times even though the times I was able to check it the temp was in the mid 80's or so. Plus if the worms are growing and breeding then that must be another sign of a good living environment.
Here is a lovely picture of the first growing baby I found...
So all in all I think I am doing the correct things now. I noticed it was getting a bit hot in the bin so I took the lid off for now. However I am installing 2-80mm pc fans to act as exhaust. One fan will bring in air the other will draw it out from inside the bin. I now to have any issues with them trying to get out of the bin any more so I think it may have been just a bit to warm at times even though the times I was able to check it the temp was in the mid 80's or so. Plus if the worms are growing and breeding then that must be another sign of a good living environment.
Here is a lovely picture of the first growing baby I found...
Well lately I have been keeping my lid off the worm bin because it has just been getting way to hot. I asked my wife to take it off last week when she was home and I was at work and she kind of forgot and when I got home the worm bin was a toasty 90 some degrees. I instantly took the lid off and have left it off since. I also decided that I would take the sensor of the thermometer I use and stick it in the dry newspaper that lays on top of the nice moist atmosphere my worms call home so that I could still see how warm it was and make sure things were well.
Well I had yet another one of my crazy ideas and so far its looking good. This weekend I will be buying the last of my parts needed for this project. So since I want to put the lid back on the bin but don't want my worms to all die off I decided I would get two 80mm PC case fans and create an air circulation system which should help cool the bin on those hot days. I plan to have this hooked up to a 12v power supply so that I need need to eat through a constant supply of 9v batteries. So here is what the lid looks like right now.
This is the top of the lid with that fan covers.
And the bottom of the lid, the fans themselves.
The next steps to take and things to be done is to take a female USB cable and hook up the + and - of the fans to the female USB cable and then mount the female USB cable into the lid. That way I can use a male USB cable that will have one end plugged right into the lid and then to the 12v power supply which also will have a spot on it to supply poser to USB devices. Ill be sure to post up finished pics once it is complete.
Well I had yet another one of my crazy ideas and so far its looking good. This weekend I will be buying the last of my parts needed for this project. So since I want to put the lid back on the bin but don't want my worms to all die off I decided I would get two 80mm PC case fans and create an air circulation system which should help cool the bin on those hot days. I plan to have this hooked up to a 12v power supply so that I need need to eat through a constant supply of 9v batteries. So here is what the lid looks like right now.
This is the top of the lid with that fan covers.
And the bottom of the lid, the fans themselves.
The next steps to take and things to be done is to take a female USB cable and hook up the + and - of the fans to the female USB cable and then mount the female USB cable into the lid. That way I can use a male USB cable that will have one end plugged right into the lid and then to the 12v power supply which also will have a spot on it to supply poser to USB devices. Ill be sure to post up finished pics once it is complete.
Well last night when I got home from work I decided to see if I could find some spare parts that I need to get the fans running. First off I have decided to take this project to another level but for now I am keeping that under wraps and will release that info when its ready. 
Anyway I found an ac/dc power adapter but it was only 300ma so the fans aren't even at full speed. However with a little time, I did see the temp go down. So this is a "just for now" setup. I have power and the fans are moving and the bin is staying cool with the lid on so for now this will work. I plan on ordering my beefier ac/dc power adapter which will be 1300ma and should be closer to the mark of what these fans will use. I will also be ordering my ***mystery part*** at the same time. Once I got it all hooked up and running and will post full pics for you all to see. For now here is a simple pic showing the finished lid and the current temp when I took the pic this morning.
At one time I used to have the thermistor dangling from the bottom of the lid then realized "I don't think the worms care how warm the air above them is, as mush as the temp of the bedding/soil they live, breed, and poop in". So I now have the thermistor sitting in just the top of the bedding in the bin.
Anyway I found an ac/dc power adapter but it was only 300ma so the fans aren't even at full speed. However with a little time, I did see the temp go down. So this is a "just for now" setup. I have power and the fans are moving and the bin is staying cool with the lid on so for now this will work. I plan on ordering my beefier ac/dc power adapter which will be 1300ma and should be closer to the mark of what these fans will use. I will also be ordering my ***mystery part*** at the same time. Once I got it all hooked up and running and will post full pics for you all to see. For now here is a simple pic showing the finished lid and the current temp when I took the pic this morning.At one time I used to have the thermistor dangling from the bottom of the lid then realized "I don't think the worms care how warm the air above them is, as mush as the temp of the bedding/soil they live, breed, and poop in". So I now have the thermistor sitting in just the top of the bedding in the bin.
haha that's a cool setup!!
Man my worms would LOVE your setup. I put mine in a large farm in the garage and they have been fine every since. Although the temps in the garage get to around 90 during the hot parts of the day since the soil is most and they have several levels the soil really never gets that hot.
Man my worms would LOVE your setup. I put mine in a large farm in the garage and they have been fine every since. Although the temps in the garage get to around 90 during the hot parts of the day since the soil is most and they have several levels the soil really never gets that hot.
Well I do have to say, it would be cool to have all those layers though and that spout. I should take some pics of the inside of the bin to show you all how well its coming. They still have a long way to go but man its looking awesome. I also was adding a melon/celery/lettuce food scraps mix I made, to the bin this morning and found another baby wiggler so things are still going quite well. I also keep the contents in my bin moist but "airy". Not sure if I should or if it is ok to "pack it down" a little more or if that will make any difference with anything. Anyway I will be sure to keep you all posted as this project continues. 
Well here is an inside look of the bin. I don't know if these pics will do any justice but there is A LOT of worm castings in here and im sure most of what I am finding is castings since I used very little compost in the bin and it looks as though they have consumed most of the peat moss. Anyway here are the pics.
The spot where you see the worm i think may be mostly castings and maybe just a little bit of left over peat moss. The yellowish looking stuff is the melon/celery/lettuce stuff I made and keep frozen for them to eat. Yes I do thaw it out a little before giving it to them and I know they don't like things to cold.
This is just the other end of the bin. Notice the worms IN the food scraps. I think they are liking this stuff very much. I didn't take a picture of what I found after these pics, but I lifted up the bottom layer of cardboard and found a few more babies and a ton more adults.
Its still kind of weird though...I know I purchased and received 250 worms but man ill bet if I had to guess I don't even think I have 100. Now at first I was constantly having to round up the escapees and getting them all back in the bin but I didn't find 100+ dried worms all over my garage. I almost wonder if I didn't lose most of them in the bin and that they themselves become one with the compost? It sucks because even though things are going very well I WANT MORE...lol
The spot where you see the worm i think may be mostly castings and maybe just a little bit of left over peat moss. The yellowish looking stuff is the melon/celery/lettuce stuff I made and keep frozen for them to eat. Yes I do thaw it out a little before giving it to them and I know they don't like things to cold.
This is just the other end of the bin. Notice the worms IN the food scraps. I think they are liking this stuff very much. I didn't take a picture of what I found after these pics, but I lifted up the bottom layer of cardboard and found a few more babies and a ton more adults.
Its still kind of weird though...I know I purchased and received 250 worms but man ill bet if I had to guess I don't even think I have 100. Now at first I was constantly having to round up the escapees and getting them all back in the bin but I didn't find 100+ dried worms all over my garage. I almost wonder if I didn't lose most of them in the bin and that they themselves become one with the compost? It sucks because even though things are going very well I WANT MORE...lol
Ill be sure to add those things tonight. My lawn is due to be cut but does it matter if it is fresh or dead grass? I can add some dirt in there to that isn't in the gardens since I have been using MG in them. As far as leaves go I guess I figured green lettuce would count as it is leafy and green am I wrong in thinking that? I thought if (not that I have been doing this regularly) I put the peat moss on top of the food or as the very top layer that not only would it help with moisture control but also keeping the insects down.
Basically you just need a source of nitrogen. I don't think lettuce would help since it's mainly water. I usually just add fresh grass, but old grass, leaves, manure (small amounts) shouldn't matter as long as it's a source of nitrogen and will keep the bin balanced. Not sure if you can just top the bin off with peat moss or not, but as long as you have at least an inch of on top to keep insects flies from laying eggs in your bin you should be fine.
well no internet so I'm trying to do this from my phone so here it goes...
first off I found a big bag of dead leaves in the garage and I also decided to weed the garden while I was at it, so that's what the green stuff is.
I then found a bucket of dirt outside the backdoor of my garage. It was a bit wet so I added some peat moss.
I then added a bit of the mix on top of it all as you can see here.
After all was said and done I put a small pile of shredded newspaper on top which is what I always do.
I have noticed just a few really tiny flies. one I think was black the other was green. So is this a more appropriate way doing it?
first off I found a big bag of dead leaves in the garage and I also decided to weed the garden while I was at it, so that's what the green stuff is.
I then found a bucket of dirt outside the backdoor of my garage. It was a bit wet so I added some peat moss.
I then added a bit of the mix on top of it all as you can see here.
After all was said and done I put a small pile of shredded newspaper on top which is what I always do.
I have noticed just a few really tiny flies. one I think was black the other was green. So is this a more appropriate way doing it?
Well I have been collecting egg shells for a couple weeks (we dont eat as much eggs as id like...lol) and while I was washing some old shells last night and let them dry, I ended up crushing them in the same manor I did with previous ones. Put them in two ziplock bags and take a rolling pin to them. Well, while "playing" with them and trying to pick out some of that inner membrane stuff I started to pinch the shells in the bowl and roll them between my thumb and finger. I started to realize that this was also crushing the shells to much finer pieces. Well upon my discovery I decided grab the screen strainer and another bowl. The process....
Crush shells in "bowl 1"
Put strainer over "bowl 2"
Shake the strainer a bit until it looks like all the really fine pieces have been sifted through
Take left over material in strainer and put back into "bowl 1"
Repeat until all that is left is the pieces of membrane and pieces that don't want to cooperate.
Here is what I ended up with and its like a fine sand almost...I wouldn't mind trying to get this to a powder even.
I plan to us it in the worm bin and in the garden(s).
Crush shells in "bowl 1"
Put strainer over "bowl 2"
Shake the strainer a bit until it looks like all the really fine pieces have been sifted through
Take left over material in strainer and put back into "bowl 1"
Repeat until all that is left is the pieces of membrane and pieces that don't want to cooperate.
Here is what I ended up with and its like a fine sand almost...I wouldn't mind trying to get this to a powder even.
I plan to us it in the worm bin and in the garden(s).
Looks good so far. The newspaper will actually work as "bedding" so it's better to put that on first not last. The worms will eat the paper, but if there are better food
sources available they will use it to bed and breed. If you put the paper on top / last they won't use it as they prefer to burrow.
You may also just crush up the leaves a bit as it will help in decompose quicker.
I also do the same thing with my egg shells, but I just use my dedicated pepper grinder and just quickly grind them down.
sources available they will use it to bed and breed. If you put the paper on top / last they won't use it as they prefer to burrow.
You may also just crush up the leaves a bit as it will help in decompose quicker.
I also do the same thing with my egg shells, but I just use my dedicated pepper grinder and just quickly grind them down.
Well I use the newspaper just as a topper. But there is a lot of newspaper under the leaves and dirt and all that.
Oh yeah I don't know why I didn't think of that considering I have been ripping and chopping up everything else to little bits...that was my bad...lol
Oh yeah another use for the coffee grinder. Im really going to have to invest in one of those now.
Thanks for the help with all of this.
Oh yeah I don't know why I didn't think of that considering I have been ripping and chopping up everything else to little bits...that was my bad...lol
Oh yeah another use for the coffee grinder. Im really going to have to invest in one of those now.
Thanks for the help with all of this.
So I do have another question out of curiosity...So I live in the frozen tundra known as Minnesota but this summer has been HOT and very humid. I just heard on the radio that we had a an 83 degree dew point yesterday and the only other place in the world or western hemisphere that had that was the Amazon Jungle. Anyway my worm bin is getting pretty warm even in the garage...
So I checked on them last night and they are alive but I am wondering, what extremes can they deal with and still live? I seem to recall reading and hearing that the coldest is about 45 degrees and the optimal temp for them to live and breed is around 80-85 degrees. so any time I see it in the 90's I get scared. I did decide to aerate the bedding and give everything a good spraying with the spray bottle, thinking that may help cool a little bit. I am thinking I will order my higher mah plug so that the fans will spin at their top speeds and that should also help a little bit more. But what more can I do to cool things down? What is the worms "safe" limit as far as temps go?
So I checked on them last night and they are alive but I am wondering, what extremes can they deal with and still live? I seem to recall reading and hearing that the coldest is about 45 degrees and the optimal temp for them to live and breed is around 80-85 degrees. so any time I see it in the 90's I get scared. I did decide to aerate the bedding and give everything a good spraying with the spray bottle, thinking that may help cool a little bit. I am thinking I will order my higher mah plug so that the fans will spin at their top speeds and that should also help a little bit more. But what more can I do to cool things down? What is the worms "safe" limit as far as temps go?