composting worms

[Grits]

Two Christmases ago, my son asked for a compost bin for Christmas. We got him a 'Can O Worms" (or something to that effect). It is still going strong, although we got off to a slow start, mainly because we only got about one pound of worms at the beginning to learn on. We then let it get too dry once and lost a lot of them (I know, poor worms.), but nursed the remaining ones back to health, and I think we are finally ready to expand up to the next layer of the can. We keep ours in the garage, and the worms slow down over the winter. We plan to build a regular compost bin next week over spring break.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Our bin has been inside all winter. No flies anymore (we did have an issue early on, but learned how to fix that). Two things help: 1) lots of shredded paper on top of the added scraps (we saved packing paper from our move for this, but newspaper would work well, too) and 2) freeze the scraps before giving them to the worms. I got this idea from someone else, and I have no idea why it works, but it does. I just keep a leftover container in the freezer for 'worm food'. I throw stuff in it, and then when it's full, move it to the worm bin.

I think the freezing thing works because fruit flies lay their eggs in your little kitchen compost collecting pot for the day or two you are collecting kitchen scraps, before you take it to your worm bin....and freezing kills the fruit fly eggs before you put the compost material into the worm bin.
They also say if you gently make a little hole and bury your kitchen scraps down inside the worm bedding, and have plenty of shredded paper on the surface, then fruit flies are not a problem.

My 'worm condo' has been shipped. I ordered 2 lbs of red wriggler composting worms, but I did something a bit quirky- I ordered 1 lb of worms from two different places, to see what the service and quality differences might be. I also had this weird idea that doing this would ensure that my worms would have some genetic diversity as they started multiplying and that it would somehow be healthier as opposed to getting only worms that had been interbred for years together. Am I nuts for thinking this? Hah, here I am already practicing animal husbandry on my worms.

[Tuckervill]

Lisa, you crack me up!

We have red wigglers in the ground here. I wouldn't have to buy them.

I don't compost my kitchen scraps because of um, laziness. But I do compost leaves and every year we chip about a yard of limbs that have fallen from our oaks and pecans, and we use that for mulch. Well, last year we didn't mulch, and now that pile is all lovely, lovely compost that I'm putting in the gardens this year.

Karen

[Dianyla]

I think the freezing thing works because fruit flies lay their eggs in your little kitchen compost collecting pot for the day or two you are collecting kitchen scraps, before you take it to your worm bin....and freezing kills the fruit fly eggs before you put the compost material into the worm bin.
They also say if you gently make a little hole and bury your kitchen scraps down inside the worm bedding, and have plenty of shredded paper on the surface, then fruit flies are not a problem.

I've only had a problem with fruit flies with citrus fruits, so eventually I just stopped adding those to my bin. However, I'm interested in the freezing technique... I hate not being able to compost everything.

(Burying them deeper didn't fix the problem for me.)

[tulip]

For years I froze my kitchen scraps in order to eliminate the stink that accompanied the collection. Now, however, I use a stainless steel bucket with a tight fitting lid. I take it out to my compost bin every couple of days. I've had no problems with stink or flies.

I'm a long-time composter, and I'm excited to get my 3-bin system up and running in May at my new house. Right now I have just a big pile of leaves (I have five mature oak trees in my yard) and my black composter. No problems with rodents here, but I did have a terrible problem with rats when I lived near DC. The only way to keep them away was to turn the pile every few days so they couldn't settle in. But that was hard to do with my work schedule. I would consider worms if I didn't have a yard.

[OakLeaf]

My "inside" scrap bucket is a one-gallon plastic container with a snap lid and a carry handle from the paint department at Home Depot. It goes in the dishwasher when it gets too gross.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've only had a problem with fruit flies with citrus fruits, so eventually I just stopped adding those to my bin. However, I'm interested in the freezing technique... I hate not being able to compost everything.
(Burying them deeper didn't fix the problem for me.)

They say if you lay several inches of fresh dry shredded newspaper on the very TOP of the surface of the composting bed with the worms, it keeps most of the fruit flies from getting down in the damp food stuff to lay any eggs. Between that and the freezing should help.

My worms have not arrived yet, but any day now, certainly this week. Meanwhile, I keep a little open plastic box for kitchen scraps near the sink, and after two or three days i put the lid on and freeze it and start a new tub near the sink. Then I'll thaw the frozen scraps to room temp a batch at a time and bury them in the worm bin once it's set up.
I read that freezing food scraps and then thawing them helps 'break them down' right away to the stage where the worms will be able to eat them much more quickly than if they were just fresh scraps. That makes sense to me.

Right now I have just a big pile of leaves (I have five mature oak trees in my yard) and my black composter. No problems with rodents here, but I did have a terrible problem with rats when I lived near DC. The only way to keep them away was to turn the pile every few days so they couldn't settle in. But that was hard to do with my work schedule. I would consider worms if I didn't have a yard.

I do have a yard, but I don't have that much yard debris to compost- mostly I've been frustrated as to 'recycling' kitchen food scraps. Here there are too many possums, skunks, racoons, dogs (and yes a few country rats too) to be putting food scraps into an outdoor bin. Those animals can pry their way into anything!
But I liked the idea of a worm bin...it seems much more efficient and elegant to handle our limited food scraps. I like the concept of letting the worms do the 'turning' of the compost. Besides, worm castings will be GREAT fertilizer for my tomatoes!

[deedolce]

I love wormies! I got a worm tower through Freecycle, and got started with worms from a team member, trading her some handspun yarn for worms. I freeze stuff too. I also get used coffee grounds from the local Starbucks for the regular compost and my worm bin. I started 3 soda pop worm towers for my classroom too...science project, of course!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My first package of composting worms has arrived!
They are in their temporary bin home until their 'fancy' worm hive comes tomorrow.
I posted a bunch of worm pictures here:
My Blog
....Cute story included about my mailman, too.

[Dianyla]

They say if you lay several inches of fresh dry shredded newspaper on the very TOP of the surface of the composting bed with the worms, it keeps most of the fruit flies from getting down in the damp food stuff to lay any eggs.

That probably would help. However, in smaller bins, especially the tray systems, the height of each tray is about 6". As it starts getting full and ready to jump to the next tray, there's absolutely no room for that much additional material added on top. One thing I did try was to lay several sheets of newspaper down around the entire tray, to "seal" the top of the active pile from flies. Didn't work. The only thing that worked was to stop putting in citrus peels.

I read that freezing food scraps and then thawing them helps 'break them down' right away to the stage where the worms will be able to eat them much more quickly than if they were just fresh scraps. That makes sense to me.

That should help make the nutrients more readily available to the worms. When processing vegetables/etc. in the kitchen I always make sure to chop the rinds into smaller pieces. Also, I've also found it's a lot better to feed them in batches. I'll collect a pailful of my own kitchen scraps, and consolidate my scraps with a friend's kitchen scraps. By the time I take it down to the worms (about every 2 weeks) it's getting pretty ripe already. But the worms seem to love partially rotted scraps more than absolutely fresh cuttings.

Also, staggering the feedings forces them to eat some of their less favorite foods, otherwise they'll continue to avoid less favored foods and head for the choice items every time.

[RoadRaven]

2 summers ago I got my parents, and my ma-in-law their own composting bins with worms.
Fantastic pressies, still being used, and the children (although 3 are adults now) really like us having one too!

Go for it. Most excellent.

(Though our worms have to compete with the pet cattle - as opposed to our farm cattle - and our dogs for the scraps from the house)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have added some progress reports on my worms with some new photos to my blog here:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/

It's VERY exciting, and the worms I put in from a couple of days ago seem to be doing very well and are active.

[badger]

Vancouver actually subsidises worm composting, so two years ago I attended a class and came home with a bin and a bag full of red wrigglers.

I don't think I'm doing it quite right, though I'm assured I am by the garden society. I currently have the bin inside my apartment until we're completely out of the freezing point. Because of the fruit flies that tend to proliferate, I tend to starve the poor worms a bit when they're indoors. I'll have to harvest soon, too, it's getting too heavy.

What I found is that those worms can be somewhat picky eaters - I sometimes get sprouts coming out of things like cabbage cores because it takes them so long to chew through.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Vancouver actually subsidises worm composting, so two years ago I attended a class and came home with a bin and a bag full of red wrigglers.

Now that is forward thinking at its best. I wish our area was as progressive.

I don't think I'm doing it quite right, though I'm assured I am by the garden society. I currently have the bin inside my apartment until we're completely out of the freezing point. Because of the fruit flies that tend to proliferate, I tend to starve the poor worms a bit when they're indoors. I'll have to harvest soon, too, it's getting too heavy.
What I found is that those worms can be somewhat picky eaters - I sometimes get sprouts coming out of things like cabbage cores because it takes them so long to chew through.

If you lay 3" of dry shredded newspaper or a piece of cardboard or a few sheets of folded newspaper over the top of the worm soil, it will prevent most of the fruit flies from laying eggs in the scraps. Also, very important to BURY the scraps under the bedding, out of reach of the fruit flies.

It's good to cut the scraps up into 1" chunks- that like quadruples the surface area of the scraps and thus helps them break down and lets the worms work them much more quickly. I keep a spare scissors next to the sink scrap box. Easy enough to snip your banana peel, coffee filter, and other food scraps into pieces as you add it to the box of scraps.
I'm also following the simple advice of when I get a bunch of scraps collected (maybe three or four days' worth?) then I put a plastic box of them in the freezer for a day and then thaw them before giving them to the worms. This enables the worms to eat them right away instead of the worms having to wait til they decompose more first. Freezing/thawing starts breaking down the cell walls of the scraps.

So if you snip your scraps into smaller pieces and freeze/thaw them, you won't get cabbage cores sprouting or large pieces of food hanging around in the bin for too long. It sounds like more trouble than it really is- takes a few seconds really to snip pieces or throw stuff in the freezer.

Mimi- the worms will actually eat the eggshells if you crush them well. I had about 5 shells the other day and I let them dry overnight next to the sink. Then I put them in a cereal bowl and used the bottom of a drinking glass to just crush them up nicely first and mixed them in to the scraps. (I suppose I could get a mortar and pestle if I want to get fancy) They say ground egg shells are very welcome by worms as grit and calcium, and the calcium helps them to produce their worm 'cocoons' (which are actually little shelled worm eggs that hatch when mature!) Reminds me of feeding crushed eggshells to chickens to help them replace their lost calcium from laying eggs.

I have a cool book I just bought (used) called "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof. Between that and reading the vermicomposters.com forum I am learning an awful lot about worms lately. They are fascinating.

[bluebug32]

How exciting!

By the way, I just moved to Red Hook, so we should meet up for a ride when it finally gets warm