in last night's dreams, you dreamed that you were meeting some cute, kind guy while gathering worms for your worm compost bin!!!
Romantic vermicomposting dreams :confused:
(yes...this really happened last night!!!)
so, um, does anybody have an overabundance of red wigglers they are willing to share?
or know any super crunchy single guys they would want to introduce me to? :p
christy

No, but I was *just* discussing (yet again) the possibility of a worm bin with my DH, who is less than keen about it. I thought it would be a good solution for the winter compostables. Could you post some links about it, or give me any tips? Would a worm bin work in the garage (unheated), or would it be better in a basement? Do you tend to get flies? How large is your bin? Can you put all kinds of food scraps in, and not just vegetable matter?

Guess I ought to do some google searches on it myself!

we just used vegetable and table scraps. Also coffee grounds. Very clean, no flies at all!! It smelled like fresh dirt or mulch if you know what that smells like. There is a worm farm in Davis CA you could get more info from them:

http://www.morningmistwormfarms.com/

http://www.envirocare.net/worm.htm

Megan
who is always saving worms!!

I have not actually started my bin yet. I am going to have to order the worms online, as they do not have the type of worms you need at the baitshops around here. You need to have red wiggler worms. They need warmth (50 -70 degrees at least). So unheated garages would be out, while a basement would be perfect!! I am considering leaving mine right in the kitchen so I can show it off!!
There are tons of links out there, but I don't have them saved. Try doing a search for worm composting or vermicomposting. Also, the book "worms eat my garbage" is great!!
I have heard that fruit flies can occassionally be a problem (but I have problems with them just from the stuff I bring in from the garden) If you cover your food scraps with additional bedding, this seems to pretty much prevent the problems from what I read.
I got a clear plastic bin to use, and am going to drill lots of holes in it for air and drainage. I thought the clear plastic would be neat so we could watch them, but I have heard the worms prefer darkness, so I might end up painting the container and leaving some viewing windows.
Hope this helps!!
Christy

Okay I am just adopting the crunchy lifestyle the more research I do on certain things.

Can I ask (without being flamed ) what is a worm bin?? could this be my next researching project?? :)

OOooo! Sounds like an exciting dream and what a neat idea about the worm bed. I still just chuck all my compost in a pile in the back yard all winter... I'm not much of a composter, it's not a real formal set-up.

But - I have been telling DH that I'm tired of buying stupid worms so he can go fishing! I bought a package marked "Worm Bed" at K-Mart last year and told him to "Make his own worms" in the basement. He hasn't even read the package yet to see what it entails. I wonder if it's complicated?

This probably sounds really stupid, but I have just been composting in my regular compost bin for about 4 months now. I went out tonight to turn the pile for only the second time ever (I know, bad composting mama) and it was absolutely black mud and crawling with worms! I was kind of grossed out because you can totally hear them slithering around. However, obviously whatever kind of worms they are, they are doing the trick because I couldn't recognize anything in there! Do you think that they are these red worms or something else?

Cary

Can I ask (without being flamed ) what is a worm bin?? could this be my next researching project??


Sure!! Why would you possibly be flamed??
A worm bin is an indoor compost system...well, it can be outdoors if you live in an always warm climate. Basically, you get a small bin (about the size of on of those larger rubbermaid containers), make lots of airholes and drainage holes, fill it with shredded newspaper as bedding, and add 1 to 2 lbs of red wiggler worms (which equals 1000 to 2000 worms). And then you feed then your kitchen compost!! They can eat about a pound of waste a day, more if you have a larger bin and more worms.
And the worm castings they produce are some of the most nutritious compost that you can put on your plants. And you are not filling the landfills with foods that are easily biodegradable.
let me know if you have more questions!!
Christy

That sounds pretty gross....but neat all at the same time. Where indoors do you put them. We are in wisconsin so our winters (although last year it was 60-70 degrees in January) can get pretty ugly :)

you can put them anywhere!!
some people keep them in the basement,
but other people keep them in the kitchen (which is very convenient), and a few people build nice wooden ones that are actually in a dining room bench, coffee table, patio bench (these are the people who really want to show them off!!
If you are doing it right, it should not smell bad, and the worms stay in the bin...they will not escape into your house!!

We had a worm farm for about 5 months this past spring. The state extension service came out to one of our home schooling resource centers and did a preschool-age presentation to us and the kids about worms and how they decompose/eat scraps, how to care for them, the ideal worm box, etc. I'm sure your local extension service or state college would be into it if you could gather about 15-20 people including the kids. The student who came to our group said it was part of her credit-based study.

Anyway, the worm box worked out fine. We bought the worms, believe it or not, and by the time they got here in the mail they worms had made it almost totally out of their little paper bag enclosure. After 4-5 months, we did eventually move the worms into our container garden, where they have produced beautiful plants for us! :)

I would definitely do it again, but note that these worms don't do well in the worm box in cold climates. I think it has to be at least 40-50 degrees for them, so winters here are out. They did say you could keep the container in your basement but I'm not quite ready for that. ;)

HTH!

Tara

I did one this year, but had a major "DER" moment. I drilled tiny holes in the bottom of my container, and all the worms crawled out because I left the container in the sun and they were looking for cooler ground. LOL

So, I'm moving it to the garage and replenishing it with red wrigglers. You can get them at most sportsman type places.

For the bedding, I bought some organic worm bedding (only $2).

It worked well until the worms hit the road.:anibirth:

I've been meaning to do a worm bin.. I think I'm going to do it! :)