redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/01 12:50
weather temps have dipped to below 40df at night off & on
Those temperatures will be okay for your worms, even if they did stay like that for some time. They can go deeper if they feel the surface is too cold. The Enc's will be in that big bin, that has lots of bedding and food. It has a cover, so I do not see any need for the light. If they arrive in daylight, I would add to my bin and leave the lid up to settle them deep and then close the lid at dark. I cannot imagine where else they would rather be.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/02 23:27
Well, I did it  !
2 of 3 WF trays are now outside .
Pic = about 1/4th of one tray .
Wormie weight was just over 2.5#. I also mixed both trays of bedding into the outdoor bin, since I got way tired way fast trying to pick out cocoons  there were more than a few 
The rest of the pics are here:
http://www.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=36822746/a=3794523_3794523/t_=3794523
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/07 21:22
Just got my ENC herd this morning - had to pick up at the PO, as we had issues with my last batch of EF .
Ol Bob @ Trinity kinda screwed up my competition experiment though; was expecting 3# to balance against my 2.5# of EF with a mess of cocoons as backup, but the dang bag weighed better than 4.5#, and there wasn't a whole heck of a lot of bedding  . Fat boogers, too, even after 6 days in USPS hands!
Put 'em in the onground bin about 0830 and propped the lid up a bit for some light incentive to move in. Checked 'em after work and they were all in the bedding - no wall-crawlers. Planned to check after dark, but we're getting a bit of weather this eve, so think I'll wait until the morning  .
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/07 23:59
Got a little break in the weather, so I went to check...well now  !
Found 3 that'd squoooozed out between blocks, and I saw a few moving along the perimeter inside, though not above bedding level. Ain't no telling how many others made it 'through the wire' before I got out there.
I know I've read some posts about barometric pressure affecting the lil' fellas, and there is a front moving through tonight - perfect timing, eh  ?! Hope I still have a herd in the morning  .
Post edited by: gnosnhoj, at: 2006/09/16 21:59
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/08 12:17
Gary..Open the lid and get some light on those guys so they will head down. If there is a way to keep some kind of light at night, you might want to do it. They don't call them nightcrawlers for nuthin'. I don't have ENC's outdoors. The bins without lids, I keep a light on and cover the surface with some black plastic. I mist the surface, sprinkle chicken feed and replace the plastic (not airtight). The worms are all over the surface underneath that plastic feeding. I think you might only need the extra light for a week, to get them settled. Maybe try sprinkling some cormeal on the surface so when they do come up at night, they will find what they might be looking for and stick around. They might crawl but I don't think they will go far as the food is in that bin, so hang tight and keep us updated.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/08 21:19
Yes'm - just hung a little LED lantern from the center brace; nice & bright in there now .
No issues yesterday or today - they stayed in the bedding. 10-11pm last night, though, they were hittin' the clubs - night-crawlin' .
Temp is headed down to mid-30df again tonight, dangit, and I imagine that'll help keep 'em home too. I'll probably check 'em again before I go to bed  .
Plenty of wormie-chow in there now - think I'll hold off on the mash / cornmeal 'til I can pitch it in & say "Good li'l fellas.".
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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wellsworms
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/09 09:11
no photo page but pictures can be added to messages my 3 types of indoor bins
You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it
doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does,
use the duct tape.
WELLS,vermont
jerry walker 2008 |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/04/12 00:18
Update:
EF have been out since weekend before last, and my ENC herd went out last Friday as soon as I got 'em.
I've let 'em be, hard as that's been , and haven't poked around except to check temp/moisture and turn my ENC-end light on & off (no more runs for the woods since the first night), until this afternoon. I think they're gonna be ok...cuz they're fargin' FAT !
I pulled bedding up (about 2" deep) in the opposite sides from where I put each herd, just to see if they'd moved from where I set 'em, and Lordy, yes; although not as densely populated as my WF trays (yet!), the EFs I saw appear to be much more robust than I'd ever seen inside (and more lively), and the ENCs are just hogs !
Hoping this summer will be productive for both herds, and that they'll actually stay fairly segregated, mostly just so I can see how they do comparatively.
BTW, I think a couple of my ENC escapees want back in, but they dive from my light when I see 'em outside of the bin .
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/05/02 23:33
gnosnhoj wrote:
...Hoping this summer will be productive for both herds, and that they'll actually stay fairly segregated, mostly just so I can see how they do comparatively...
Well, that little experiment has gone to castings! There are way too many various and sundry native munchers (wormie and otherwise) throughout both sides of my bin to even try and compare EF v ENC now, and my ENC herd didn't waste any time spreading themselves under / over / through the divider I put in either. I'll be removing that this weekend - gonna be a free-for-all .
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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UncleBubba
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A Juvenile Earthworm
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/06/21 07:57
Susan, this was a great discussion. I learned a lot. I am already considering an outside bin and wonder, I think it has been about a year since you built that bin, is ther anything you would suggest doing differently now?
Deep in the "Heart of Dixie" |
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UncleBubba
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/06/21 08:00
Susan, this was a great discussion. I learned a lot. I am already considering an outside bin and wonder, since it has been about a year, if there is anything you would suggest doing differently now?
Deep in the "Heart of Dixie" |
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redhen
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Re:In-ground bins - 2006/06/21 23:53
My outdoor bins are still doing well.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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mclad
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:In-ground bins - 2008/06/16 23:08
Firstly hello, long time reader first time poster 
I would like to set up an outdoor bin to process cardboard (I have lots and access to more) and garden waste. Currently I have 3 indoor bins about 1' x 1.5' each made out of food crates, for processing kitchen waste and about one beer carton per week Also 2 large buried plastic plant pots (with lids cut off and a concrete slab on top) for processing dog poo.
I live in Perth Australia, sandy soils (we are on old beach sand dunes basically), climate:
winter Jun-Aug means min 4 C (40 F) / max 18 C (65 F) / monthly rain ~125mm (5")
summer Dec-Feb means min 18 C (65 F) / max 31 C (88 F) / monthly rain ~5mm (1/4")
About 7 months ago I put in some fruit trees and spread a trailer of pea hay and wood chips over the sand (only about 1" thick), with a crate of worms/wormpoo spread around the trees, and either composting worms liked it or natives have arrived as when I scratch the surface anywhere now I find some worms.
I wanted to set up the simplest system imaginable, I was planning to use 4 6' railway sleepers as walls, throw in a 1/2" layer of partly digested compost as a base, rip up my cardboard coarsley (like into 6" squares or even bigger, anything else will take too long), throw in a crate of wormies and then top with another 1/2" layer of compost and finally a large sheet of cardboard on top.
I won't need a lid as it doesn't get that cold and I'm suburban so their arent any many foraging animals - plus I won't be putting food scraps in the outside bin.
Thoughts/suggestions? Would I be better concentrating my bedding (I only have one tumbler of compost ready) in half the bin then expanding to the other half when I have more compost and cardboard ready? Should I perhaps mix the cardboard and compost better so the compost allows the wormies to move around the cardboard as it sticks together when wet (and let the cardboard age for a while)?
Lots of questions! Thanks,
Mike
(I am also worried about ants and the heat/dryness in summer but I'll worry about that then!)
Post edited by: mclad, at: 2008/06/16 23:10
Post edited by: mclad, at: 2008/06/16 23:13
Post edited by: mclad, at: 2008/06/17 01:20
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mclad
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Re:In-ground bins - 2008/06/17 08:13
Just talked to my Mum and they have 4 bags of leaves for me so that feels better to mix in with all my cardboard...
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mclad
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A Fertile Cocoon
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Re:In-ground bins - 2008/06/29 15:04
Ingredients:
3 x bags sheep manure
4 x bags leaves vintage may 2008
2 x bags leaves vintage may 2007
1 x bag grass clippings
1 x compost tumbler
1 x bin green waste
4 x wheelbarrow loads of cardboard cut to ~8-12"
1 x bag wood shavings
1 x mulch/wood chips 1" layer
Oh and 1 x wormfarm (nb my farms are made from fruit / veg crates)
Worms were concentrated in the bag 1/3 section above as I didn't have enough for the whole area!
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