gnosnhoj
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New bin status - 2006/01/11 20:29
Howdy, All!
Thought this might be a good place for us newbies to keep track of how our new setups are getting along and to share some "whodathunkit"  ideas, and invite the more experienced (old-timers) in to fix us before we do something drastic and detrimental.
Background: started my WF roundabout the end of Nov, with a sorry batch (supposed to be 1 lb) of EF. Seller made it right and I got a "real" lb the next week. Using coir/finished hot compost/shredded office paper for bedding. Feeding kitchen slurry in trenches.
That said, I started posting this line of questioning in the "lack of castings" topic, but think this'd be more on track:
Thanx, redhen!
Based on your info, I think I'll keep feeding in the first bin, since they've still got a lot of work to do with the bedding. Set a new chow trench 2 days ago; if my li'l fellas had 'em, I'd consider them "two-feet knee-deep" into it 
I did, however, prep and set a new tray with just bedding. I wood-blocked the corners of the lower tray to ensure airflow and minimal contact - thought it might keep their micro-climate a little more stable and enable some of the various and sundry other beneficials to move on up. Surprise, surprise  when I checked 'em today there were at least a dozen of the li'l fellas hanging out the bottom of the top tray! Thinking it's a good thing that they're comfortable enough to move around in their new home, since moisture / temp / ph in the lower tray appear to be right...
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/11 22:07
Gary..Sounds like things are going well.
Thanks for starting this post, as I think shared information helps everyone.
Please keep us updated
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
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Bob Ingram
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/12 05:32
Gary, I, too think this is a very beneficial thread you've started. For someone with just a few months experience you have a good handle on vermicomposting. It amazes me how many home worm bins are bought and used in this country; a lot of good folks giving a helping hand to Mother Earth! Seeya, Bob
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/12 13:21
Thanks, Folks! Great to get some "protected species" blessings for this topic  .
Goin' with it -
After reading some of the posts re. anaerobic conditions, and me feeding slurry in trenches, I was worried about that too. I wanted to share a technique I've been using.
I've used a nifty little hand-tool called the Garden Claw in our veggie and flower gardens for years to loosen and aerate surface soil. The 3 pointed tines are about 3in long, set in a circle and angled from handle to tip so that a simple turn of the wrist gently opens and lifts whatever it is stuck into.
Every couple of days I just stick the tines in the middle of my slurry trench and slowly turn the claw about 90 degrees. Voila - aeration and wormie check with minimal disturbance. For those of you with big outdoor bins, it also comes in a long-handled (stand-up) model with 4 longer tines (great for weeding too).
No, I don't work for 'em  , just really like the tool.
Hope this helps somebody.
Gary
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/15 22:53
Reckon this falls into the "somebody stop me" category here; I been thinkin'
Issue: 5 WF trays (yeah, I bought the whole shebang ), only one of which is considered the "working tray". Plenty mo' kitchen scraps (HH6's ham-keeper is full in the fridge  , and our little compost crock is filling fast). No compost setup outside (got buckets, though). Wormies are crankin' out both babies and castings
 !
Discussion: If other WF trays were separated by an inch or two with wood corner blocks and bedded / populated / fed / monitored appropriately, these should become additional working trays. Keep 1 tray in reserve for the ultimate working tray (wormie roundup / casting harvest time), after sequentially witholding chow and shortening / removing blocks from lower trays, lowest being first established working tray. Understand upward migration would take longer, but my raised veggie beds will benefit from any stragglers. Process lower trays, saving about a quarter tray of bedding (with resident worms / cocoons) to establish new working trays.
Pros: More waste processed, more fat happy wormies to populate soon-to-be-built outdoor bin, more castings to enhance veggie and flower gardens, HH6 not beating me about the head and shoulders every time she inadvertently opens her ham-keeper 
Cons: Umm.....
What am I not seeing here, folks?
Thanx,
Gary
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/16 11:35
You just keep on thinking Gary. I think what you are doing sounds like a fun experiment with a manufactured system. Your plan for an outdoor bin could in fact be started earlier, with extra food scraps you have collected, being buried at the site now. Food scraps, piling up, will kill any enthusiasm others might otherwise have had for your project.. quickly. I have many in-ground bins, (one impromptu) that handle overflow. I call the impromptu one my "Field of Dreams", (with the theme of "build it and they will come"). All it is, is an out-of-the-way spot out back, that I put food scraps on the ground (never dug anything), and covered with about 3' of leaves. Whenever I have overflow I just pull the leaves back, toss the food in, and re-cover. It is now full of worms..
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/22 02:04
Thanx for the "goferit", Susan. I did.
Here's the latest, y'all:
Setup:
Bedded 3 new WF trays last week. Set .5" x 4.75" wood corner blocks in each. Upper tray bottoms sit on blocks .25" inside lower trays; ventilation along all sides. Bedding about 1" from upper tray. Made one the "base/bottom" tray - no added chow, no added moisture. Absorbs leachate, retains collection-tray divers (so far ). Next tray is established (1.5 months, 1.5# [+/-] EF), also corner-blocked. Those li'l fellers are crankin' ! Set slurry trenches in 2 new (upper) trays 2 days before new wormies arrived.
Status:
2# EF (nice fat bed-run mix) split between 2 upper trays yesterday afternoon. Shipped kinda dry, in peat - they loved the spray bottle . No bail-outs, and both new tray herds have already hit the trenches.
Lessons learned:
1. EF will migrate up and down from established tray into new trays with no added chow even if tray/bedding contact is minimal/tenuous and established tray conditions are "optimum" iaw all I've learned so far. 4 layers of newspaper lining the bottom of a tray mean nothing to them .
2. Always check tray bottom for danglers before you set it on the floor  .
2.a. Keep top tray empty, set on floor first, then alternate corner support for lower trays when checking / feeding.
2.b. Put danglers that drop into the top tray (see 2.a.) back into a working tray
3. Red LED strap-on "headlight" (Energizer @ Walmart sporting goods) is great for observing without disturbing the li'l fellas (also good for reading in bed when HH6 is trying to sleep  ).
Susan - I have enough 5gal covered buckets to keep the overflow outside for now, until I get off these danged crutches and can hobble around well enough to get & set some cinderblocks. Lotsa room out back to just dump it, but I want to have a bin set before I start outside. Besides, I just got 2 new pounds of potential - gonna let it build some inside first .
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing!
Gary
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/22 12:20
gnosnhoj..Sounds like you and your worms are having a big time..
I don't know if you have seen my cinderblock bins but if you look through the posts for one titled "In-ground bins", It will have a link to see pictures of the ones I built.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/22 17:49
Yep, Susan - I did see your bins. Thanx for posting pics. They gave me the basic plan for what I'm gonna build. Have you (or anybody else...) had any problems with wasps or yellow-jackets or such setting up house under your lids or in your block cavities? If so, how did you deal with 'em?
Thinking I'll divide the bin by halves or quarters and introduce some ENCs into a portion of it. Expect I'll get some migration, but with solid dividers and the slight difference in micro-climates I think I can keep that minimal. A little slice of wormie heaven for all.
Bob - I'll probably be talking to you when I'm ready for my ENCs .
I need to do a little grading to level the bin site first, but my mini-tractor blade will make short work of that.
If the weather doesn't hurt my feelings too bad  I intend to get the blocks set within the next month and build / mount the lid. HH6 got me a Skil Xshop for Xmas, bless her heart, and I wanna play !
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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Bob Ingram
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/22 18:32
Thanks Gary, that'd be good...you will have some migration, however, but the two species seem to instigate one another for growth and reproduction...you might be surprised how large your red worms will gwt...don't misunderstand, they don't inter breed, but do compete in a positive manner....Seeya, Bob
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Kyle
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/22 21:01
Good luck Gary. I love worming. I am still learning.
Keep us posted. I am just getting back into worming.
Waiting for 2 pounds of pure wonder lol.
Kyle
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/23 21:10
Competition can be a good thing, Bob !
If they did interbreed, I wonder what we'd end up with; Euroamerican Night Wigglers...Red Euro Night Brandlings...Night Wiggling Euro Jumping Crawlers...???
Thanks, Kyle - you too! This is my first go'round, and with a new homestead to landscape and plant I'll be needing all the castings I can get generated.
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/24 01:10
Howdy, Y'all!
Just an update on the 'multiple working tray' experiment...and a question at the end.
Jeez, I got a lot of fat happy worms can you say exponential reproduction? I knew that you could !
Used my garden claw to check the 2 new trays for the first time - got worried on the first turn 'cause I only saw a few...then I hit the chow trench . The newbies appear to be doing very well. Same deal in the next lower tray. I set a new slurry trench for each and turned one 90 degrees so the trenches aren't on top of each other.
The original working tray is getting heavier and more dense daily, with mostly adults in it (thanx, Susan, for talking me out of shifting focus from that one  ). Still paper and chow readily identified, so I'm leaving them to work it.
Here's my question...please be patient...
Issue: Bedding surface in wood-blocked trays dries out pretty quick due to enhanced airflow, wicking moisture from below surface. Requires close monitoring and water misting.
Discussion: Single or double layer of newspaper on bedding surface might help retain bed moisture, or wick even more out. Closer proximity of paper to upper bed may allow a more stable humidity balance, but reduces airflow to bed.
So - anybody "been there, done that" or have some recommendations...please?
Thanx
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/24 11:02
Do you have any burlap available? This type of material will hold moisture and allow airflow. Black plastic could also be laid over the bedding...OR..you could just plan on getting a garden mister and add that to your to-do list every other day or so.
About yellow jackets..I have none of them in or around my block bins. They have covers. My hole in the ground (with food only covered by leaves) is another story, especially if I put something sweet in there, like watermelon. The food is more exposed and the yellow jackets are foraging there. They do not cause me any harm, or even try to, so I let them be. Now if I have discovered a ground nest, and they are the least disturbed, they will come after me and cause a lot of pain. I do not let these nests exist.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/24 16:19
No burlap, but I imagine that'd be great. I've been using a spray-bottle since I started the WF. I have some weed-block fabric, but decided to try plain corrugated cardboard first, mostly for ease of use, and because it was there. .
I cut 12" squares - leaves about 1/2" uncovered on each side - and poked about 60 holes with a x-tip screwdriver for surface airflow. Misted each tray to 80% (+/-) moisture, placed cardboard and soaked it some to avoid excessive wicking.
I'll check with my moisture meter for the next few days...not like I'm not gonna check 'em anyway !
Not so worried about YJs here, but I have a lot of wasps that have really enjoyed homesteading on the undersides of my deck railings and such - just don't want to have to be wary every time I open my outdoor bin this summer  .
Thought I might fill the block cavities with packing peanuts; insulation + "starve the landfill" + take up nesting space...
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/25 23:14
Update - if any fellow-newbies are following this topic..., be careful with feeding then topping trays with cardboard like I did - my middle tray feed trench got up to almost 90df since I set it round-about noon two days ago. House ambient = 68df. Wormies were still decisively engaged in the new stuff, but I turned it to aerate and swapped middle for top tray because top tray temp was more stable.
On the flip-side, the cardboard bedding covers seem to have alleviated the surface drying issue, as EF and mites are all over the surface of all 3 active trays now.
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/26 09:08
gnosnhoj..When you make a slurry or grind up produce and bury, decompositon is speeded up and it will heat your bin up quickly. In a plastic bin situation your worms will have little place to go to get away from that heat, but they will try or die. This would not be a problem in an in-ground bin, as they worms could find a cooler location and wait for the heat to die down, then move back into it.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/01/27 22:53
Yep, understand decomp temp increases. What surprised me was that it was so pronounced that I noticed it with my fingers/palm before I even touched the cardboard cover . Hadn't ID'd much diff at all with any of the other chow trenches I've set. Temp probe 2" from trench read 5df less, 4" (middle of tray) was 10df less, and side opposite trench was house ambient...li'l fellas got room to get comfy .
Three thoughts, based on the only changed conditions I can think of:
1. Peat bedding this batch came with added to decomp heat.
2. New cardboard cover, although ventilated, retained heat that had dissipated from previous chow trenches.
3. Hotter decomp going on in this trench due to possibly fresher raw OM (carrot / potato peelings) in slurry.
Fix:
1. Remove cardboard, monitor moisture regularly, let wormies rove at will between working bins via loose shredded paper between bedding & bin bottoms. Should still maintain good moisture / airflow between bins.
Whatcha'll think?
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/01 23:00
OK, folks - updates, from 2 top WF trays (newest and fairly identical) to bottom (oldest)...
Top tray: about 0.5# of fat happy wormies, all ages & cocoons, + mites, actively involved in 2 chow trenches, one mostly history. Temp variables <5df across the tray. Wet = 70-80%. Set a shorter, shallower trench with more cooked (less raw), somewhat dryer slurry.
Middle tray: apparently THE place to be ! Li'l fellas were dancin' in the streets !
At least >2#, with demographics and environment same as top tray. Added another chow trench as above.
Bottom (original) tray: say it with me..."There's no place like home..." . Full compliment of all ages, creeds, etc...>1.5#. Think I saw a couple Nascar caps down there... , and a full contingent of misc other beneficials; lots'o pot worms - only tray in which they're obvious. Still a fair bit of identifiable chow & bedding. Haven't fed this tray for almost 2 weeks now.
I switched top & middle trays this eve, just to see if the party would shift, all things bedding & chow-wise still being equal, rotating new trenches 90deg. Ain't gonna mess with the bottom tray - thinking that might end up in my new outdoor bin complete since the gang's all there !
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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redhen
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/02 08:22
Gary..sounds like you may just be reaching the legal limits of having fun with dirt and worms
Susan Quinby-Honer
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Bob Ingram
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/02 14:19
Oh yeeeaaahh...Susan, he's havin WAAY too much fun...Seeya, Bob
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Joe Tex
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/02 17:32
What is a chow trinch? and how is it made? Thank you Joe
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/02 19:38
Hi, Joe - this is how I've been feeding my li'l fellas:
WF is square, so I've been rotating feedings around the sides. I use a little garden fork to move bedding into the middle of the tray, starting about an inch from the side. I dig a trench about 2" deep and 3-4" wide the length of the side. Line with a handful or two of shredded paper, then spoon slurry on the paper, spreading as I go so it doesn't glob up too bad. Then I fork the moved bedding back over it, just enough to cover, as I've discovered that it can get right warm if covered too deeply.
This technique seems to allow quick breakdown and gives the wormies plenty of surface area to dig into.
Hope this helps ya!
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/02 20:36
Susan, Bob...
"'Too much fun' - what's that mean?
It's like too much money; there's no such thing
It's like a girl too pretty with too much class
Being too lucky, a car too fast
No matter what they say I've done
Well I ain't never had too much fun!"
(Daryle Singletary) !
That said , I just really like getting into something, learning much and building a knowledge base from what has gone before, then discovering new / different things on my own to use & share as I progress.
I believe no day is wasted if I learn one new thing - doesn't have to be a biggie, just new. So far, so good, and y'all are helping a lot! .
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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gnosnhoj
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Re:New bin status - 2006/02/16 01:14
Well, Howdy, All
I was hoping this topic would be a share & share alike kinda thing, but it looks like it has turned into a gnosnhojblog (say that 10 times fast, then go check your wormies if you can still stand up )
I reckon it works for y'all, considering the # of views, so...otay.
Update:
Leave your dang worms alone! Scroll up or down and see all the fun I've put mine through. Feed 'em and leave 'em be, for about a week at a time. I checked my herd this eve for the first time in almost  a week: everybody everywhere, doing just dandy, and more spread out through chow & bedding. Daytona500 banners all over !
The original tray is getting right thick! I put it on top hoping to expedite processing - that upward migration thing - we'll see...lotsa fatsos up there already !
Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing.
Gary
Hopkinsville, KY |
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