After months of pondering on how to improve the clayey and stony soil in my garden I think I found a solution from harvesting the turmeric a couple of days ago. Yes the turmeric was doing very well which I potted with earth and compost from my old place. While cleaning the roots of the turmeric, I found earth worms, not one or two but in total that I managed to save eighteen of them. Yes worms is the answer I guess. I was on google and did lots of reading on worm farming and it looks easy enough ... but. I did a search here and I found a few post about worm farming but I still need more info from people who had hands on experience to guide me. My idea is to start small and if successful then I would go on a bigger one to meet with my needs. My last trip to the supermart I bought two containers which were on sale and within my budget. Soon to be worm farm ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) They are about 28liters/7gallons which is about the size of the worm farm starter kit that is being sold here. It is really small but I guess it should be a good size to start out with. My questions. 1. Do I need special worms for the farm? 2. How thick should the bed be? 3. Can I use egg trays, grass clippings for the bed? 4. What else do I need? 5. Where will the worm tea comes from? 6. Will there be lots of tea? 7. Do the worms fall into the tea? 8. Is there a best setup? My idea. 1. The worms I am using are those worms that I collected from where I can. I have no idea what kind of worms they are, all I know they are just plain good old earthworm. 2. My set up is going to a 2 bin stack up type for the moment but I might change my mind if there is a better idea. The idea ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) 3. I am also thinking of the 3 bin set up method but it does not make any sense to me at the moment. Another choice ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Do I have to wait for the worm to be done in bin 2 before I put in bin 1? Do I just stack it and do bin 1 & 2 identical? Will the worms actually climb up to bin 1 to look for food? Aiyoh! How this how that, questions and more questions. So any suggestion, comments, advice would be most appreciated.
KK, Here's a really good site on composting. www.compostguy.com/wormcomposting.basics I hope you can get your worm composting going, but I think you need different worms. I have red wigglers. They multiply quickly. The only other things I think you need to know is to put a piece of fabric in the bottom of the last bin to keep worms from going into the tea bin as they will drowned. Do not feed them citrus or onions as this will burn them and make compost smell. Also the smaller you chop up scraps the faster it becomes compost. Keep in shaded area. Do not let them cook in hot sun or freeze. When the worms finish with food supply in first bin they will move up to next bin thru to holes. So if you want to harvest compost start feeding in next bin to draw them there. There is always a few still in first bin that you will have to pick out. I have 4 bins and when they move to the 3rd or 4th bin I harvest the compost from the first one. I normally get about 25lbs each time I harvest. You won't be sorry the rewards are great. Please feel free to ask any questions. And if I think of anything that I think is important I will let you know. Good luck.
Your questions 1.Red wigglers 2.Bins need to set on soil of first bin so worms can move up. 3.grass, leaves, cardboard, shredded paper( no heavy inked paper)egg shells, coffee grounds. NO citrus or onions as they will burn worms. No meat or dairy 4. PATIENCE 5.It's worm pee. 6.No, but dilute with water by half what ever you get. 7.Yes put fabric or something liquid can pass thru. Worms will drown in they go to tea bin. 8.Your boxes will work fine.
I am sure that Donna knows this but maybe KK doesn`t. Any worm is sensitive to changing weather. Unless secured with screen they will leave the bins through the smallest hole or crack during a storm. I had a Styrofoam cooler with several hundred nightcrawlers for fishing. A storm was predicted so I brought the cooler inside so they would not get too much water during the rain. Thunder woke me during the night and when I turned on the light in the living room I had worms crawling everywhere. They got through one airhole where the screen/tape had loosened. Took an hour to find and put them back. Not to mention mopping the floor.
Thank you for all the answers and tips Donna S, the link you provided is very helpful but I am still confused about the multi tier concept. My new questions. 1. Do you add on the tiers as the worms finish doing their job? If this is so wouldn't a single bin farm be better? 2. Do you have worms in all the levels or just the bottom most tier before the tea area? 3. If there are worm s in all level, do we have to remove each layer to feed them? If only in the bottom most layer how is the feeding done? 4. How to water the tiers to keep them moist? If we just water the top most tier, then how do we control the moisture in the tiers below that? 5. The "Compost Guy" in the link provided mentioned that worm tea has a limited shelf life – if it goes anaerobic it will lose the benefits. So how often do we have to drain it? Sorry for my ignorance Donna but I need to know and thank you. Now I am thinking of getting another two bins before the sale is over. Yes you are right Mart, I did not know that they are sensitive to changing weather. Thanks for the info. Worms crawling everywhere in the living room, what a sight! I guess in the case of a worm farm the weather shouldn't be a problem because it is their home and is placed in a safe place ... am I right Donna?
I find this topic interesting. i do not farm worms, but I do find the technique interesting. I like reading the questions that KK poses and the answers that he gets. That answer given by Mart gobsmacked me. I just sat here and envisioned the whole scene of the living room floor wiggling and teeming with worms in the middle of the night! Gadzooks! What a story, Mart. Anyway, can't wait to read the responses to KK's most recent queries.
1. Yes you add next tier when the worms finish or you need the worm casting. I do not feed them for a couple of weeks before I start a new tier. I mix the new soil with food, egg shells & damp shredded paper. A single bed would be very hard the harvest the castings. You need the worms to move up to next tier. 2. The worms move up to the next tier. There is always a few that stay behind. I pick them out when I harvest the casting. You need at least 2 tiers for the worms and the bottom one for the worm tea. This one does not need to be as big or as deep. 3. No you only feed in the top level. The worms move to the food supply in the top level when bottom level is depleted of food. 4. I dampen the new soil just a little to start. From then on most foods add enough moisture. If not I wet a piece of cardboard and just lay on top. Worms love corrugated cardboard. Or dampen shredded paper and lay on top. 5. I get very little worm tea so I don't worry about it's shelf life. I just pour it into the garden. I will follow up with pic's of next tier. Hope this helps. My worm farm with only 2 tiers. I have 2 more I can add. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) Wet cardboard. I'm adding a new layer this week. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) Empty tier. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden )
I am enjoying this post a lot. I've always wanted to have a worm farm but, with our long cold winters, I just do not have a place to keep them where they wouldn't freeze. One question I have is can you feed them lettuce, broccoli, chard leaves from your garden? I read somewhere that it isn't good to feed them greens from a store as they have washed in chemicals.
2ofus, I'm glad you are enjoying this post. If you look closely you will see my worm farm sets in my sun room year around. They do not smell and the cover keeps them in. I don't have to worry about them cooking or freezing. And it's real easy to take care of. I feed about every 2 weeks and that's it. They eat anything but meat or dairy.
Added third tier. I mixed everything together and let it set for awhile to let excess water drain out. There should be enough food supply to last a good month or more in this last tier. the worm tea amazes me how clear it is. Peat moss, compost soil, damp shredded paper ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) Mixed together. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) Corrugated cardboard. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) Third tier done. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) This is all the worm tea I got before I added 3rd tier. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden )
KK, This is a worm farm also. Most people call it composting. But it draws the earth worms to it and they turn all the waste into composted soil. I empty twice a year. Once in the spring and again in late summer or fall. It works year around even in cold weather. I have little or no waste that has to be sent out. In here you can put the same things as the worm farm but lots more at a time.I put dryer lint, cat hair, newspapers, shredded junk mail, any food scraps ( except meat & dairy) leaves, grass all plant matter. The list is endless. This box cost me about $80.00 but has paid for itself over and over. I no longer pay to have trash taken away and I have my own black gold and know what's in it. Compost er box. From this. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) To this. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden ) To this. Black gold. ( photo / image / picture from Donna S's Garden )
https://www.vermitechnology.com/index.p ... auxpage_11 This is a good site that tells you about the types of worms that are available and their migratory habits.
Thank you so much for all your explanation with photos, it is really invaluable to me. Now I am full of confidence how to get my worm farm started. The worm tea is cleaner than the municipal water we get here :-o , at first I thought that it would be more like mud water. One more question, the cover of your worm farm is it made of plastic or something else? My idea now is a 3 tier type, one tier is worm tea and two tiers of worm home. Worm Farm ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Instead of one now I am going to do 2 provided I can get the right trays and basket. Thank you so much Donna, your assistance is most appreciated. The other worm farm or composting is something like more or less I am doing and there is where I keep the worms that I kidnapped from here and there and they are the ones that I am going to use. Compost bin ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) When there is enough semi composted material from the bin above, I'll transfer them minus as much worms as possible to this barrel from my retired aquaponic system. The material here were turned every other day. final composting station ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Thanks for the link Mart, now I know much more about worms then when I studied in school during biology
KK, Yes the cover is plastic. Don't know how hot it gets there, so be careful the worms don't cook. Also out in the open like that may give easy access to animals that eat worms.
I have got all my hardwares together and with a little modification they all fit together well. The Hardwares ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) Number 1 is the collection tray for the tea and number 3 the bin will sit on top of the tray. I had holes drilled on the cover and the base of the bin. I'll put a piece of cloth at the base to prevent any worm from dropping into the tray. Number 2 is the second tier and will be inserted into the bin when needed. good fit. ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) This is how it looks like when assembled. worm farm ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) This is where they are going to be located. My worm farm ( photo / image / picture from KK Ng's Garden ) The place is in full shade and yesterday's temperature was extremely hot and I checked the temperature inside and outside the worm farm. The outside temperature was at 35°C and the inside temperature was 34°C with the cover closed. I guess with the bedding in the temperature should be about 28°~30°C. Anyway will check again when bedding is in. Today I have to build a stand for the worm farms and I should be ready to go. :-D
