I harvested a little less than 5 gallons of vermicompost this morning. It was maybe about a third of the 18 gallon Rubbermaid bin. I will store it as is, covered by a paper plate to retain moisture and permit air to get in to the black gold. I should have a good crop of it for weekly additions of aerated worm castings tea this coming growing season.
Name: Christie Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a) Plays on the water.
I live in a condo without much space. I compost in a big black pot that a tree came in. The worms crawl up through the drainage holes and make families. My scraps turn to compost quickly and is always black and crumbly. So, it is not an organized effort at vermicompost, but it seems to be working fairly well. I think they must love crushed egg shells - those always dissapear very quickly. As do the coffee grounds.
Maybe 4 months, I don't keep records so I don't know precisely. I can't tell you how many worms I have but there is a robust population of redworms in the bin. I will harvest the other part of the bin in the next couple of months and get maybe 10 more gallons of vermicompost.
Name: Alice Flat Rock, NC (Zone 7a) The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
Christie, I really like your idea about letting the worms crawl up through the drainage holes of a pot. I am going to try that if I can find a container with a lid that will keep the larger critters out. The container could be stashed between some shrubs outside and moved around periodically so the tea that would drain out the holes could benefit different areas.
Minds are like parachutes; they work better when they are open.
Name: Christie Central Ohio 43016 (Zone 6a) Plays on the water.
That is exactly what I do - move it around my rose bed.
I don't have a lid, but I take the lid from my garbage can and set it on top - it fits perfectly. Not really for rodent protection, but mostly to provide shade as the bed is all sun.
I have a couple of questions about vermicompsosting. Does it matter how much coffee grounds to worms? And how much worms for my compost? How do I know I have my ratios right? Does it matter if the coffee is already used?
I don't give coffee grounds to my worms. They do well on the cut vegetable scraps and fruit cores left from meals.
What kind of bin are you using? What are the approximate surface area dimensions?
I don't know where the information came from about worms eating half their weight on a daily basis. I've yet to see a study reference showing that was true.
Hi Joseph, don't remember the source, but I generally found it to be true based on my experience, re the coffee grounds, I've found them to be a great addition to my compost pile.
As Yogi Berra said, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
Name: Alice Flat Rock, NC (Zone 7a) The beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
I used to have a worm bin, one of those stacked set ups, and once it got going I had trouble finding enough food for the Red Wigglers. In addition to my own scraps, the neighbors knew I would take all their veggie scraps and egg shells - all they could share. Those little guys are piggies.
Minds are like parachutes; they work better when they are open.
Help! I ordered 1000 red wrigglers, and they will arrive tomorrow. I made 2 systems of 3 stacked 5-gallon buckets. Do you think I should make another one? Will 500 worms per bucket be too many? Thank you!
The guidance on how many worms to use is based on the surface area of your bin. One recommendation I have seen is a maximum of 1,000 worms per 1 square foot of surface area. So you will be ok.
