Worms eat waste in pictures - Wildlife Gardeners

Gloria · 07-02-2009, 10:58 AM

Rubbermaid roughneck , holes drilled.

Pre worm shredded newspaper bedding.

Worms added to bedding.

Since I don't use drainage holes on bottom occasional dry bedding added to top or if very wet, bottom of bin.

Next ...feeding.

Gloria · 07-02-2009, 11:03 AM

Kitchen waste.

Nylon net full of scraps for catching worms before harvest. Just bury in bedding take out and add to plastic bucket with a bit of shredded newspaper until new bedding ready.

Gloria · 07-02-2009, 11:06 AM

Sifting after allowed to dry a bit, too wet is hard to sift.

Finished product, ready for use.

Gloria · 07-03-2009, 11:53 AM

The white flecks in the finished worm castings (vermicompost) are crushed eggshells. I use the crushed shells as a grit for the worms to use in digestion process. A bit of soil will work if you don't like to use eggshells.
The shells must be ground very fine to work so I use a stone rolling pin with the eggshells placed on a cloth napkin. It takes just a couple of minutes to roll into a fine product.

biigblueyes · 07-03-2009, 09:29 PM

Wow - thanks for the detailed explanation. How long have you been vermicomposting?

Gloria · 07-04-2009, 10:22 AM

I have been vermicomposting for two yeas now. Took course (three six hour Saturdays) to become a volunteer for Master Composters through the Master Gardeners program. The cost covers a bin you make in class.
Vermicomposting along with other composting methods is taught to youngsters at local schools and at summer events by volunteers. We even have a ROT line for questions.

Equilibrium · 07-06-2009, 12:50 AM

Hey Gloria! Thanks for starting this thread. I have two brand new rubbermaid bins back home. When I get back can you walk me through this? I bought them specifically to start vermicomposting. The rot line sounds hysterical but needed. I bet it gets calls. People like me are interested... we don't have 18 hours to devote to the nitty gritty but we do want to start. I'm most interested in start to finish with how best to remove eggs from the castings.

Hedgerowe · 07-06-2009, 05:20 AM

Gloria, thank you for posting your tutorial. I like the nylon netting part; nothing I've read in the past makes any reference to it. Does it make it a great deal easier to corral the worms? To me that always seemed like the difficult part.

havalotta · 07-07-2009, 09:47 AM

Very nice job describing the process.
I also add a hand full of soil into the moistened newspaper bedding to get their digestion started.

TheLorax · 07-13-2009, 11:12 AM

Has anyone started one of these yet?

07-02-2009, 10:58 AM	#1
Gloria A Bee's Best Friend Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois USA	Worms eat waste in pictures Rubbermaid roughneck , holes drilled. Pre worm shredded newspaper bedding. Worms added to bedding. Since I don't use drainage holes on bottom occasional dry bedding added to top or if very wet, bottom of bin. Next ...feeding. Attached Thumbnails

07-02-2009, 11:03 AM	#2
Gloria A Bee's Best Friend Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois USA	Feeding... Kitchen waste. Nylon net full of scraps for catching worms before harvest. Just bury in bedding take out and add to plastic bucket with a bit of shredded newspaper until new bedding ready. Attached Thumbnails

07-02-2009, 11:06 AM	#3
Gloria A Bee's Best Friend Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois USA	Harvest... Sifting after allowed to dry a bit, too wet is hard to sift. Finished product, ready for use. Attached Thumbnails

07-03-2009, 11:53 AM	#4
Gloria A Bee's Best Friend Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois USA	The white flecks in the finished worm castings (vermicompost) are crushed eggshells. I use the crushed shells as a grit for the worms to use in digestion process. A bit of soil will work if you don't like to use eggshells. The shells must be ground very fine to work so I use a stone rolling pin with the eggshells placed on a cloth napkin. It takes just a couple of minutes to roll into a fine product. Attached Thumbnails

07-03-2009, 09:29 PM	#5
biigblueyes WG Facilitator Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cajun Country, Louisiana, USA	Wow - thanks for the detailed explanation. How long have you been vermicomposting? __________________ My yarden and I lean a little to the wild side.

07-04-2009, 10:22 AM	#6
Gloria A Bee's Best Friend Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Illinois USA	I have been vermicomposting for two yeas now. Took course (three six hour Saturdays) to become a volunteer for Master Composters through the Master Gardeners program. The cost covers a bin you make in class. Vermicomposting along with other composting methods is taught to youngsters at local schools and at summer events by volunteers. We even have a ROT line for questions.

07-06-2009, 12:50 AM	#7
Equilibrium Official Plant Nerd Join Date: Dec 2008	Hey Gloria! Thanks for starting this thread. I have two brand new rubbermaid bins back home. When I get back can you walk me through this? I bought them specifically to start vermicomposting. The rot line sounds hysterical but needed. I bet it gets calls. People like me are interested... we don't have 18 hours to devote to the nitty gritty but we do want to start. I'm most interested in start to finish with how best to remove eggs from the castings. __________________ "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

07-06-2009, 05:20 AM	#8
Hedgerowe Pope Join Date: May 2009 Location: Virginia	Gloria, thank you for posting your tutorial. I like the nylon netting part; nothing I've read in the past makes any reference to it. Does it make it a great deal easier to corral the worms? To me that always seemed like the difficult part.

07-07-2009, 09:47 AM	#9
havalotta WG Prize & Gift Coordinator Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Michigan	Very nice job describing the process. I also add a hand full of soil into the moistened newspaper bedding to get their digestion started. __________________ The successful woman is the woman that had the chance and took it! A walk among the elusive Whitetail Deer

07-13-2009, 11:12 AM	#10
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	Has anyone started one of these yet? __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

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