I have a worm bin, right now it's in the kitchen, I move it out to the garage for the summer. It doesn't smell at all but, I've got a terrible fruit fly problem right now, the food is buried under the newspaper bedding and I've got a beer bottle with a plastic bag on the table next to the bin. Should I place another beer trap right in the bin??

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!!!!!!

Hi there! I have heard of several fixes for fruit fly problems, but they all escape me right now. When I remember, I'll let you know.

What is your worm bin made out of? What do you use for bedding?

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We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Mine is an outdoor bin, because of all the wonderful stuff I put in it...

It's a 4' by 2' wooden box with no solid bottom...instead it has something similar to chicken wire, but stronger. The whole thing is set up on cement blocks, so that the finished compost falls out te bottom, and I never have to disturb the worms. The lid is also wood, on hinges, so that it is really easy to manuver with one hand.

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We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Fishing, black gold, garbage disposal, carefree pets for the kids, can watch them doing you know what, selling, etc.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!!!!!!

Ok Barley you have no problem with it outside in Oregon I shouldnt have any problem here in Texas then also the wire on the bottom is it like fine Hail screen or what? And where do I get my worms from? Do you have a favorite place? Can I buy fishing worms like night crawlers or do I need red earthwomrs. See you got me started I am full of questions?
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Yah, how do you leave it outside year round???

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!!!!!!

Aha, a topic I can really get into. Three years ago I started a worm farm in a water trough, about 6 ft.L x 2 1/2ft.W x 2 ft. D. I got 10 worms from my neighbor. They are small really thin and average 2 in. long. Mine can stay outside all year long. I put shredded newspaper bedding in it.
I put in whole fruits and things that get over ripe plus all of my kitchen scraps. A neighbor used to bring all of their shredded paper from his small business. I add a few leaves and twigs on occasion to give wormies some variety in their diet. They get the overflow water from the sprinklers nearby.
I put whole jack o' lanterns in and raw or cooked corn on the cob, stale bread, whole eggshells; everything non-meat. I do turn it on occasion and have had fruit flies on occasion.
But my thing is, I started with 10 worms a little over three years ago and now have hundreds of thousands (maybe millions).
I also have black gold for my posies. I would be able to turn out more worm castings if I processed what I put into the farm into smaller pieces. But I'm a lazy farmer.
I started trading them this fall for plants, seeds or postage.
I was inspired by a trip to New Zealand where I saw massive worm farms in action. I love the idea of recycling as much as possible and this is one of the easiest projects I've ever done. I do not have to find pet-sitters when I vacation.
My 'fix' for fruit flies is to turn the contents for aeration and lay newspaper layer on top. I am no expert but my worms seem happy
~Tina

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~Tina



Getting old is the pits. But it sure beats the alternative. My Blog

quote:

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Originally posted by Triss:
Ok, so I am following this but the question from me is why a worm bin?

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My dad always kept a worm bed going because of his passion for fishing. From a gardener's standpoint, earthworm "castings" are basically SUPER compost.

Dad built his directly on the ground using marine plywood so it would last, but logs or dimensional lumber (2x6s, 2x12s etc.) would work as well. The boxes were 4 foot square and 18 inches tall.
He put window screen in the bottom of the bed, then layered garden soil, leaves and newspaper (black print ONLY and no glossy paper). Burlap was put on top of the bed to keep everything moist.
The worms came when Mom was working in the garden. My job was to catch the worms and take them to the beds.
We fed them rabbit pellets and coffee grounds. (my job too)
We had lots and lots of worms... Big, fat, juicy worms!

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Well it all sounds pretty simple.

Why do the worms need newspaper for bedding? They do not get newspaper in the ground.

Ok this may seem a silly question, but the worms do the same thing in the ground, don't they? And don't they also aerate the soil?

So is having them in a bin just a way to produce MORE black gold? And do you get more just cuz you are feeding them?

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

quote:

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Earthworms eat different things.

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O.K...I imagine my worms are earthworms...

...bought at a bait shop.
So, can I do the worm thing with these?

Also...I have them in the refrigerator at the moment...where they have lived for 6 months...but now they have a bigger house than in the picture.
So...if I make a place under the cabinet where it's not cold, are they gonna want to crawl out of the container? For some reason I just thought they had to be in the refrigerator...that's where I found them.

Cindy H.

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

So do you not use soil at all? And does the plant food drop down to the bottom of the bin through the newspaper?

If I started one of these in a small box and put it in one section of my garden to work for a while, I could move it down the line to work in another area?

Couldn't the worms survive outside just fine since they live outhere all the time or do you need to take care they do not freeze since they cannot go "underground"

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

Ok I have a box I can use really an old apple crate need wire on bottom have my compost I can put in to start as well as soil out of my graden then all I need is red wigglers? Do I need to order these? I have a few earthworms already in my garden fours years ago I didn't even have grubs let alone earthworms now at least I have them do not know where they came from. Will shop around to find what I need localy. Barley what would you charge for a start of your worms and Mel you too? If I have to buy them I would rather pay you instead of some company.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

And they eat the newspaper as well as junk mail and phone books. It's not just bedding. ~Tina

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~Tina



Getting old is the pits. But it sure beats the alternative. My Blog

Triss together maybe we can ask all the right questions. So for you have ask thing I never thought about hope I have for you too.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Tina when weather starts warming up will be glad to buy some from you. What ever it would take to get started that way I will not have to rush to get things ready. Name your price I use Paypal if you do money should be no problem or I can send you a check or bankdraft it is up to you.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

That is what I am looking for they should be able to do what I need just fine. I already have a place to buy night crawlers for fishing
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Triss sounds like it would just cut out the bottom and put wire there in the place of the bottom should work.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

I was thnking about using a plastic milk crate so it would have holes throughout. What kind of mesh should I use if screening is too small? And if it is a lot bigger than that, won't the worms get out or does the supply of food keep them in place?

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

The milk crate w/mesh lining wouldn't work for me. Mice could still get in any of my crates through the holes and chew through the screening. Maybe a little harder to keep damp where I live, too.
But if you don't have those problems; a lid of some kind to keep unwanted things out. And outdoors because it would leak under your sink.
Most I have seen are solid bins or the heavy mesh bottom ones like Barley described.
~Tina

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~Tina



Getting old is the pits. But it sure beats the alternative. My Blog

going to buy some small hail screen tomorrow will be a good start to this. Place it on bottom of my apple crate start thr process by filling with garden soil and compost. Then when I get worms from Tina will be on my way to worm farming. Or is that a farmer with worms??
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Triss and ice chest is not completly air tight. If Cindy's worms can live 6 months in her refregerator I am sure yours could live in an ice chest.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Not too sure I feel like it would here but you get a lot colder then we do for the most part. Mine will be outside protected from the wind probably in one of my sheds.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Triss - Jimmy - Tina - Cindy - et al; I could probably make one myself, but since Santa is so generous he's bringing me a "Wriggler Wranch Worm bin" in about 6 days 10 hours and 30 minutes! (He's tring to bribe me I think, into spending more time in the kitchen & not burning his dinners all the time... figures that if he gives me worms for under the kitchen sink, I won't leave the room while the burners are on cuz I'll be busy talking to the Lil' Fellers, or feeding them the rejects from a previous meal!) Anyway, I don't know much about the whole process yet, but here's a site with instructions for building a Worm Composting System. The plan there is for a 4' X 2' bin, but I would think you could scale that up/down to accomodate the space you have for it.

Cindy, as I learned, when I was fishing once, that unless you keep your worms in a closed container, God only knows where'll they'll be in the morning, cuz when it gets cool they'll go elsewhere! What I've heard is that the ideal temp for Red Wiggler systems is between 45* & 85*F. (I suppose that's why under the kitchen sink is an ideal location... If they get too hot or too cold, they'll try to find a way out.)

Also, you're not supposed to feed them milk products or meat. (Coffee grounds & fruits/veggies are ideal.) I don't know what the answer is to the Breakfast Bat (fruit fly) problem, but I would say that if they're present, there's more decaying produce there than the little guys can process. (Personally, I'd clean it all out & start over, cuz I don't think that a fly trap set-up should have to be part of the worm farm.)

Our County Extension Service has a Master Gardener's section, where they sell Red Wigglers. (That's where my Wriggler Wranch Worm Bin is REALLY coming from, complete with a starter supply of worms... Santa can't fool me, cuz I happen to know that it's too cold for the little guys at the North Pole... well, unless Santa's Elves have a light bulb in the bin!) Maybe your local Extension office can help you get the right worms to get started.

Will be able to share more info with you all soon! I can't wait!

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Sounds good Patty thanks for the link will check it out better when I get home tonight.
Jimmy

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Meet Clyde my Male Sugar Glider. Clyde says.
Keep it organic
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.
Pray for our Troops!

Well now...
I can see that I have stumbled into something here!! This answers soooo many questions I have had for a very long time!

I am gonna do this,too!
Thank you y'all!

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I will plant my heart in my garden of dreams.