Vermiculture, can I just add worms to an already existing compost bin?

[nayeli]

@aggiemae on it =)

 

[hc2schickaroo]

Hello, Really want to start vermiculture but afraid all will die.
After the set up, add worms, and food source for them, how do you know when it's ready for more food to be added? How long do you wait? Or how to tell signs of healthy balanced process vs overloaded all dying process?

Thanks for any experience you can share.

 

[HennyPennyCO]

I've had a worm bin living happily (& odor-free) in my kitchen for the last 13 months. It sits on top of the recycling bins so doesn't take up any extra room.
It's a 10-gallon Rubbermaid tub bought at Home Depot with ventilation/drainage holes drilled in the bottom & sides. The basic bedding is a 50:50 mixture of shredded newspaper (no glossy inserts of course) & autumn leaves (freely available at this time of year). Mix well, then moisten the mixture with enough water to make it damp. Squeeze out any excess water. Make sure the bin is full. BTW, setting up the bin is a perfect job to have a kid help you with.
Add Red Wiggler worms. (I started off with a cupful & it was plenty.) If you have any free neighborhood sites (Nextdoor Neighborhood, Freeecycle) you might even get surplus worms given to you.
(Red Wiggler worms are indoor or summer worms in my Colorado climate; they will NOT overwinter in the compost outside.)
Feed a good variety of whatever you have, finely chopped or shredded. I feed about a cup a week. I start at one end of the bin, and lay the row of food a couple of inches down, next to where I last fed, checking to see if anything is left from before. If there appear to be leftovers, then I'm feeding too much and need to reduce the amount. I don't worry about the occasional nubs of carrot or cabbage as they are hard vegetables & slow to be eaten.
Cover up the new food with the bedding mix. Next time I feed, I'll move one row over.
Cover the whole bin contents with several sheets of wetted newspaper, wetted cardboard, or an old damp cotton T-shirt to keep the humidity level constant. Put the lid on.
If you love having your kitchen filled with fruit flies, then go ahead and feed fruit. Otherwise - no fruit, though my worms do like a little finely chopped banana peel mixed in with their other food on occasion. Like your compost heap - no meat products; no dairy. And as mentioned above, no onion or citrus fruit either.
They like coffee grounds, again in moderation mixed in with their other food. Tear up the coffee filters too. They like those nasty things you find rotting in plastic bags at the back of the crisper drawer, but again in moderation. Mix the gloop with the other food, maybe some chopped up stale bread to soak up the excess juices. They also love avocado.
Right now I have a handful of shredded celery leaves waiting in the fridge to be added to this week's feeding.
Remember, most worms in worm bins die from being given too much food! The newspaper/leaf mixture is also edible so they will be eating the bedding. You'll see the level of the bedding drop over time as they munch their way through it & turn it into worm castings.
My worm bin sits on a tray to catch any extra moisture. (I am not interested in getting worm tea so keep my bin contents just barely damp.) Also, the baby worms will occasional fall through the holes in the bottom so you need to check for escapees on the tray before the little guys dry out.
If all your worms are trying to escape, then they are trying to get away from poor living conditions, so make sure all is well and readjust the conditions.
The worm reproductive cycle is about three months, so it doesn't take long to build up a good little flock/herd/family (whatever a group of worms is called). In four or five months you'll need to remove the worms, harvest the wonderful worm castings, redo the bedding, put the worms back in, and start again. Last September I had enough worms to give away 4/5 to 4 other worm caretakers (1/5 kept for myself.)
If you keep the bedding covered, and keep the lid on, you will rarely, if ever, have to add any extra water. If necessary, I use a spray bottle to mist the T-shirt with a little water.
I haven't tried using any chicken manure for my worms since I have only 4 birds and all their offerings go to the compost heap outside. However, I think you could handle rabbit & chicken manure in the same way as you handle any vegetable/coffee grounds feedings since they are all nitrogen additions, with small quantities being the key, buried under the bedding. Let us know how it goes.
Hope this helps,
Penny

 

[hc2schickaroo]

It is incredibly helpful. Thank you! I'm now feeling like I can do it. : )