WORMS ANYONE?:-~)

[gaitngirl]

Kikiriki - I was cleaning the old nesting area for the ducks (which was extremely poopy!) and it was filled with worms, too. There was a lot of straw that it was mixed with and it was very soggy. I put sand down and new straw to try to entice the Muscovies I picked up today to check it out (so far they aren't even slightly interested but I just picked them up this evening so they're still freaked out). Most of my yard is underwater with the rain we've been getting but there are worms galore everywhere. My mom had fits when I started picking up the fatties on her driveway Sunday night before I left. She can't believe that I get excited over worms, lol.

 

[kortmom]

I ordered my worms today! I should have them in a few days. Tomorrow I am going to set up their bedding. I have a new question: how does everyone store their kitchen waste? I dont want any smell. Can I just put a plastic container in the fridge and add scraps to that and feed my worms from the fridge container as needed? In order for this to work for us I need to keep it as easy and stink free as possible. Thanks!

 

[gaitngirl]

I ordered my worms today! I should have them in a few days. Tomorrow I am going to set up their bedding. I have a new question: how does everyone store their kitchen waste? I dont want any smell. Can I just put a plastic container in the fridge and add scraps to that and feed my worms from the fridge container as needed? In order for this to work for us I need to keep it as easy and stink free as possible. Thanks!

I bag everything (food scrap wise) and freeze it actually. Unless it's going to be used right away. If it's going to be stored for any length of time, it may mold in the fridge. Which the worms really don't mind, lol. Freezing kitchen waste will generally kill fruit fly eggs/larva, too. I just take out what's needed, thaw it, and add it to the bins. Freezing and thawing seems to help with the breakdown process.
For coffee grounds, paper rolls, and egg shells - I have an old plastic ice cream bucket that I leave the lid off of and toss stuff in. If you put the lid on the stuff gets nasty fast. Being open to the air, it's fine (and it doesn't stink if it's kept dry). I bake the egg shells in a toaster oven, grind them as fine as possible with a mortar and pestle, then add them to the bins. It's a good calcium boost for cocoon production and it helps balance any acidity in the bins.

Happy Worming!

 

[kortmom]

Okey dokey. Freezing in bags it will be. Thank you.

 

[kortmom]

I am starting to save the zipper bags that the deli person puts your deli meats in for freezing kitchen scraps. Ive started a small bin under my kitchen sink for paper, shredded cardboard paper towel and tp rolls, egg shells and coffee grounds. Putting egg shells under the broiler probably wont be a regular thing for me. I can see crunch and toss in a bucket, but toasting them might be over my long term committment level.

 

[kortmom]

Im setting up my worm towers. My worms should be here tomorrow, I would think. I do not have any manure. I do have shredded wet newspaper, dry leaves and some coffee grounds and used coffee filters. Is this enough to set up my beds? I do have some finished compost in a pile. Would that be helpful to add? I'm thinking a big handful shredded wet newspaper, a handful of dry crumbled leaves, a whole coffee filter with coffee grounds. How does that sound??

 

[Kikiriki]

Kikiriki - I was cleaning the old nesting area for the ducks (which was extremely poopy!) and it was filled with worms, too. There was a lot of straw that it was mixed with and it was very soggy. I put sand down and new straw to try to entice the Muscovies I picked up today to check it out (so far they aren't even slightly interested but I just picked them up this evening so they're still freaked out). Most of my yard is underwater with the rain we've been getting but there are worms galore everywhere. My mom had fits when I started picking up the fatties on her driveway Sunday night before I left. She can't believe that I get excited over worms, lol.

My mom had red wigglers before I did and I thought the bins were disgusting! It grossed me out when she would stick her hands in and handle them but her bins were gross: they did not have drainage so they turned into soupy goop and developed a fruit fly problem. It was actually a couple of years before I got my own worms, and now my DH is grossed out when I stick my hands in handling them!

So it seems that the solution to using manure from fowl is a good long soak and rinse cycle and composting with plant matter, rather than just aging in a dry state as I had done.... Good info!

 

[Kikiriki]

Im setting up my worm towers.  My worms should be here tomorrow, I would think.  I do not have any manure.  I do have shredded wet newspaper, dry leaves and some coffee grounds and used coffee filters.  Is this enough to set up my beds?  I do have some finished compost in a pile.  Would that be helpful to add?  I'm thinking a big handful shredded wet newspaper, a handful of dry crumbled leaves, a whole coffee filter with coffee grounds.  How does that sound??

Since you are adding worms to soil where they can leave freely, I would add something to convince them off the bat that their new home is the place to stay. My worms love cantaloupe the most. DH just got 2 for $5 yesterday at the grocery store so they must be coming in season now. I have seen people say the worms need time to settle before feeding them, but yours are not going to be in a container... Even they choose not to eat for a couple of days, they will know that food is there waiting for them when they feel like munching. Don't put in a whole rind, just some....

And, yes, do use your compost! It has a nice loose structure they will like, plus the worms will decompose it further. Also spread it around the tower and keep the area moistened for them... If your soil is still chilly, you can put a black plastic sheet over the compost to warm the area more quickly, plus it will help to retain moisture. You want them to feel like they are in a worm spa so they never want to leave!

We had many nights down into the 30's so I would take my bins out into the sun to warm their soil up. They responded well to it, becoming more active. Since you are in the north, it might be a good idea to have a thermometer to check to soil temps, if you do not already have one for the garden...

 

[Kikiriki]

I just discovered something interesting: I had to dig up my onions from my garden and I found a red wiggler entwined in the roots of one! I thought worms disliked onion, so I have not been putting them in the food they get from the house. Guess I will try a test in one container and see how those worms react to a small bit of onion...

So since I keep finding my worms around in odd places (since they should only be in containers), I guess that I am not getting all the cocoons out of the castings I use. I don't mind if he worms are spreading around the yard, however, I live in a developed area so escapees have little chance of doing harm to native wild lands, and we already have native earthworms.

But this is not the case for everyone: Scientists are studying the effect of non-native worms in old forest. Apparently, these old forests do not have native worms at all, and all the plant matter just falls to the ground where it forms layer upon layer. These areas have unique ecosystems that are evolved to survive exactly in the conditions they have, but the invading earthworms disrupt the layering and also disrupt some of the fungal growth upon which some plant species depend. It is important to consider where you live when using castings that may still have live worms or cocoons.

I do find it wildly ironic, though, that science is stirring up a bed of worms over worms in old growth forest, when logging is certainly disrupting those ecosystems more, and in the broader sense, we have such an enormous problem with invasive species that pose a much bigger risk to a wide swath of areas and industries.
:/

 

[kortmom]

I

Since you are adding worms to soil where they can leave freely, I would add something to convince them off the bat that their new home is the place to stay. My worms love cantaloupe the most. DH just got 2 for $5 yesterday at the grocery store so they must be coming in season now. I have seen people say the worms need time to settle before feeding them, but yours are not going to be in a container... Even they choose not to eat for a couple of days, they will know that food is there waiting for them when they feel like munching. Don't put in a whole rind, just some....

And, yes, do use your compost! It has a nice loose structure they will like, plus the worms will decompose it further. Also spread it around the tower and keep the area moistened for them... If your soil is still chilly, you can put a black plastic sheet over the compost to warm the area more quickly, plus it will help to retain moisture. You want them to feel like they are in a worm spa so they never want to leave!

We had many nights down into the 30's so I would take my bins out into the sun to warm their soil up. They responded well to it, becoming more active. Since you are in the north, it might be a good idea to have a thermometer to check to soil temps, if you do not already have one for the garden...

I didnt read your reply until today and I put my worms in their towers yesterday. Darn. I have some watermelon. I will run out there right now and put in some rind and a handful of compost.

I have yet another question. Everyone talks about checking on their worms! How the heck do I do at in a worm tower? They all retreated below the surface of the tower about one minutes after I put them in. I cant see them. I imagine I will answer my own question when I put the melon rind in above my bedding. I am assuming they will all flock to the top. Is that correct?

Kikiriki, I wish you lived next door to me, lol!

P.s. My baby chicks are shipping out TOMORROW!!!

P.s.s. I have a horse that I board. i want to start bringing home some of her manure and used bedding for composting. I will put it in my new to be started chicken/horse poo area, so I will eventually have aged manure! Never thought worms and poo would interest me!