OT composting with worms

[rwsaunders]

Anybody doing it? Experiences, resources, etc. appreciated...

Thanks

[phcollard]

My GF used to do this... INSIDE! In the kitchen that was. Bad idea. Not only I wasn't feeling cool that the worms could escape but we also had a huge lot of fruit flies. She finally agreed that the worms were better outside... until it started freezing :D

So that's a good idea for the environment, providing your compost box is outside.

[Seramount]

are you talking about indoors composting?

I set up a 5-gallon undersink unit for a friend in an apartment and it works ok...started it with shredded newspapers, soil, worms and then just add kitchen scraps. maintaining the optimal moisture level was a little tricky, but not that big of a deal. if it smells awful, it's too wet...if it's not composting, it's too dry. when it's dialed in, it should just smell like damp earth.

the biggest problem is that it doesn't hold enough compostables and she still ends up throwing some waste in the trash.

what do you plan on doing with the compost after you make it?

[rwsaunders]

Outdoors. Rather than send the kitchen waste down the disposal and to the landfill, we will just use the compost in the planting beds and I have a decent amount of woods all around us. My main concern is the animals that might ravage the container to get at the scrap. I'm open to ideas and suggestions.

[Seramount]

don't know what kind of wildlife you have, but I don't really care if the birds, cats, rats, possums, and raccoons help themselves to some tidbits, I still end up with plenty of compost.

a lot of folks feel it necessary to go to great lengths to build a bin or container...I never really saw the point, tho. my pile is out in the corner of the backyard and the chain link fencing works fine to hold everything in place.

when I first started, I was manic about collecting all the neighbor's grass cuttings and leaves to bulk up the pile. I was also collecting the spent coffee grounds (they're a great soil conditioner) at work (about 2-3 gallons per day), but, that phase wore off after a while and now it's comprised of about 40% yard waste and the rest kitchen scraps.

I put compostables in a plastic grocery bag and store it in the freezer until full and then transfer it to the pile. also throw in paper towels, fiberboard egg cartons, and any other bio-degradables. the only things you want to avoid are meat, dairy items...they attract fire ants here.

it's helpful to turn the pile over often, but also completely unnecessary. everything will still compost in time, it will just take much longer.

my pile got nuked during last year's drought...I couldn't find a single worm in it after 100 days of 100F. but, we've had a wet spring and there's some red wrigglers out there now that look like baby snakes.

refer back to my previous post about moisture content. if it gets too dry, it's actually pretty difficult to get it back to a proper moisture level again without rain...using a hose doesn't work that well unless you roto-till it and spray it down during the process.

[flydhest]

So . . . I would think about worm composting differently from regular composting. Worm composting works best, in my experience, indoors. You could get flies or smells, but that is usually an indication that you have too much in the way of compostables relative to worms. I keep my worm bin in the basement, but it doesn't smell bad when I am down there. Keeping it outdoors is feasible, but you don't want them to freeze or get cooked so winter and summer can be a trick. Too much rain, as well, is an issue, hence indoors. A screened in porch would do the trick as would a back porch with a roof, modulo the temperature.

Worms are great to keep you from feeling bad about all the (vegetable) kitchen scraps that get thrown away. The resulting compost works well in pots or just on your flower bed, but you won't get heaps and heaps of it. For reference, it is me and my wife and our 15 month old. To get a cubic foot of compost takes months and months.

That said, you get into the habit and it just takes care of itself. You feed it a bit too much, the worms multiply. You feed it a bit too little . . . the population adjusts. The problems come with extremes.

The second time I started doing it, I bought one of the multilayer worm bins. It's a great concept. In practice, it is good.

We shred our junk mail, so we always have shredded paper around. Moisture tends not to be a problem.

Side note of interest for health-oriented cyclists, if you juice, the leftover pulp/fiber from the juicing is perfect for the worms.

[Andrewlcox]

It's crazy that you asked this question. I am embarking on the same topic as we speak. I already have a rotary composter and I will be using last years compost for worm food this year to "finish it off" into worm castings for the gardens.

I am looking at buying the Worm Factory for about $100 but it seems kinda silly when I could buy some Rubbermaid totes for under $30 total.

Andy

[Seramount]

forgot to add another great compost item...

if you ever have a crawfish boil (or access to a seafood restaurant), crawdad and shrimp shells are great for composting.

but, be sure you cover them with a decent layer of soil or all the cats in the vicinity will be dropping by.

egg shells are good too.

[FGC]

To get rid of the flies take an old wine bottle and fill it with some water, juice or sugar and a little vinegar to break the surface tension. Give it a week or two and the flies should be gone. The flies go in but can't find their way out.

[CNY rider]

It's crazy that you asked this question. I am embarking on the same topic as we speak. I already have a rotary composter and I will be using last years compost for worm food this year to "finish it off" into worm castings for the gardens.

I am looking at buying the Worm Factory for about $100 but it seems kinda silly when I could buy some Rubbermaid totes for under $30 total.

Andy



It is great timing because I am about to embark on outdoor composting for the first time as well.
I will have lots of chicken poop as well as the usual household and yard stuff to work with.
What composter do you have, and would you buy it again? Recommendations and tips greatly appreciated.

[maunahaole]

We have one of the lifetime brand rotating bins set up outside. It has some beefy latches on it to keep it closed up. Plenty of bugs in there munching on stuff as well as some little frogs or toads that scatter when exposed to the light. Works great. Needs to be turned periodically.

[rickbb]

Composting has worked well for me, even with minimal effort. Mine gets raided by raccoons and deer but, worst case, some rinds occasionally end out a few feet away.
It makes sense if for no other reason than to keep vegetable waste out of the trash transport/landfill cycle.

[thwart]

Indoor worm composting (and outdoor standard composting, too) for 10+ years. Our worm bin is in the basement, and as long as you are reasonably careful and use an appropriately vented bin, no issues. Mainly coffee grounds and vegetables (apparently they love lettuce) go in the worm bin. No cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli... when they ferment, they smell.

But, yeah, it's a slow process, and not a ton of compost produced.

In the North, you can't do a worm bin outdoors year-round, for the obvious reasons... worm-sicles. :rolleyes:

[tiretrax]

don't know what kind of wildlife you have, but I don't really care if the birds, cats, rats, possums, and raccoons help themselves to some tidbits, I still end up with plenty of compost.

a lot of folks feel it necessary to go to great lengths to build a bin or container...I never really saw the point, tho. my pile is out in the corner of the backyard and the chain link fencing works fine to hold everything in place.

when I first started, I was manic about collecting all the neighbor's grass cuttings and leaves to bulk up the pile. I was also collecting the spent coffee grounds (they're a great soil conditioner) at work (about 2-3 gallons per day), but, that phase wore off after a while and now it's comprised of about 40% yard waste and the rest kitchen scraps.

I put compostables in a plastic grocery bag and store it in the freezer until full and then transfer it to the pile. also throw in paper towels, fiberboard egg cartons, and any other bio-degradables. the only things you want to avoid are meat, dairy items...they attract fire ants here.

it's helpful to turn the pile over often, but also completely unnecessary. everything will still compost in time, it will just take much longer.

my pile got nuked during last year's drought...I couldn't find a single worm in it after 100 days of 100F. but, we've had a wet spring and there's some red wrigglers out there now that look like baby snakes.

refer back to my previous post about moisture content. if it gets too dry, it's actually pretty difficult to get it back to a proper moisture level again without rain...using a hose doesn't work that well unless you roto-till it and spray it down during the process.

+1 - They know how to do it in Austin.

If you're going to compost indoors with worms, buy a kit from an organic nursery. You will probably find that you don't have enough capacity pretty soon, so outdoor works best.

[Andrewlcox]

It is great timing because I am about to embark on outdoor composting for the first time as well.
I will have lots of chicken poop as well as the usual household and yard stuff to work with.
What composter do you have, and would you buy it again? Recommendations and tips greatly appreciated.

I have a Lifetime rotary composter I bought at Sam's Club for $100. It is pretty big but the price was right compared to other rotary systems up to $400. Last year was our first year and it got a slow start with only cooking scraps. This year I mulched and bagged a load of leaves with my mower and then added a load of grass clippings. It's a little dry right now but with all the fruit and vegetable scraps we are adding it is getting better. I may still pour about a quart of water in there to moisten it up.

I took out last years compost this spring and plan on feeding it to the worms. This should make a perfect batch of casting for the garden.

Good luck and if you have anymore questions I'll try to help.

Andy

[CNY rider]

Did you consider one of the 2 compartment units?
How have you dealt with new material while waiting for a batch to be finished?

[Andrewlcox]

I was excited to find a rotary model for $100. It's been great.

Once the batch gets going with great activity, we just kept adding and adding even through our mild winter. Now it looks like dirt but it is still chunky and ready for worms.

[ORMojo]

I've been a member since inception ~15 years ago of our city's Neighborhood Matching Grant Committee. We essentially provide the cash portion to get small-scale ($250-$25,000 cash per grant) neighborhood enhancement projects built.

An interesting application last year was a demonstration project to build a neighborhood Flow Through Worm Bin with 1,500 pound capacity. The project is now built and underway. I was very impressed at the dedication ceremony, the Bin is very cool.

Way too many grant-related details, but here is the grant application if you want to look http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_364407_0_0_18/Worm_bin_prototype_final_1.pdf

[Karin Kirk]

Did you consider one of the 2 compartment units?
How have you dealt with new material while waiting for a batch to be finished?

I had that problem, so I bought another composter so that one bin could be digesting while I started up a fresh batch in the next bin. Only once I did that was I able to get nice, finished compost. I add water and blood meal to get things to cook down.

We have the Compost Tumblers, which are big and not cheap, but I generate a lot of garden clippings and we've found that in our dry climate, informal compost piles don't really do much. The pile just keeps getting larger to the point where it's a big eyesore.

I've been happy with these, but there are definitely cheaper ways to go.

http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/public/Nexn2r-2rUUfrYh6HJEzOWzhooPn__klPM-LZ-_D9p9-hYjEMHdASL8JbNfQWlGAr8CGdZ2TCByeDlzDsfGrKg7kYq8jMJ ztqNQw98YlcSOQ8E34XZvpxZRvVnr6j_FJfSe5yx_uMv6r_Bs7 zse2xgMdLU93Ku9n1YObQgp_fmYj69NwSzF7EnwIv-zYX6bqMzspSc2VaTW2JO4cGeO_gXEzf3c