How-To Compost with Worms and Solve Common Problems

[dkulikowski]

How is your worm farming doing? I suspect it is doing great because WORMS LOVE SOMEONE TO SING TO THEM. She is soooooo sweet. My Granddaughters love helping me with the worm farm. I do not put holes in the top, just on sides & bottom. I didn't want rain getting in to mine. Does yours get too hot? You live in California, right? Anyways great job with the girls, Mom! Come check out my website, it won't let me put in the w's or . com , so here it is without larksperennials Smiles, Lark

[homegrownfunfamily]

@dkulikowski Thanks Lark - such nice comments. The worms are doing amazingly. A neat tidbit: Some neighborhood kids that had very little experience with composting, gardening and worms have taken to the worms - they knock on my door asking if they can feed and water them. A few weeks ago 4 came over to help harvest the castings. The worms don't usually get too hot. I crack the top of the bin and even in SoCal the garage stays pretty cool. I'll check you out on your site. Thx again!

[sly2kusa]

Plus I use a ton of it (you can never add too much bedding). Also - soy ink is not harmful to the worms, and that is what typically is used on the 3 types of cardboard materials I described previously. I never use white papers, newspaper (though newspaper is supposed printed in soy as well), not any bills from the mail. I don't take chances with those materials.

[sly2kusa]

I only use brown bags from the grocery store, egg cartons, and brown cardboard boxes. I do shred all of it through my paper shredder, but the combination of different densities is what keeps things from going sour.

[8drewski]

the ink in the newspaper contains bisphenol A. use cardboard they love that stuff!

[homegrownfunfamily]

@8drewski You are so right about the cardboard! After we got that first bin moving we starting to experiment. I updated the video (you motivated me with your comment) with a note about the cardboard. Thanks a lot. I just picked up a truck load of moving boxes and packing paper. Craigslist is a great source of free cardboard if you need a lot for weed control or worms.

[8drewski]

@homegrownfunfamily no prob! I love your vids! thanks!!!!

[1glfjnky]

@8drewski I used newspaper in my first bin. It worked but not nearly as shredded brown paper bags. With food I will fill up a zip lock bag and freeze it first. Freezing breaks down the cell walls and it decays faster. When I start to run low, I will thaw it out and put it in a food processor. I will feed them a couple of days worth, and refrigerate the rest of it. Just be sure to cover it up with a few inches of bedding, and don't glop it in to thick, or it will heat up.

[8drewski]

@1glfjnky thanks man!

[billavara]

remember they eat Decomposing foods ... fresh food will lie there for a few days attracting fruit flies and the like until it rots a little before the worms will find it attractive

[homegrownfunfamily]

@billavara Good tip. We arre still learning. Thanks a lot. The neat thing is that this bin was just completed and we had the kids in the neighborhood come over and separate the castings. We found a lot of cocoons. They had a blast. I've almost eliminated the citrus and haven't had flies in a month and a half. Maybe that's the key? Thanks for commenting!

[billavara]

@homegrownfunfamily another thing I do that really helps is to throw a bunch of dead leaves just on top of the worms. In nature, you find these worms in piles of horse manure, cow dung, or under piles of leaves. I find they like the leaves and are willing to tolerate wetter conditions and hectic breeding under the pile of leaves in their buckets. Then each time you feed them, mix some leaves lightly with the rest of the bedding. IT keeps good airflow and the worms just love the leaves

[homegrownfunfamily]

@billavara Helpful tips! I'll add the point about how they eat decomposing foods and also this last important tip on how adding leaves makes for better air circulation and a more worm friendly environment. I wonder if fig leaves would work well. I've got a lot of those, perfectly dried, but they irritate my skin. Worms probably don't care. Thanks again for your input. The video is getting better every day and our worms are better off.

[homegrownfunfamily]

Thanks TweetyByrd6958! I will update the video with these points. It's interesting how many folks insist that they use drippings as a soil amendment but after months of reading and learning from more experienced folks I'm with you. It's essentially leachate. Also, I made a worm bin for a lady and used shredded cardboard and the airflow is so much better. Appreciate your feedback! Cindy, Home Grown Fun

[homegrownfunfamily]

Thanks TweetyByrd6958! I will update the video with these points. It's interesting how many folks insist that they use drippings as a soil amendment but after months of reading and learning from more experienced folks I'm with you. It's essentially leachate. Also, I made a worm bin for a lady and used shredded cardboard and the airflow is so much better. Appreciate your feedback! Cindy, Home Grown Fun

[TweetyByrd6598]

Card board chucks or shreds are better to use as bedding and plenty of red worms ( 1000 / one pound ). The liquid ( leachate ) that comes out the bottom can be toxic and not good to use. Tea is made from the vermicompost itself. Similar to the way we make tea we drink.

[somatt]

aww i like her song at the end too.

[homegrownfunfamily]

@somatt Think a little worm band would be cool!

[somatt]

good video.

"not enough bedding causes rotten smells and attracts fruit flies!" true!

also it's true about the shredder paper compacting when wet.

your kid is cute lol "good job mom! watermelon is my favorite fruit!"

[aboutobama1]

very good thanks