So I dont need this fancy setup? I can use a rubbermaid? I just don't want it to stink if I put it in my basement or garage
Uncle Jims Worm Farm 360
- Thread starter Jesseliu13
- Start date
yes
yes. you dont need a fancy set up. just stack some rubber maid totes. i only bought it because i was lazy to drill the holes and whatnot. and my dad wants to use the worm tea. i was too lazy to buy all the parts. it will be much cheaper for you to build it. i just encourage the worm farm idea itself. it will definitely be beneficial.
Nested rubbermaids work great. The inside bin needs to have small holes in the bottom to allow the "worm tea" to drain. The outside bin collects the team. Keep a couple of flowerpots or the like in the outside bin to allow drainage and make it easier to remove the inner bin.
A couple suggestions for ease of maintenance and keeping things odor free:
- Use heavy-duty bins. You'll be lifting the inside bin out of the outside one to periodically pour out the worm tea. Cheap bins crack and make it a PITA over time.
- Don't let the substrate get too deep. Red wigglers live on the first few inches of soil. Deeper and it's just mud and extra weight in your bin.
- Don't feed stuff other than veggies, fruit, damp newspaper and non-laminated paper (I feed my bin damp, shredded junk mail in the summer). Meat, milk, fish food, oily stuff, etc. will become NASTY.
- Don't feed too much. It will rot and, especially with fruit, lead to fruit flies. Also, really watery stuff will make things to wet. For example, I added a bunch of mealy watermelon to my bin and the worms really didn't like it (a few rinds would be OK).
- Clean the tea out regularly. It's great fertilizer but allowing it to back up into the inside bin will make things too wet and kill the worms (NASTY!)...
I use red wigglers for both feeding my aquarium fish and for fishing...
Not sure why more folks don't culture them. The PITA, cost and matrimonial grief of keeping live blackworms and/or frozen food in the refrigerator was enough for me to seek alternatives
Matt
A couple suggestions for ease of maintenance and keeping things odor free:
- Use heavy-duty bins. You'll be lifting the inside bin out of the outside one to periodically pour out the worm tea. Cheap bins crack and make it a PITA over time.
- Don't let the substrate get too deep. Red wigglers live on the first few inches of soil. Deeper and it's just mud and extra weight in your bin.
- Don't feed stuff other than veggies, fruit, damp newspaper and non-laminated paper (I feed my bin damp, shredded junk mail in the summer). Meat, milk, fish food, oily stuff, etc. will become NASTY.
- Don't feed too much. It will rot and, especially with fruit, lead to fruit flies. Also, really watery stuff will make things to wet. For example, I added a bunch of mealy watermelon to my bin and the worms really didn't like it (a few rinds would be OK).
- Clean the tea out regularly. It's great fertilizer but allowing it to back up into the inside bin will make things too wet and kill the worms (NASTY!)...
I use red wigglers for both feeding my aquarium fish and for fishing...
Not sure why more folks don't culture them. The PITA, cost and matrimonial grief of keeping live blackworms and/or frozen food in the refrigerator was enough for me to seek alternatives
Matt
And 2 more questions:
Does it make sense, or is there an advantage, to cutting/dicing the veggie and fruit scraps?
What do you use to cover the bins with? I kept a small bin for worms a few years ago but had problems with the worms crawling up the inside wall of the bin and getting out the tiniest crack around the lid.
Does it make sense, or is there an advantage, to cutting/dicing the veggie and fruit scraps?
What do you use to cover the bins with? I kept a small bin for worms a few years ago but had problems with the worms crawling up the inside wall of the bin and getting out the tiniest crack around the lid.
Because if it gets wet and molds it will smell like death. And there's plenty of other stuff to feed red wigglers. My goal is to need to buy LESS fish food not more
Matt
Matt
I use the cover that comes with the rubbermaid to cover the bin. Red wigglers don't like light, so keeping the bin dark and covered encourages them to come out and eat and reproduce. They can definitely climb out though..so keep the bin covered.
The more broken down the scraps, the easier it is for the worms to consume it. That said, I just throw stuff into the bin as if it were a trash can. Banana and melon seem to be their favorites.
Matt
The more broken down the scraps, the easier it is for the worms to consume it. That said, I just throw stuff into the bin as if it were a trash can. Banana and melon seem to be their favorites.
Matt
Sounds like you thought this threw! Keep us updated on the "Procreation" of those worms! Maybe play a little "soft Music" and candle light! Get those worm babies a rollin!!!
Name each baby "Free Money"
Name each baby "Free Money"
fishfoods has proteins. when they breakdown and rot they will smell and cause issues. molds can grow and affect your worms and attract unwanted bugs and animals.
