Increasing wormery efficiency

If you are having problems with an existing wormery, or just need some advice - then ask it here
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LoveTheSoil
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Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by LoveTheSoil » Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:55 pm

Hi,

I’ve just ordered one of these and had a couple of questions. Can you use things like bokashi (or em microbes) or high enzymatic substances like malted barley to speed up the composting process? Are there any other tips for increasing efficiency other than keeping a good environment?

Also can beneficial predatory insects or nematodes be added to combat the fruit fly problem?

Thanks in advance

WillyWorm
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by WillyWorm » Tue Feb 08, 2022 2:03 pm

Hi,
You can put anything that once lived or was part of something that once lived into your worm bin. But some items require special care or can take a long time to breakdown. Grains for example from your malted barley can produce a lot of heat in your bin and this can result in the growth of anaerobic conditions (loss of oxygen) in your bin which can quickly kill your worms. But grain and grain products such as bread can be managed in the bin with care.
The efficiency of your bin will depend on your management of the worms and their environment. You will read of fantastic feats of worms eating large amounts of food, up to their own body weight every day. Worm farmers who achieve these levels of consumption have large worm beds with temperature controlled indoor accommodation, the correct density of worms, the correct moisture levels, mature bins and the correct type and volume of food. Much of what they do is beyond people like me who wants to produce plant food from stuff which would have been heading for land fill. For me it takes about 3 to 4 months from food scraps going into my bins and finished castings (the plant food) coming out. Each finished tray normally gives me about a two gallon bucket full of castings. A diverse range of food and bedding will give the best results in the shortest length of time. If you can get some woodland floor litter, crushed leaves, leaf mould, and a little of the brown sweet smelling soil from just under the leaves then you will have billions of trillions of little workers in your bin, just mix a handful with the bedding. You may want to add a few wood lice/slaters/pill bugs to your bin to help breakdown the harder items in the food and bedding.
I know of nothing you can put in the bin to kill fruit flies but they are easy to stop. Just microwave the worms food before feeding or freeze it, you can feed it in its frozen state. Alway make a hole in the bedding put the food in and cover with the bedding you had removed, finally cover with a sheet of paper, cardboard or plastic bag. The freezing and or microwave will kill any eggs on the food scraps and covering it in the bin will prevent new eggs being laid on it.

Enjoy you worms
Willy

LoveTheSoil
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by LoveTheSoil » Tue Feb 08, 2022 10:52 pm

Thanks for taking the time to write that, I grow organic vegetables the no-till way so I’m interested in experimenting and varying their diet with organic soil amendments (kelp, insect frass, volcanic rock dust etc) that I would usually use on the raised bed to feed the plants. When you say grain products can be used with care do you just mean use small amounts and mix around with the bedding and feed? I plan on keeping it indoors when it goes below their optimal temperature so they keep feeding all year. Also would it be advantageous to start with more than the 500 g of worms that are supplied? I’m inclined to put another 500 g in but not sure if overkill? Thanks again Willy

WillyWorm
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by WillyWorm » Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:34 pm

The more worms you start with the quicker you will see results, a wormcity worm bin can accommodate about 2,500 worms and you get approx 1,000 worms to the pound weight and that’s a good number to start with.
By being careful with grain products I mean keeping an eye on them, make sure they do not ferment or start to rot and give off a bad smells. In very cold periods I use a slice of bread on the top of the bedding, it acts like a blanket because the grain (wheat) gives off warmth but I normally remove it after three or four day and replace if I need to, to avoid the risk of things going anaerobic.
All the amendment you mentioned will be fine in your bin and will do your worms good but I wonder if the benefit is worth the cost and effort given that there is a limit to the productivity you can get from a small bin.

WillyWorm

Lilwriggler
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by Lilwriggler » Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:22 pm

That’s interesting Willy, regarding woodlice. The card board bedding in my trays is quite slow to break down, maybe because i put whole sheets in an gradually tear it up as it softens with moisture. In my bottom two trays it has broken down, and i like the texture of the casting product, but my next layer has been very slow this time and i think that is because most of my worms are in the tray above feeding. The addition of a few woodlice (i have loads in my composters) may speed up the breakdown a bit, although i’d imagine they would get stuck in one tray level until ultimately move or released. Interesting!

WillyWorm
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by WillyWorm » Fri Feb 11, 2022 12:26 am

I like having a few “Isopods” (wood lice) in my trays. They are also very easy to keep and breed. I have some in a small plastic fish tank, they are munching through leaves and rotten wood and turning is into wonderful casting. They only produce small amounts, even then they are slow, but it’s interesting.0

Lilwriggler
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by Lilwriggler » Fri Feb 11, 2022 7:16 pm

I’ll make an effort to find a few in the composter and translocate, they will give the slugs some company…

WillyWorm
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by WillyWorm » Fri Feb 11, 2022 8:16 pm

An added benefit is that they have been known to eat slug eggs.

Lilwriggler
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Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by Lilwriggler » Sat Feb 12, 2022 4:59 pm

I have introduced woodlice to one wormery, i will see how they get on!

WillyWorm
Senior Member
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Joined:Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:10 am

Re: Increasing wormery efficiency

Post by WillyWorm » Sat Feb 12, 2022 5:21 pm

Please let us know how it goes lilwriggler, I will be interested to know what you think.

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