I've had my wormery set up for about 5 months now, and, although my worms seem to be increasing and there always seems to be eggs laid, my compost does not appear to be increasing and I am still on tray 1 at a depth of about an inch and a half.
I bought a 4 tray wormery as I have 3 Yorkies and wanted a better way to dispose of their poo, although they are small dogs and don't really grenerate as much as one large dog! However, the worms seem to take so long to digest 1 day's worth, that 6 days still goes in the bin. How long should this take as I'm sure that if I put it in every day, there would be more poo than compost!
Also, I have just returned from 2 weeks holiday, and when I checked the compost was really soggy, although there was nothing in the sump tray. I've added some egg carton to soak it up and also some bokashi bran. I also noticed some thin white worms on the side of the tray. I keep a plastic sheet over the lid and place the empty trays upside down on it to keep it from blowing away, so I don't think it was rain getting in. If it is so wet, why does it not filter into the sump?
I have a feeling these are going to be the first of many questions, please have patience with me!!
Dog poo wormery - how much to feed?
Re: Dog poo wormery - how much to feed?
Hi
The little white worms are pot worms. If you get hundreds more it is possible that your wormery may be too acidic.
The bokashi bran may be aiding this as it works by fermenting but to be honest I'm not sure how it works in a wormery as the experience I've had is when the bokashi has actually been used on food and then the fermented compost has been fed to the worms.
All food/poo has to break down before the worms can eat it, also as the waste breaks down it does lose a lot of volume because most things are made up of water.
The little white worms are pot worms. If you get hundreds more it is possible that your wormery may be too acidic.
The bokashi bran may be aiding this as it works by fermenting but to be honest I'm not sure how it works in a wormery as the experience I've had is when the bokashi has actually been used on food and then the fermented compost has been fed to the worms.
All food/poo has to break down before the worms can eat it, also as the waste breaks down it does lose a lot of volume because most things are made up of water.
Re: Dog poo wormery - how much to feed?
Hi
You asked how much dog poo to feed your worms. I assume that when you bought your worm bin you also got a pound/500 grams of worms, approximately 1000. By now they would have double in number to approximately 2000 and weigh around 2lb/1kg. In ideal conditions worms can consume between half and their full body weight of food each day between one and two pound. You like most of us will not be able to provide ideal conditions so your worms may be consuming between half and one pound of food (dog poo) per day, which I would think would take care of the out put of your three Yorkies.
You said your tray looked wet but that there was no liquid in the sump. Dog poo can be very dense and impervious to liquid. I would suggest you fluff up the bedding you have and add and incorporate lots of new bedding. I would add a new tray immediately, 2000+ worms in one tray is too many. Half fill the new tray with new bedding (I don’t wet my bedding I let it absorb excess liquid from the lower tray). Leave without feeding for a few days or until you see worms moving in.
I prefer to feed using the four corner technique. That is feed in one corner by pulling back the bedding put in the food then place some clean bedding on top and pull the bedding you took out on top. When the next fed is due move to the to the next corner. Continue until you get back to the place where you started. If when you pull back the bedding there is still food then don’t feed that day if the food is gone then feed again. You should try to put equal amount of food and bedding in your tray when you feed your worms. When the tray is full add another tray (this should be every 6 to 8 weeks).
A few pot worms are not a problem, they will help consume the dog poo. However too many can indicate that your bin is becoming too acidic in which case adding some finely ground-up eggshell will provide (a teaspoonful) the lime to balance the PH.
There is no problem asking questions somebody will try to answer.
Hope that helps
Willy
You asked how much dog poo to feed your worms. I assume that when you bought your worm bin you also got a pound/500 grams of worms, approximately 1000. By now they would have double in number to approximately 2000 and weigh around 2lb/1kg. In ideal conditions worms can consume between half and their full body weight of food each day between one and two pound. You like most of us will not be able to provide ideal conditions so your worms may be consuming between half and one pound of food (dog poo) per day, which I would think would take care of the out put of your three Yorkies.
You said your tray looked wet but that there was no liquid in the sump. Dog poo can be very dense and impervious to liquid. I would suggest you fluff up the bedding you have and add and incorporate lots of new bedding. I would add a new tray immediately, 2000+ worms in one tray is too many. Half fill the new tray with new bedding (I don’t wet my bedding I let it absorb excess liquid from the lower tray). Leave without feeding for a few days or until you see worms moving in.
I prefer to feed using the four corner technique. That is feed in one corner by pulling back the bedding put in the food then place some clean bedding on top and pull the bedding you took out on top. When the next fed is due move to the to the next corner. Continue until you get back to the place where you started. If when you pull back the bedding there is still food then don’t feed that day if the food is gone then feed again. You should try to put equal amount of food and bedding in your tray when you feed your worms. When the tray is full add another tray (this should be every 6 to 8 weeks).
A few pot worms are not a problem, they will help consume the dog poo. However too many can indicate that your bin is becoming too acidic in which case adding some finely ground-up eggshell will provide (a teaspoonful) the lime to balance the PH.
There is no problem asking questions somebody will try to answer.
Hope that helps
Willy
Re: Dog poo wormery - how much to feed?
Hi Willy
Thanks for your explanation, I shall take it all on board.
Most of the worms that came with the wormery (from rival site!), died quite soon afterwards. I found them all decomposing in the sump. I bought a further 200gms to try and build them back up. I must admit, I have not counted them, but there are quite a few there and are quite fat, but I don't think they have doubled in quantity. Although there have not been anymore dead bodies and I have seen eggs. Should I buy some more?
Since I placed my post, I have put some old dishcloths in the bottom to stop the compost falling into the sump and added some coir bedding. I have buried the poo and placed some damp shredded paper over it.
I'm afrIaid that I still can't see that I could put the poo in every day. They are still taking weeks to eat one lot at a time, but I will try your 4 corner method and see how I go from there. I will also add the second tray, especially as I have so much coir bedding left over!
Once again, thanks for your help.
Thanks for your explanation, I shall take it all on board.
Most of the worms that came with the wormery (from rival site!), died quite soon afterwards. I found them all decomposing in the sump. I bought a further 200gms to try and build them back up. I must admit, I have not counted them, but there are quite a few there and are quite fat, but I don't think they have doubled in quantity. Although there have not been anymore dead bodies and I have seen eggs. Should I buy some more?
Since I placed my post, I have put some old dishcloths in the bottom to stop the compost falling into the sump and added some coir bedding. I have buried the poo and placed some damp shredded paper over it.
I'm afrIaid that I still can't see that I could put the poo in every day. They are still taking weeks to eat one lot at a time, but I will try your 4 corner method and see how I go from there. I will also add the second tray, especially as I have so much coir bedding left over!
Once again, thanks for your help.
Re: Dog poo wormery - how much to feed?
Hi, another thing to be aware of is that is should not feed your worms poo from a resently wormed dog. The residue left
In the poo can easily kill your worms
this goes for any manure based food stuff
Willy
In the poo can easily kill your worms
this goes for any manure based food stuffWilly