QUOTE (The Worm Dude @ 2012-07-06 16:10:05) Absolutely. Why wouldn\’t your composting worms live in a bin?
My biggest question would be ”in what do I bed them with”? Would I use compost or bedding more appropriate for RedWigglers? Do they eat the food that the Reds eat? I always have bunches of scraps of tomato, lettuce, banana peels, strawberry ”leavings” and such. Would they do well in paper and cardboard bedding and thrive on the veggie and fruit leftovers? And would horse compost stuffed ”here and there” assist the endeavor?
I posted recently that I have split my 3# of Euros into about 20 pots where I am growing a variety of veggies. Worm dude mentioned that I would be better served by raising worms for the compost to enhance my growing endeavor. Soooo begs the question. IF at the end of the growing season I am able to “round up” my worms would they serve the intended purpose by living in a Worm Bin? It just seems the easiest way to “make it all happen”.
After the summer I would ”hope” to have live worms at my disposal. If that is in fact the case could I keep them in a bin and watch the temp and moisture through the winter? If that can be done them perhaps I could leave them out of the pots next year and just let them ”flourish” and produce castings. So far they seem to be adapting to their new homes. When I dig into the soil and uncover some they run like a house on fire. I would think that this is a sign of good health. And while we are on the subject, would a Worm Bin do the job or would an ”old school” wood bin do just as well?
So I got my 3 pounds of European Night Crawlers and distributed them throughout my 25 containers (1 1/4 cu. ft. each) hoping they will help the veggies growing in them. I now have an idea about what to do after the growing season is finished. I was wondering that if I were to pull all the pots into my garage and add more dirt along with a helping of cooled off horse manure if that wouldn’t rejuvinate the dirt for the next growing season. The worms seem to get along with my dirt, manure and a slew of rotting dried out leaves. I am hoping to only have to churn up the dirt already in them before adding the new dirt and manure and maintaining a decent temp for the winter. Not to mention that they should have by then grown in number.
Thanks, I will try it in a few pots. I have on hand about 10+ yards of 3+ year old horse manure. I will go with all manure and some worms and see what happens.
I have a hoop house growing area. At present I have 25 pots with veggies growing in them. They are 1 1/4 cubic feet in size with good dirt. I was thinking the following. If I bought about 3 pounds of Europeans and spread them about evenly and supplied wet compost on top when needed would they help my soil even more? At the end of the season I could harvest and replace the dirt area vacated by the harvested veggies with more damp compost perhaps they would weather the winter. My options include putting the pots in my garage and keeping them heated with heat wire. If this seems to help then perhaps a jump into a Worm Inn with a few pounds of Reds for compost for tea. A new couple has moved in behind us and have 3 acres. They presently have a supply of Persimmons from CA but are actively planting here in Kingman. I believe compost tea would help them a bunch in their plan to grow and dry them here. They have a market but just want not only to live rural but avoid any possibilities of their supply drying up and starving them out. I think that compost tea would aid us both. I am trying to convince my wife that buying a bunch of compost and making my own tea for now would help. BUT, if I put compost tea in a pot containing Euros would that bother them?
I saw the view of the frame that holds the Worm Inn but I can’t see the thickness of the pipe that the frame is constructed of. Reading 80-100 pounds makes me think that the frame should be ”substantial”.
Question: How long can I keep castings? My idea is to buy the ”upgraded” package to show results in my garden. I plan on making Worm Tea. That only takes a couple of pounds. If the results are good them my wife probably won’t ”complain” if I buy the Worm Inn. If they don’t keep for, say longer than a month, then I probably should get the smaller package.
