I am getting hub to be nearly ok with my ordering a worm composter soon. Any thoughts on them?

I read a book all about raising worms, seems like a lot of trouble and fuss to me; too much to watch out for - do's and donts...

with as much time you spend in your garden, and the fact that you're growing to make money, I think you could sell them. There was a woman at our farmers market in San Diego that sold them AND their 'castings'. She sold a bag of worm castings for $15. I dont remember the weight, not much! She had horses, so she fed them maneur, I think. She also sold the worms. I bought a huge bin of them when I first started my garden - she had it down!

Red

Worms are great! I haven't read the books... but the idea of reading a book on something so simple, leads me to believe that they're really making it sound harder than it is.

I have two worm bins currently. Both in rubbermaid totes. Drilled some drainage and air holes, added some damp shredded newspaper, the worms, some leaves, some kitchen waste, and DONE. You still want to add relatively equal amounts of "green" and "brown" - with newspaper doing well as the brown. Maintaining proper moisture levels (not too dry or too wet) is the most difficult thing... but it's easily regulated by adding more moist waste or more dry paper.

I also did my own little experiment - wondering if the red worms I found around my place were the same as the INSANELY EXPENSIVE "red wriggler" compost worms. I had no local resources for those so had to resort to online ordering. Got one batch of "online" worms (a pound) and about the same amount of my own worms, which I found under pieces of cardboard, door mats, etc around my place.

Both bins seem to do equally well and have been going for a full year now.

IMO, worms are GREAT at quickly composting kitchen waste. Nearly all of my kitchen waste (family of 4) goes into those two small bins - leaving my outside compost bin for "outside" waste such as grass, weeds, chicken coop stuff, and bunny droppings.

I do NOT keep the worm bins in my kitchen as some do. I wouldn't do that unless you get the pre-made worm bins which are designed to deter fruit flies and other pests. There ARE some fruit flies in my bins occasionally and my "local worms" wound up with pill bugs and some other misc native bugs in there - probably from the leaves I lazily collected with them. Doesn't hurt anything... just adds to the creepy crawly factor.

I also ran into a lady (who I originally got some worms from - before I learned I couldn't leave the tote outside in the freezing weather)... who had a larger outside bin for her worms. It was made of plywood and was about 2ft x 6ft or so, with a hinged lid. She said her worms do fine in the winter. She adds to one side until it's full enough, then starts adding to the other. The worms migrate to the "new" side, leaving behind nothing but castings.

Red is right... the castings are worth a FORTUNE - and the worms are too. Cheapest I could find in my area was $16/lb for the worms, plus shipping - none of my local stores carried them. Online at garden centers and "worm dealers" you'll pay up to $35/lb, with $30 being pretty average. I too can't remember the weight of the castings I've seen for sale... but very small bags cost very large amounts of money. With as much gardening as you do... you probably COULD make a money-maker out of it. I'd start small though - till you get it down. I was bummed when I lost my first batch.

I've been doing the vermicomposting thing since spring--made a bin from two 10 gallon totes, one stays like it comes, put 2x4's or bricks in the bottom, drill holes in the sides and top for air, add shredded newspaper and some garden soil, chopped leaves or compost, kitchen scraps that you'd use in your regular compost (except onions or citrus peels) and you're set to go. Bury your scraps in one end, then alternate end to end, add newspaper as needed, and when the bin is about full, take the top part out, dump the rest and divide the worms out and use the rest. I've heard mixed reviews with the worm farms and bins, but I wanted to try it as cheaply as possible before I put a hundred bucks into it. So far it's working out pretty good for me, except my basement has been too humid this summer and I've had to put dry newspaper in to try to keep it drier. There's some good videos on Utube about building bins if you want to check. Worms are a one time item and will multiply quick enough to set up other bins if you need more than one to take care of your scraps, or want to do more than just kitchen scraps. I'd go ahead and pay the "big bucks" for good stock, either redworms or the "super reds". For about 25 to 30 bucks a pound they're not THAT expensive (just try buying that many from your local fishing store).

I'll kind of reiterate the above - it's so simple to make good bins out of plastic storage containers that the fancy worm castle/chalet/bed and breakfast systems are hardly worth it IMO.

There is a difference between the "scrap eating," top-feeding red wigglers that make good compost worms, and the "dirt eating," burrowing, ordinary garden worms. Red wigglers are not cheap, but they will reproduce quickly if they like their lifestyle. You can probably start with a half a pound if you're generating a normal household's worth of food scraps.

Worms are clean, not smelly, etc., but they require care, attention and time. You'll need to know what to feed them, what not to feed them, and how to keep conditions as they like them to be. Basically, they're pets, an entire colony of them, so they're still quite a responsibility.

Hmmm...
I'm tempted now...
(Like I need another thing to do)

Just wanted to point out that my "local worms" are not earthworms. They're the native "compost" worms that you'll find in manure piles, at the base of leaf piles, etc. Not to be mistaken for nightcrawlers or earthworms found in the garden. Just wanted to make sure I didn't make anyone think I was using, or advocating the use of, earthworms - which will not process compost effectively.

Well sorry but I think I will get the fancy worm drawer chest just because it will make hub like it better. He doesn't like reusing stuff or anything that he would describe as trailer trashy (he grew up with money and I didn't ).
Anyway after I spend the $150 on the composter and worms, what I am mostly wondering is how you use the castings. They aren't like compost that you can plant in right? They are a fertilizer to use more sparingly right? If someone could explain that please- I hate to sound dumb. Don't you use bits of it here and there in the garden as a side-dressing kind of thing? How much can go into seed starting medium?

I will sell the tea and castings at market and will have ample use for them myself.

Side/top dressing, and also wonderful for compost tea. The poop tends to harden as it dries out, so careful that water doesn't run off.

LOL on 'he grew up rich and I didn't.' Same thing over here. What a headache that can be.

If I had the $$ I'd probably get one of the drawer chest type (I think the square, not the round one) so have at it!! I think about 1 part to 3 parts compost or other planting medium is recommended for seed starting. Other than that it's a side dressing, mix into the planting medium, make tea, and I've heard of people using it straight in potting up mature plants (no experience with that). If you get aggressive with the worms, you might end up making more from the worm poop than your veggies!!!

With my two small bins I've never gotten enough castings to use it as anything but a top dress. Although when I piled some up around the base of my tomatoes, they sure took off!

Worm composting and raising "red wigglers" is so simple. Don't make it harder than it is. I've been doing it for 4-5 years now, and it's not that hard. I have "inside" and "outside" worm bins. The inside worms are only inside during the winter (two worm factory towers, 5 trays each..you don't even need those, tubs of any kind will work). Old trash cans, buckets, even clothes baskets using trash bags as liners). If you don't have drainage holes, line the bottom of your container with cardboard or layers of newspapers and leaves to absorb run off and then dump in compost pile in the spring. I have about 20 lbs in my basement in various containers for the winter, and just dump the rest in the compost pile for winter. Feed heavily with whatever left over from garden, bread soaked in water, dump and cover with layer of leaves, straw, hay, newspapers, cardboard, even old denim jeans. Leave until spring. If some die out, you won't know it. There will be thousands of worms and eggs in spring when you stir up the pile. That whole pile of food you gave them in the fall will be nice and black. Not a difficult task at all. Read Mary Appelhof's "Worms Eat My Garbage" for more info.

quote:

Originally posted by Suasoria:
.......You'll need to know what to feed them, what not to feed them, and how to keep conditions as they like them to be..

====================
I found to multiply them,
I also feed them chopped up
cantaloupe rinds

LOL,
bill in socal

Younger DS has been worm composting for several years in a bin he made for himself, and it works well for him.