EWC is earth worm castings, I didnt know if a little bit ( of compost or earth worm castings) added would be beneficial for the worms. I talk to a few people on this subject, they said they add minerals as well, such as a handful of oyster shell flour, kelp meal, alfalfa meal. Looking for really high quality castings at the end.

I thought so (EWC) just wanted to be sure. Isn't that like composting compost?

Don't take this the wrong way but I gotta ask - Are you feeding your worms dollar bills?

Earth worm castings are literally earth worm poop. Just like any other animal, their feces is toxic waste to them; that's why they eject it from their bodies instead of hanging onto it. A small amount of fresh casts or vermicompost might provide an inoculation of beneficial microbes you want living in your new system, but the casts seem very unlikely to benefit the worms directly.

I feel sorry for your worms. Don't you have kitchen scrap or the like for them to munch on? IMO you are getting them to re-process castings that I doubt have much or any nutricious value left for worms

Add some cornmeal if you want to buy somthing to kickstart your worms. I start a bin with paper and peatmoss. Then i add worms and vegetable scraps. Thats all you need. I currently have more worms than my family's veggie waste can feed so I get bird seed corn and cook it to supplement.

I find that as a general rule "garden ready" products such as bought compost don't help. Keep Bat guano out of the bin too it will burn the worms, bat guano is so broken down already it will even kill plants if not used sparingly.

I would say that everything up to and including the forest garden soil sounds great. IMO you don't need more than that for their home. Just start adding your kitchen scraps sparingly and keep an eye on how it's doing - you'll quickly learn their likes and dislikes. My worms really enjoy things like squash, yams, pumpkins, corn etc. One thing I've learned is not to expect them to be interested in new additions for one or two days. Check on them after that and the new food will be thick with worms when they like it. If you're anything like me you will find yourself always wanting to peek in to see how things are doing. I think it really brings out the scientist in all of us. Have fun with it!

Harry

Sorry, was busy with work. Im not necessarily adding that stuff. Its for something else, and I saw people give their worms alfalfa, kelp meal etc so curious what other people do.

I freeze strawberries, bananas and whatever fruits we have and then thaw them and bury it. I havnt added much so far, just a couple small pieces of banana and 4 strawberry tops. Ill add some more tonight, I read about people sprinkling the alfalfa on the food then bury it?

Guano, compost and everything is for another project.

Good deal - was thinking you took my comment the wrong way. Me thinks the worms will turn whatever they eat into " really high quality castings at the end."

Good Luck

No, all good buddy. Im probably over thinking this, the works are active and seem healthy. They were trying to get out but now I can leave the light off with the top half on, and they stay in the bin. I assume that means theyre happy. My bin is only 1/3 deep at most, so tonight Im going to mix together some bedding and put it over some strawberries/bananas after being thawed out.

Ive only had them since Oct. 26, have given them 4-5 strawberry tops and 2-3 banana pieces and a small part of the nana peel. (all food is frozen and thawed btw.) So it might be time to feed them, how often do you guys feed?

As far as your guys knowledge goes, is there ANY benefit to add kelp,alfalfa meal? A group of people I talk to all add that stuff, says it works really well. Thank you for so many replies.

I would think that kelp and alfalfa meal could only add to the quality of your finished castings. Just add little of each (maybe in different spots) and see how they go for it. Make sure you don't add too much as to overwelm them with something might not like. Too much might also cause the contents of your bin to heat up too much. i just added some shredded pumpkin to my bins which I know they will go crazy for in a couple of days.

Good luck,

Harry

I'm new to this here worm thing. First of all I started a compost pile a few years back and never had a worm, then after fishing I dumped leftover red wigglers and then they started. Have a bunch. My neighbor wanted some nightcrawlers for fishing so I found under my large pots I have some large crawlers and started a bin. Is it alright to grow these or should I buy some to get started.

You mentioned red wigglers then night crawlers. They are not the same worms. If what you are calling night crawlers are what I think they are also called "Crazy Snake Worms" and are much larger than the "red wigglers".

The "Crazy Snake Worms" are solitary and do not take to being in close quarters in a worm bin.

The
scientific name for red wigglers is Eisenia
foetida. You may have some "Eisenia
foetida" red wigglers in your yard or garden.

There is a link in this forum for a video on how to ID Eisenia
foetida - the "Eisenia
foetida" is the worm you want for composting in a worm bin.

For some reason they like it moist (the night crawlers will climb out when it is too moist) and don't mind climbing all over each other.

HTH

I have a ton (seems like) of red wigglers in the compost bins. The worms that I'm collecting are probably the snake worms. What if I buy some nightcrawlers from Walmart and start over? Thanks for the information

LAR

Certainly you can buy some nightcrawlers - IF you are going fishing.

However comma the "Eisenia
foetida" is the worm you want for composting in a worm bin.

Well, the European night crawlers (sometimes sold as Super Reds, Latin name eisenia hortensis) seem to compost nearly as well as red wigglers, and they'll get pretty big if you let them.

Since Im alone Ive asked my sister to save her family scraps for me as by myself I just dont create enough for my 1000's of worms two separte bins a triple tier and double tier. Of course in the spring I give a 5gal bucket full of VC to sis. With turkey day around the corner should scraps on the way , of course no meats , or oily scraps. What I do is save up after meal scraps into ziplock bags and when I get enough they are run thru my juicer and the pulp then is saved for worm food, works pretty well.

There are always leaves from the yard - run em thru the lawnmower first if you can. Also shredded or torn up newspapers and or junk mail too. Or visit your produce dept for cull fruit and veggies.

Have always wondered about the necessity for lots of bedding. I use mostly shredded newspaper with a bit of cardboard but the food seems to be consumed long before any of the delicate newspaper. Once a bin is well established and fed regularly, does bedding still need to be added? Is it (bedding) there because the worms themselves need it, or is it there just to help control the conditions of the bin?

Harry

I use regular black and white newsprint, I dont usually add junk mail the texture is different and I dont know whats in that stuff. But yes you dont need a lot of shredded newsprint they just use it when no other scraps are available. I also keep cornmeal and pulverized eggshells to add to the mix, along with a handful of used coffee grounds , filters , etc.

I too like to add pulverized eggshells to the bins. After letting them dry out in the oven when I'm cooking something, I crush them in my hands then pulverize some in a coffee grinder when I need them. I've been saving them for about 2 yrs. now - probably have about 10lbs. worth. I even put about 2 cups of them (pulverized) in my hot compost mix last weekend......thought it couldn't hurt.

Harry

When it comes to egg shells I first put them in the micro for about 4-5 min. then I use a coffee grinder to pulverize down to a flower base in that way they can use it immediately. Also today I harvested one of my 9gal double tiered bins and was surprised at how dark and crumbly the vc was, but was even more surprised at the lack of worms left in that bin maybe 10-12 worms tops. I love it when its like that for two obvious reason, first they are done with it and second makes the harvest so easy. I also always run the finished vc thru a 1/4" screening before storing in my 5 gal buckets.

hummersteve,

I think my worm bins are actively composting but I don't seem to see that same level of processing that you've just described. How long (after the last feeding) did it take for that bin to reach that complete level of processing? Do you have a massive amount of wigglers in there?

A couple of my bins are outside, and with temps. being -4 to +5C the activity in those bins has really slowed down. Most of the grated pumpkin I put in 3 weeks ago is still sitting on the surface. Thankfully here in the PNW are winters don't get too cold but I'd like to get some kind of insulation on those bins especially since they aren't very big so are more at risk from the cold.

Harry