Hey, guess what – this is my 200th blog post! Whoohoo.
Unfortunately I don’t have anything overly captivating for you, but maybe I can plan something fancy for when I hit 500 (if I haven’t retired before then – haha).
I just wanted to let everyone know that my Worm Inn sales page is finally live. If you think you might be interested in buying one be sure to check it out. Rumor has it they make a pretty interesting and unique Christmas gift!
I’m sad to say that Robyn no longer carries the camo design (the sweet, badboy I’ve now got hanging in my basement), but she mentioned potentially bringing back some form of camo if people show interest. Speaking of my Worm Inn – as mentioned in my last post (on this topic), I’ll really be putting my system to the test. I will be introducing 3 lbs of Red Worms to the system, and will certainly keep everyone posted on how that works out for me.
Have you ever wondered what it looks like when worm castings are created?
No?!?!
Well you should watch this video anyway. It’s pretty wild!
This video was created by elementary school teacher Ric Johnson, and the students at Rostrata Primary School (in Perth, Australia). Ric contacted me a little while ago to let me know about the video, which was simply posted on his site in regular video file format. I urged Ric to upload the video to YouTube and he happily obliged.
I recommend you check out Ric’s webpage as well: Johnno’s Science
As I mentioned in my last Worm Inn update post, I ordered a bunch of Inns to sell up here in Canada. I am happy to report that they have arrived!
Whoohoo!
My beautiful camo ‘tester’ (the one Robyn included for free) was nestled in on top of the rest – just begging to be taken out and put into action. I haven’t yet set it up, but I thought I would take some pictures for fun anyway.
I immediately tested out the front pocket to see how well it would work as a fishing rod holder and was quite pleased with the result!
All joking aside, my first impressions of the Worm Inn are very favourable indeed. It was larger than expected (and you may recall that I was already surprised how big it was when I saw Robyn’s photos with her friend standing next to it), and it looks like it was put together very well – definitely looks like something high quality you would buy from a store, not something homemade.
I can’t wait to really put it to the test – looks like I could even get away with putting several pounds of worms in it. Not sure I’ll go that crazy, but you can be sure that at least 1 lb of worms will be going in!
Ok – time to get back into the topic of vermicomposting…
As promised, I’m going to tell you about a new type of worm system I’ve been testing out over the last few months. They are certainly nothing revolutionary, and plenty of other people use similar containers, but I thought it would make for a good topic of discussion nevertheless.
I came across these tubs while checking out the plastic bin section at the local hardware store back in the spring. Like an serious vermicomposter, I am always on the lookout for potential new worm bins. Having recently started up my own vermicomposting business, I was especially eager to find something more useful than Rubbermaid tubs. I wanted something that would fit nicely on a shelf, wouldn’t be impossible to move when full, yet would still be able to hold multiple pounds of worms at once.
These tubs seemed to fit the bill. They are approximately 28″x19″x6″ and seem to be made of PVC plastic. As you can see, they offer an outstanding surface-area-to-depth (or -volume) ratio. This is really important, especially when you want to keep a lot of worms in a relatively small space, and have an interest in harvesting castings as well.
So far I’ve been blown away with how well these tubs work. The combination of high worm densities with ample air flow results in very fast vermicompost production, and much easier worm harvesting. Gone are the days of mucking around (literally) with unfinished compost months after a bin was set up, trying to get it separated from the worms.
Don’t get me wrong – those enclosed tubs definitely work well in certain applications. I see them as ideal worm breeding/nursery bins. When it comes down to it, a Rubbermaid bin is actually closer to a worms ideal environment than a tray – unfortunately that doesn’t correspond to the ideal situation for a worm farmer!
If you start the worms in bins, then move them (and the unfinished compost) to these trays once they are larger I think you will end up with the perfect combo system. I’ve actually been keeping some aged manure (cleaned of larger worms a while ago) in a plastic garbage bin (which does NOT have a good surface-area-to-depth ratio). What’s amazing is that the material is now LOADED with worms – clearly the conditions in there are good for worm development. These cans are also great because they take up a lot less space than a Rubbermaid tub with a similar volume.
I am planning to start up a series of these cans with material that’s had most of the worms removed (but is loaded with cocoons) and see how many worms I can produce. Once the worms are larger I will once again remove them (moving them to the tray systems) and repeat.
One of our regular readers, “Vermiman”, wanted to share his DIY bin for harvesting black soldier fly larvae.
Here is his description:
The pvc pipes are angled at about 35 degrees to allow the mature larvae to leave the culture. At the end of the pipes there are elbows angled down into a collection bucket. There are holes in one side which allow the pipes to exit the bin. There are eighth inch holes near the top of the long sides that allow hanging of cardboard pieces where the BSF should lay her eggs in the little holes. On the other narrow side I made a square hole that allows the females in to lay her eggs.
