Worm Inn Mega – 04-10-14

Things are coming along nicely in my Worm Inn Mega system. In my last Mega (update) post I said I would likely be doing a second harvest. As it turns out, I decided to hold off on that for the time being.

I have actually been using the system more for vermiculture (raising worms) than vermicomposting as of late. The density of worms that has developed in there is unbelievable. I actually found that they were starting to come out the bottom – so I created a nice catch bin containing lots of aged horse manure, shredded cardboard, and a little food waste. Somewhat similar to the idea of the catch trays I have sitting below my VB48 system (another nice flow-through system I have basically been using as a worm grow bed! lol).

I will likely be performing a pretty major overhaul on this system before too long. I have been putting off building my wooden stand, but I do want to get that taken care of this spring for sure. Apart from that, the system is loaded with vermicompost in the lower half, so I need to clean a lot of that out.

Should be fun. Stay tuned!
😎

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Comments

    • John W.
    • April 11, 2014

    Looks awesome. My worm inn is loaded, but nothing close like that.
    I am wondering how you are mixing your poo (the horse’s to be more exact) with the food scraps? I know you have tried several things before: https://www.redwormcomposting.com/fun-stuff/bentleys-super-duper-worm-food-tool/
    But I was under the impression that the drilling technique did not work as well as you would have hoped.
    Thanks for your advice

    • Bentley
    • April 11, 2014

    Hey John!
    You inspired me to create another video today (so thanks!):
    https://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-composting/creating-a-super-optimized-worm-food-mix/

    As you will see, it is all done by hand.
    I DO need to try that drill-powered method again this year, though!
    😎

    • John W.
    • April 12, 2014

    Well I am just glad that I can be an inspiration.

    • Charles K.
    • May 4, 2014

    Bentley,
    I’m new to the site and new to vermicomposting. I suspect that this has been asnwered many times before, but I am unclear on whether I mix the food in bedding (I’m using coir and shredded cardboard) or put it on top of the bedding. I have a homemade Worm Bin Mega and I will receive my first batch of Reds tomorrow. My wife is into juicing and I have 4lbs of pulp that I have frozen, thawed and allowed to sit 1 week on the porch in a plastic bag. Does this sound right? If not, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much!

    “Noobie” Charles

    • Bentley
    • May 6, 2014

    Hi Charles
    If you are making an “optimized” mix, I’d suggest mixing it with bedding.
    I am a little nervous about your 4 lb of 1-week-in-a-plastic-bag juicing pulp though. I suspect that might be pretty foul by now. If you are going to age for long periods like that (especially after freezing and thawing) you will need plenty of bedding (and maybe living material) in the aging vessel. In your case, the material has likely gone anaerobic which is not what you want. If you now mix it with lots of bedding and let it sit with lots of air flow for a period of time (maybe as long as another week) it should end up ok for use as a food material (ie it IS possible to convert stinky anaerobic food wastes into ideal worm foods). One other thing to mention – I don’t ever recommend just adding food materials over top of bedding. Even when using a food mix that includes bedding, it is recommended you at least have a layer of dry bedding over top, if not burying the food completely.

    • Charles K.
    • May 7, 2014

    Bentley,
    Thanks for the advice and more importantly, thanks for not letting me get started wrong! Another question, please (if this is off-thread, please direct me to the proper forum). I covered the food with shredded cardboard and compost from my outside pile (it’s 1yr old and was turned every 2 weeks). Was this good or bad and should I continue this? Also, I live in an area where there are lots of dairy farmers – some who sell aged cow manure. Is this OK to add this (and how much should I use)to help make an “optimized” mix or should I use some of the dirt from the woods around my house (this was suggested on another site). Againg, thanks for all the help and a GREAT site!
    “Noobie” Charles

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