Compost Sak Vermicomposting-09-08-11

I figured some of you might be wondering how my Compost Sak vermicomposting system is doing these days, so I recently assessed the situation. As you may recall, I never really stocked it with a lot of worms – I basically just added some material that happened to contain some worms and cocoons when I first set it up (plus one small addition of worms on another occasion). This combined with with fact that I added a lot of waste material during warmer periods (causing the system to heat up quite a bit) left me unsure as to what I could expect to see in the way of a worm population.

Interestingly enough, the system is absolutely loaded with Red Worms now – and they are distributed throughout (rather than just down in the bottom). I think the onset of cooler weather and a bit more “neglect” has definitely helped a lot!

All in all, I am really impressed with how well the Compost Sak works as a vermicomposting system, and a composting system in general. Like I said, I added a LOT of wastes to it while it’s been up and running (and didn’t really do much to “optimize” these materials for faster break-down), yet most of it seems to have been converted into rich, dark compost already.

I don’t think Compost Saks would necessarily work well in every situation though – at least not for vermicomposting. In locations with very hot, dry summers, you may encounter issues with overheating and/or drying – but then again, if it’s kept in a well-shaded location and watered regularly, perhaps the excellent “breathability” would keep it cooler than various other types of commonly-used outdoor composting systems.

Bottom-line, it’s safe to say that I’m officially a fan of this simple (yet effective) composting container, and will certainly continue to use them! By the way, my other Compost Sak has worked very well as a tomato-growing bed – but I will more than likely switch over to “Smart Pots” next year since they are designed specifically for growing plants.
8)

Previous Compost Sak Posts
Compost Sak Vermicomposting?
Compost Sak Vermicomposting-07-15-11
Compost Sak-08-03-11

**Want Even More Fun With Worms? Sign Up for the RWC E-mail List Today!**
Previous Post

VermBin24 Q&A

Next Post

Neil’s VermBin24

Comments

    • Rich
    • September 8, 2011

    You are the worm king! Everything you touch turns to Black Gold!

    🙂

    • Dan
    • September 9, 2011

    This is very cool. I started growing in smart pots earlier in the season and am a full-blown convert.The breathe-ability of the fabric is absolutely ingenious. Plants thrive in them, and it occurred to me that they might make great vermi-bins, or bin-liners. I noticed that the re-useable shopping bags from the grocery store are made some a similar material (though lighter weight). So I sliced up a couple of reusable shopping bags and lined a home-made wooden bin, 15D X 15H X 30W

    Here’s a couple pics if interested:

    https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rcHg9EQdiBy0kHuZe-IecSI2SD_XJ3olP3Ef6l_iZI0?feat=directlink

    https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dQ4AAwp9-3oPOUpWcd3spCI2SD_XJ3olP3Ef6l_iZI0?feat=directlink

    • jv
    • September 11, 2011

    i am currently growing worms using sacks and am really amazed as to how fast they can multipy. I have 1000 chicken egg layers and would want to feed them to my worms but chicken dung has high temperature. do you have ingredients to mix with chicken dung for it to be safe for the worms?

    • Jim
    • September 26, 2011

    I had a couple of yards of horse manure dropped off last spring for a new 16 s.f. worm bin. The manure had a lot of worms and as it’s been sitting over the past several months the population has exploded. It’s been a pretty wet summer so the manure did not dry out and when needed I sprayed the pile with the garden hose.

    After reading this article and with the rain season coming up I decided to pick up some #65 SmartPots (same company and similar material to the Compost Sak) and I put the manure in them. They’re sitting in the garage on wood pallets to keep them off the concrete floor. The garage is dry-walled with insulation material – still you have 2 huge metal doors which probably isn’t the best at keeping the cold out but we don’t have severe winter weather in the Portland area.

    I’ve got a new OSCR coming on line this week and I’ve decided to give the Malaysian Blues a run. My ‘worm guy’ raises and sells Reds, Euros and Blues. The price on the Blues is the same as the Red Worms – about $18.00 per lb. when buying 10 lbs. Lower prices for larger quantities.

    Thanks for the tip on the Compost Sak! Great idea for a worm ‘bin’ – or whatever term I should use – LOL

    Jim

    • Dave
    • September 27, 2011

    This compost sak, which I saw here first, appealed to me, so I got one. I’ve been building up/aging cardboard and food scraps for a couple of weeks and hope to purchase a pound of worms soon. First time I am trying vermicomposting, or composting at all for that matter. This site has been most helpful. I look forward to the official release of the e-book.
    Do you think, since this sack is a pretty porous material, that you don’t have to worry much about overwatering? Also (this may have already been answered somewhere on this site) is there a bad time of year to introduce worms? I’m in North Carolina, where we won’t get winter for a while yet (and then not much). But is it better to try this in the spring?

    • Dave
    • September 5, 2012

    It’s been one year since I set up two “compost saks” with worms. I can report that the worms survived all the way through, in at least one of the saks. I let one sak go without water for a LONG time, and the worms seem to have died. Required maintenance in general has been low. I’m in North Carolina, where we had a lot of above 100-degree weather this summer, but the worms did fine. The major problem: during the hot spell, squirrels went crazy and tore holes in one of the saks to get at the food (why they didn’t just go in through the top opening is beyond me). So they aren’t pest proof. Also, they tend to lean and crumple if they are on an incline, and compost can spill out.
    Basically its like having worms in an open compost pile, except with a minimal amount of containment.
    At this point, I have no drive to switch to another system.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get Your Free Vermicomposting Guide!

* Join the Red Worm Composting E-Mail List Today *