Comments on: Mark and his OSCR Worm Bin

By: Bev

Bev — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:23:32 +0000

Question about heating. Planning on building a large outdoor flow through bin and was going to put in heating wire. which is best, heat source on the top suspended above the bin (which will be insolated), or having the wires about half way, or near the bottom?

Iam hoping to have a 2″w x 8″ L x 3″ d bin. with wire mesh bottom, no breaker bar

By: charu rachlis

charu rachlis — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:34:29 +0000

Hi Mark,
I have a worm bin – the one that has 3 layers – and on the bottom – a can colletct the ‘worm tea’.
My problem is how to harvest????
I have everything going on just fine. The worms are happy – the eat the food, smells like earth, the only problem is when I go to pick up the good stuff.
Can you pls. advice me on this.
It is so frustrating, I get to have the beautiful black gold but the worms are in it, it is so so hard to separate them. You can call stupid, and what I do is to get as much as possible with some worms then I pland on my garden or the vegetable garden with the worms, I figured that is going to improve the soil any ways, but I would love to get only the black gold…. so here you have!
thank you so much,
charu

By: Garry from BC

Garry from BC — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:44:41 +0000

Hi Mark! I have gotten the clearance (haha) to build an absolutely massive system on my dad’s farm. He already has a huge goat manure compost pile, and it is absolutely loaded with red wigglers! Sorry to make this a long one. What I was wondering was, what would you consider the most essential elements of a large system like this, or even bigger.

By: LARRY D.

LARRY D. — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 14:54:48 +0000

Hey Mark.I’m about a year late on commenting on this one.But thanks for the inspiration that got me to build my 4’x8’bin.I’ve had no regrets.And this system works better than i could have ever hoped for.
In the near future(fall)i plan to start my next project.A big bin along the same lines made with two boat trailers(free).And i plan to incorporate a breaker bar into this one.It will have room for my later additions,including testing using solar power,and other things that can simplify vermicomposting in general.But i also,can’t afford to lose my worms.Some times you gotta do what you gotta do.
I wish i was as good at documenting things as you are.But i am a guesser,and my totals may be way off.I hope if you ever improve upon your stuff,you will document it so we can get a grasp on the good workings of an improved flowthru system.
But these are among the best i’ve found for any one that has the room.And you can even help your neighbors to compost their garbage too!
Keep up the good work! Sorry for the late comment.But i’ve never been accused of following directions.A compost blunder here and there along the way! But i’m still vcing!

By: Mike from Delaware

Mike from Delaware — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:52:32 +0000

I’ll jump in here with a comment. I’m not familiar with African nightcrawlers but am familiar with Euros. They sound similar in their preference for the bottom of the bin.

I suspect that there were Euros mixed in with the 10 lb of worms I put into my OSCR. It has taken several months of “rescuing” them from the harvest chamber. I think I’m finally past it. A lot of worms tended to fall through and die in the trays in the harvest chamber. I put moist coir in there to keep them moist so I could rescue them every couple of days.

I strongly suspect that worms that prefer the bottom of the bin won’t do well in an OSCR. It was designed for surface feeding worms like red wigglers.
Mike

By: Rich from MN

Rich from MN — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:34:38 +0000

I have the plans in hand to build a OSCR bin and the heat cables and the weed eater cord.
What I am wondering about is that I will be using African Nightcrawlers which I am told like to stay near the bottom of any bin they are in. I would like to include some type of breaker bar in my OSCR bin. So my quesions are has anyone used Africans in a OSCR bin and what is the best way to harvest the vermicast and separate out the cocoons.
Mark did you find that the fan helped? It wasn’t included in the plans but sounds like it would be a good add on. Do you have details on here on how to install it and what kind you used?
What do you use for a hatchery?
Sorry about so many questions just excited and anxious to get things going!

By: Jamas von Rockmann

Jamas von Rockmann — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:24:18 +0000

Friends of the earth, Fellow Vermiculturist. Im enjoying your website, I presently am working 2 wigwams, 2 55ga. barrels cut down the middle ( trough like) these are butted together and covered with a hoop coldframe. I have pvc pipe serpentining through them coming from the heater room in my house. the water being pumped with a simple aquarium pump. Im in the Pacific Northwest of America, 20’s 30’s the low temps. the beds stay 70-75* I also am experimenting with a 3 w x 8 l x 3 d wood box bin with pvc pipe running thru horse manure heaps( composting heat) packed all around the bin. I’ve been at this almost 2 yrs. I started 15 breeder boxes 17in.x14in.these have 1/3 vc/horse, 1/3 peat,2cups cornmeal,1/3 topsoil(mature compost garden soil,chopped lettuce,squash,coffee grounds.) 1/2 pound worms. these I only keep damp, no food for 7-9 wks. I then pull the worms and the compost remaining is LOADED with eggs. I sell this for people to spread over their lawns, veg. gardens etc. the eggs can stay dormant for months at 45-55* so I stock up.sold and spread in the spring, at 65-70 they hatch and the results from last year incredible ! I’ve tripled my box count, once dumped I refill and put the worms right back in, their off eating and screwin righy away, laying eggs every 5-8 days. sorry to go on here, I’ve gotten most my book learning from Thomas J. Barrett and Dr. George Sheffield Oliver. I wanted to share this website with you, you may already know of it “journey to forever” this link will take to my favorite story. http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/oliver/oliver_farm.html Enjoy !!

By: Mark from Kansas

Mark from Kansas — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:37:46 +0000

Ron,
The metal grid panel you speak of is not a panel at all and I’m not sure I should tell. OK I will. What you are seeing, from the first picture of me in the bottom, is 5/32 steel cable. I made a frame and drilled holes about 2 inches apart, threaded it through the holes, and stretch it. It was a lot of work.
How many worms are you going to put in bin?

By: Ron Thompson

Ron Thompson — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:05:36 +0000

Mark,
It looks like you did not use a nylon rope at the bottom, but used a metal grid panel, and I saw the same type metal panel at the OSCR website. Where did you get it???
Ron Thompson in San Jose

By: Mark from Kansas

Mark from Kansas — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:52:51 +0000

Rosita,
What is also interesting is the volume of trash reduction. I hope to process 2000 pounds of trash into 200 pounds of finished Vermicompost.
Just think how much landfills could be reduced by process and besides, a worm bin does not give off methane gas (an ozone depleting gas).
Speaking of fertilizer, synthetic fertilizers are fossil fuel based, a NON renewable resource.