Comments on: Worm Factory 360 – Important Follow-Up

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 17:37:50 +0000

Hi Christine
That sort of behavior has me wondering if you’ve ended up with some Blue Worms (much greater tendency to roam than Red Worms). If not, I would guess that the environment in your first tray is not worm-friendly.

By: Christine Wanlin

Christine Wanlin — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 20:44:58 +0000

My worms seem to crawl out the base??? and I’m finding them on the floor? Are they looking for food?? There is food in the tray?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:14:23 +0000

Hi Jim – I am actually surprised that the manual would say that. I am assuming you are referring to the Worm Factory users manual?
One of the things that has always ticked me off about these stacking bin companies is that they’ve promoted this idea of quality “worm tea” coming out the bottom – seeming to suggest this stuff is every bit as good was real vermicompost tea (made with finished vermicompost).
That being said, it is definitely an “it depends” situation, to be honest. Generally speaking, the newer the system, the closer the liquid will be to basic leachate – which can be risky to use (but not necessarily). When the system is very mature, liquid will be passing down through more reasonably stabilized material, so what comes out from the spigot will likely be better quality.
Risks aside – I’ve always suggested avoiding keeping a stacking system so wet that it accumulates a lot of liquid in the reservoir anyway. You’ll just impede air flow, slow down the process and end up with lower quality vermicompost.
Hope this helps!

By: JIm B

JIm B — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:56:13 +0000

I remember reading in the manual (long since misplaced) that the leachate should NOT be used for vegetable crops as it is NOT the same thing as tea. Is this correct?

By: Greg smith

Greg smith — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 03:08:23 +0000

Why are my worms trying to escape?

By: Fred Oates

Fred Oates — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 16:41:00 +0000

I was in Walmart the other day, and they had a trash can setting by their ears of corn, for people to put the shucks in. Has anyone used these or do we worry about pesticides?

By: Fred Oates

Fred Oates — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 10:51:47 +0000

Why is it there is no set way to start using the 360. I must have watched 7or8 videos and none are the same. None of them seem to follow the printed manual that came with it. This is confusing to a beginner. Some show using all the trays at once, whit them piled high with hardly broken down food. Shouldn’t it be blended is some why to make it easy for the boys to do their job? Then the shredded paper, everyone seem to do it differently. Can anyone give a basic way to use this bin. Thanks

By: Michael Krieger

Michael Krieger — Fri, 29 May 2015 04:13:00 +0000

Hey guys thanks for the advice. I just bought a used Worm Factory 360 tonight. The bottom tray came 1/2 filled with compost and worms and no visible food. Lucky for me, I have an already established worm farm made out of two DIY Rubbermaid bins that have been rotated recently. I moved the contents into the next tray up on the 360 and am looking forward to the worms in the first tray crawling up to the second. Never knew anything about rock dust or coil coir. My DIY bins was made up of well soaked shredded newspaper and cardboard, some dirt and leaves.My worms are very healthy with lots of babies. I expect the 360 to speed up the process with the wonderful tray design. The best part is I won’t have to dig through the rubbermaid container to havest the castings. It’s time to let the worms do the work.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 16:11:10 +0000

Ps… You will need to harvest the castings from the bottom bin if you do not have afresh bin o your rotation will always be an upward migration.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 16:07:59 +0000

http://www.naturesfootprint.com/community/articles/worm-factory-360-setup

Susie
You have it backward, You place a fresh bin on top… The worms migrate upward to the fresh bin and new bedding/scraps leaving the castings behind. There are YouTube videos as well … the link above gets you to the PDF for basic setup. The website also has FAQ

Good luck