Comments on: Coffee Grounds Vermicomposting-10-21-10

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:02:39 +0000

I was told you shoild use coffee grounds and egg shells to balance the ph in a bin and it WORKS for me also did you know boiled egg shells encourage breeding so about every 7 days my worms will have coffee and get a little sexy. I use peat moss just to give the bin bedding material a little fluff and to hold in moisture. I have a trick for you I use a toaster oven to dry my egg shells out/cook and then I will grind them into a powder and sprinkle on top of my bins 3 days later egg shells are gone “no boiling needed”.
Tom

By: Bentley

Bentley — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:07:28 +0000

KATOR – Believe it or not I don’t even have a working pH meter (and have never taken measurements in my worm composting systems). I may get myself some litmus paper at some point though since it would be fun to see where we are sitting. Based on what I’ve read (and observed in various bins) Red Worms are quite tolerant of acidic conditions – but, I HAVE still managed to create a few “sour” bins over the years.
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JOE – The newspaper was simply added as a solid “floor” on the bottom of the first tray in my stacking system. The idea there was that it would discourage the worms from trying to get down into the reservoir, and that it would gradually decompose over time (by the time it was fully broken down most of the worms would presumably be in the upper trays). As it turned out, the newsprint didn’t really break down at all (lots of cool weather), so I am simply using it as a bedding in the NEW coffee grounds bin. It is important to balance “food” materials with “bedding” materials. Bedding helps to provide more habitat, improves air flow, absorbs/holds moisture, and balances the C:N ratio. Peat moss would actually be considered a “bedding” – unlike coffee grounds, there really isn’t any nutritional value in peat. As for the grounds, I have been adding them gradually over time. I will let you know how they do with them now that they are in a warmer system (was pretty slow going in the outdoor stacking system).

By: joe perreault

joe perreault — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:40:12 +0000

Hi Bently,what is the main reason for the coffee grounds with the newspaper.Would the grinds take the place of peatmoss.how much did you put in the bin and did you add it all the time.how do they process the coffee grinds thanks

joe

By: Kator

Kator — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:14:25 +0000

Great news Bentley. I’m getting there .. significant portion of coffee grounds for the feed mix with newest bin setup.

I know you’re really REALLY busy, but when you get a chance, would you mind doing a quick Ph on the VC ? If at all leaning towards acid, may shed some light on tolerance levels.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 16:40:24 +0000

LoL – definitely closer to 15 once the really wintry weather arrives, but yeah we have a ‘rec room’ down there so we aim to keep it reasonably warm. 15 is actually pretty cold for vermicomposting, although the worms are supposed to breed more.

By: eric

eric — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:18:30 +0000

wow, 15-20 for a basement? My house isnt even that warm durning to winter. My basement is about 10 degrees celcius with the whole house being about 15. Interesting about the grounds though thanks!