Monday, November 05, 2007

Plans for the future













Hey,

I'm working on moving my blog onto my own hosted domain. Will let you all know when that happens.

For now I am going to be blogging on my day to day activities working in my various worm bins. Hopefully, this will give you an overall feeling for worm bin composting, how to do it, and how much work it really intails.

I will take a blog or two to set the stage on how I have my system set up, pictures and all that. This is the door into the worm shed.

I have 4 4x8 foot fiberglas bins that I have set up in an old shed I use to use for firewood. It is not insulated but it is enclosed to protect the worms (and me) from the elements.


I have been fairly regular in taking care of the worm bins since the beginning of September and I am really amazed at how well the worms have come back. In September I literally could not see worms present other than a few skinny straglers. Now look!







This is what the population looks like now as I turn the bins.


The weather has been freezing and the bin these worms are in is the bin that has been without the any supplemental heat for two winters. These worms are fat and happy and we are getting ready for winter.


The temperature in the bins right now is about 40 degrees F The weather last night was clear with a star filled sky. Today the sky has been blue with lots of sunshine. Yesterday the wind blew and I didn't want to get out and work the worms. But today was perfect.


I took the top material off and turned the one Bin (Bin #4). My neighbor collects his food waste for me and in a weeks time he has collected about 1/3 of a 5 gallon bucket. I put this waste down the middle of the bed and cover with the material I took off. Then I put a 5 gallon bucket of leaves down.


These leaves are from a pile I have been collecting for a number of years. These leaves were from the top of the pile and are there from last year. Some of the leaves are dry and some of them are wet. I see an occational worm in the leaves.


I water the bin with a two gallon watering can. I put about one gallon of water on the bin. I feed the other three bins worm chow and add about one gallon water to each bin.


My inside bin is a Worm Factory . I have three trays going. Tray #1 (the oldest) has a great deal of castings (pictures soon).


Tray #2 has this cluster of cocoons as an example of what's going on in it.
Tray #3 is shredded newspaper and has a population of worms moving into it.
And you know those little bins they give you when you have to spend time in the hospital? I have two of those with worms being held for delivery (once I get an order) This is working well as the worms are getting nice and fat.
So, there you go. That's what I've been up to. More tomorrow. I will try to give you some more back-ground on the worm operation.
Happy Worming.
Christy
Where good things come from for body and soil.





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