Vermicomposting - Plans for a Worm Bin

On May 12, 7:23 pm, Gandalf The White <[email protected]> wrote:
> Greetings and Salutations:
>
> FYI. As I am sure you know, you can use your kitchen scraps to make
> fertilizer for your garden / plants / etc. It also helps reduce the
> amount of garbage in our garbage cans.
>
> This is a description of how to build a worm bin:http://digital.net/~gandalf/woodwb.htm
>
> Included are the plans in both PDF and PowerPoint.
>
> Any questions please feel free to ask.
>
> Ken

How much leachate does this bin generate, and how is
it drained off if you use the bin indoors instead of outdoors
on a deck?

Leachate is excellent fertilizer, even more so after adding
molasses and aerating for 24 hours to boost the microbe
count several *thousandfold*. If used immediately after
brewing, it'll green up plants overnight. Not even Miracle-Gro
works as fast, and it won't load up your garden with salt.

Father Haskell wrote:
> On May 12, 7:23 pm, Gandalf The White <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Greetings and Salutations:
>>
>> FYI. As I am sure you know, you can use your kitchen scraps to make
>> fertilizer for your garden / plants / etc. It also helps reduce the
>> amount of garbage in our garbage cans.
>>
>> This is a description of how to build a worm bin:http://digital.net/~gandalf/woodwb.htm
>>
>> Included are the plans in both PDF and PowerPoint.
>>
>> Any questions please feel free to ask.
>>
>> Ken
>
> How much leachate does this bin generate, and how is
> it drained off if you use the bin indoors instead of outdoors
> on a deck?
>
> Leachate is excellent fertilizer, even more so after adding
> molasses and aerating for 24 hours to boost the microbe
> count several *thousandfold*. If used immediately after
> brewing, it'll green up plants overnight. Not even Miracle-Gro
> works as fast, and it won't load up your garden with salt.

That also sounds like a good start on making some homebrew worm casting
flavored beer. I might have to try that...

On May 13, 10:31 pm, Gandalf The White <[email protected]> wrote:
> Greetings and Salutations:
>
> Father Haskell wrote:
> > How much leachate does this bin generate, and how is
> > it drained off if you use the bin indoors instead of outdoors
> > on a deck?
>
> There is virtually no leachate from the vermicomposting. The worm bin I
> built does not drain at all. The holes in the bottom are only if you
> accidentally add too much water to the mix. Usually the kitchen waste
> has enough liquid that water never has to be added. In fact shreaded
> newspaper is added to absorb some of that liquid.
>
> You really don't want to add so much water that the worm bin drips, that
> is too wet for the worms.

Too anaerobic, at which point they stampede.

Charles Darwin did exhausting research on earthworms, at one point
seeing if they could be drowned. They could easily survive several
months submerged.

> > Leachate is excellent fertilizer, even more so after adding
> > molasses and aerating for 24 hours to boost the microbe
> > count several *thousandfold*. If used immediately after
> > brewing, it'll green up plants overnight. Not even Miracle-Gro
> > works as fast, and it won't load up your garden with salt.
>
> I think that now you are talking about composting tea, the worm bin
> would be a good start to create the microorganisms:http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/brewing-compost-tea.
> aspx
>
> http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tea/tea1.htm
>
> http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/jury-still-out-o...
> mpost-tea.aspx
>
> In article <90nWj.162540$yE1.32197@attbi_s21>, Woodie <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > That also sounds like a good start on making some homebrew worm casting
> > flavored beer. I might have to try that...
>
> Mmmmm .... Tasty. I think the composting microbes that produces might
> be a *little* dangerous :-) ...
>
> From what I understand the Worms feed on the bacteria that is formed,
> not the actual food itself. That is why Vermicomposting does not stink.
> But please feel free to verify that.

Their diet is mostly protozoans, which do the actual work of
decomposition. You've seen that fresh veggie scraps will be
untouched until they start to rot. Interesting thing about the
molasses-fed tea is, you no longer smell the molasses the next
day. That indicates that there are microbes present in the tea,
consuming the molasses at a fast rate.

Greetings and Salutations:

Gandalf The White <[email protected]> wrote:
> There is virtually no leachate from the vermicomposting. The worm bin I
> built does not drain at all. The holes in the bottom are only if you
> accidentally add too much water to the mix. Usually the kitchen waste
> has enough liquid that water never has to be added. In fact shreaded
> newspaper is added to absorb some of that liquid.
>
> You really don't want to add so much water that the worm bin drips, that
> is too wet for the worms.

I was reminded that I live in a climate that is wetter, so for drier
climates you might need to add water to the worm bin.

Ken

---------------------------------------------------------------
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards for they are subtle and
quick to anger.
Ken Hollis - Gandalf The White - [email protected] - O- TINLC
WWW Page - http://digital.net/~gandalf/
Trace E-Mail forgery - http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html
Trolls crossposts - http://digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
Woodworking For Geeks - http://digital.net/~gandalf/woodmain.htm

Greetings and Salutations:

Father Haskell wrote:
> How much leachate does this bin generate, and how is
> it drained off if you use the bin indoors instead of outdoors
> on a deck?

There is virtually no leachate from the vermicomposting. The worm bin I
built does not drain at all. The holes in the bottom are only if you
accidentally add too much water to the mix. Usually the kitchen waste
has enough liquid that water never has to be added. In fact shreaded
newspaper is added to absorb some of that liquid.

You really don't want to add so much water that the worm bin drips, that
is too wet for the worms.

> Leachate is excellent fertilizer, even more so after adding
> molasses and aerating for 24 hours to boost the microbe
> count several *thousandfold*. If used immediately after
> brewing, it'll green up plants overnight. Not even Miracle-Gro
> works as fast, and it won't load up your garden with salt.

I think that now you are talking about composting tea, the worm bin
would be a good start to create the microorganisms:
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/brewing-compost-tea.
aspx

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/Tea/tea1.htm

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/jury-still-out-on-co
mpost-tea.aspx

In article <90nWj.162540$yE1.32197@attbi_s21>, Woodie <[email protected]>
wrote:
> That also sounds like a good start on making some homebrew worm casting
> flavored beer. I might have to try that...

Mmmmm .... Tasty. I think the composting microbes that produces might
be a *little* dangerous :-) ...

From what I understand the Worms feed on the bacteria that is formed,
not the actual food itself. That is why Vermicomposting does not stink.
But please feel free to verify that.

Ken

---------------------------------------------------------------
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards for they are subtle and
quick to anger.
Ken Hollis - Gandalf The White - [email protected] - O- TINLC
WWW Page - http://digital.net/~gandalf/
Trace E-Mail forgery - http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html
Trolls crossposts - http://digital.net/~gandalf/trollfaq.html
Woodworking For Geeks - http://digital.net/~gandalf/woodmain.htm