Worm Bin Activity

[Dunge]

After brewing an alfalfa tea for 5 days, I throw the solids into the top bin of my worm stack.

This is what it looks like after 7 days since last addition.

This is a fresh addition of tea solids.

For a shared enjoyment of biology in action, I will be taking a daily shot for the next seven days to show how the worms deal with this addition.

I consider the worms to be major allies in my garden, as they seem to act as a microbial regulator.
They consume it all, and excrete a population that then dominates the ecosystem.
Or so I tell myself.

Enjoy the show.

 

[CaliRooted]

Dig it. Just curious to why you brew for 5 days? Love using alfalfa tea's when in vegging. Happy Growing

 

[Dunge]

Welcome to the show.
[QUOTE="CaliRooted, post: 2033711, member: 66869" brew for 5 days? [/QUOTE]
A few reasons.
When I started brewing alfalfa tea I spent hours at the microscope watching the populations grow and change composition.
The first day it's mostly bacteria of unknown identity.
The populations are growing and some bacteria go motile. Protozoa start cruising about.
Only came upon an amoebae once, but it was a fascinating visit. Surveillance, I know. But I felt the connection.
If I messed up (over serve) molasses, then the yeast would bloom. Yeast are easy to identify.

The primary reason for 5 days is it fits nicely with a weekly feed, with two days rest (dry state) makes a week.
With prior inoculates I might start to smell fecal notes if run long, which would sound an alarm from my wife.

For months now I have been inoculating with worm bin runoff, and a product named Recharge.
Clean white foam, and no offensive smells.
I knock down the foam with a greasy dribble of Alaskan Fish Fertilizer. It kills the foam (I imagine I'd rather those proteins be down in the water column) and doses a bit of nutrients to the herd below.

After 5 days, the tea gets filtered through a funnel and screen. The result is what is seen in the worm bin.

 

[Dunge]

Founded and surrounded.

After one day of finding the pile.

 

[Dunge]

After two days many adult worms have found the pile.
Many are being distracted by sex.
Those concentrations of adult worm flesh are orgies.
Worm sex is very intimate.

 

[Dunge]

Scram!
It's the heat.

I take these pics by sneaking into the basement in the dark and lifting the lid on the worm bin.
After mistakenly leaving the lid off, this pic is only 2 hours later.
They have ALL vacated.

I had always thought it was the light that chased them off,but clearly they enjoy the humidity offered by the cover.

Certainly didn't intend to break up the party.

 

[Dunge]

Day three of working down the pile.

Tea solids are largely removed.
This close observation has taught me how responsive these creatures are.
After taking this shot in the dark, with a flash, I came back minutes later with room lights on, and there were NO WORMS viable. Even the ones up on the sides. How can worms be this smart?

 

[Ceveres]

Loving this thread so far! This has definitely inspired me. I also brew kelp alfalfa teas and throw the solids in my compost pile, but I'd really like to get an indoor worm bin going. Where did you get the bin with the grated bottom? Are you using red wrigglers or something else? Do you put any food scraps through It? I assume there is some kind of spigot on the bottom to drain the black gold?

 

[Dunge]

It comes with a base and three bins.
I purchased an additional bin, but you don't want to go too high due to weight.
Over the years I have occasionally feed something that made the environment toxic, and the worms escape to the ledges, and spill out. I suspect some anaerobic condition, but have always fixed the situation by forking open each level, and throwing the worms back in.
Level 1 (first above the base) is currently the oldest and is probably about ready to harvest.
You can see the level of compression from the spacing of the plastic fin stops.
I feed kitchen veg / fruit only. I suspect historic problems were caused by too much starch (bread) allowing an O2 savaging yeast bloom.
I never feed the top layer. Fly and mite populations will take advantage of top food. Once buried, the worms dominate all aspects of the environment.

Try it.
They largely take care of themselves, but occasionally require you to get your hands dirty when harvesting a layer.

 

[Organikz]

@Dunge
awesome thread. I use alfalfa straw as mulch and I can't keep the stuff from clumping because the worms hang out all in there. Worms benefit from the growth hormone found in alfalfa as well which I'm certain you already know.

 

[G gnome]

View attachment 758519
View attachment 758520
It comes with a base and three bins.
I purchased an additional bin, but you don't want to go too high due to weight.
Over the years I have occasionally feed something that made the environment toxic, and the worms escape to the ledges, and spill out. I suspect some anaerobic condition, but have always fixed the situation by forking open each level, and throwing the worms back in.
Level 1 (first above the base) is currently the oldest and is probably about ready to harvest.
You can see the level of compression from the spacing of the plastic fin stops.
I feed kitchen veg / fruit only. I suspect historic problems were caused by too much starch (bread) allowing an O2 savaging yeast bloom.
I never feed the top layer. Fly and mite populations will take advantage of top food. Once buried, the worms dominate all aspects of the environment.

Try it.
They largely take care of themselves, but occasionally require you to get your hands dirty when harvesting a layer.

I have the worm factory too....been rockin it about 5yrs now. Love it!

 

[Dunge]

Day four of eating tea solids.

Not much left, but they still seem to like hanging out up here in the penthouse.

 

[Ceveres]

Day four of eating tea solids.
View attachment 758798
Not much left, but they still seem to like hanging out up here in the penthouse.

So you add your tea solids to the top bin then I am assuming. What do the other layers have in them? Cardboard/paper, grass clippings, food scraps? And finished castings form in the second to last bin, the last being just casting juice? Sorry just trying to get a better grasp on this before I jump in.

 

[Dunge]

The bottom collection device is just a funnel with spigot.
Presently, the brown bin is the bottom bin.
It has the oldest material.

Feedings are select kitchen waste and paper additions (egg cartons, news paper, cardboard).

The entire process is very slow, so I'd suggest you get started and feel your way through growing worms.

I did make a layer out of root balls, and the worms took their time, but made them into castings eventually.

Harvested castings are wet and sticky, so when using them I will often mix with dry ProMix just to turn it into something I can screen, throwing bigger remains back into the top bin. The few worms left in the harvested material seem to do just fine in my grow pots.

 

[Ceveres]

The bottom collection device is just a funnel with spigot.
Presently, the brown bin is the bottom bin.
It has the oldest material.

Feedings are select kitchen waste and paper additions (egg cartons, news paper, cardboard).

The entire process is very slow, so I'd suggest you get started and feel your way through growing worms.

I did make a layer out of root balls, and the worms took their time, but made them into castings eventually.

Harvested castings are wet and sticky, so when using them I will often mix with dry ProMix just to turn it into something I can screen, throwing bigger remains back into the top bin. The few worms left in the harvested material seem to do just fine in my grow pots.

Awesome yea it seems pretty straight forward after watching a few YouTube's. I've already got the ol' lady putting the right stuff in the compost and bad stuff in trash so I just want to bring the pile in and buy some extra worms also. Probably start with 500.
We don't have a whole lot of scraps so I'll probably make a 5gal bucket farm. Seems pretty simple, ton of different designs. One utilizing those fabric shopping bags (polyester , they will eat thru cotton). I think ill go simple tho, 3 buckets, just drilling some holes, maybe glue some screen in for the top big air holes, spigot on bottom bucket. I like DIY projects.

Do you think it would be a bad idea to bring my outdoor compost in to start the worm bin?

 

[Dunge]

Five days of feeding down the solids.

Many have moved on to lower feeding grounds, but a few are still enjoying the open air level.
No mosh pit action at this level any more.

I'm heading out of town for a week, so this daily aspect of the thread has ended and I will be adding fresh solids today.
I will try to remember to take a shot when I get back home.
It might be interesting to see just how clean this level can get.

Perhaps I will harvest the lower level when I get beck and make that a second chapter.
This thread has not attracted much attention, but those who are interested seem likely to start their own worm bins.

Let's see some other worm bins, new or old.

 

[brazel]

Nice man, what worms you using?

 

[brazel]

Here's mine. Static. Feed amendments. It's basically living organic soil the red wrigglers will upgraDDe with a double dose of those D's! I'll use it as my soil. It'll be ready in about ten months as will my leaf mold. Mix them add some amendments and call it good;)
They cold right now, gotta throw a seedling heat map on top