Vermicomposting

[Skeeter]

After reading a couple of posts about people vermicomposting I'm curious about what others are doing and why. From what I've watched and read, the way I do things is not the most common. My approach is more of a combination of what I see as best practices, at my scale, that I find fun. The basics are a 3 layer vertical migrating system. Bedding is currently a mix of aged wood chips, leaf mould, peat moss/potting mix, yard waste and cardboard. Food is coffee grounds, wide variety of vegetable scraps, egg shells, green trimmings and flour or some sort of grain. I also add a little kelp meal, azomite, gypsum and a few other things. I'm not terribly scientific about it but stuff seems to grow well when it's in the mix. For the most part I just add a layer of food and amendments, then cover with bedding. Feed around once a week. Harvest the bottom bin when the top bin is 3/4 full.

What's everyone else doing?

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Did you buy a premade bin system or build one yourself?

Does it stink in the winter?

 

[Telemark]

I still have an open bin, because I couldn't buy worms. I added fresh grass clippings yesterday and saw that the bin is full of compost worms now. I'm going to get a load of horse manure and start a bathtub worm bin.

 

[Barndog56]

I just grow my worms naturally. I've got a wheelbarrow full of horse manure every other day that gets dumped in a pile. It usually has some uneaten hay in it. I add our kitchen scraps about once a month, along with ash from the charcoal grill. Try to turn the pile every couple of weeks, but lots of times it's not that often.

Since I really don't put much green stuff in it, the pile doesn't get hot. So there's always a ton of worms in it naturally. When I use the broken down stuff in the garden or around trees, the worms go with it.

 

[Skeeter]

Did you buy a premade bin system or build one yourself?

Does it stink in the winter?

I built my own, for a few reasons. First, I wanted to stay away from plastics, at least for the bin, because of potential leaching. Ironic being I make my living in a plastics factory. Second, wood helps with moisture management. In composting, the thing I find the most difficult to keep ideal is moisture level. Wood sides really help with that. Third, eventually it will decay and I'll have to make a new one giving me the opportunity to change the things that I don't like. Fourth, nobody seemed to make what I thought I wanted so I had to DIY it. I'm not much of a craftsman but I gave it the old college try and made something that works for me.

Only time I have had an issue with smell is if I over feed and it's too wet. Simple fix is add some drier bedding. I usually have enough wood chips and other chunky carbon material that airflow stays good which also helps with moisture management.

 

[Skeeter]

My goal is to have a higher fungal vermicast, so I try to keep my bedding mix higher in woody materials than paper products. I also don't have a drain in the bottom. If I'm running the bin so wet that I need a drain, I'm promoting bacterial dominance. But again, I haven't had my vermicast tested or microscoped. These are just what I understand as good practices based on what I've read, watched and observed in the garden.