With the warmer weather starting up….. don’t forget your slimy workers.

I have noticed some of the following things…….

Newspaper is starting to dry out quicker, that covers their food in the feeding tray.

Ants are on the move, check your worm farm legs are sitting in water & no weeds are brushing against the farms. Ants will take advantage of this, to get into your farms.

Start to increase the feeds.

Mine received 3 doz duck eggs today…:) and have been loving the soggy shavings from the baby ducklings.I fiddle with my worms a lot more than strictly necessary, I’m sure – can’t seem to help myself just love playing with them, fluffing up their beds etc :P I now have 2 trios of ducklings and 2 sitting ducks who are enjoying the extra treats and abundant production of worms! And plenty going in handfuls to new seedbeds for summer crops :)

I too visit my farms every day Cackles…… the 3 farms are a very important part of my vegie garden:)

Lucky1 said:

With the warmer weather starting up….. don’t forget your slimy workers.

I have noticed some of the following things…….

Newspaper is starting to dry out quicker, that covers their food in the feeding tray.

Ants are on the move, check your worm farm legs are sitting in water & no weeds are brushing against the farms. Ants will take advantage of this, to get into your farms.

Start to increase the feeds.

oohhh thank you for the reminder , worm mummy. I noticed the leg wetterers were dry too..
I’ll be on it it first thing.

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

With the warmer weather starting up….. don’t forget your slimy workers.

I have noticed some of the following things…….

Newspaper is starting to dry out quicker, that covers their food in the feeding tray.

Ants are on the move, check your worm farm legs are sitting in water & no weeds are brushing against the farms. Ants will take advantage of this, to get into your farms.

Start to increase the feeds.

oohhh thank you for the reminder , worm mummy. I noticed the leg wetterers were dry too..
I’ll be on it it first thing.

We can be so busy and then the next thing…. ants have moved in.

My worms lurv underneath the carport. They didn’t slow down or miss a beat over the winter months.

We can be so busy and then the next thing…. ants have moved in.

My worms lurv underneath the carport. They didn’t slow down or miss a beat over the winter months.

———————————————————————
Well yeah I have been a little busy!
Mine are under the fernery too and haven’t slowed down either. Still getting plenty of worm wee and I add food to them weekly alternately. It’s just that the leg cups are dry and I know where all the earths ant’s congregate , here !

and if your worm farm doesn’t have legs (to stand in water to prevent ants crawling up) then you can spray pyrethrum on the outside of the bin. pyrethrum is a very effective ant killer i found, both inside and out.

My dad took some wormies home for his composting bin….so proud of him:D

Just been out and emptied the little lunch box I use for worm scraps. I rinsed the lunch bucket out, using water from the front tap. While swirling the water round to collect any food scraps and coffee grounds…. I noticed some ants in the water.

These ants, due to the warmer weather were inside the tap spout….. searching out water. Please remember to let the first little bit of water in your bucket or watering can, be poured out onto the lawn…removing any ants, before you add water from your tap, to your worm farms.

Lucky1 said:

Just been out and emptied the little lunch box I use for worm scraps. I rinsed the lunch bucket out, using water from the front tap. While swirling the water round to collect any food scraps and coffee grounds…. I noticed some ants in the water.

These ants, due to the warmer weather were inside the tap spout….. searching out water. Please remember to let the first little bit of water in your bucket or watering can, be poured out onto the lawn…removing any ants, before you add water from your tap, to your worm farms.

Good tip Lucky, thanks :)

How did your worms go in the heat today??? Hope they were all okay.

http://luckysduckfarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-are-your-worms-doing.html

Thanks Lucky – three times recently I have found a big clump of worms in my worm juice bucket – I thought it might be due to the heat but wasn’t sure.

bon008 said:

Thanks Lucky – three times recently I have found a big clump of worms in my worm juice bucket – I thought it might be due to the heat but wasn’t sure.

Yes, its the heat forcing them down. They’ll survive so long in the bucket and if not popped back into the farm, they will drown.

Lucky1 said:

bon008 said:

Thanks Lucky – three times recently I have found a big clump of worms in my worm juice bucket – I thought it might be due to the heat but wasn’t sure.

Yes, its the heat forcing them down. They’ll survive so long in the bucket and if not popped back into the farm, they will drown.

Yes the first time was after a really long hot spell, where I didn’t go outside at all for ages.. when I finally did, the worms were already dried up :( Now I check every day and just pop the worms into the herb patch.. figure those poor worms deserve a better life :D

I nucked some left over zucchini and gave them a feed of that with banana skins and other goodies…. I think they are over the broad bean shells….LOL they got oddles of them.

Lucky1 said:

I nucked some left over zucchini and gave them a feed of that with banana skins and other goodies…. I think they are over the broad bean shells….LOL they got oddles of them.

Thanks for reminding me Lucky, taps are open , they are fine :) Theres great handful blobs of them squirming together in the 2nd tray down. The farms are in the shade, but those hot notherlies heat up everything.

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

I nucked some left over zucchini and gave them a feed of that with banana skins and other goodies…. I think they are over the broad bean shells….LOL they got oddles of them.

Thanks for reminding me Lucky, taps are open , they are fine :) Theres great handful blobs of them squirming together in the 2nd tray down. The farms are in the shade, but those hot notherlies heat up everything.

They sure do Bon….hot north winds do so much harm.

My wormies got fresh layers of wet newspaper and oodles of food the other day. Their farms are under the shade of a tree and they have extra layers of carpet and wood on top of the lids. I’ll inspect them tomorrow and wet them down if they need it.

bump

Thanks Dinetta:) Save me going into my favs to pull up this thread.

Just been out and checked the little workers out and they are booming along. Lots of little babies have hatched.

I gave them a couple of weeks feeding grace, as they seemed to have a lot of tucker in their feeding trays. Going to start to feed the 2 black farms again, cream farm is still got lots of food to eat.

Felt strange not putting food into their little lunch box on the sink. Their food was going to the chooks and it was like stealing for one mouth to feed to another mouth.

LOL I feel like that when the worms bucket is full and I haven’t taken it out to them, or I just put everything into the kitchen compost because it’s easier…I really should Oskar the feed more often, but I also find a light dusting of lime can help with the worm eating rate…with such an all or nothing feeding rate, would a light dusting of lime with each feed be a good idea?

Dinetta said:

LOL I feel like that when the worms bucket is full and I haven’t taken it out to them, or I just put everything into the kitchen compost because it’s easier…I really should Oskar the feed more often, but I also find a light dusting of lime can help with the worm eating rate…with such an all or nothing feeding rate, would a light dusting of lime with each feed be a good idea?

I probably don’t lime mine as much as what I should. Good question…. a fortnightly dusting sound comfy to me.

Good remimder, I have been going out to the property everyday to feed the big animals but have neglected the worms. Have to bring them back to the house, just need someone strong enough to pick up the tub.

On another note. One of my supervisors at work threw a large handful of compost worms (not earthworms) into his septic tank, they made short work of the crust and he didnt have to get someone in to sort it out. Lost the worms in the end though, they cant be retrieved.

shell bell said:

On another note. One of my supervisors at work threw a large handful of compost worms (not earthworms) into his septic tank, they made short work of the crust and he didnt have to get someone in to sort it out. Lost the worms in the end though, they cant be retrieved.

Crust? How does a septic tank get a crust? (Poor little wormies…vale the wormies)

Those tubs sure get heavy, don’t they?

I need another strong pair of arms when checking the bottom level and sorting the shadecloth at that level…

Dinetta said:

Those tubs sure get heavy, don’t they?

I need another strong pair of arms when checking the bottom level and sorting the shadecloth at that level…

Same here.

Hey, for those others who use shadecloth – do you find that the liquid coming out of your worm farm is a lot paler? Comes out looking like clear water for me! I have no idea what strength my shadecloth scrap is – maybe it is too dense..

No my worm wee is always pale, unless I have been turning over the castings…not doing that again…this was to get lots of castings for lots of transplants, now I realise I’m better to just scrape from the top…

To get back to the shadecloth: I’ve always used one – it used to be a dog’s bed – on the advice of Happy Potter, so I can’t comment on the colour…

Dinetta said:

No my worm wee is always pale, unless I have been turning over the castings…not doing that again…this was to get lots of castings for lots of transplants, now I realise I’m better to just scrape from the top…

To get back to the shadecloth: I’ve always used one – it used to be a dog’s bed – on the advice of Happy Potter, so I can’t comment on the colour…

Hmm, OK. It doesn’t bother me with my farm because I can only use that juice on certain plants (it’s a dog poo farm). But prior to the shadecloth it came out very rich and dark, and the worm juice at work (no shadecloth) also comes out lovely and rich and dark. Just makes me wonder if the shadecloth-variety of worm wee isn’t really doing much for your garden..

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

No my worm wee is always pale, unless I have been turning over the castings…not doing that again…this was to get lots of castings for lots of transplants, now I realise I’m better to just scrape from the top…

To get back to the shadecloth: I’ve always used one – it used to be a dog’s bed – on the advice of Happy Potter, so I can’t comment on the colour…

Hmm, OK. It doesn’t bother me with my farm because I can only use that juice on certain plants (it’s a dog poo farm). But prior to the shadecloth it came out very rich and dark, and the worm juice at work (no shadecloth) also comes out lovely and rich and dark. Just makes me wonder if the shadecloth-variety of worm wee isn’t really doing much for your garden..

That sounds really odd Bonn, pale worm wee after placing shadecloth..
I’ve no idea why that would be happening. If that happened to mine I’d be assuming a couple things went wrong.. the worms have died.. got too hot ..farms getting too much water .. or other scraps were accidently placed in, which the worms will turn to and leave the manure aside.
I only put shadecloth in mine to stop the taps getting clogged with casts. I re started them a few months ago and getting really dark rich worm wee.

Dinetta said:

shell bell said:

On another note. One of my supervisors at work threw a large handful of compost worms (not earthworms) into his septic tank, they made short work of the crust and he didnt have to get someone in to sort it out. Lost the worms in the end though, they cant be retrieved.

Crust? How does a septic tank get a crust? (Poor little wormies…vale the wormies)

Dont know how it happens and havnt personally seen it, but have heard of the septic guys spening hours cracking them before they can pump out the tank. I believe that it is pretty nasty.

I think I might be overwatering my farm, but does it really matter? This is in an effort to (1) keep the ants out (yes the legs are in water containers but sometimes they run out of water even tho’ I check almost daily) (2) keep the farm cool.

I have an old towel that really had no other use, on top of the cardboard. Keeping the towel moist stops the cardboard from drying out. Sometimes I drench the towel and leave the lid off, especially on hot days. This has an evaporative cooling effect and keeps the worms up the top where the food is…The cardboard, of course, is insulation. I have it on the second-top and top-most layers…

Happy Potter said:

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

No my worm wee is always pale, unless I have been turning over the castings…not doing that again…this was to get lots of castings for lots of transplants, now I realise I’m better to just scrape from the top…

To get back to the shadecloth: I’ve always used one – it used to be a dog’s bed – on the advice of Happy Potter, so I can’t comment on the colour…

Hmm, OK. It doesn’t bother me with my farm because I can only use that juice on certain plants (it’s a dog poo farm). But prior to the shadecloth it came out very rich and dark, and the worm juice at work (no shadecloth) also comes out lovely and rich and dark. Just makes me wonder if the shadecloth-variety of worm wee isn’t really doing much for your garden..

That sounds really odd Bonn, pale worm wee after placing shadecloth..
I’ve no idea why that would be happening. If that happened to mine I’d be assuming a couple things went wrong.. the worms have died.. got too hot ..farms getting too much water .. or other scraps were accidently placed in, which the worms will turn to and leave the manure aside.
I only put shadecloth in mine to stop the taps getting clogged with casts. I re started them a few months ago and getting really dark rich worm wee.

Nah, in every other way it’s the same – worms are fine, eating the same food etc. I think it’s just that my worm juice before, consisted of a lot of castings mixed with water. Now the castings are staying in the tray and just the water is getting through. I reckon the shadecloth is just too dense (I put two layers in, too), but it’s fine because I don’t actually want to get worm juice from this farm, I just want it to process the dog poop.

>Dont know how it happens and havnt personally seen it, but have heard of the septic guys spening hours cracking them before they can pump out the tank. I believe that it is pretty nasty.

That’d be a choice job. Couldn’t pay me enough to do it.

My septic has summink floating on top, but sometimes that’s gone and I can see mozzie wrigglers tootling around…

You wouldn’t want to get bitten by mozzies which hatched there.. Nasty infections in septics!

CollieWA said:

>Dont know how it happens and havnt personally seen it, but have heard of the septic guys spening hours cracking them before they can pump out the tank. I believe that it is pretty nasty.

That’d be a choice job. Couldn’t pay me enough to do it.

the ‘scum’ floats to the top and the ‘sludge’ sinks to the bottom.
the lightweight sticky scum does form a crust.

Pineapple skins? Yes or no? I’d have thought they were too acidic for the farm (especially combined with rockmelon skins)??

Dinetta said:

Pineapple skins? Yes or no? I’d have thought they were too acidic for the farm (especially combined with rockmelon skins)??

try a small amount and see how they like it?

bit hard to tell what they like…one day it’s all there and the next day they have nothing…not much gets left behind…hmmmm…

bluegreen said:

Dinetta said:

Pineapple skins? Yes or no? I’d have thought they were too acidic for the farm (especially combined with rockmelon skins)??

try a small amount and see how they like it?

Yes try some at first .. but then again I just whack it all in, watermelon canteloupe and honeydew mel peels all go in at once.

Here’s some reading on the matter:

http://www.yogatogo.com.au/PDFs/Worm%20Farming%20Handout.pdf

Here’s another really good one for a dumbkopf like me…

http://earthwormal.co.za/about.html

How’s your worms going in this weather??? Mine are thriving and eating food as quick as I can feed them:) I collected 2 buckets (2 gallon size) of worm wee from them this afternoon.

Lucky, can you fire up the Chook Chat Thread?

Good question Lucky. Mine are going great..I’ve learnt to take the lids off them on hot days and keep the top paper wet.
Level 3 is half full and it’s taken 12 months to get them back to full bore after emptying them and cleaning out an earwig infestation, giving some away and another lot to the animal rescue bloke..

Happy Potter said:

Good question Lucky. Mine are going great..I’ve learnt to take the lids off them on hot days and keep the top paper wet.
Level 3 is half full and it’s taken 12 months to get them back to full bore after emptying them and cleaning out an earwig infestation, giving some away and another lot to the animal rescue bloke..

Yes, I found on those really hot days, the lids lifted and sat sideways helps to let the heat out. Its too hot for flies, so their is no chance of fly infestation.

With the cooler weather now, I have stopped feeding my 3 farms for this month. They’ll not go hungry as they still have lots of food in their feeding tray. I’ll just keep an eye on them weekly and at the moment I plan on starting their feeding again at the beginning of July. If they need to be fed before then, I’ll start their scrap bucket up again.

Until then, their food (like today’s capsicum and bean scraps) will be microwaved and put into the chook’s lunch box……. that way they’ll enjoy the cooked food, rather than the compost bin.

Yep, I’ve cut back on what I’ve been feeding my wormies, too…they still need a good blanket around them, only got an old bedspread with the material “valance” sides at the moment…nowhere really to move them to…

Actually speaking, your post was timely Lucky, as I was wondering if I was doing the right thing…was sprinkling lime once a fortnight until I woke up to the “lessen the feed” strategy…the main thing is to keep the bedding moist, I think: not let it dry out…and keep the buckets with the farm feet in them, full…sometimes I see ants on the move…

Dinetta said:

Yep, I’ve cut back on what I’ve been feeding my wormies, too…they still need a good blanket around them, only got an old bedspread with the material “valance” sides at the moment…nowhere really to move them to…

Actually speaking, your post was timely Lucky, as I was wondering if I was doing the right thing…was sprinkling lime once a fortnight until I woke up to the “lessen the feed” strategy…the main thing is to keep the bedding moist, I think: not let it dry out…and keep the buckets with the farm feet in them, full…sometimes I see ants on the move…

Yesam not a big over feeder of lime in my farms….. I tend to find the Ph is really good in mine… I just keep them moist and they are happy as clams:)

We put lime in work farms once a week – but I think that’s only necessary as some of the volunteers (for whatever reason) don’t chop up the foodscraps.. and also someone adds too much water. Committee politics.. :D

Lucky1 said:

Yesam not a big over feeder of lime in my farms….. I tend to find the Ph is really good in mine… I just keep them moist and they are happy as clams:)

Well before I realized that they had slowed down, I put too much food in and it was smelling a bit off, so I limed to sweeten it really…hope that’s how it’s meant to work!

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Yesam not a big over feeder of lime in my farms….. I tend to find the Ph is really good in mine… I just keep them moist and they are happy as clams:)

Well before I realized that they had slowed down, I put too much food in and it was smelling a bit off, so I limed to sweeten it really…hope that’s how it’s meant to work!

Yes:)

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Yesam not a big over feeder of lime in my farms….. I tend to find the Ph is really good in mine… I just keep them moist and they are happy as clams:)

Well before I realized that they had slowed down, I put too much food in and it was smelling a bit off, so I limed to sweeten it really…hope that’s how it’s meant to work!

Yes:)

goody gumdrops!

whooo hooo I’m getting a 4th worm farm….. SIL’s turtle died and so she wants to get rid of her worm farm.

So she is giving it to me…….. I’ll love them and feed them AND NOT feed them to my turtle:)

Lucky1 said:

whooo hooo I’m getting a 4th worm farm….. SIL’s turtle died and so she wants to get rid of her worm farm.

So she is giving it to me…….. I’ll love them and feed them AND NOT feed them to my turtle:)

Ok, I give up…what is the relationship between SIL’s deceased turtle and her worm farm???

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

whooo hooo I’m getting a 4th worm farm….. SIL’s turtle died and so she wants to get rid of her worm farm.

So she is giving it to me…….. I’ll love them and feed them AND NOT feed them to my turtle:)

Ok, I give up…what is the relationship between SIL’s deceased turtle and her worm farm???

Brilliant news Lucky :)

Dinetta, I think the SiL was breeding the worms in order to feed them to the turtle..

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

whooo hooo I’m getting a 4th worm farm….. SIL’s turtle died and so she wants to get rid of her worm farm.

So she is giving it to me…….. I’ll love them and feed them AND NOT feed them to my turtle:)

Ok, I give up…what is the relationship between SIL’s deceased turtle and her worm farm???

She would feed the worms to her turtle:(

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

whooo hooo I’m getting a 4th worm farm….. SIL’s turtle died and so she wants to get rid of her worm farm.

So she is giving it to me…….. I’ll love them and feed them AND NOT feed them to my turtle:)

Ok, I give up…what is the relationship between SIL’s deceased turtle and her worm farm???

Brilliant news Lucky :)

Dinetta, I think the SiL was breeding the worms in order to feed them to the turtle..

Yes:(…not for her garden:(

Lucky1 said:

She would feed the worms to her turtle:(

unreal!

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

She would feed the worms to her turtle:(

unreal!

Its a shame….. my worms would never be fed to my turtle or ducks or chooks…….

I used to wonder if I was dropping any when I was checking the levels…then one day I lifted the basin that collects the drips…it’s right on the ground…and there was all these very fat’n‘happy worms underneath! So I left them there…hopefully they are snug under the leaf-mould…haven’t seen any bird scratchings…

Dinetta said:

I used to wonder if I was dropping any when I was checking the levels…then one day I lifted the basin that collects the drips…it’s right on the ground…and there was all these very fat’n‘happy worms underneath! So I left them there…hopefully they are snug under the leaf-mould…haven’t seen any bird scratchings…

Sounds like worm heaven…lol

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

She would feed the worms to her turtle:(

unreal!

Its a shame….. my worms would never be fed to my turtle or ducks or chooks…….

… I’ve fed some to birds before.

bon008 said:

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

unreal!

Its a shame….. my worms would never be fed to my turtle or ducks or chooks…….

… I’ve fed some to birds before.

gasp!!!!! hehehe

Lucky1 said:

bon008 said:

Lucky1 said:

Its a shame….. my worms would never be fed to my turtle or ducks or chooks…….

… I’ve fed some to birds before.

gasp!!!!! hehehe

Whew, thought I might be in trouble there! :)

When I was younger we had a litter of mice, with one stillborn – dad popped out the lounge room door and fed it to a magpie. Waste not, want not!

bon008 said:

Lucky1 said:

bon008 said:

… I’ve fed some to birds before.

gasp!!!!! hehehe

Whew, thought I might be in trouble there! :)

When I was younger we had a litter of mice, with one stillborn – dad popped out the lounge room door and fed it to a magpie. Waste not, want not!

Oh I have been known to take a mouse Millie has finished playing with , down to the girls and watched them go mad for it….:)

We soaked some HP last week and added it to the farm last Friday, this should keep the worms happy until the weather warms up…I find HP less inclined to go “off” in the farm, probably because it’s predigested grass…am going out to check shortly if they’re OK…only check them once a couple of weeks now as they are not eating so much and with the blankets and bedcover over the farm, are not drying out so much …

Was a bit dismayed last week to find the “moats” dry, but the ants have being staying warm in their nests…wherever they are…so thankfully there was none in the Farm…

Dinetta said:

We soaked some HP last week and added it to the farm last Friday, this should keep the worms happy until the weather warms up…I find HP less inclined to go “off” in the farm, probably because it’s predigested grass…am going out to check shortly if they’re OK…only check them once a couple of weeks now as they are not eating so much and with the blankets and bedcover over the farm, are not drying out so much …

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Happy Potter said:

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Well, it could be me, but I don’t really like the smell of vegetation that’s gone all slimey and rotten smelling…when that happens in the farm, or it whiffs like it might, I add a dusting of lime…

What I noticed with one of my worm farms this week, was that the middle tray was nearly empty of matter. I’d filled it over a couple months until the next tray sat up high on top of it, then added the empty tray and started filling that.
But I decided to check the lower trays and the middle one was very depleated. So tipped the top tray into that and resumed filling it ,again.

I’m amazed at the volume they consume.

Happy Potter said:

What I noticed with one of my worm farms this week, was that the middle tray was nearly empty of matter. I’d filled it over a couple months until the next tray sat up high on top of it, then added the empty tray and started filling that.
But I decided to check the lower trays and the middle one was very depleated. So tipped the top tray into that and resumed filling it ,again.

I’m amazed at the volume they consume.

Yes, in the summer they sure work hard, but mine are feeling the winter this year (last year I kept them warmer) and thus have slowed down…in the summer they get through a couple of litres of scraps a week…

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Well, it could be me, but I don’t really like the smell of vegetation that’s gone all slimey and rotten smelling…when that happens in the farm, or it whiffs like it might, I add a dusting of lime…

can you use a smaller tub for the scraps and empty it daily into the worm farm ? save you having to put up with a smelly bucket. I use a 2 litre bin with a lid and that fills over a few days. If I don’t empty it soon enough it gets the tiny vinegar flies about it.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Well, it could be me, but I don’t really like the smell of vegetation that’s gone all slimey and rotten smelling…when that happens in the farm, or it whiffs like it might, I add a dusting of lime…

can you use a smaller tub for the scraps and empty it daily into the worm farm ? save you having to put up with a smelly bucket. I use a 2 litre bin with a lid and that fills over a few days. If I don’t empty it soon enough it gets the tiny vinegar flies about it.

I use a 1 litre and it is stored in the fridge to keep the scraps fresh until full…anything else is put in the kitchen compost bin (airtight) which has layers of the brown paper bags the mushrooms come home in and wood-chip kitty litter on the bottom (or lucerne hay sweepings)…the smelliness was in the farm itself and it was kind of between seaons…I put far too much food in (more than the 1 litre bucket) just as the worms slowed down but the farm was warm enough for the matter to start rotting…the “balance” was out…all sorted now…

Zumba!

Whoops, 1.8 litre ice cream container… 1 litre is a bit small!

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Well, it could be me, but I don’t really like the smell of vegetation that’s gone all slimey and rotten smelling…when that happens in the farm, or it whiffs like it might, I add a dusting of lime…

There’s a bit off, and then very off. We have stuff going mouldy in the farms at work, because one of the bloody sods on the roster REFUSES every week to chop up the foodscraps, like the rest of us do. Wish they’d just un-volunteer – we’re getting big chunks like half an apple going in in one piece, and there’s no way the worms can handle it. GAH! hopping off rant soap box

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Things going ‘off’ in the worm farm ?
Food scraps need to be starting to break down for them to get through it. Eg: I put some watermelon skin in the worm food bucket and by the time it’s full with tea bags and coffee grinds, apple peels ect , the watermelon skins are slimey and going right off.
They love it.

Well, it could be me, but I don’t really like the smell of vegetation that’s gone all slimey and rotten smelling…when that happens in the farm, or it whiffs like it might, I add a dusting of lime…

There’s a bit off, and then very off. We have stuff going mouldy in the farms at work, because one of the bloody sods on the roster REFUSES every week to chop up the foodscraps, like the rest of us do. Wish they’d just un-volunteer – we’re getting big chunks like half an apple going in in one piece, and there’s no way the worms can handle it. GAH! hopping off rant soap box

A bit of fluff mould is ok though, and the worms do eventually go through larger pieces. I often find that the newspaper cover gets a bit of mould on it.
But that they can get too hot is more of a worry. Worms are too exxy to replace.

I’m thinking of getting a third farm just for supplying worms to others. I know so many people who would love to have a worm farm but cannot due to the set up cost. It irks me.

Happy Potter said:

,,,, that they can get too hot is more of a worry. Worms are too exxy to replace.

I’m thinking of getting a third farm just for supplying worms to others. I know so many people who would love to have a worm farm but cannot due to the set up cost. It irks me.

Bon, I take the lid off my farm when it gets too hot, as it is under a very shady tree, this allows for the tree’s transpiration plus the cooling breezes to keep the farm cool…a nearly-rotten old towel over the farm instead of the lid will keep the birds out…this works a treat…all I have to do is keep the water up to the farm…I find the worms go DOWN when it’s too hot, or do you mean the foodstuffs get up a bit of heat whilst decomposing?…

HP, you are quite right about the exxy set-up costs re the farm…for a beginner a store-bought farm is the way to go, but after one gets the hang of it, one could probably improvise…I know of people who stack the broccoli styrofoam boxes as farms…and the worms themselves sure cost a lot…I bought less than they said because after the cost of the farm, my piggy bank didn’t cover the “recommended” number of worms…

It sounds like our worms, like our lemon trees, all behave differently! :)

Does your lid get condensation?

Have just checked my red wriggly workers and they are ecstatic about their HP feed…more active than I have seen them for about two months…

Dinetta said:

Does your lid get condensation?

Hmm, not that I’ve noticed. At home it’s usually got stacks of little red mites. At work.. well, the farms at work are always too damp (can’t get people to stop adding water in the cooler months) so that makes it hard to tell.

Dinetta said:

Does your lid get condensation?

Not that I’ve noticed.

Dinetta said:

Have just checked my red wriggly workers and they are ecstatic about their HP feed…more active than I have seen them for about two months…

Mine are lucky to be alive.

I sort of forgot to feed them for a couple of months. :(

More soldier fly maggots than worms ATM. BAD BUBBA

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

Does your lid get condensation?

Not that I’ve noticed.

At times it can:) Mine does….at times

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

,,,, that they can get too hot is more of a worry. Worms are too exxy to replace.

I’m thinking of getting a third farm just for supplying worms to others. I know so many people who would love to have a worm farm but cannot due to the set up cost. It irks me.

Bon, I take the lid off my farm when it gets too hot, as it is under a very shady tree, this allows for the tree’s transpiration plus the cooling breezes to keep the farm cool…a nearly-rotten old towel over the farm instead of the lid will keep the birds out…this works a treat…all I have to do is keep the water up to the farm…I find the worms go DOWN when it’s too hot, or do you mean the foodstuffs get up a bit of heat whilst decomposing?…

HP, you are quite right about the exxy set-up costs re the farm…for a beginner a store-bought farm is the way to go, but after one gets the hang of it, one could probably improvise…I know of people who stack the broccoli styrofoam boxes as farms…and the worms themselves sure cost a lot…I bought less than they said because after the cost of the farm, my piggy bank didn’t cover the “recommended” number of worms…

I sit my worm farm lids side ways on top in the really hot weather…. flies are too stuffed from the heat to get into the farms. I just place the lids back on before the flies come out in the cool of the evening.

I read somewhere those broccoli boxes aren’t too good in the summer months for the worms health……can’t remember where I read it though:(

Also I have started so many off with worms for their farms………. Almost $100 here at the toyshop:(

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

,,,, that they can get too hot is more of a worry. Worms are too exxy to replace.

I’m thinking of getting a third farm just for supplying worms to others. I know so many people who would love to have a worm farm but cannot due to the set up cost. It irks me.

Bon, I take the lid off my farm when it gets too hot, as it is under a very shady tree, this allows for the tree’s transpiration plus the cooling breezes to keep the farm cool…a nearly-rotten old towel over the farm instead of the lid will keep the birds out…this works a treat…all I have to do is keep the water up to the farm…I find the worms go DOWN when it’s too hot, or do you mean the foodstuffs get up a bit of heat whilst decomposing?…

HP, you are quite right about the exxy set-up costs re the farm…for a beginner a store-bought farm is the way to go, but after one gets the hang of it, one could probably improvise…I know of people who stack the broccoli styrofoam boxes as farms…and the worms themselves sure cost a lot…I bought less than they said because after the cost of the farm, my piggy bank didn’t cover the “recommended” number of worms…

I sit my worm farm lids side ways on top in the really hot weather…. flies are too stuffed from the heat to get into the farms. I just place the lids back on before the flies come out in the cool of the evening.

I read somewhere those broccoli boxes aren’t too good in the summer months for the worms health……can’t remember where I read it though:(

Also I have started so many off with worms for their farms………. Almost $100 here at the toyshop:(

Good going on shopping bargains Lucky :)

It seems anything to do with the environment and saving it, is prohibitively expensive now. I wonder if they can be made out of wood. square ,with shade cloth/plastic flywire stapled on as bases..I’m thinking thinking. Not particle wood, they’d eat it. There has to be a better, cheaper, way.

Happy Potter said:

It seems anything to do with the environment and saving it, is prohibitively expensive now. I wonder if they can be made out of wood. square ,with shade cloth/plastic flywire stapled on as bases..I’m thinking thinking. Not particle wood, they’d eat it. There has to be a better, cheaper, way.

IronBarkBob used an old refridgerator…I think…he did put a photo up but I could never work it out…

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

It seems anything to do with the environment and saving it, is prohibitively expensive now. I wonder if they can be made out of wood. square ,with shade cloth/plastic flywire stapled on as bases..I’m thinking thinking. Not particle wood, they’d eat it. There has to be a better, cheaper, way.

IronBarkBob used an old refridgerator…I think…he did put a photo up but I could never work it out…

Yeh, I’ve seen that done in schools, old baths too.

Checked my farms today and they are still booming along, happy as ever:)

I’ll start feeding them at the beginning of July……if they need it. Otherwise they are happy chomping through what was built up in the farms.

Started feeding the worms again yesterday, I’ll see what they are like at the end of this month and I may not feed them for August.

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

When you have a handful and a farm to pop them in:)

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Really?! stares at hands Actually it always bugs me when cooking shows say a “handful” of something – there is a HUGE difference between my hands and Mr Bon’s hands :D

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

Worms will only breed to the conditions of the farm…this includes size.

So if your feeding them well…they’ll breed to am amount that fits the size……if you stop feeding them they will die off until they can cope with the conditions.

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

How do you know if you’ve enough worms to start a new farm?

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

That would take about 4 or 5 years.

One of my farms is ailing, the liquid is weak and it’s chockers full of microscopic white flies and seems dry, despite a litre of water every couple days. I’ve limed it ect, but no difference, and it’s not blocked. When I open the tap the white insects pour out with the wee and they cover the water surface thickly.

The other farm right next to it is fine and the liquid dark.

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

Worms will only breed to the conditions of the farm…this includes size.

So if your feeding them well…they’ll breed to am amount that fits the size……if you stop feeding them they will die off until they can cope with the conditions.

Thats right Lucky. When the farm gets to capacity the worms will stop breeding as much and some will die off to preserve their number, adjusting to the amount of food they get.

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

A good full handfull of wormies is about a thousand

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

Worms will only breed to the conditions of the farm…this includes size.

So if your feeding them well…they’ll breed to am amount that fits the size……if you stop feeding them they will die off until they can cope with the conditions.

At work we knew we needed another farm, because we generated more food scraps than one farm could get through… We have two now, stabilised populations, and they’re getting through the food no problems.

bon008 said:

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Thank you both, perhaps what I really meant was…how do you know if the worms are so crowded that a new farm is justified?

Worms will only breed to the conditions of the farm…this includes size.

So if your feeding them well…they’ll breed to am amount that fits the size……if you stop feeding them they will die off until they can cope with the conditions.

At work we knew we needed another farm, because we generated more food scraps than one farm could get through… We have two now, stabilised populations, and they’re getting through the food no problems.

Fantastic:)

This morning I collected 2 × 2 gallons of worm wee from 2 farms and a smaller dish from the 3rd farm. We seemed to have had a lot of this rain coming over the farms direction instead of the house direction.

Farms are booming and I have decided to keep feeding them until they have too much food in their feeding trays. Then I’ll pull back intil half is eaten.

Gave the garden a boost of worm gold this morning while I was out there.

This weekend I am hoping to pick up my 4th farm from SIL……… just have to catch them home.

I noticed at the toyshop yesterday, worm boxes are either just under $100 or there was a bigger box for $199.00. I should go into the worm selling business…..lol

Lucky1 said:

I noticed at the toyshop yesterday, worm boxes are either just under $100 or there was a bigger box for $199.00. I should go into the worm selling business…..lol

All sounding good Lucky, yes the boxes of worms are costly…

I have closed the worm wee tap, first time ever, to help keep the farm warm…not much wee happening unless it rains…waters too cold

Bleeding ants in the farm, again! I think their blanket must have touched one of the buckets and up the ants went…they were quick…

Sonny Joe and I watered the farm yesterday…sort of…flooded irrigation would be more accurate…then sprayed off the ants (and their sprogs) as they tried to escape…they were only in the top two levels, and I will be checking again shortly to see if there’s any more ants trying to escape…I can see a couple of hours farm-cleaning coming up…

Dinetta said:

I will be checking again shortly to see if there’s any more ants trying to escape…I can see a couple of hours farm-cleaning coming up…

Nope, all’s well in my worm farm…wriggly kingdom…I’m washing their blanket today, I don’t think there is many cool days left in this winter…what a fizz of a winter it was, too…

Dinetta said:

Dinetta said:

I will be checking again shortly to see if there’s any more ants trying to escape…I can see a couple of hours farm-cleaning coming up…

Nope, all’s well in my worm farm…wriggly kingdom…I’m washing their blanket today, I don’t think there is many cool days left in this winter…what a fizz of a winter it was, too…

Good that you got them early before they invaded completely and set up nests.

I’d like to access the combined wisdom of the worm whisperers, please … :)

A while ago at work we added a layer of shadecloth above the drainage layer of our work worm farms, because the drainage bit kept getting clogged up with castings. Everything seemed to be going great for a while, but now for the last few months the farms have consistently been too soggy, and hardly any fluid drains out.

We don’t think the taps are blocked (although this afternoon we’re going to pull apart the farms and check!), we think perhaps the shadecloth we used is too dense. Basically, I’m wondering whether this seems plausible to you guys? It is pretty dense (tightly woven) shadecloth – the only bits we had access to.

The question now is (depending on what we find when we pull the farms apart), do we hose down the shadecloth and put it back, or remove it entirely? Is there some other material we could replace it with?

bon008 said:

I’d like to access the combined wisdom of the worm whisperers, please … :)

A while ago at work we added a layer of shadecloth above the drainage layer of our work worm farms, because the drainage bit kept getting clogged up with castings. Everything seemed to be going great for a while, but now for the last few months the farms have consistently been too soggy, and hardly any fluid drains out.

We don’t think the taps are blocked (although this afternoon we’re going to pull apart the farms and check!), we think perhaps the shadecloth we used is too dense. Basically, I’m wondering whether this seems plausible to you guys? It is pretty dense (tightly woven) shadecloth – the only bits we had access to.

The question now is (depending on what we find when we pull the farms apart), do we hose down the shadecloth and put it back, or remove it entirely? Is there some other material we could replace it with?

I’d say the shadecloth has a layer of casts on it blocking it. I do find that on mine when I harvest the bottom tray, and I have 3 layers of very dense shade cloth under the trays, but it’s never completely blocked.

I take that as indication it’s time to use the casts and replace that tray with the next one up.
Any bits of undigested matter, and of course any worms, go into the new bottom tray.

Oh, and yes hose the cloth off before replacing it.

Happy Potter said:

bon008 said:

I’d like to access the combined wisdom of the worm whisperers, please … :)

A while ago at work we added a layer of shadecloth above the drainage layer of our work worm farms, because the drainage bit kept getting clogged up with castings. Everything seemed to be going great for a while, but now for the last few months the farms have consistently been too soggy, and hardly any fluid drains out.

We don’t think the taps are blocked (although this afternoon we’re going to pull apart the farms and check!), we think perhaps the shadecloth we used is too dense. Basically, I’m wondering whether this seems plausible to you guys? It is pretty dense (tightly woven) shadecloth – the only bits we had access to.

The question now is (depending on what we find when we pull the farms apart), do we hose down the shadecloth and put it back, or remove it entirely? Is there some other material we could replace it with?

I’d say the shadecloth has a layer of casts on it blocking it. I do find that on mine when I harvest the bottom tray, and I have 3 layers of very dense shade cloth under the trays, but it’s never completely blocked.

I take that as indication it’s time to use the casts and replace that tray with the next one up.
Any bits of undigested matter, and of course any worms, go into the new bottom tray.

Hmm, thanks HP.

Generally I find with these farms that we harvest them too often – people get impatient :D But I think last time we harvested, no one cleaned the shadecloth o.O Perils of worm farming via committee!!

We’ll give the shadecloth a clean then, and I’ll see what the rest of the guys think about putting it back, at least until the next harvest.

If no one cleaned the cloth from last time, and the casts on it dried, that would indicate a blockage. That stuff dries like concrete.

The other thing I just thought too, it depends on what level the WF is at.. if the 3rd , and top, tray is being filled or nearly full atm then the bottom will be ready.
But if it’s only up to the 2nd tray then hose off the cloth and replace it back under the bottom tray.

Happy Potter said:

If no one cleaned the cloth from last time, and the casts on it dried, that would indicate a blockage. That stuff dries like concrete.

The other thing I just thought too, it depends on what level the WF is at.. if the 3rd , and top, tray is being filled or nearly full atm then the bottom will be ready.
But if it’s only up to the 2nd tray then hose off the cloth and replace it back under the bottom tray.

Yes, that’s the problem we have here – everyone always wants to harvest the bottom later before the top tray is even close to full :D

One of the farmers has just been snowed under with work, so it will have to wait until tomorrow now :(

I don’t use shade cloth in my trays at all. As I like the worms to be able to travel where ever they want.

Once a year I service the farms and this seems to be all they need. A good clean out and off they go.

My taps stay open 24/27

Not sure if this helps….. I’m crook. See next post:(

I generally hose mine over a bucket, to catch all the castings and any wormies…then I pour the bucket over the top layer…

My tap stays open except for this winter when I thought it would help keep the farm warm…

Usually wash out the shade cloth every 3 months but I check first (lift all the layers off)….

Yes I know you don’t have a shade cloth Lucky, but I was finding worms sliding en masse to their doom in the wee bucket…the shadecloth (I just have the one layer) is fairly loosely woven, I think it’s 50%…the wormies can slip in and out of it with ease but it seems to keep the majority of them out of the worm wee bucket…

I think my problem was the worms were getting hot so they dived to the bottom of the farm to keep cool…it just kind of makes them think “do I really want to do this?”…

Lucky1 said:

I don’t use shade cloth in my trays at all. As I like the worms to be able to travel where ever they want.

Once a year I service the farms and this seems to be all they need. A good clean out and off they go.

My taps stay open 24/27

Not sure if this helps….. I’m crook. See next post:(

I think no shadecloth would be fine for us if the taps stayed open (this is what I do at home, too) – but I don’t think it would work properly at work – we have enough problems with people forgetting to do their bit, so the bucket would just sit there and fill with mosquitoes and eventually overflow.

:(

Dinetta said:

I think my problem was the worms were getting hot so they dived to the bottom of the farm to keep cool…it just kind of makes them think “do I really want to do this?”…

Hehe, the psychological approach to worm farming :)

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

I think my problem was the worms were getting hot so they dived to the bottom of the farm to keep cool…it just kind of makes them think “do I really want to do this?”…

Hehe, the psychological approach to worm farming :)

lol!

I still get worms in the liquid and worms in the collector tray. But the majority stay up in the upper trays. The cloths are there just to stop the tap clogging.
At the moment there’s heaps gathering under the lid. Rain is immenent :)

Happy Potter said:

At the moment there’s heaps gathering under the lid. Rain is immenent :)

I thought that too, until I found the ants…but seriously, they were scooting around the lid in large numbers when the warmer weather and fog combo was happening late last week…

Dinetta said:

Yes I know you don’t have a shade cloth Lucky, but I was finding worms sliding en masse to their doom in the wee bucket…the shadecloth (I just have the one layer) is fairly loosely woven, I think it’s 50%…the wormies can slip in and out of it with ease but it seems to keep the majority of them out of the worm wee bucket…

I’m sorry:( My head is all messy with the wog…….

Dinetta said:

I think my problem was the worms were getting hot so they dived to the bottom of the farm to keep cool…it just kind of makes them think “do I really want to do this?”…

Yes this will happen as they are seeking cooler temps. I lost my worms in the heat wave a couple of years ago….a lot were in the bucket.

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Yes I know you don’t have a shade cloth Lucky, but I was finding worms sliding en masse to their doom in the wee bucket…the shadecloth (I just have the one layer) is fairly loosely woven, I think it’s 50%…the wormies can slip in and out of it with ease but it seems to keep the majority of them out of the worm wee bucket…

I’m sorry:( My head is all messy with the wog…….

Why are you sorry? If I thought I could avoid a shade cloth tulle skirt around my worm farm, I would…but I might not sleep at night for worrying then…

(My brain addled from dealing with figures and filters and numbers all day long for MrD…)

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

Yes I know you don’t have a shade cloth Lucky, but I was finding worms sliding en masse to their doom in the wee bucket…the shadecloth (I just have the one layer) is fairly loosely woven, I think it’s 50%…the wormies can slip in and out of it with ease but it seems to keep the majority of them out of the worm wee bucket…

I’m sorry:( My head is all messy with the wog…….

Why are you sorry? If I thought I could avoid a shade cloth tulle skirt around my worm farm, I would…but I might not sleep at night for worrying then…

(My brain addled from dealing with figures and filters and numbers all day long for MrD…)

I guess its cos I usually know what I want to say…….lol

I wish I could see what your farm is like to know what you mean….sigh

Lucky1 said:

I wish I could see what your farm is like to know what you mean….sigh

Will try to capture the action on film, when we do the spring clean…

Right! We’ve just been out with the farms and I can provide an update :)

It turned out to be nothing to do with the shadecloth (although we did clean them off while we were at it), and there were no blockage type problems in the drainage layer – they were nice and clean.

The problem seemed to be newspaper. The non-top layers (e.g. bottom and middle) had layers of shredded newspaper which had formed a quite solid barrier, keeping moisture up above. So we went through and gave each layer a really good stir, which will hopefully let the water through and encourage the worms to eat the paper.

I think it’s an indication of an issue we have with the farms – harvesting too often and rotating the layers when there’s too much uneaten food still in the trays. Also several of the trays had only half the amount of castings you would expect (leaving an air gap between layers) because the rotation of layers occurred when the top layer wasn’t full enough.

Anyway, I’ve told the team what I think in terms of the harvesting frequency and letting the worms finish off the food before rotating layers – remains to be seeing if things will change :D We also worked out who has been putting in the food unchopped – I don’t want to go talk to her though as she’s lovely and I’m nonconfrontational!

And then in a couple of weeks our worm farmer on leave is back, and she tends to add stacks of water even when the farms are already moist enough.. sigh committees, hey!

:D

Here, Bon…

Thanks Dinetta :)

Noticed in a gardening cattle-dog I came across in a shop today, these prices on worm items.

Worm Compost 25 ltr bag $9.95

Wormworks 5 ltr concentrated liquid $18.50 marked down to $9.45

Wormworks 500ml ready to use liquid (attaches to hose) $5.95

WTF??????

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

Lucky1 said:

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

We considered a worm farm but our winters would kill the apartment block dwellers. Looked at designing the house so we could have a half-outdoor area that had a sink for washing vegies, bit like a “mud room”, and including a sheltered spot for a worm farm. Got the idea out of a permaculture book, can’t remember which one.

Couldn’t make it work on the house we built. Like the idea though.

Yeehah said:

Lucky1 said:

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

We considered a worm farm but our winters would kill the apartment block dwellers. Looked at designing the house so we could have a half-outdoor area that had a sink for washing vegies, bit like a “mud room”, and including a sheltered spot for a worm farm. Got the idea out of a permaculture book, can’t remember which one.

Couldn’t make it work on the house we built. Like the idea though.

Oh what a shame:(

I would be so devastated if I had to just “throw” away my scraps now. I have gotten so used to this now…. 12 years with a worm farm or 4….lol. Eleven years with the chooks and compost and almost that long with the ducks:D

Those prices are silly when you can do it all for free, after the initial set up. It’s those initial set up costs that I’m trying to help others avoid, in part anyway with the worms I’m feeding and breeding to share about.

I’d feel so guilty if I had to throw the worm food scraps now. I’d still bury them, but I’d have mole holes everywhere lol.

Happy Potter said:

Those prices are silly when you can do it all for free, after the initial set up. It’s those initial set up costs that I’m trying to help others avoid, in part anyway with the worms I’m feeding and breeding to share about.

I’d feel so guilty if I had to throw the worm food scraps now. I’d still bury them, but I’d have mole holes everywhere lol.

I agree and I have even started strangers off with worm:) Its a great feeling:)

Lucky1 said:

I would be so devastated if I had to just “throw” away my scraps now. I have gotten so used to this now…. 12 years with a worm farm or 4….lol. Eleven years with the chooks and compost and almost that long with the ducks:D

We had compost so nothing was wasted, really. And minimum of 1 dog at all times (long story).

Even when I was living in the upstairs flat I collected my compostables in 4 litre ice cream containers and made regular trips across town with them to a friend’s compost heap.

Yeehah said:

Even when I was living in the upstairs flat I collected my compostables in 4 litre ice cream containers and made regular trips across town with them to a friend’s compost heap.

Good on ya:) Blue ribbon goes to Yeehah for today:D

Lucky1 said:

Yeehah said:

Even when I was living in the upstairs flat I collected my compostables in 4 litre ice cream containers and made regular trips across town with them to a friend’s compost heap.

Good on ya:) Blue ribbon goes to Yeehah for today:D

Oh you’re too kind :)

Still taking compost over to the compost heap. Need to do a collection run to the house and get gardening gear. Don’t have a shovel, secateurs, pruning saw, nuffink.

Yeehah said:

Lucky1 said:

Yeehah said:

Even when I was living in the upstairs flat I collected my compostables in 4 litre ice cream containers and made regular trips across town with them to a friend’s compost heap.

Good on ya:) Blue ribbon goes to Yeehah for today:D

Oh you’re too kind :)

Still taking compost over to the compost heap. Need to do a collection run to the house and get gardening gear. Don’t have a shovel, secateurs, pruning saw, nuffink.

I’m hoping that the compost bay will be emptied tomorrow and I can then toss the one I am making over into the empty bay. Also start up the tumbler again after emptying it this week too.

Lucky1 said:

Noticed in a gardening cattle-dog I came across in a shop today, these prices on worm items.

Worm Compost 25 ltr bag $9.95

Wormworks 5 ltr concentrated liquid $18.50 marked down to $9.45

Wormworks 500ml ready to use liquid (attaches to hose) $5.95

WTF??????

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

Worm compost was quite expensive when I “discovered” it about 20 odd years ago…about $15 the bag, which was about, oh, 2-3 litres? maybe 4 – 5 …but it was very hard to get…I used it like a powdered precious metal…if people can’t put in a worm farm (they’re very big if you’re a unit dweller) then purchased worm by-products might well appeal…

Yeehah said:

Lucky1 said:

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

We considered a worm farm but our winters would kill the apartment block dwellers. Looked at designing the house so we could have a half-outdoor area that had a sink for washing vegies, bit like a “mud room”, and including a sheltered spot for a worm farm. Got the idea out of a permaculture book, can’t remember which one.

Couldn’t make it work on the house we built. Like the idea though.

I wrap blankets around mine during the winter (but then we don’t have minus C for months on end)…also thick wads of cardboard (they like snuggling in the runnels)

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Noticed in a gardening cattle-dog I came across in a shop today, these prices on worm items.

Worm Compost 25 ltr bag $9.95

Wormworks 5 ltr concentrated liquid $18.50 marked down to $9.45

Wormworks 500ml ready to use liquid (attaches to hose) $5.95

WTF??????

get ya-self a worm farm and feed them ya scraps and you can save $$$$$$$$

I have 4 farms and I’d not knock a 5th one back if given to me.

Worm compost was quite expensive when I “discovered” it about 20 odd years ago…about $15 the bag, which was about, oh, 2-3 litres? maybe 4 – 5 …but it was very hard to get…I used it like a powdered precious metal…if people can’t put in a worm farm (they’re very big if you’re a unit dweller) then purchased worm by-products might well appeal…

Oh I know…… I was just so shocked to see the prices when I am rolling in it here….lol

Maybe I should up my price with Pepe….:P

Lucky1 said:

Oh I know…… I was just so shocked to see the prices when I am rolling in it here….lol

Maybe I should up my price with Pepe….:P

I’ve got some bagged that I plan to give as gifts to a gardener that couldn’t be bothered with worm farms…MIL might like some too…

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Oh I know…… I was just so shocked to see the prices when I am rolling in it here….lol

Maybe I should up my price with Pepe….:P

I’ve got some bagged that I plan to give as gifts to a gardener that couldn’t be bothered with worm farms…MIL might like some too…

Good idea:)

Where I go to quilting on Tuesday we are heading that way in a couple of hours.

I’m helping them set up their worm farm and also taking a couple of margarine dishes with worms and castings in them for her.

Bump for Dinetta

Lucky1 said:

Bump for Dinetta

Thanks Lucky

:)

Report: it’s a good thing I put a layer of cardboard on two levels, as they are about 98% consumed…on top of the lots and lots of scraps that I had placed in there as well…

Do you think I might need a new worm farm? I’m comfortable with just this one…

Dinetta said:

Do you think I might need a new worm farm? I’m comfortable with just this one…

Depends on how many scraps you have, and need for worm juice and casts..
My garden is pretty dependant on the goodies and I use them often, so three farms is good. One is for breeding worms to share only, other two for my gardens use.

Summer they eat so fast.. the worm farm that was clogged a few days ago had only gotten to the second level. I find that putting a 2 kg tub of scraps in each once a week is not enough in summer so I find other things to add. I’ll shred rhubarb leaves to add if I haven’t enough bulk. My chooks don’t eat the silverbeet stalks so they go to the worms too.

The levels drop quite fast and they need a top up twice a week atm.

Thanks for the advice Happy Potter…they weren’t eating all that fast before the Christmas Break, but that was what? 3 weeks ago…so they have sped up since then…I have a 1 litre icecream bucket (ex-Rocky Road Overload) that I keep in the fridge and give to the worms when full…this might fill up more often for a while (instead of the compost bucket) until they show signs of slowing down…by which stage they should stop eating their airconditioning/insulation (the wetted and fitted cardboard)…the top tray does need harvesting but I have a road trip to BrisVegas coming up in 2 days time so I’m leaving all active gardening until my return…

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

Bump for Dinetta

Thanks Lucky

:)

Report: it’s a good thing I put a layer of cardboard on two levels, as they are about 98% consumed…on top of the lots and lots of scraps that I had placed in there as well…

Oh well done:)

Dinetta said:

Do you think I might need a new worm farm? I’m comfortable with just this one…

No, the worms will breed to the compasity (??? spelling) of the farm. I’m just a greedy bugger, who has 4.

I meant to tell you, I can’t believe I did this, but I left the lid of the worm farm on the ground, with the top tray on top…the top tray is waiting to be harvested which is why it’s on the top, comprendez? Must have done this the week before last, and I was aghast to venture out this Monday just gone and there was my lidless farm!! :0

However, except for the loss of some bold worms which have migrated into the leaf litter of the fiddlewood (under which the farm stands), all is well…very very hungry but well..the water was nearly out of the ice cream containers under the farm legs so I was lucky there that there is no ants…

I need to soak some more cardboard as it looks like hot days are coming, Summer’s last fling before Autumn takes the stage…and harvest the castings…just thinking I might hold off the harvest until the milder weather is entrenched, this solid castings tray is providing insulation from the heat…

Dinetta said:

I meant to tell you, I can’t believe I did this, but I left the lid of the worm farm on the ground, with the top tray on top…the top tray is waiting to be harvested which is why it’s on the top, comprendez? Must have done this the week before last, and I was aghast to venture out this Monday just gone and there was my lidless farm!! :0

However, except for the loss of some bold worms which have migrated into the leaf litter of the fiddlewood (under which the farm stands), all is well…very very hungry but well..the water was nearly out of the ice cream containers under the farm legs so I was lucky there that there is no ants…

I need to soak some more cardboard as it looks like hot days are coming, Summer’s last fling before Autumn takes the stage…and harvest the castings…just thinking I might hold off the harvest until the milder weather is entrenched, this solid castings tray is providing insulation from the heat…

just thinking I might hold off the harvest until the milder weather is entrenched, this solid castings tray is providing insulation from the heat…
————————————- Oh crap sorry for blank post..

I was going to say.. Except if you leave the cast tray on top for more than a few days, the worms will migrate back up into it, because they are surface feeders.
Then you would have to do the lid worm collection thing all over again.

Happy Potter said:

Except if you leave the cast tray on top for more than a few days, the worms will migrate back up into it, because they are surface feeders. Then you would have to do the lid worm collection thing all over again.

That’s OK by me, I haven’t got an airtight container for the castings just yet anyway…

Do worms eat eggs? I overboiled some eggs, they are burnt, and I was wondering if I can mash them up and feed to the worms?

Dinetta said:

Do worms eat eggs? I overboiled some eggs, they are burnt, and I was wondering if I can mash them up and feed to the worms?

I believe worms love eggs!

bluegreen said:

Dinetta said:

Do worms eat eggs? I overboiled some eggs, they are burnt, and I was wondering if I can mash them up and feed to the worms?

I believe worms love eggs!

Oh good, I have put the eggs into the worm’s container in the fridge, where their food is stored until there’s sufficient for the farm…was thinking I might take the shells off and just mash the eggs…maybe two at a time? There’s six and I do believe I didnt’ put any salt in the eggs water prior to boiling…

HI guys….flat out today.

Got a phone call, one of my sewing buddies has their worm farm and we’re taking worms over there this evening and having tea with them:)

Gotta love that……. another worm farm up and running. They picked the farm up second hand and worms are free….. bonus:D

Lucky1 said:

HI guys….flat out today.

Got a phone call, one of my sewing buddies has their worm farm and we’re taking worms over there this evening and having tea with them:)

Gotta love that……. another worm farm up and running. They picked the farm up second hand and worms are free….. bonus:D

Good news!

Dinetta said:

Lucky1 said:

HI guys….flat out today.

Got a phone call, one of my sewing buddies has their worm farm and we’re taking worms over there this evening and having tea with them:)

Gotta love that……. another worm farm up and running. They picked the farm up second hand and worms are free….. bonus:D

Good news!

Oh yeah. they came over the other weekend and had a look at my farms and asked oodles of questions:)

Lucky1 said:

HI guys….flat out today.

Got a phone call, one of my sewing buddies has their worm farm and we’re taking worms over there this evening and having tea with them:)

Gotta love that……. another worm farm up and running. They picked the farm up second hand and worms are free….. bonus:D

Good on you :D And them!

Arh, found the worm thread..

I have a question about the wriggly things that I can’t seem to find the answer to online.

I can’t seem to get past level 2 with the trays. I feed the current level tray with a 3 lt bucketful once a week. One bucket each times 3 worm farms.
No matter how overloaded the tray looks, the following week it has all sunk so low that if I’d put the next try on the worms wouldn’t be able to crawl up. ie:, the tray must be so full that the next tray sits on the food matter with no gap.

It must be nearing 8 months on one tray and I’m scratching my head as to why it keeps sinking down like it’s a bottomless pit.

So I started adding more, 2 bucketfuls to each farm and while it did build up a bit, it’s still not high enough to put the next tray on.
I started adding green weeds (no seeds or flowers) and whatever else I could get my hands on, silverbeet stalks, tomato laterals, even getting my girls who cook to keep scraps for me and adding shredded paper.
Could this mean that the farms are ‘at capacity’ and there’s too many worms and they are just eating fast?

The worm wee is rich and black.

I’m sure someone else could type this in less words :P

Well, I’ve had the same thing happen…but I find that feeding them more frequently plus the addition of a cut-to-shape, well-soaked layer or two of cardboard will increase the solid output…but don’t quote me…

I figure the more you feed them, the more solids they produce…

I must say, the fluid output from my farm is black as well…I never turn the tap off except in winter (to keep the warmth in)

Dinetta said:

Well, I’ve had the same thing happen…but I find that feeding them more frequently plus the addition of a cut-to-shape, well-soaked layer or two of cardboard will increase the solid output…but don’t quote me…

I figure the more you feed them, the more solids they produce…

They all have thick soaked folded newspapers on top of the food to completely cover. They eventually eat that too of course ,so I mix the leftover bits into the mix and add new spoaked paper. It just seems strange to me that it wont fill as I usually let them get to the top third tray before I harvest the casts.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Well, I’ve had the same thing happen…but I find that feeding them more frequently plus the addition of a cut-to-shape, well-soaked layer or two of cardboard will increase the solid output…but don’t quote me…

I figure the more you feed them, the more solids they produce…

They all have thick soaked folded newspapers on top of the food to completely cover. They eventually eat that too of course ,so I mix the leftover bits into the mix and add new spoaked paper. It just seems strange to me that it wont fill as I usually let them get to the top third tray before I harvest the casts.

Well I’m no expert, but what if your mix of worms is less diverse than when you first purchased them? Sometimes I wonder if my mix has lost a few breeds of worms…the only other thing I can think of is if there’s been lots of rain, maybe the bottom tray (or the tray causing concern) is packing down with the water? Does the castings feel more sludge-y than usual?

What about some really old HP (Horse Poo), soaked in water for a few days…that might help bulk things up…my worms seem to become close to ecstatic over this…a “prime treat” indeed…and you could dilute the liquid and pour it over the nitrogen-demanding plants…

Dinetta said:

What about some really old HP (Horse Poo), soaked in water for a few days…that might help bulk things up…my worms seem to become close to ecstatic over this…a “prime treat” indeed…and you could dilute the liquid and pour it over the nitrogen-demanding plants…

Dinetta you’re brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that! I have horse poo laid on in bags under the carport, straw too ..all well aged now.

:D

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

What about some really old HP (Horse Poo), soaked in water for a few days…that might help bulk things up…my worms seem to become close to ecstatic over this…a “prime treat” indeed…and you could dilute the liquid and pour it over the nitrogen-demanding plants…

Dinetta you’re brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that! I have horse poo laid on in bags under the carport, straw too ..all well aged now.

:D

:)

I used HP when I first set up my worm farm…very old stuff that’d been in the sun and run over for months…soaked in lots of water for about 5 days minimum…then added to the farm…it’s been a saver when the scraps have gone to the compost instead of the worm farm…I’m thinking I might give them another dose of worm fattener mix…haven’t done this for about a year…also, I add a light dusting of lime when I think the farm might not be smelling as sweet as …

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

bon008 said:

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

The lime should help…just keep an eye on it as it might need the merest dusting of lime per week until it just starts to smell better…

bon008 said:

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

Muschee said:

bon008 said:

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

OOOOOOOOps I think I just hijacked a thread :o/ I thought I was just in chat…sorry

Muschee said:

Muschee said:

bon008 said:

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

OOOOOOOOps I think I just hijacked a thread :o/ I thought I was just in chat…sorry

Threads are made to be hijacked.

Muschee said:

Muschee said:

bon008 said:

Well, I’ve learnt my lesson..

A while ago my stash of mixed nuts at work got infested by pantry moths. Instead of binning them, I put them out for the worm farms – I was hoping they’d get crushed during the chopping stage, or at the worst they’d just go straight through the farms (like the peach/plum seeds people always put in). Wrrrrrrrrrrrrrong :(

They went mouldy! Really, really quickly. That farm was having troubles anyway – unbeknownst to me, most of the people in the worm group were feeding one farm over the other, just because it’s slightly easier to get to, so this one was filling up with way, way more food than they could eat. Of course I put a note out asking people to feed the other one for a while.. now the situation has almost reversed – argh!!

I fished out as many mouldy nuts as I could, but couldn’t get them all. Added a bunch of fattening mix, because I’m hoping the lime will help. Hopefully it will settle down soon =/ Smells awful!

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

OOOOOOOOps I think I just hijacked a thread :o/ I thought I was just in chat…sorry

Kind of relevant…

Muschee said:

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

there shouldn’t be a strong smell. was it the same brand of mix? Maybe you need more of this mix. I would bury that lot and give the bucket a good clean with hot water and a rag and start again.

bluegreen said:

Muschee said:

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

there shouldn’t be a strong smell. was it the same brand of mix? Maybe you need more of this mix. I would bury that lot and give the bucket a good clean with hot water and a rag and start again.

Yeah I gotta do something…its pretty awful comin home to a stinky hot house.
I’ll also get a batch of stuff from the crowd I bought the bucket from.
Not sure if it’s the same brand BG, but I won’t be gettin it from bunnings again, even if it was more convenient.
Cheers

Dinetta said:

The lime should help…just keep an eye on it as it might need the merest dusting of lime per week until it just starts to smell better…

Thanks Dinetta. I normally add the lime (just a small amount, since it’s mixed in with the rest of the fateening mix) once a week anyway, but it does get skipped often if I have to leave early etc.

Sorry to post and run yesterday :)

bluegreen said:

Muschee said:

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

there shouldn’t be a strong smell. was it the same brand of mix? Maybe you need more of this mix. I would bury that lot and give the bucket a good clean with hot water and a rag and start again.

I emptied mine out to wash it last year and it’s still sitting downstairs empty. How slack am I!!!!!

Muschee said:

talking about smells awful…..
My bokashi buckets smell putrid….I’ve had to hide them in a bathroom downstairs.
I’m wondering if it’s the heat wave we’re experiencing or if they’ve changed the formula with the mixture.
I bought the last batch at bunnings.
How is yours going bon?…. can you smell it even tho it’s fully sealed up?
Or anyone else experincing the same?

I’ve had a weird run, Muschee.

I got a new bokashi bucket for Christmas, and it came with a different brand of bokashi to what I normally use. The first batch I made was WEIRD – the juice smelt awful, but the actual scraps were fine. I wondered if maybe I should have cleaned the bucket before using it?

I’ve done another batch since in my old bucket with the new bokashi mix – and it was pretty normal.

I do find though, that it’s a challenge to bokashi in the heat. It just seems to get white mould very quickly, and blue mould more often than it does in winter.

The new mix I have is in a clear plastic bag with a frog on the front. The one I usually buy comes in a resealable plastic bag – one side of the plastic is coloured, not clear.

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

The lime should help…just keep an eye on it as it might need the merest dusting of lime per week until it just starts to smell better…

Thanks Dinetta. I normally add the lime (just a small amount, since it’s mixed in with the rest of the fateening mix) once a week anyway, but it does get skipped often if I have to leave early etc.

Sorry to post and run yesterday :)

No worries here…I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to clean out that tray…just leaving the lid off in the sun will persuade the worms to migrate south…101 uses for worm castings in le jardin…this would take time, tho’…

Dinetta said:

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

The lime should help…just keep an eye on it as it might need the merest dusting of lime per week until it just starts to smell better…

Thanks Dinetta. I normally add the lime (just a small amount, since it’s mixed in with the rest of the fateening mix) once a week anyway, but it does get skipped often if I have to leave early etc.

Sorry to post and run yesterday :)

No worries here…I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to clean out that tray…just leaving the lid off in the sun will persuade the worms to migrate south…101 uses for worm castings in le jardin…this would take time, tho’…

Yep, I considered that. Thought I might just go out and check on it more than usual – if it doesn’t start to improve, then maybe that tray can be emptied and cleaned.

Will the little darlings eat rolled oats with added protein (maggots and weevils)

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

Dinetta said:

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

grain products like rolled oats, flour, barley etc. and nuts will have eggs in them when you buy them. When the conditions are right (usually hot weather) or if they are sitting around for a while the eggs will hatch. They are probably the larvae of pantry moths. Freezing your oats or flour, etc. for 24 hours should kill the eggs enabling longer storage times. Or if you have room you can store them in the freezer and use straight from the freezer.

Dinetta said:

Will the little darlings eat rolled oats with added protein (maggots and weevils)

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

I bet they’re from those pantry moths. I’ve had them hatch in sealed bags, so my bet is that the eggs were already in there when they were packed.

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

Will the little darlings eat rolled oats with added protein (maggots and weevils)

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

I bet they’re from those pantry moths. I’ve had them hatch in sealed bags, so my bet is that the eggs were already in there when they were packed.

Thanks Bubba Louie, I feel better now…

Pantry moths, hey? Never heard of them before now…

bluegreen said:

Dinetta said:

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

grain products like rolled oats, flour, barley etc. and nuts will have eggs in them when you buy them. When the conditions are right (usually hot weather) or if they are sitting around for a while the eggs will hatch. They are probably the larvae of pantry moths. Freezing your oats or flour, etc. for 24 hours should kill the eggs enabling longer storage times. Or if you have room you can store them in the freezer and use straight from the freezer.

Yep, I store my rice and quinoa in the freezer, looks like the oats are going to have to go there as well. Thanks BlueGreen.

I mean, when I buy the quinoa and rice (and often the flour) I store them immediately in the freezer, then transfer to a canister with a good seal to replace previous contents…

Dinetta said:

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

Will the little darlings eat rolled oats with added protein (maggots and weevils)

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

I bet they’re from those pantry moths. I’ve had them hatch in sealed bags, so my bet is that the eggs were already in there when they were packed.

Thanks Bubba Louie, I feel better now…

Pantry moths, hey? Never heard of them before now…

Jeepers, you’re lucky! We have a bit of a plague at work at the moment, as well as a small outbreak at home. I buy sticky traps that have some kind of pheromone lure thingy, they work quite well. But sticking things in jars is the best prevention for me. It doesn’t stop them hatching (like using the freezer), but it at least stops them spreading (no spare room in our freezer).

Dinetta said:

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

Will the little darlings eat rolled oats with added protein (maggots and weevils)

Still trying to work out how maggots (or maggoty looking things) were bred in a box consisting solely of rolled oats)

I bet they’re from those pantry moths. I’ve had them hatch in sealed bags, so my bet is that the eggs were already in there when they were packed.

Thanks Bubba Louie, I feel better now…

Pantry moths, hey? Never heard of them before now…

They’re a curse.

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

bubba louie said:

I bet they’re from those pantry moths. I’ve had them hatch in sealed bags, so my bet is that the eggs were already in there when they were packed.

Thanks Bubba Louie, I feel better now…

Pantry moths, hey? Never heard of them before now…

They’re a curse.

http://www.your-lifestyleonline.com/how-to-get-rid-of-pantry-moths.htm

Dinetta said:

I mean, when I buy the quinoa and rice (and often the flour) I store them immediately in the freezer, then transfer to a canister with a good seal to replace previous contents…

What’s quinoa like. I’ve been wanting to try some since I saw Janella cook it.

bubba louie said:

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

Thanks Bubba Louie, I feel better now…

Pantry moths, hey? Never heard of them before now…

They’re a curse.

http://www.your-lifestyleonline.com/how-to-get-rid-of-pantry-moths.htm

Thanks Bubba Louie…we get these from time to time, as well as weevils…they’re a fact of life but I never knew what they were called.

Don’t think I’d go to the extreme of calling in the pest control…don’t think I’d go to the extreme of cleaning shelves and vacuuming…freezing, ensuring good seals on the containers and only buying sufficient for our needs is as far as I’d go…

bubba louie said:

Dinetta said:

I mean, when I buy the quinoa and rice (and often the flour) I store them immediately in the freezer, then transfer to a canister with a good seal to replace previous contents…

What’s quinoa like. I’ve been wanting to try some since I saw Janella cook it.

I love it, just love it, and find it far more digestible than rice…however my menfolk aren’t all that keen, they prefer rice…if it was just me, I’d only have quinoa…it’s expensive tho’, keeps forever in the freezer (before cooking), cooks the same as rice and, in my opinion, goes further (fills you up faster)…real cute how it flings out a little tail during cooking…reminds me of something insert blushing, roll-your-eyes emoticon

Wondering how the worm farms are faring? Bon008 with her overdose of nuts and HappyPotter with the lack of bulk in the worm sediment?

Mine seems to have a population explosion, might have to find some aged HP to soak and add, would love another farm but there doesn’t seem to be any at the local Mitre10…I could make my own, I suppose, like IronBarkBob did with that old refrigerator…but I lack imagination…

Dinetta said:

Wondering how the worm farms are faring? Bon008 with her overdose of nuts and HappyPotter with the lack of bulk in the worm sediment?

Mine seems to have a population explosion, might have to find some aged HP to soak and add, would love another farm but there doesn’t seem to be any at the local Mitre10…I could make my own, I suppose, like IronBarkBob did with that old refrigerator…but I lack imagination…

Actually, ours are going really well!

The few nuts that are left (I turfed out the obvious mouldy ones) have turned into a fluffy looking white material, the smell is almost back to normal, and there are many more worms up at the surface feeding. I think the weather is just starting to suit them, because the other farm is suddenly looking very healthy too.

Must be the time of year for population explosions. I did notice a few months ago we had stacks of eggs around the place, and now you can notice easily that there are lots of little juvenile worms.

Maybe polystyrene boxes would be easier than a fridge? Or set up an in-ground worm station – maybe something as simple as a bucket half-buried in the ground (with the bottom cut out), where you stick the food + worms, and then keep covered up with something? I’ve also seen a lady make little parcels out of shadecloth – she puts the food scraps in the parcel and puts it on the ground near a tree, and the worms move between the parcel and the ground as they choose.

Personally, I wouldn’t be worried about overpopulation, I’d only bother setting up a new farm if it seemed like there was too big a food supply for one farm to handle. But I’m lazy like that :D

Oh I did put the horse manure in 2 of the worm farms and it did add some bulk. The trays were sitting so high there was a gap but over days I’ve watched it sink down so that the trays are sitting back in where they should be.
They are voracious feeders here!

bon008 said:

Dinetta said:

Mine seems to have a population explosion, might have to find some aged HP to soak and add, would love another farm but there doesn’t seem to be any at the local Mitre10…I could make my own, I suppose, like IronBarkBob did with that old refrigerator…but I lack imagination…

Actually, ours are going really well!

… …

Personally, I wouldn’t be worried about overpopulation, I’d only bother setting up a new farm if it seemed like there was too big a food supply for one farm to handle. But I’m lazy like that :D

Good read there, Bon…glad it’s all travelling well…fair comment about the overpopulation too, sometimes there is too much food but I put it in the compost instead…besides I’d have to make another blanket-wrap for the winter…

Happy Potter said:

Oh I did put the horse manure in 2 of the worm farms and it did add some bulk. The trays were sitting so high there was a gap but over days I’ve watched it sink down so that the trays are sitting back in where they should be.
They are voracious feeders here!

:)

Checked the farm the other day, my there are some f-a-t worms there! However they are eating their cardboard in preference to some lettuce, and I’m thinking of removing that particular lump of lettuce and placing in the compost…they’ve eaten everything around it…any ideers?

Usually the lettuce goes first…

Dinetta said:

Usually the lettuce goes first…

It may have been a particularly crisp lettuce and is taking longer to break down. I’d leave it

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

Usually the lettuce goes first…

It may have been a particularly crisp lettuce and is taking longer to break down. I’d leave it

Ok, will do. It is the stem…I’ll give it another week…

I picked up a largish piece of recyclable cardboard from the dump on Saturday, am going to put it in the rain to get wet then cut pieces out for the worm farm for insulation against the cold…I really should harvest the farm…

Dinetta said:

I picked up a largish piece of recyclable cardboard from the dump on Saturday, am going to put it in the rain to get wet then cut pieces out for the worm farm for insulation against the cold…I really should harvest the farm…

I don’t bother to cover the farms from the general cold but I do chuck a blanket over them when there’s going to be a frost.
I will harvest mine soon too, despite them not getting to level 3. They are sunken again already, so there must be too many worms. I will hand out containers each with a couple thou’ worms at my next vege swap and again at the garden club meet. This winter I will start a permanant worm farm in the mini orchard too.

My place is a giant worm farm..
Obviously it’s because when I use the worm casts in the garden there are eggs and juvenile worms in it and they have bred.
Wherever I dig I find red composting worms, as well as the larger garden earth worm variety. Whenever I move a pot plant there’s red worms underneath, even if the pot is sitting on a brick path or the concrete patio floor.
In the general compost pile there’s loads that come up into the lid. No wonder the chooks loved to scratch it flat. They’re everywhere.

Happy Potter said:

Dinetta said:

I picked up a largish piece of recyclable cardboard from the dump on Saturday, am going to put it in the rain to get wet then cut pieces out for the worm farm for insulation against the cold…I really should harvest the farm…

I don’t bother to cover the farms from the general cold but I do chuck a blanket over them when there’s going to be a frost.

I find the cardboard a great insulator, and believe it keeps the farm temp fairly steady…the worms love the rills of corrugation…was thinking of throwing the blanket on the farm this AM (have covers just for this – recycled from raggy old bedspreads, etc) but with the rain I might hold off…with the cold I find they slow down too much and I feel more virtuous feeding what scraps I can to the worms than putting them in the compost bin…so if I keep them warm, they keep the scraps down…

I was reading about worms and read this. That explains why my farms are going through bulk food, there are too many worms.. I’m trying to find 30 kg of scraps for 3 farms per week! lol. Unless I can give some away they will slow down and stop breeding.

“Worms can eat about half of their body weight in one day making them an incredible waste disposal solution. A worm farm with an area of one square metre with around 10,000 worms will eat about 10 kg of food and garden waste each week.”

Happy Potter said:

I was reading about worms and read this. That explains why my farms are going through bulk food, there are too many worms.. I’m trying to find 30 kg of scraps for 3 farms per week! lol. Unless I can give some away they will slow down and stop breeding.

“Worms can eat about half of their body weight in one day making them an incredible waste disposal solution. A worm farm with an area of one square metre with around 10,000 worms will eat about 10 kg of food and garden waste each week.”

Mine certainly don’t get 10 kg of food per week, but then they do eat their cardboard insulation…

Lucky1 said:

Bump for Dinetta

Ditto!

Speaking of..I just harvested about 3000 for a lady at the garden club. Sharing the lerve :D

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

Bump for Dinetta

Ditto!

thanks!

I was making the most of Sonny Joe’s exam break (so’s he, gone for his red P’s just now) and refreshed the worm farm by moving the bottom tray to the top, and rinsing off the tulle skirt (you know what I mean)… but I poured the water from this rinse onto the now-top tray and it is like clay mud…

A bright idea would be to put another layer of tulle/shadecloth over the top layer whilst leaving the lid off, this should help it to dry faster whilst protecting the wormies from the sunlight (the farm is under the dense shade of the fiddle leaf fig)…I will have to work the castings so’s they don’t set like concrete…was wondering if it would be worth the while of adding shredded paper to this mix, to help it dry, or would the worms just hang around and eat the paper instead of heading to the feeder tray below?

Dinetta said:

Happy Potter said:

Lucky1 said:

Bump for Dinetta

Ditto!

thanks!

I was making the most of Sonny Joe’s exam break (so’s he, gone for his red P’s just now) and refreshed the worm farm by moving the bottom tray to the top, and rinsing off the tulle skirt (you know what I mean)… but I poured the water from this rinse onto the now-top tray and it is like clay mud…

A bright idea would be to put another layer of tulle/shadecloth over the top layer whilst leaving the lid off, this should help it to dry faster whilst protecting the wormies from the sunlight (the farm is under the dense shade of the fiddle leaf fig)…I will have to work the castings so’s they don’t set like concrete…was wondering if it would be worth the while of adding shredded paper to this mix, to help it dry, or would the worms just hang around and eat the paper instead of heading to the feeder tray below?

Just leave it another day and it should drain.
perhaps leave it open to the elements between scrapings ? Even if it’s left open the top casts will form a crust but underneath will still be moist. The crusty dry stuff is great for crumbling into seedling mix.

Happy Potter said:

Just leave it another day and it should drain.
perhaps leave it open to the elements between scrapings ? Even if it’s left open the top casts will form a crust but underneath will still be moist. The crusty dry stuff is great for crumbling into seedling mix.

OK, thanks for that, I think I will still put some old hessian shopping bags on top, soaked of course, can’t have the birds scratching everything around…

Ants in the worm farm…it has become very dry and the ants have moved in…drat drat…this takes a couple of hours to sort and they are entrenched this time…Ragamuffin has a lovely vegetable garden going, most of it accidental but she’s planted some of those herbs and shallots that are sold with the roots still on, and I think there’s some salad greens as well…this is my front garden that I have tended without growing anything for a couple of years…a credit to my workings and to her plantings…so I am thinking of putting the worm castings onto that as I work my way through, collecting worms (if any left) to remove the farm and begin anew.

I was at a worm farm yesterday, lining up a job.
He’d just got back from the Henty Field Days..

How much would you pay for a cubic metre of worm castings?

Well if I couldn’t “grow” my own…I don’t really know as I have not been pricing bags of gardening additives (for want of a better word) for nearly 2 years now…

A cubic metre, that would be a trailer load wouldn’t it? I’m guessing in the $100 range or at least the $hundreds? Far more valuable than horse and cow manure, less volume for better product… you’d want a storage space for that amount, like a few 44 gallon drums, as it dissolves very easily…

Dinetta said:

A cubic metre, that would be a trailer load wouldn’t it? I’m guessing in the $100 range or at least the $hundreds? Far more valuable than horse and cow manure, less volume for better product… you’d want a storage space for that amount, like a few 44 gallon drums, as it dissolves very easily…

He sells it as: worm juice didn't ask the price. bagged up worm castings $25 per 50 kg bag
bulk worm waste @$35 per cubic metre(tonne)

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

A cubic metre, that would be a trailer load wouldn’t it? I’m guessing in the $100 range or at least the $hundreds? Far more valuable than horse and cow manure, less volume for better product… you’d want a storage space for that amount, like a few 44 gallon drums, as it dissolves very easily…

He sells it as: worm juice didn't ask the price. bagged up worm castings $25 per 50 kg bag
bulk worm waste @$35 per cubic metre(tonne)

seems like a good bulk price – i am paying that for chook or cow manure.

Sounds like a bargain RoughBarked…to me it does, anyway…must be a heck of a worm farm…

Dinetta said:

Sounds like a bargain RoughBarked…to me it does, anyway…must be a heck of a worm farm…

He not only fertilises his vinyards and stonefruit orchards with it but also sells the worms and the excess products.

Good for him, what does he feed his worms?

Dinetta said:

Good for him, what does he feed his worms?

Looks like pig manure

Dinetta said:

Ants in the worm farm…it has become very dry and the ants have moved in…drat drat…this takes a couple of hours to sort and they are entrenched this time…Ragamuffin has a lovely vegetable garden going, most of it accidental but she’s planted some of those herbs and shallots that are sold with the roots still on, and I think there’s some salad greens as well…this is my front garden that I have tended without growing anything for a couple of years…a credit to my workings and to her plantings…so I am thinking of putting the worm castings onto that as I work my way through, collecting worms (if any left) to remove the farm and begin anew.

Give it a good flood of water to flush out some of the ants and revive the worms. Then yeah, harvest it and retrieve as many as you can. If you cover the vege bed with a good deep mulch the worms will survive and will create wonderfully rich soil.

I recently harvested two of mine, both at capacity and sold 10 thou worms, 10 handfuls. I’m about to make yet another in-ground worm farm with a 25 lt bucket. Holes drilled all around it and 2/3 sunk into the soil between fruit trees and lid on..this will be excusively for dog poo.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Good for him, what does he feed his worms?

Looks like pig manure

OoooKaaaay…well if they don’t know any differently…

Is pig manure not “usable” in its’ own right? I should imagine it would be a “hot” manure?

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Good for him, what does he feed his worms?

Looks like pig manure

OoooKaaaay…well if they don’t know any differently…

Is pig manure not “usable” in its’ own right? I should imagine it would be a “hot” manure?

Yes but it is fine when it ages a bit.

Thought I might harvest the worm farm, it’s been a couple of years and the bottom tray was weighing at least 10kg.

Went back today and there’s ANTS!! Not sure how they got in but a light trim of next door’s shrub is in order.

Harvested half the top (was bottom) tray, put it in a hand wash tub ready to refrigerate, and the hens have had so much fun…I don’t think it’s the worms they were after but the eggshells from many years ago…

Anyway after soaking the farm several times, and sprinkling with lime (again), I think I have bested the ants and the worms are likely to migrate to the top tray to dry off overnight.

whew

Nope still ants in the bottom tray altho’ they don’t seem to be bothering the worms much. I’d still like to be rid of them, might have to start all over again. To do this I would need a couple bags of weathered horse manure from the old place, if there is any after all this rain…

How did you do this a couple of years ago, Happy Potter? Just turn the castings into slurry, pour onto the vegetable patch and other parts of the garden, sieve the worms and start with all empty trays?

Bump. I had it in my gardening folder.

Speaking of worms..that 45 C day nearly killed my 2 farms. I forgot to take the lids off and give them a cool hosing and open the taps. It was putrid and I had to clean both bottom trays out. There were thousands of dead worms.
All good now tho.

Happy Potter said:

Bump. I had it in my gardening folder.

Speaking of worms..that 45 C day nearly killed my 2 farms. I forgot to take the lids off and give them a cool hosing and open the taps. It was putrid and I had to clean both bottom trays out. There were thousands of dead worms.
All good now tho.

Shhh! Don’t tell Lucky!

Thanks for bumping this.

Well the ants have left me very few worms, the bottom tray was almost completely ants nest. I’m thinking I will just put bedding material on the bottom tray, lots of soaked cardboard, then put the worms in, and more soaked cardboard on top. Then I’ll source some weathered horse manure, soak that for a few days and add it. After a month, check.

The farm has been moved from a steel framed chair, to an old wooden one. The legs are in ice-cream containers of water, altho’ one container is the jerry pot so will need another ice cream container to replace that!

The saga only took 10 days, ants move fast!

What to do with the 3 trays of castings?

Dinetta said:

Thanks for bumping this.

Well the ants have left me very few worms, the bottom tray was almost completely ants nest. I’m thinking I will just put bedding material on the bottom tray, lots of soaked cardboard, then put the worms in, and more soaked cardboard on top. Then I’ll source some weathered horse manure, soak that for a few days and add it. After a month, check.

The farm has been moved from a steel framed chair, to an old wooden one. The legs are in ice-cream containers of water, altho’ one container is the jerry pot so will need another ice cream container to replace that!

The saga only took 10 days, ants move fast!

What to do with the 3 trays of castings?

Casts lightly buried around fruit trees, they will thank you for it.

With that ant nest I’d throw the lot and start from scratch. It would take years for ‘60’ worms to breed up and unless they’re breeding age, they won’t increase.
And then I’d think.. why keep a worm farm? they should be easy to maintain. They can be problematic, like me forgetting to keep them cool for one scorching day and lost lose heaps.

They are still going fine here only because both were at capacity, and I’d been slack feeding them to the fishpond, so the loss isn’t total. There were handfuls in the bottom 2 food trays so they’re chugging along well again.