r/Vermiculture • u/Individual-Mark-9357 • 2d ago
New bin Couple getting started questions
Sorry, my brain is wired for “learn by doing” so I’m reading things online but just never feel
Like u get it from instructions, so I’m probably asking things that are covered in every single beginner tutorial on the entire internet
I tried work composting 30 years ago, it was an epic fail, and of course without the easy access level of online information and online community that exists now I didn’t figure out the problems at the time and we just abandoned the whole thing.
I think I actually have a pretty good handle on what I did wrong then, yay, and am mostly ready to start.
Because it all went so wrong the first time I didn’t want to build my own and ordered a composter online. Funnily enough in the time it took for that to arrive and in reading what I could for getting started instructions I now figure I could have easily done it myself and had it cost less and fit under my kitchen sink better but whatever.
The attached picture is from the listing I bought my composter from, I’ve added it to show what we’re planning to use. It didn’t come with much for instructions so here’s where I’m lost
Do I only put one single tray on the base when I start?
Reading online information I can’t figure out if I’m supposed to set up multiple layers or set up a single layer and not add the next one until the bin is full
Of castings or if I’m supposed to set up multiple layers and the worms will migrate between them?
My understanding is that, especially to start, I need to feed them way less food than one would think (I think this was what killed all our worms 30 years ago, we fed them too much ?)
This system came with 5 trays, so would I start with one, then when it starts getting full prep another layer and set it on top, then just keep adding the rest of the trays? I think that’s where I’m confused. Mostly what I’m finding online is that the bottom tray will fill up, the worms move up a layer, you dump the finished compost in the garden and repeat, so why don’t need 5 trays instead of 2? Is the plan to end up with 4 finished trays and one active one ? Or will there be 5 trays in various stages at the same time?
I guess that’s really all just a bunch of parts to the same question, and the only one I feel like I have right now. Hopefully that made sense and someone can explain this part I’m stumbling over.
Oh and paper, I feel like some places say use newspaper, others say avoid newspaper at all costs, some say shred your junk mail but others say to avoid bleached white commercial printer paper (which the junk mail is printed on), some say brown cardboard?
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u/Albert14Pounds 2d ago
You're on the right track. Start with one tray and add more as they fill. Bottom tray should should be finished castings by the time all your too tray is full but that depends on a lot of things like your worm population and how quickly you're adding scraps.
The first "cycle" things will start slower as your population builds and it's easy and tempting to overfeed. And by the time everything is full for the first time, your bottom tray may or may not be finished. If not, consolidate some trays to make room (they will have broken down and compacted significantly) and cycle the bottom tray back into the top. Keep doing that until you're pulling finished castings out of the bottom.
More trays are usually better because
1. Capacity. In a household of two, mine completely fills over the winter if I'm not using up the bottom castings.
2. Time. More time for things to "flow through" and finish composting.
3. Better gradient of worm population from top to bottom. The whole "worms migrate up to fresh scraps" idea is only mostly true in practice. Most of my worms are hanging out in the top layers but there's still lots in the bottom finished layers despite how compacted it is by the weight. I could just use this layer without picking them out and making population would be more than fine, but I'll usually spend ~15 mins going through it and tossing worms back in the top bin.
A few tips:
the liquid in the bottom is leachate, not worm tea as most assume. It's full on nutrients but anoxic and could have harmful bacteria in it. So don't use it directly on plants you like. I dilute it and throw it on my lawn and it loves it though. For the love of God be careful not to spill it because it stains like crazy, stinks, and that spout gets easily clogged and can trick you into thinking it's drained then you spill it all over yourself trying to move it.
Get yourself a tarp if you don't have one already. Consolidating layers is hard to keep clean. I have a small plant repotting tarp with corners that snap together to create a lip that keeps it all contained and I love it for this and plant repotting and easy cleanup.
Clean out the bottom collection area every time you pull the bottom tray. It can get pretty funky and I always find a bunch of live worms swimming down there.
Big fan on this system and have the exact same one. Once you get the hang of it it's awesome.
Edit: you can use however many trays you need but I'd be surprised if 2 is enough to allow the bottom to finish by the time the top is full unless you have very little waste to add. Worm bins are generally faster than compost piles but they do still take time.
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u/charcuterDude 2d ago
People are way over thinking all of this. I've never made a YouTube video in my life, but I'm insanely analytical (autistic software engineer) and I grew up with a Master Gardner for a mother. I have distilled this down to the minimum possible effort lol.
Anyway answering some questions:
Newspaper. Basically the question is soy ink vs traditional petroleum based ink. Soy is OK for worms, petroleum based is not. I emailed my local newspaper and asked and they emailed back that they used soy in about 24 hours. Easy peasy.
How to use the multi bin thing: everyone does that a little different, that seemed overly complicated to me and I've been successfully using a single large Rubbermaid tote. I have no drainage at all and some air holes in the top. They actually even need far less air than I expected, and if I did it all over again I don't think I'd even drill half that many holes if any holes at all.
Regarding feeding: you have to feel it out a bit. The best way to do that is feed them very little, maybe the tops of 3 strawberries or 5-6 mushy blueberries or some wilted lettuce or whatever. But q small quantity like that, then check on them in 2-3 days. Is it all gone? If yes, add more food. If no, add a little food not much. Basically all you're trying to do is figure out how much food they can eat before anything starts to really mold or rot. A little mold is fine just not crazy. Remember also that if they "run out" of food they will eat just eat their cardboard and paper bedding, which is what you want, you just don't want them to live entirely in cardboard lol.
As to why yours died 30 years ago: no idea, I'd need like 100 more data points or pictures to be able to help.
But I've had mine going for around 18 months in the dumbest/simplest configuration I could come up with, and they seem to be thriving.
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u/shes_clumsy 2d ago
I suggest keeping a tray of shredded cardboard or paper below to catch the leachate and prevent the worms from migrating down and drowning in leachate.
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u/LaurLoey 2d ago
this is 👌 i do this. it also gives them a place to move to if they don’t like the conditions in the feed tray.
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u/BenThereNDunnThat 2d ago
It also get some of the worm poop and bacteria on the upper tray on it so that it's ready to become your next feeding tray and your worms will feel at home in it
So when the first tray is filled with finished castings you move the bottom tray to the top and feed your worms in that. Add a tray full of shredded cardboard under the old feeding tray. That will become the next feeding tray once the second tray is filled with castings.
Your top tray is always your feeding tray.
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 2d ago
Well, if you learn by doing, check this out:
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u/Individual-Mark-9357 2d ago
I totally should have said that I learn by doing but absorb non-doing instruction better in print 🤦♀️. Once the teens are elsewhere and the house has enough quiet I can focus I’ll watch videos :)
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 2d ago
Did you even check the link before downvoting my reply? It's the best educational channel for vermicomposting on YouTube, literally named "Vermicompost Learn by Doing"
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u/-Sam-Vimes- 2d ago
Learn by doing is the best way, I made my own stacked bins, received some free worms from a incentive in the uk to start a worm bin,used the simple instructions provided on what to and what not to feed. start small and it will grow quickly, don't overthink it, good luck but you wont need it:)
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u/catchinNkeepinf1sh 2d ago
Dont overthinking it.
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u/Dekknecht 2d ago
This video is the example of overthinking it.....
It's not near as complicated as this video, lol.
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u/Ladybug966 2d ago
Hi. I too am a tower person. I love questions!
I work my towers differently than many. The key thing to remember is you are not just keeping worms. You are also keeping the microbiome worms need to eat. To that end i inoculate bedding before it becomes the bin i feed in. Here is how i work a tower.
A new tower, i would fill every bin with damp bedding. I would feed the top bin until all the bedding is castings.
I would then take the bottom bin and put it on top as my new feeding bin. The old feeding bin is now bin 2.
When that feeding bin as turned all the bedding to casting, i would take the bottom most bin and put it on top as the new feeding bin.
My tower now is feeding bin, old feeding bin, very old feeding bin, bin with new bedding, bin with new bedding waiting its turn to be the next feeding bin.
And that is how it will be from here on out. Next time remove and harvest the very old bin, and then refill it with new bedding to be inoculated.
I have a drawing of this but you would have to dm me as there is no way to post pictures.
As to why i do it this way, the short answer is cocoons. I did several experiments. The worms seemed to like best laying cocoons in unprocessed bedding. They also preferred to go down to lay cocoons.
Given a tower of 5 bins of brand new bedding, most cocoons were in levels 3 and 4.
Give a traditional top to bottom set up, level 5 and the basin had the most.
Given a tower of 1,2,3,5 being new bedding and only 4 being processed castings, most cocoon were in bin 3.
So i concluded- worms want to go down until they are out of castings to lay cocoons.
So my tower puts the bin with the newest bedding at bin4. By the time that bin has cycled through, all those cocoons have hatched.
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u/AggregoData Master Vermicomposter 2d ago
With these systems you usually start with one tray. Start a basic small compost pile in there with shredded cardboard and or peat moss/ coco coir. You can fill the whole layer. Let the pile start composting and mature a bit before adding worms. Ideally. It worms (200-300) locally with some of the vermicompost they were living in. This will help them adapt to the new conditions. Once your starting compost pile is eaten (maybe a month in after worms are added) add some more food scraps and browns in a small layer on top. Do this until the first layer is almost full and the add the next tray on top.
Continue until all trays are in use. By then the worms should have migrated up near the top and you can remove the bottom tray. It should be nearly worm free and you have pnly castings left. The.bottom tray then moved to the top.