My Home Composter » Composting 101

Fruit Flies in the Worm Factory 360

Home Composter — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:30:31 +0000

There were more fruit flies in my Worm Factory 360 yesterday afternoon than there had been before. Previously, there had only been a couple and I wondered if the increase was because I had added a bunch of food the day before, so I went to the Internet to do a little research. After reading this article on eHow.com, I am guessing that these new tenants in the Worm Factory are probably the offspring of the “couple” I had noticed before. Fruit flies reproduce rapidly and in large quantities if there is enough food to sustain them, so it seems likely that my worm bin could become a thriving metropolis for fruit flies. Hmmm. I’m not so sure that I want that.

It’s not like they are swarming all over the house. I really didn’t notice them until I took the lid off to add more paper. But when I did, I was a little uncomfortable with the small swarm. So what can I do to reduce the number of fruit flies (or maybe they’re vinegar flies)…

The first thing I’ve learned is that the more decomposing food that is in there, the more eggs the fruit flies will lay. Therefore, I don’t want food sitting around for days before the worms get to it. This seems to conflict with what I was thinking about adding food waste only once or twice a week. Although I will pay more attention to how much food is left in the bin before adding more, I don’t think I will be feeding them on a daily basis and I don’t think that is even recommended.
I remember reading somewhere that several inches of shredded paper on top of the bin will discourage fruit flies and I had done that, but as I have added food and the worms have eaten paper, there were places in the tray that didn’t have 2-3 inches of shredded paper and a couple of the corners were without any shredded paper covering. So I added a more shredded paper and made sure to cover everything.
I haven’t tried this yet, but may consider this suggestion that is in the Worm Factory Instruction Manual. Fill an empty working tray with dry shredded paper or dry leaves and put it on top of the working tray. It’s supposed to at least keep the fruit flies inside the Worm Factory.
The instruction manual also suggests that nematodes (roundworms)
which are available at many garden centers are excellent for controlling fruit flies.
Fruit Fly traps – if the shredded paper doesn’t work and I am unhappy with the fruit flies, I might try a live trap and then release them in my community’s garbage dumpster. There a bunch of traps on this Wikihow.com page if you are interested.

I have total confidence that this will not be a big problem, if a problem at all. I just wanted to get a jump on it and make sure that my family never notices the fruit flies around my home composter!

Fruit Flies in the Worm Factory 360 post from: My Home Composter where you can learn how to make compost, read about pros and cons of various compost containers and discuss experiences in home composting.

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Worm Composters Q & A

Home Composter — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:08:24 +0000

New worm composters will certainly have some concerns about how things are going. I know I do! Here are some of my question and I will update the answers as I discover them.

Q: Is it okay to put food into my worm bins before the worms have arrived.

A: Yes. In fact it’s probably good to have some in there a few days so the microbes that the worms eat can begin feasting.

Q: How do I know if I receive the amount of worms that I ordered?

Check out this video. I wish I had seen it before I put my worms in the Worm Factory 360.

Q: How do I know how much to feed my worms.

Mostly trial and error. Put a couple of handfulls in to start and wait a few days. Hopefully you will see some worms in the area of the food and some of the food will will no longer be recognizable. However, I will say that I didn’t see many worms at all, even when digging around in the food. I did see what I thought were worm castings in the part of the tray where there was no food. There had been coir all over the bottom of the whole tray and I believe that is what they ate first. I added a couple more handfuls of food waste after three days. Three days after that I was happy to see more worm castings. There was also some mold on the food, but I guess “some” is okay. I added more food, but probably should have waited until they had finished off more of what i had previously added. I think the key is to start paying attention to how much food you’ve added and how long it takes for the food in that part of the bin to become unrecognizable. You should get a feel for how much to add every few days or once a week. If you get a bunch of mold, then you’ve added too much food. That’s when odor can become an issue.

More Q & A will be coming soon!

Worm Composters Q & A post from: My Home Composter where you can learn how to make compost, read about pros and cons of various compost containers and discuss experiences in home composting.

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Worm Composting for Beginners

Home Composter — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:29:32 +0000

I think I’m going to start a special section of this blog called Worm Composting for Beginners for discussing issues that new worm composters may encounter. In all the research I’ve done, I haven’t found anything that talks in depth about the first days and weeks of having worms and worm bins in your life. I’m feeling a little insecure about what’s going on in there and could use a little reassurance. Hopefully by documenting my experiences, I can help someone else who is starting out with vermiculture.

Worm Composting for Beginners post from: My Home Composter where you can learn how to make compost, read about pros and cons of various compost containers and discuss experiences in home composting.

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A Beginner’s Questions about Home Composting

Home Composter — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:23:00 +0000

The early stages of anything are usually the most difficult. I honestly don’t know anything about home composting or how to make compost and I have a bunch of questions that might be embarrassing to ask, but thanks to the Internet, I can do so anonymously. Here are a few of the questions for which I will be searching for answers and posting my findings right here on this blog. Of course, I’ll also be sharing the experiences that I have as a new home composter.

My Questions (in no particular order):

Do I have to use worms to make compost? Answer (updated 9/25/09): No, but it looks like a really good option.
Is composting gross?
Is there a home composter that I can use inside my house that doesn’t smell and take up too much room?
What types of things can I put into my composter?
Is it better to buy a home composter or to build your own?
What types of compost containers are best - compost tumblers, worm bins etc.?
What can I do with the compost once I make it? Can I put it on my lawn? How do I use it on plants? What if I have extra?
Is there an easy way to compost at home and get your family involved?

I know I have many more questions and will post both questions and the answers I find as I go throught this process. If you have any help to offer, please feel free to comment.

A Beginner’s Questions about Home Composting post from: My Home Composter where you can learn how to make compost, read about pros and cons of various compost containers and discuss experiences in home composting.

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