My Home Composter » worm factory 360

Learning From My Worm Bins

Home Composter — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:33:43 +0000

This week, I’ve been learning from my worm bins. Maybe I should say I’ve been learning from my worms through trial and error (nah, let’s call it trial and improvement). I added the second worm bin to my Worm Factory 360 about five days ago with the intention of layering the “ingredients” in the tray a little differently than I did in the first tray. Each time I added food to my original tray, I was lifting up the shredded paper and placing the food below it. I added damp shredded paper on top when I added food, but seldom did I see worms crawling around in the three inches of shredded paper. Worm castings were building up and both food and paper wasted seemed to disappear, but I am so far happier with my layering system on my new tray. I started it with food waste in the bottom to attract worms to climb up from below. Then I added dry leaves and then about an inch or less of damp shredded paper. Now each time I add food waste, I add dry leaves if they are available and shredded paper. (Tip: I actually add dry shredded paper and then use the mist setting on my hose nozzle to dampen it.) The result is that many worms have climbed up and seem to be thriving in the new tray. I open the lid and see worms squirming around in the shredded paper and in the food waste below. I feel like I will be able to add food more often this way and have a better grip on how much the worms are eating.

It is strange, now that I have a second tray, to not be able to look below at the first tray and see how things are going. I could lift up the second tray, but am afraid I might squish a worm when I put it back down, so I’ll try to refrain!

Learning From My Worm Bins 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.

Related Home Composter entries:<

Worm Factory 360 – Time for Another Tray? As the worm tray in my Worm Factory 360 has...
Adding a Worm Tray to My Worm Factory 360 Today I am adding a worm tray to my Worm...
A Test for the Worm Tray Up to this point, I’ve only added small amounts every...
Fruit Flies in the Worm Factory 360 There were more fruit flies in my Worm Factory 360...
My Worm Compost Container Has Worms! Yea! My worm compost container has worms!! My mail carrier...

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.

Related Home Composter entries:<

Adding a Worm Tray to My Worm Factory 360 Today I am adding a worm tray to my Worm...
Learning From My Worm Bins This week, I’ve been learning from my worm bins. Maybe...
Worm Factory 360 – Time for Another Tray? As the worm tray in my Worm Factory 360 has...
A Test for the Worm Tray Up to this point, I’ve only added small amounts every...
Worm Composters Q & A New worm composters will certainly have some concerns about how...

My Worm Factory 360 Has Arrived!

Home Composter — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:04:22 +0000

The UPS driver delivered my Worm Factory 360 around 5:30 this afternoon! I have a fairly large Tupperware container full of food scraps waiting patiently in my refrigerator, newspaper and cereal boxes tucked behind a table and a space cleared on my porch. Only thing missing are my Red Wigglers. Not to worry, the worms will be here in the next day or two. Tonight I’ll read the instructions and put the Worm Factory together so I will be ready when they arrive.

My Worm Factory 360 Has Arrived! 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.

Related Home Composter entries:<

My Worm Compost Container Has Worms! Yea! My worm compost container has worms!! My mail carrier...
Buying Red Wigglers for the Worm Bins I had to take a deep breath once I realized...
Best Composting Worms I read about someone whose worms were escaping from the...
Update on the Geckos and the Worms Composter The geckos are still running around on the porch, but...
Adding a Worm Tray to My Worm Factory 360 Today I am adding a worm tray to my Worm...