Subject: Help with VERMI-composting

From: [email-masked] (Mike Kenzie)
Date: Sun, 12 Mar 1995 19:18:19 GMT

Well it's ben 3 months since the last fiasco when I tried to harvest the
compost, I need some advise on how to get the compot out from the worms.
 The last time I noticed a large number of eggs, and young worms in the
compost so I put it aside to let them hatch and grow, now I have 2 containers.

How can I get the worms out of the compost?

How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?

Is there an easy way to get the uncomposted material out of the finished
product?

Can it be put back it with the worms for a second try?

Are there some things that even the worms won't eat?
They seem to have trouble with the boston fern "roots" and some plant leaves.

Can the compost be used directly on my house plants?

I've found that the shredded news paper gets matted down, is there a
better bedding material?

I've found that by placing a moist newspaper over the top of the compost
I've eliminated the fruitfly problem, as well as the mushrooms.
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From: [email-masked] (TIGIBSON)
Date: 12 Mar 1995 16:53:28 -0500

i just started my worm bin and i need to know how much moisture to
provide. the book i've read is really unclear about it.
help!!

tigibson

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From: [email-masked] (Topsoil)
Date: 12 Mar 1995 21:36:23 -0500

I have removed the worms from the compost by using bright light.  Worms
avoid the light.  On a warm day (or any day if you have a bright indoor
light), I make a pile of the finished compost and worms, and let the light
drive the worms down into the compost.  After a few minutes, I scrape off
a layer of the compost from the pile and set it aside.  This exposes the
worms to light again, and they burrow inwards again to avoid.  Repeating
this process should leave you with a pile of compost and a smaller pile
with a great number of worms in it.  The process isn't perfect -- I always
have a few worms, or as you have noticed, egg cases, in the compost, but I
don't mind.  I just leave them, and with very little left for them to eat,
they become compost quickly, too.

E Johnson

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From: [email-masked] (Peggy Seremjian)
Date: 13 Mar 1995 04:22:54 GMT

: Can it be put back it with the worms for a second try?
yup.

: Are there some things that even the worms won't eat?
mine dont like citrus or onions. They are vegetarians, too. 
I've found that carrot ends take forever to go away.

: They seem to have trouble with the boston fern "roots" and some plant leaves.
They really dont start on it till it gets semi-rotten. 

: Can the compost be used directly on my house plants?
I do it all the time.

: I've found that the shredded news paper gets matted down, is there a
: better bedding material?
I've found that to be the case with newspaper, too. They seem to be happy 
with it, however. Paper egg cartons are nice. Its the same thing in a 
different form. My _favorite_ bedding is partially finished compost, but 
that is unfortunately a seasonal delight in Wisconsin. 
You can buy commercial worm bedding, too. Looked like newspaper fuzzballs 
to me. Anyone have experience with it? Seems like a waste of money when 
the newspaper is free. (well, not free but certainly a sunk cost) I fed mine 
the IRS regulations last year and they seemed to particularly like that..

Peg

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 13 Mar 95 15:28:41 -0600

> Is there an easy way to get the uncomposted material out of the finished

I've not tried vermicomposting (the outdoor method works well for me!),
but I suspect that screening the compost will do most of what you want.
Get some hardware cloth and nail it to a wooden frame.  Suspend the
frame from above on chains or ropes, and add compost.  Shake well.  Use
what falls out and return the rest for further decomposition.

You probably have enough worm eggs etc. in the remains of your pile
to recolonize the worm box.  (Composting is sort of like making
sourdough bread... you always want to hang on to some starter for
the next batch!).  Lignified (woody, "leathery" materials) will
take longer to decompose than non-woody materials.

> Can the compost be used directly on my house plants?

Personally, I wouldn't.  Worms in the roots of houseplants usually cause
trouble.  It's different outside.. but the environment in a pot isn't
exactly natural.

Compost tea or steamed compost might be a better choice.

Kay Klier  [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly)
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 07:55:00 +0600

Tigibson writes:
References: <[email-masked]> 

TT> i just started my worm bin and i need to know how much moisture to
TT> provide. the book i've read is really unclear about it. help!!

As much water as possible, but make sure that the bin drains. Standing 
water at the bottom of the bin can go anaerobic, and the resulting 
liquid is odorous and toxic to worms.

Mr Compost~~~

Jim~ McNelly
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Peggy Seremjian)
Date: 14 Mar 1995 23:18:38 GMT

: > 
: > Can the compost be used directly on my house plants?

: Personally, I wouldn't.  Worms in the roots of houseplants usually cause
: trouble.
what kind of trouble is that? We are talking "compost worms" here 
(_lumbricus rubellus_ or _lumbricus foetida_) aren't we? Not larvae.

: It's different outside.. but the environment in a pot isn't
: exactly natural.
true. Seldom enough food to sustain a worm population in a contianer that 
small.

: Compost tea or steamed compost might be a better choice.
or just the castings themselves

Peg