Anyone has experience putting whole mango pits into their worm bins? How did it go?
Appreciate your input, and I'll make sure future meal portions are smaller. With this one I'm too lazy to dig things back up after burying them at the bottom of the bin :P especially with lower back pain already from the sieving
I add Quaker Oats because they suck up a lot of liquid - and then get soft and perfect for worms to eat. Some even sprouted.
I honestly don't know... I started with the standard uncle jim 250 mix last year, so maybe there's more now? I just sieved again today and it looks like a lot, especially if all the tiny and egg ones survive and grow up
I've given my worms pear puree before and it vanished without problem (covered by soil)
the bans are very near-white, I'm guessing they're European Night Crawlers
I filled the bottom area with the spigot with dead tree leaves and twigs, and used soil from old flower pot. Because I don't want to collect worm tea. That's the bedding material only layer that's the same as what you have I think. Overall the worm population is increasing, so that works well enough.
On top of that I have only 1 tray where I put worm food and then cover that with more soil and cardboard scraps (egg carton, Costco shipping box, toilet paper roll etc), to stop fruit flies from spawning. Always bury your worm food.
When tray 1 is full, I add tray 2 on top with food and cover with soil. The idea is worms will eventually climb up to tray 2 after tray 1 is out of food. Alternative idea is to play tray 2 underneath the full tray 1, and have worms migrate downwards instead of upwards.
You can speed up worm establishing in your bin by feeding them scraps with sugar or are soft like melon rinds, banana peel (high pesticide and chemical coating so better wash the banana first), and blackened avocado. The more you break down the organic scraps by chopping them into small bits, blending them into mush, and/or freezing/microwave them to burst and break them on cellular level, the faster your worms will benefit from what you feed them. Personally I freeze things because my fridge is already running 24/7 anyway, whereas a microwave uses extra and a surprisingly big spike of energy.
Hope these exp share helps you!
I have a bin very similar to the one in her videos, and I start with 1 tray until it is filled up, then add a 2nd tray. I'm still experimenting with where to put the new 2nd tray for best worm migration. I think the idea is once the bin gets fully going, you will always have 2 trays on - 1 being the full one you want worms to move out of, and 1 being the new empty ones with fresh food you want worms to go into.
Do you add water or ice cube to your bin? Are you putting kitchen scraps that are dripping with water straight from the kitchen sink? I know worm tea is a thing, but I don't like the liquid pooling, because worms get into that bottom layer and die there. So I restrict the bin's moisture source to only from the scraps that's been frozen. So far I haven't missed the worm tea for indoor plants.
If you really want worm tea, but not drowning worms, I've seen designs where worm ladder was added so worms can climb back up from the pooling liquid.
Hope these help!
Look for jeans that are stretchy - Levis have some, and I think Duluth Trading Co has them too
I am suspecting it's because the bin is new and worms don't like it. I had that same problem when I first started my worm bin, and mine was in the kitchen! So it should've been too bright and not humid enough for worms to want to come outside, and yet they did. I did evict my bin system outdoor for year 2 and let it weather. Brought it back indoor for year 3, in my own bedroom, and maybe the weathering of the bin did the trick because 0 escapee this year so far. I don't know what will solve your current icky problem. I offer my experience and wishing you the best. Don't give up! Watching your trash disappear into quality compost is fun!
Even more video from that same channel showing a pretty good system of feeding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksoCuDZOI-A
Follow up video on the same bin with more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2wBdQFdO4
Mammals from BBC, especially the behind the scenes segments on Fennec foxes.
Fired earthenwares don't turn back into clay soil they turn into tiny terra cotta chips BUT it's still WAY better than microplastic!!!
This and black mold ends up in your food too if you're not regularly treating your wooden cutting board properly
Thank you for these info! I do have one more question... is a birth certificate absolutely required for the DAFT visa? I'm a US citizen, but I wasn't born here, and where I was born... well birth certificate was not standard practice so I don't think I have one.
More closed off ones so they don't have the space to sit and eat in, like these kinds: https://www.duncraft.com/Window-Cafe-Feeder
https://www.duncraft.com/Sheltered-Window-Mealworm-Feeder
Or if you can do non-window feeders, any feeders that requires perching. Doves' feet are too large to grip smaller perch sticks properly for them to eat.
Really! Neck is an entire genre in the eastern, especially Japanese, culture, as far as I can remember.
Sharp teeth and even sharper words. Vicious Mockery.
You can add them anytime, maybe add some mix from an existing worm bin will help carry the microbiome over and aid with worms settling in
I would say just the lid and wait for your first tray to fill up before adding the 2nd one. I'm not sure what the benefits are to having an empty 2nd floor all installed without any tenants living in it. When your 1st tray looks kind of full, start playing the 2nd tray on top to see how much more room is left to go, or if you're already out of room, for tray 2 to fit snugly on. You're on the right track perfectly there :) After the settling in week(s?) you can start giving them scraps. If you want to throw them a house warming party, you can make their first meal something fruity like melon rinds or a crushed banana :D
1st bin
Vermiculture