this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2023
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Experimenting with a very modest bucket, which resembles a small continuous flow through setup. I've cut out the bottom and put some thick wiring from side to side, mimicking the pvc or galvanized steel tubing you often see folks use.
My bedding is a mix of shredded cardboard and rice hulls. I think the whole setup is two months old now so I haven't harvested yet, nor am I sure this is really going anywhere.
(Also, shameless plug perhaps, but I've started !composting@slrpnk.net for all types of composting including vermicompost !
Edit: I just noticed you actually already crossposted from there, but for some reason Jerboa does not show that here for me)
I've been doing it for over 12? years now, memory is failing when I started. Still the same batch of worms. I don't think continuous flowthrough was even on my radar when I put this farm together and it's figuratively the same as when I started it. Why fix what isn't broke. Got any photos?
The only advice I can give a small farm owner is be careful with what you give them and give them small amounts of it. I could have killed my worms a few times over if they didn't have a side to escape to or an area underneath to drop into.
You can see the old bed slats that give the bath a false floor are looking rough and these pictures were a few years ago:
Other photos of putting a side back together after harvesting:
Neat! I might experiment with horse manure in the future, as I have a convenient source for that anyway. And you might be very right about the danger of giving too much of anything, I might have killed my previous bin with too much (wet) food and no proper escape route. That, and/or a combination with some very hot weather we had around those days.
The good thing is, my three bin system features lots of worms when a bin is in the later stage, so I could simply restart my worm bin with worms from there. I should make some photos from both setups indeed.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268254767_Manual_of_On-Farm_Vermicomposting_and_Vermiculture
Page 6, from a memory of decades ago so I may be wrong, has a table of different beddings which is why I chose horse manure as adequate (if not the best) and easy for me to procure. That document is old enough that coir doesn't rate a mention.
I only write that comment for all readers, not singling you out (I hope it's like reddit where a lot of people read comments without posting). It's something to keep in mind for small farmers, there is a high risk when adding new or different foods and one has to go slow. A blender and freezer can store excess foods so they can be dished out during testing. Bread and grains are a particular risk, they heat up excessively in the farm and will push worms away until the heating process is finished. Having multiple bins, as you've done, is the best way to handle it.
Too much food seems to be the main issue for a lot of new farmers. Or not understanding what bedding is and why it's important. A lot of farms have worms living in their food which struggle to perform well. Maybe an analogy is that they live in their bedding and visit the restaurant when they are fed, no one lives in a restaurant.