Starting my own worm bin

[Gimik]

Hi Yall!

I'm looking to start up my very first worm bin soon and had a couple questions. There's endless videos on youtube about how to actually build a worm bin so I'm good in that area but my question is... what do I fill it with? Haha

I'm wondering if I can use peat moss as one of my main fillers? I currently have a surplus of peat moss that I need to find a use for. Can I use shredded cardboard / newspaper and peat moss as the bedding? Then just add various kitchen scraps on top of that? (Banana peels / egg shells / veggie scraps / grains / additional peat moss etc)

If I plan on using ~15-20gal totes as the home for my worms, how many worms should I start off with? 100? 200? -- I understand they reproduce rather quickly.

Thanks in advance

 

[PK]

hey @Gimik i've never created one but i think peatmoss would be okay. I've seen allot of those videos on youtube too you can also throw leaves, branche and such. Depending on the size you are building 50-100 would be a good start, but with 200 you will start the production quickly . The worms do reproduce

 

[Gimik]

Yeah I was looking online to purchase worms and found Uncle Jim's worms and the smallest they offer is 100 worms. Might just do that if I can't find a local supplier.

 

[PK]

i'd start off with 50 if you could, but if you got no options than ya

 

[Gimik]

So I went to the local composting yard and picked up 5gal of their chunky compost for free... the fine stuff was $30 no matter what amount I was getting. Would this be acceptable to put into my vermicompost bin?

 

[Vegan4life]

So I went to the local composting yard and picked up 5gal of their chunky compost for free... the fine stuff was $30 no matter what amount I was getting. Would this be acceptable to put into my vermicompost bin?

For bedding I use compost and add amendments (kelp meal, neem meal, crab meal, malted barley flour). I would sift the compost that you show in the pic to get the big wood and rocks out. I add all my kitchen fruit and veg scraps to bin also. Just don't put acidic veg such as tomatoes and onions and peppers. I also don't put any animal products in the bin.

 

[Vegan4life]

Also I do not use peat moss for bedding as it does not contain much in the way of nutrients.

 

[Enr0n]

I would also sift the product because it appears right in the center there is a piece of plastic. And yes no proteins.