Good for you to take on the challege. . Vermicomposting is a good idea for someone like yourself who lives in a condo or similar situation. Every bit helps.

No need to vermicompost if you have room for outside compost bins. Most people with outdoor gardens have a lot of organics to compost and, in turn, use a lot of compost...many times the amount that could be confined to a few plastic bins. A half pound of red wigglers is less than I can dig out of a few square feet of my garden. Worms from the garden will find outside bins prime real estate.

an aside: I used to keep tropical frogs as a hobby and used to feed them worms. Every so often a worm would hide out in the terrarium and not be eaten and grow to a full 10 inches in length and 1/2 inch in diameter...looked like small snakes rather than worms. I've never seen a worm half the size they can frow indoors from a 'well balanced' household diet. They sure thrive on a diet of vegetable waste, etc. Your worms should be happy in their new vermicomposting environment and help provide compost for your pots.

Eh? Sharon lives on 20 acres... not a condo.

I think what you're doing is cool Sharon. I'm sure they finish compost way faster than turning it, plus you have the tea to collect, and have a fun little farm. I bet you could keep it going all winter too.

Let us know how it goes!

If anyone takes up this hobby you can use garden variety worms or if you don't have any then fishing stores sell red wigglers as do most Canadian Tires.

Gil, that's my main reason for worm composting indoors, to have it going thru out the year but especially for the winter months in which will save many a trip through the deep snow to the compost bins out in the back and for sure for their wonderful tea.

greenstar, I have a 3-bin system, a barrel tumbler, a plastic composter, open piles and manure piles as well. These worms can't freeze, so they'll be my spoiled indoor pets for years to come.

Right now they are settling in to their new home. Hope they'll be happy.

Sharon

The most common worm used for VC are Red Wigglers, which are a tropical species not native to our area. You cannot use regular earthworms, as they can't live in the same type of high-organic, low soil environment.

Our family composted inside with our regular worms for four years every fall through late spring.The worms thrived and all got parole from their sentence to go forth and enjoy freedom in the garden. When the family was just the two of us were out of the country for most of a year and never took it up again.

Hey Sharon, how are your wormies doing? Is the bin smelly at all?

They are doing very well Gil, they must like their enviroment since I see babies. I've moved them downstairs in the basement because it's been so hot! No, not at all, no stink to the bin one bit.

They sure like rotten cataloupe!

Sharon

Hi Sharon,
I have been vermicomposting for about 2 yrs now. I have bins set up inside during the winter months, then move the whole herd outdoors for the summer. I add my finished castings to my patio pots, garden and lawn. I also keep a water barrel just for making a compost tea. The toughest part about vermicomposting is being patient enough to let the little wigglers finish the compost. The end result is organic, weed free finished compost. Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks gardengirl, I don't think they will like the hot heat wave were having right now ;)

Once it gets a little cooler outdoors, I'll put the bin in the shade.

I checked on them yesterday, I think I will have to harvest my first batch soon. I'm going to collect the compost and put them into 5 gallon pails to save for next years pots and containers.

Sharon

I have two rubbermaid worm bins in my garage (which does not freeze) and they work really well. The major benefit of the indoor worm bins in my opinion, is that you get good composting activity through the winter and don't have to get the snowshoes on to get to the outdoor heap.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vermicomposting on my blog

Hi Sharon; I just started up a very small bin this past June, and just bought my red wigglers from the bait store (a bag of 20). I did this once before as an experiment, starting with the 20, checking 2 months later and being disappointed to find only one dead one and no others, but discovering many coccoons all over, and then doing a recount 2 months later and having over 50! But then we had to go through a stressful move and I thought it better to give away to friends that wanted to feed the worms to their chickens. I was sad for weeks, I missed my worms! So now I'm glad to have more, which I can slowly increase in numbers. I will be moving to a place which will have room for composting, but I would never use my compost on my indoor plants, whereas the castings are beautiful to use for the indoor plants. I read, whether in Mary's book 'Worms eat my garbage' or on a website that you can only mix in a percentage of the castings, full strength is like too much.

Besides, I don't think people realize how much our vegetable scraps contribute to greenhouse gases and take up room in the landfills. I used to think it would decompose on it's own, now I realize the 'bugs' and worms necessary for that process aren't that deep down in the earth. So doing the vermicomposting is one way to help, especially when there isn't the room for the outdoor composting - and when you take a look at the smaller and smaller sizes of yards in the new subdivisions nowadays, and less and less people having the time/interest in having vegetable gardens, it's seems like a good option to have.

Happy wormin'!

~k~

Welcome to the FN forum gardenista and K!

Interesting blog gardenista, I really enjoyed reading it!

Yeah, you sure do get attached to your worms, I think they eat better than I do ;)

Enjoy your worms!

Sharon

I'm convinced! My worms will be arriving next week, I'm feeling pretty excited. I've been wanting to do this for years, and being that I never got my compost bin set up this year I think that gives me a good excuse to vermicompost.

How are your little guys doing Sharon? Any tips to pass on?

That's great GC, my worms are doing great and they are doing their job like they are suppose to.
Any tips, hmmm, not really, they are pretty easy to take care of ;)

Enjoy your worms!

Sharon

I used to have vermicomposting red wigglers, and it was quite fun! I loved getting rid of the kitchen waste, and not having to worry about browns/greens.

However, I threw them all away when I found a beetle and a few centipedes under the rubbermaid container. If I remember correctly, I think I was told that there must be holes in the bottom of the bin. I was really grossed out and disappointed.

Anyone have any ideas on this? What could I have done wrong?

Carol

I see black beetles downstairs in my basement too. I wouldn't worry about them.... Sometimes if I move a flat of seedling that are on the floor, I'll see them hiding under them. They must come in from outdoors thru cracks in the house, they like to hide in cool dark places.

You could always try what worked for my DM. We had crickets in the basement when we were kids, until one of our "pet" frogs escaped. He (she?) took up residence in the shower, and lived there for two or three years. My sister put a large poster up on the bathroom door with correct protocol, to avoid stepping on the frog. Mom hasn't had crickets since!

Connie