Just doin' a little cypherin'... That's what I do.

3' diameter cylindrical cage + "a few pounds of worms" + chicken coop litter when convenient + 18 months + "benign neglect" = half a cubic yard of "soil".

A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Half a cubic yard is about 14 cubic feet. 14 cubic feet divided by 18 months is a little less than a cubic foot of VC per month. Of course I understand that the production was not linear with time, with mild, moist months producing better than hot, dry ones.

Reading between the lines and squinting my eyes a little, I imagine this bin to be 30 to 36" deep (the standard widths of hardware cloth) - 6" of 'litter' and worms on top and 20" or so of castings beneath.

I kinda like this form of exterior bin. I just have a couple of questions:

1) How many pounds of worms would you estimate were in that upper 6" of litter at the end of the 18 months?

2) "the cage was unwrapped" implies (strongly), that the cage WAS wrapped. Was the wrapping plastic, tarp, burlap, ??? The choice would of course effect aeration.

3) Did the cage have any sort of "lid"?

Thanks,
Paul

Paul, I will re-post an old thread about the worm cages.

1. I estimate the worm population, which was about 4 pounds to start, peaked at about 10-12 lbs in July. Due to my neglect, many disappeared. I would estimate the worm harvest yesterday at about what I started with.

2. By unwrapped, I meant that I cut the plastic cable ties holding the cage together and removed the hardware cloth. In the past I have wrapped these cages in burlap. Now I line the inside with rice-straw as it fills.

3. No lid, but lots (6-8") of straw as a topper. It had a hardware cloth floor. The critters left it untouched.

Both worm and casting would have been higher with proper bin management. But a bad back plus not having a horse since July.........

I think the extra time and neglect help produce the best castings I have harvested. These are great outdoor systems for me.

"Both worm and casting would have been higher with proper bin management."
I understand completely. I wasn't trying to generate any 'models' or 'rules'. Really, I was just trying to make sure I have a proper perspective on things, and sponge up all the knowledge I can.

Since you went to interior rice paper lining from outside burlap wrapping, is it fair to assume you prefer the inside lining to the outside wrapping?

Paul

Yes. The straw holds in the moisture much better.

Oops - "straw", not "paper".

Got it.

Paul