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vermiprano

Red wigglers in my tumbler with BSF larvae?

vermiprano
12 years ago

I am a TOTAL newbie. In fact, I don't even have my bins and worms yet but, true to my nature, I am incessantly planning and researching before I start.

We are embarking on worm composting because we are not having luck with our tumbler. The past two years we have had SCADS of BSF larvae in the bin. We were happy to have them, but they are gone now and there is a lot of uncomposted material left in the tumbler. The tumbler is FULL, but it contains TONS of egg shells, TONS of avocado skins and TONS of pumpkin seeds that have not broken down. These are mixed in with lots of composted material, but it drives me NUTS that I have two years worth of partially composted material that I can't use in my new garden.

While reading this message board over the past week, I came across some mention of BSF larvae and red wigglers working well together. That got me wondering if I could order some extra red wigglers to finish the work in my tumbler. I know they don't appreciate egg shells very much, but was wondering if they might break down the pumpkin seeds and avocado skins.

If I did add some worms, would I just moisten the tumbler, add some bedding and let them go?

Thanks!

Vermiprano

Comments (5)

  • mendopete
    12 years ago

    Welcome Vermiprano to the forum and to wormin'.
    For any compost to finish, you got to quit adding to it for awhile. Also you did not mention adding any "browns" or "bedding"
    A friend used a tumbler to pre-compost kitchen scraps for his worm bin. It was wet and smelly and full of fruit flies. It also always seemed to have a small but hardy population of red wigglers! He also had some BSF show up in the summer. It RARELY gets above 80F here. I doubt you could use worms in a tumbler with your hot summer.
    All the items in your tumbler will make wonderful wormfood. I think eggshells are a GOOD thing. Some people powder them in a blender, but I just give them a squeeze and toss them in.
    You could try and dig a worm pit and/or build up a worm box directly below your tumbler. Leave the bottom open or line with hardware cloth if you have gopher or mole problems. The earth is a great insulator and temperature regulator

    GOOD LUCK! Pete

  • vermiprano
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestions, Pete. We haven't added any food to the tumbler in a few months. I'm sure that's why the larvae left. We started another barrel because the tumbler was getting so full it was hard to tumble.

    I never added any bedding to the tumbler. It never even occurred to me. The BSF larvae were volunteers and I figured they were pretty happy the way they were or they would have left long ago. They stayed for two years, through summer and winter and didn't leave until I stopped feeding.

  • PRO
    equinoxequinox
    12 years ago

    Maybe take the egg shells, pumpkin seeds and avocado skins out of the tumbler and put them in the bottom of flower pots or in a pit in the ground and start fresh. Worms seem to never get around to them items. Just not tasty enough I guess.

  • sbryce_gw
    12 years ago

    Egg shells, pumpkin seeds and avocado skins are slow to break down. Adding worms won't change that. Normally you wouldn't put worms in a tumbler, because a tumbler is supposed to heat up. The heat will kill your worms. You can start a worm bin and feed your worms what is in the tumbler. You may not need to add bedding. It really depends on what the stuff in the tumbler is like. If it is a wet gooey mess made up of mostly high nitrogen materials, you will need to add bedding. If it is well broken down compost that was made from a good mix of nitrogen and carbon materials, don't add bedding.

  • OklaMoni
    12 years ago

    I would use the compost from the tumbler, and just sort out the stuff not composted yet. Put that back in your tumbler once you got every thing out. Pumpkin seeds are hard to break down. I never add them to my compost or worm bin.

    Eggshells are only unsightly, but can be left out, or put back in the tumbler. Crush them up some, just squeeze them in your hand.

    Good luck.

    Moni