Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
michael1846

will this work ?

michael1846
10 years ago

It's a large flowerpot got often used for trees I want to use it because it has good drainage with holes in the bottom. when I put the 2nd tear on it will there be enough holes for them to climb through I love DIY workstations and this method looks presentable will I work if I have to I will add more holes but I would prefer not to (also I am planning to put a black cloth over the top to make it dark) sorry I'm in a hurry please respond ! :)

Comments (18)

  • klem1
    10 years ago

    I like it. A little gravel and landscape cloth on bottom would make a nice worm resort. No additional holes required.

  • sbryce_gw
    10 years ago

    I would leave out the gravel and the landscape cloth. What you have is small. Small bins are hard to manage. When things go wrong, they go wrong through the whole bin. As far as the holes go, you would have to ask the worms.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok sprice I set it up today and I'm getting worms soon ish I'm using black and white shredded newspaper as bedding

  • sbryce_gw
    10 years ago

    Newspaper works. It tends to clump pretty badly, so I like to mix it with something else. Shredded cardboard is good, if you have a shredder that will also shred cardboard.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    no i sadly dont ill post a pic of the farm without the worms in later if i remember

  • mendopete
    10 years ago

    I have raised compost worms in large pots similar to yours. I currently have one going in a 15 gal. cloth grow-bag. My worms stay outdoors. No need for gravel or more holes. I do use cardboard on top to keep the worms safe, dark, and damp.

    Good luck!

  • klem1
    10 years ago

    A mulching lawn mower with catcher bag does a good job and surely faster and lots more fun than ripping by hand.
    I'm old school but willing/have change the way I do things when it is an improvement. I'm no heavy hitter but have a couple of aquantinces that many gardeners do consider experts. Namely Neal Sperry and Howard Garrett who agree that plants do ok without previsions for drainage if the gardener uses the correct amount and frequency of watering. Both agree the average gardener is not capiable of guaging the proper amout and frequincy of watering. Both agree allowing access water to drain serves as visual evidence of too much water and negates harm that would result were the water alowed to collect in pot. Both agree by observing the drainage and/or lack of educates the gardener with respect to how much and how often to water. Both agree that eventhough the pot is never overwatered,some benifit in the form of airation is gained when the pot has holes near the bottom. Both agree that gravel in the bottom farthur inhances airation which is good for the plant. Both agree landscaper cloth between soil and gravel maintains the intergerty of gravel by preventing soil migrating to fill voids between gravel. Both agree landscaper's cloth between gravel and holes prevents stray gravel falling out. I agree with them. I think overwatering is near the top of mistakes made in V.C. and gravel and/or landscapers cloth is effective,esp for newbies.
    There are scarce few things in horticulture these gentlefolk do agree on but one thing they do is in the interest of extended education, listen while the other and thier followers present thier case. Considering the advice not to use either,I would like to hear possiable and/or inevitable trouble with them. Thank you and please know that I ask in interest of good for all.

  • mendopete
    10 years ago

    Klem1 you are right-on as far as plants being grown in the pots. I was referring to using the pot as a worm-bin only. Treat the pot like a plastic-tote bin.
    Gravel and cloth could be used in the bottom of a worm-bin to improve airflow, but may get mixed in with the castings during harvest.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It's kept in a dark place. Here it is I bought 30 worms but when they got home only 4 were alive so I threw the rest out, they smelled terrable I'm scared to feed because if there is only 4 worms they won't be able to keep up, how do I get them to breed?

  • armoured
    10 years ago

    Leave them alone and see if they work it out is about all you can do.
    In the meantime, you can look around a garden or yard in damp places underneath things, like crawling on undersides of logs, stones, leaves, etc. Anywhere where they are right near the surface, and particularly if thin and reddish. If you find some, even if you're not sure of the type, toss 'em in. They won't hurt.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you I will try that I will post pictures if I find any it's dry right now

  • sbryce_gw
    10 years ago

    Looking around the garden for worms may or may not be a good idea. You may wind up with more than 1 species. They will not interbreed. That may not matter to you. Or you could find worms that won't do well in a bin.

    If you only have 4 worms, it will take a long time (1 or 2 years) before you have a working bin, even in a bin a small as yours. If you want to create a healthy environment for them, you want something balanced and stable to feed and bed them in. Can you find aged horse manure near you? How about finished compost? Do you have a neighbor who tosses his grass clippings over the fence? Can you dig down in that pile and find the dark, crumbly clippings that have broken down? Until you have more worms, this is the kind of food you want to give them.

    You are right not to want to give them kitchen scraps with only 4 worms. You could get away with feeding them very small amounts of something that will not get too smelly. One apple core, for example. It will be a while before they need more than that.

    You will need to be very careful about managing moisture. How deep is the bedding? If it is not very deep, it will dry out way too quickly.

    What do you have in there now? I see newspaper. Dry grass clippings? What is the dark stuff? If it is coffee grounds, then don't feed the worms for a while.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I am going to get more worms on sunday I have
    Grass clippings
    1 crushed maple leaf
    Newspaper
    the brown a stuff is castings
    The breeding is shallow but I wet it twice to 3 times a day when it looks dry I can't get worms from outside here because we don't have any but light pink ones thank you

  • armoured
    10 years ago

    Light pink ones are probably the right kind. If they're living in compost-like conditions (around wet, decaying materials), they're almost certainly compost worms.

  • sbryce_gw
    10 years ago

    The light pink worms in my area are dirt-dwelling worms. And anything I found in or near my compost pile was a nightcrawler. You can't determine the species on nothing but a vague description of the color or where it was found.

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i will buy 30 more soon so i think it will be ok

  • 11otis
    10 years ago

    Good luck michael.
    I have found that 25 worms in my 3 gal. buckets grew and bred faster than the ones in my main bins. I seeded them from the main bin so they should be the same species (EF), I would think. My average so far, 3/8 # (sometimes even 1/2 lbs.) in 6 months. At this rate, my main bin should have been overpopulated long time ago but they aren't. I still cannot understand this part. Any thoughts from the seasoned worm farmers out there?

  • michael1846
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't know but I looked around my bin and I think I have 7-10 worms instead of 4 I try not to stress them out but I check the splash bin every few hours to see if any worms escaped I have saved quite a few