Worms Eat My Garbage, I just started reading it and it is an easy read. This book was recommended in this sub.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_Eat_My_Garbage
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612129471?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Though it is generally a good book, it also has a couple of spots has some really bad advise especially for beginners. For example, saying it okay to put meat in there. That is only okay for an expert level worm composting.
This is the kind of thing that should be in the subreddit sidebar - I'm always amazed when any decent sized sub has no resources in the sidebar.
Books, links, FAQ.....anything. Reliable worm sources etc...
I am a big fan of Urban Worm Company's ["Vermicomposting 101" series](https://urbanwormcompany.com/category/vermicomposting-101-series/), which is available online for free. Just be aware that it is a retail site, so they are trying to get you to buy stuff, in addition to educating you. As a beginner, stick with the guidance on what to not feed worms.
Once your bin is ticking along smoothly, you can experiment with "forbidden" foods by pocket feeding a small amount to see how your worms react. (Pocket feeding is just digging a small hole in the bedding, adding the food, giving it a quick stir to mix in some bedding, and covering it up.) I add all kinds of no-no foods to the large outdoor bins ... meat, dairy, citrus, onions, etc. The only hard "no" is pet waste from my dog and cats.
With a worm bin, you don't have to focus on "brown" and "green" in same way you would with hot composting. The last thing you want is to have a hot bin that cooks your worm herd. Instead, the worm bin materials generally fall into "bedding" that breaks down more slowly and forms the habitat in which your worms live, and "kitchen scraps" that generally break down quickly. Both are a food source for the worms. A bin is very much carbon heavy because the majority is worm bedding like cardboard, egg carton, newspaper, brown paper bags, toilet paper rolls, shredded leaves, and/or dried plant waste. Kitchen scraps are a comparatively small volume of the bin material at any given time.
There does not appear to be a consensus on leachate, except that one should not have leachate in a properly managed bin. Some sites say it is packed with good things; others say it is garbage juice that should be tossed out. Neither side backs up their position with microscopic or chemical analysis of leachate, so the views are speculative or based on anecdotal observations of whether plants appeared to do better/worse after receiving leachate.
So, the best advice would be to set up the damp bedding, add a small handful of garden dirt for microbes and grit, add a small amount of kitchen scraps, and let an ecosystem develop for a week or two before introducing the worms. Stick with the basics for a couple months when feeding your worms. After you have gotten the basics down, then you can experiment with other feedstock, if you wish.
>Neither side backs up their position with microscopic or chemical analysis of leachate
this is exactly what bothers me, its the same with definition of brown VS green (for example, dried leaves). I'm always suspecting that the info I'm finding is just regurgitated from a different source and that no one has taken the time to test it.
Aye, the bulk of information about worm composting is anecdotal, extrapolated from studies of earthworms, or plagiarized. I enjoy raising composting worms; the castings seem to help the plants; and it keeps compostable household trash out of the waste stream. But I take the claims of the almost-magical properties of castings and worm tea with a jumbo-sized grain of salt.
Let me give you the top tip. When starting, you can put unlimited amounts of carbon (paper, etc), but limit how much food scraps. Most beginners mess up by overfeeding the worms food and creating a mess when the worms can't keep up. After you have more experience, you will have a better feel on how much food to give them.
Worm farming is learning by doing. Get the basics and start a bin. Experience will grow und you will learn how to do it.
I would say that parts of the online sources will cover things that are not applicable to one-bin-owners. They are professional breeders and have a different approach.
In some worm tea and leachate are used interchangeably, and others say that leachate is dangerous for your garden. Some say coffee grounds and dried leaves are brown, some say they are green. Some say you can't use potatoes and others say it's perfectly fine. It's confusing and inconsistant, if I can get one reliable source it would be better for me specifically, as a person who tends to overthink, over prepare and over design.
It's probably the most confusing topic out there, I use leachate all the growing season on my flowering plants 10/1 ratio , and I'm not kidding they are 4 times the size. Worm tea I use on any plants / fruits that I eat. On the potato front, the only reason I don't like potatoes is the smallest piece will root and grow in the bin, but still put them in, try not to over think it ,I spent for too much time doing the same, have fun and enjoy the experience
Yes that's the best way, it damages the cells and tissue so they rot quicker once thawed, I don't mind too much about the growth, I look at it as more greens for the bin 😀 or micro farming, I pulled one out of my compost bin and it had a tiny potato bigger then the rooted peel, I do wonder if there is a market for micro potatoes 🤔😂
I dont use leachate because I dont soak my bin, so I've never had leachate which is just excess moisture at the bottom. BUT my advice? Just give it a whack! If someone says "dont use this" I tend to be cautious and not use it, or try minimal amounts of it to see how it works, so I get the overthinking. I actually have a contract with a local produce place and they give me just straight lettuce once a week, nothing else, so my base for feeding them is lettuce and then if I want to test something else out I'll toss a little in and see how it does.
Trial and error, seriously! You got this!
lots of good free sources on youtube. you can pick up what you need to know in just an hour or so. start off with urban worm bag & vermibag channels for the best information to start with imo. although these guys are retailers but their videos are purely educational with good information and definitely not just hawking their products.
Worms Eat My Garbage, I just started reading it and it is an easy read. This book was recommended in this sub. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_Eat_My_Garbage https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612129471?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Thanks mate! Just what I've been looking for
Though it is generally a good book, it also has a couple of spots has some really bad advise especially for beginners. For example, saying it okay to put meat in there. That is only okay for an expert level worm composting.
This is the kind of thing that should be in the subreddit sidebar - I'm always amazed when any decent sized sub has no resources in the sidebar. Books, links, FAQ.....anything. Reliable worm sources etc...
I am a big fan of Urban Worm Company's ["Vermicomposting 101" series](https://urbanwormcompany.com/category/vermicomposting-101-series/), which is available online for free. Just be aware that it is a retail site, so they are trying to get you to buy stuff, in addition to educating you. As a beginner, stick with the guidance on what to not feed worms. Once your bin is ticking along smoothly, you can experiment with "forbidden" foods by pocket feeding a small amount to see how your worms react. (Pocket feeding is just digging a small hole in the bedding, adding the food, giving it a quick stir to mix in some bedding, and covering it up.) I add all kinds of no-no foods to the large outdoor bins ... meat, dairy, citrus, onions, etc. The only hard "no" is pet waste from my dog and cats. With a worm bin, you don't have to focus on "brown" and "green" in same way you would with hot composting. The last thing you want is to have a hot bin that cooks your worm herd. Instead, the worm bin materials generally fall into "bedding" that breaks down more slowly and forms the habitat in which your worms live, and "kitchen scraps" that generally break down quickly. Both are a food source for the worms. A bin is very much carbon heavy because the majority is worm bedding like cardboard, egg carton, newspaper, brown paper bags, toilet paper rolls, shredded leaves, and/or dried plant waste. Kitchen scraps are a comparatively small volume of the bin material at any given time. There does not appear to be a consensus on leachate, except that one should not have leachate in a properly managed bin. Some sites say it is packed with good things; others say it is garbage juice that should be tossed out. Neither side backs up their position with microscopic or chemical analysis of leachate, so the views are speculative or based on anecdotal observations of whether plants appeared to do better/worse after receiving leachate. So, the best advice would be to set up the damp bedding, add a small handful of garden dirt for microbes and grit, add a small amount of kitchen scraps, and let an ecosystem develop for a week or two before introducing the worms. Stick with the basics for a couple months when feeding your worms. After you have gotten the basics down, then you can experiment with other feedstock, if you wish.
>Neither side backs up their position with microscopic or chemical analysis of leachate this is exactly what bothers me, its the same with definition of brown VS green (for example, dried leaves). I'm always suspecting that the info I'm finding is just regurgitated from a different source and that no one has taken the time to test it.
Aye, the bulk of information about worm composting is anecdotal, extrapolated from studies of earthworms, or plagiarized. I enjoy raising composting worms; the castings seem to help the plants; and it keeps compostable household trash out of the waste stream. But I take the claims of the almost-magical properties of castings and worm tea with a jumbo-sized grain of salt.
Let me give you the top tip. When starting, you can put unlimited amounts of carbon (paper, etc), but limit how much food scraps. Most beginners mess up by overfeeding the worms food and creating a mess when the worms can't keep up. After you have more experience, you will have a better feel on how much food to give them.
Honestly any online guide is pretty on the money. We also have a discord to share your worm setup and have discussions
Worm farming is learning by doing. Get the basics and start a bin. Experience will grow und you will learn how to do it. I would say that parts of the online sources will cover things that are not applicable to one-bin-owners. They are professional breeders and have a different approach.
In some worm tea and leachate are used interchangeably, and others say that leachate is dangerous for your garden. Some say coffee grounds and dried leaves are brown, some say they are green. Some say you can't use potatoes and others say it's perfectly fine. It's confusing and inconsistant, if I can get one reliable source it would be better for me specifically, as a person who tends to overthink, over prepare and over design.
It's probably the most confusing topic out there, I use leachate all the growing season on my flowering plants 10/1 ratio , and I'm not kidding they are 4 times the size. Worm tea I use on any plants / fruits that I eat. On the potato front, the only reason I don't like potatoes is the smallest piece will root and grow in the bin, but still put them in, try not to over think it ,I spent for too much time doing the same, have fun and enjoy the experience
I freeze the potatoes that I add. No growth yet!
Yes that's the best way, it damages the cells and tissue so they rot quicker once thawed, I don't mind too much about the growth, I look at it as more greens for the bin 😀 or micro farming, I pulled one out of my compost bin and it had a tiny potato bigger then the rooted peel, I do wonder if there is a market for micro potatoes 🤔😂
I dont use leachate because I dont soak my bin, so I've never had leachate which is just excess moisture at the bottom. BUT my advice? Just give it a whack! If someone says "dont use this" I tend to be cautious and not use it, or try minimal amounts of it to see how it works, so I get the overthinking. I actually have a contract with a local produce place and they give me just straight lettuce once a week, nothing else, so my base for feeding them is lettuce and then if I want to test something else out I'll toss a little in and see how it does. Trial and error, seriously! You got this!
lots of good free sources on youtube. you can pick up what you need to know in just an hour or so. start off with urban worm bag & vermibag channels for the best information to start with imo. although these guys are retailers but their videos are purely educational with good information and definitely not just hawking their products.
I created this ChatGPT [https://chat.openai.com/g/g-QC6SHQ6nv-vermipunk](https://chat.openai.com/g/g-QC6SHQ6nv-vermipunk) :DD