Grow your own worm feed for indoor bins

[Jay Blair]

As those who know me from my posts on other discussion groups are aware of, I am and have always been "just a good ole country boy"

When i first started in worm raising, household kitchen scraps sufficed, but as the herd grew, so did my feed requirements.

While I saw advertisements selling high cost worm ration and knew of the cost fattener mix, i came up with this solution.

I feed my indoor bins that produce my seed worms for less than $1 per year. A pleasant fringe benefit is that I also feed myself . No I do not eat worms


If any of you are interested in the details, I will explain further if you just ask.

I would prefer explaining it in a discussion format so that I can better answer specific questions and be less concerned of overlooking points that while obvious to me may be necessary info if you choose this approach

[billyw]

How about a quick overview, just to get the questions rolling?

[JudyA]

[glow=red,2,300] I don't exactly deliberately grow this stuff, but any seeded produce seems to find the worm bin a good sprouting medium. Especially bell peppers provide a sprout source that I pull and run through the worms. Melons, squash, apples, etc. all sprout. Of course, we ate the good stuff.[/glow] Sometimes I grow mold on bread or stuff at the back of the refrigerator. They will eat it and I won't.

[Jay Blair]

billyw,
My six truck box turned worm bins are in my sun room. This is also where I start all of my garden seedlings in spring.

After my divorce I began feeding more garden wastes as kitchen scraps of course reduced.

Now I container grow winter crops of bush peas and beans, okra, carrots, brussel sprouts and tomatoes in landscape buckets on the top of the worm beddings.

Hot peppers and onions are grown on shelves in the windows. I only add the foliage of the pepper plants to the digesters.

[theinfamousj]

Hmmm ... that sounds like a great idea. My problem with doing what you do, Jay, is that I don't have a sun room.

[billyw]

admin said:

After my divorce I began feeding more garden wastes as kitchen scraps of course reduced.

Seems I remember, from years ago, you also used lots of old books and magazines, as bedding... ;D

I have just started doing something similar in a "thrown together" clear plastic greenhouse. If all goes well, I hope to build a permanent structure.

I have a pit full of BSF that I throw all of my pepper cuttings in. This will include jalapeno, habenero, ancho, anaheim, tomatillo waste, tomato waste, onion. The waste from them is thrown in a test bin of EF's. So far they have survived. None of them smoking from the hab's yet...LOL

[JudyA]

This morning there was a fine crop of little bell pepper seedlings and squash seedlings to pull up, turn under and make more food for the worms. The fruit flies are making their last battle of summer, so I'm freezing EVERYTHING. Plus, last year some beetles came in on the apples from our trees, so any apple stuff and pair stuff is either cooked or frozen. I don't trust my husband's organic sprays to have gotten rid of them, even though he was very conscientious about the application and we had tree breaking crops after bombing the first year.

[Jay Blair]

billyw,
Post divorce romance paperback disposal does make for fine worm bedding in addition to making more room for my own collection of western novels

[jimmy2s83]

Well you answered a question of mine.
I had some bread in my bin but it began to mold really bad so I tossed it not realizing that the worms would still eat it!
I will have to remember that for next time.
Jimmy
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