Receiving The Worm Factory 360

March 8, 2010

The fine people at Natures Footprint Inc heard about my worm killing ways and were concerned.

They contacted me and thought that it could be the bin that I was using. Of course they did because they make worm bins. They offered to send me a Worm Factory 360 to try out. I willingly agreed.

It arrived in the mail last week and is quite the beast. I need to read the instructions on how to use and set up.

What I’m nervous about is ordering another pound of worms. The lady from the Lower East Side Ecology Center, where I buy my worms from, jokingly said that she wouldn’t sell me anymore if I continued to kill them.

So now I need to get me some more worms and give this Worm Factory a shot.

Has anyone ever used this bin or any others similar to it?

Perry J Post

Congrats on more freebies!

Moderation coupled with equilibrium where always important factors when I was playing with worms. (Mine died off about 3 years ago.)

Just because scraps are available doesn't mean they should be added. Too much in the beginning slows them down and sends them running.

When deciding which scraps to give the new worms, lean towards soft, mushy, sweet stuff like lettuce, juicy fruits (banana peels, peach, plum, avocado, etc.) and one of their favorites is cantaloupe and melon rind.

Avoid too much of any one thing.

Avoid powerful stuff like citrus, garlic, onion, green apple etc. at least until the colony has found an equilibrium. I might recommend holding off on coffee grounds right away too.

From my understanding the worms wait until the food stuff gets rotten and mushy before eating it because they are actually going after the bacteria in the rot. If this is true it makes sense to chop the food finely before adding (more surface area, faster rot.)

I miss my worms. Perhaps it's time to give it another try.
Jamie

I have a worm bin just like that. Different brand but essentially the same. It works pretty well in my opinion. My worms are doing well and thriving. I did have one time where I had too much food in the bin and a bunch of the worms died off but they came back with no problem once I cleaned the bin a bit.

Suggestions: Rotate the layers and stir up the dirt occasionally to keep it from compacting. The bottom layer is going to get the wettest. Rotating it will help keep the moisture circulating. Also, the very bottom layer, where the tea collects, smells like death. Don't open it indoors. My spout has become clogged with dirt and doesn't drain well. That probably needs to be cleaned out occasionally.
Perry J Post

Good choice of words. ..."smells like death. Don't open it indoors."... Take heed Mike, Jamie is NOT exaggerating!
Mike Lieberman

Wow. That's pretty intense. I will do my best to avoid the "death smell." How much $$ if I do a shot of it? ;-)