Worm Tube for the SFG

JBS636 wrote:built 3 Worm Hotels (I soooo want to name one the 'Crawl Inn')

.

How about the "Dew Crawl Inn"? I think it is said red wigglers are better suited to the whole worm in a box deal as they travel up to feed and night crawlers travel down. I could be wrong you will know if your scraps start to disappear or not.
I can't wait to see pics I want a worm hotel too and have not installed one yet but yours sounds prettier than PVC .

love your version.....so this is constructed as a square "building".....what have you used for the "roof"?......ventilated????
Ruth

Are the "doorways" 2" wide....
Ruth

Is it not true that worms don't eat the actual food in the bin but the bacteria resulting from the decomposition process?

Also, there are other microbes that are beneficial to plants. Like one writer mentioned, if the SFG is open on the bottom to natural soil, the worms and other tiny microbes will be attracted to the compost in Mel's Mix. They seem to really like the manures.

They also like it moist but not too hot. This could be why the worms were lower in the garden, which is OK since you want them at the root level.

Even though night crawlers may not eat bacteria from manure or food, they will assist in aeration and most likely will also leave their castings.

I'd like to leave my SFG open to natural soil so that the worms can burrow deeper in winter since I am in Colorado. Anyone with experience to open boxes?

Can i just add worms into my SFGs? And what kind of worms? I love the big old earth worms. I just don't know anything about them. Will they eat my celery, potatoes, rhubarb, berries, any of the roots? Thank you.

Joan N wrote:Is it not true that worms don't eat the actual food in the bin but the bacteria resulting from the decomposition process?

Also, there are other microbes that are beneficial to plants. Like one writer mentioned, if the SFG is open on the bottom to natural soil, the worms and other tiny microbes will be attracted to the compost in Mel's Mix. They seem to really like the manures.

They also like it moist but not too hot. This could be why the worms were lower in the garden, which is OK since you want them at the root level.

Even though night crawlers may not eat bacteria from manure or food, they will assist in aeration and most likely will also leave their castings.

I'd like to leave my SFG open to natural soil so that the worms can burrow deeper in winter since I am in Colorado. Anyone with experience to open boxes?

I do not have weed barrier or bottoms on most of my boxes for precisely this reason, I want as many worms as will come in my garden. If I find earth worms in other areas of the yard, into the garden boxes they go. They will not eat your living plants or the roots. The worm tube is ideal for those gardeners that haveput landscape fabric on the bottoms of their garden boxes. http://www.biologyjunction.com/earthworm%20facts.htm

Hi everyone,

my two SFG's are of the table top variety so probably zero chance of worms being there with my home made Mel's Mix.

I am trying to live as plastic free as possible (and want that to include my garden) so wanted to make some wooden worm towers.

I planned on making my next set of gardens from cedar in a bid to help reduce pests and increase longevity but wasn't sure if the cedar would keep the worms from going near the towers.

So my question is "Is there any reason not to use cedar for the towers? "

hankyknot wrote:Hi everyone,

my two SFG's are of the table top variety so probably zero chance of worms being there with my home made Mel's Mix.

I am trying to live as plastic free as possible (and want that to include my garden) so wanted to make some wooden worm towers.

I planned on making my next set of gardens from cedar in a bid to help reduce pests and increase longevity but wasn't sure if the cedar would keep the worms from going near the towers.

So my question is "Is there any reason not to use cedar for the towers? "

Beuna uses cedar. I think she won a prize for this design.



I was so excited when I found this, I added this to my list of Christmas presents I'm making for my gardening friends!
The worm debate rages on in the comments, and I'm just planning on letting my natives move in first. If none of them show up for the party, I guess the bait dept. at Ace gets my business.
I have 8 beds in use, and 5 more in the the works, and 5 to gift, so it will definitely be worth buying the drill bit. I'll use a spade bit for the wood. I was relieved to see someone using wood instead of pvc.

BTW, instructables.com has a LOT of good ideas written up by gardeners, and a lot of sfg'ers. I've learned so much there!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Worm-Cafe-Compost-with-earthworms-right-in-your/?ALLSTEPS

Did the link not post for the Worm Cafe last message?

janezee wrote:http://www.instructables.com/id/Worm-Cafe-Compost-with-earthworms-right-in-your/?ALLSTEPS

Did the link not post for the Worm Cafe last message?

It's not visible because, for some reason, it has brackets around the link.

Code:

<http://www.instructables.com/id/Worm-Cafe-Compost-with-earthworms-right-in-your/?ALLSTEPS>

Thanks, Boffer. I thought I'd have to add brackets, but I see it does it automatically. Nice feature! Won't make that mistake again.
j

This is what a Worm Cafe user had to say about his use of them:

"I use nightcrawlers from the sporting goods store. Having them, Is like having your own herd of pigs, That devour everything in site. I put everything from dead waste, To still living weeds in there, That have gone to seed, And they leave nothing behind. I built two of these composters, And placed them in pure sand, Now after One summer of operation, I have sand with a small layer of black dirt on top of it, About 1/4 in thick, And my grass has turned from brown, To a dark green color. Yes I put them in the yard too. My gardening area was a mish mash of grey looking sandy soil, But now the area with the composter has a complete layer of black dirt on it, And the soil under that is about one third black now, with a lot of grey still in it. The big question is, Will it create a hotspot of nurtients? The answer is... yes it will. But the hotspot is huge, In my garden I can clearly define the area of travel that my worms use, And its a circle of 25 feet in diameter. Around the edges, The black dirt is thin enough that i cant measure it. But in the center, next to the composter, Its as deep as six inches or more, but only because thats how deep i planted the composter. So will it work?....Absolutely! This is the best use of a composter that I have ever seen, Not only did it cure my garden and lawn problems, But I can move them after a month or two to a new location, And the hole it leaves behind, Is already full of high grade compost, So the lawn actually repaired itself in just a couple weeks. Once again, This is a great idea, Good job."

I just hope I have enough waste to fill that many Cafes!
j

Hey I modified your worm tube to be 4 ABS 2in tubes placed in the middle of my SFG. I haven't finished it yet but i did put them in. Where would you buy your worms from?
I live in AZ and hope our summers aren't to much for these guys. My beds are 8in deep by the way. I think the beds themselves will be cool enough. I am just a little concerned about the tubes. Thamks for the idea. I will let you now how it went.

It looks nice but I wonder if black might not be the best color in Yuma, AZ.

My 24yr old daughters name is Shannon. I know what you mean. I am a little concerned but nothing ventured nothing gained. I am building a compost tumbler, a worm compost bin and I have the 4 tubes in 1 of 3 TT SFGs so I am going to see what this composting thing is all about.
Thanks for posting. This kid is pretty amazing. He has some really good ideas.
Happy Gardening

I agree trying new things is always an education. I was just thinking perhaps you could change the color of the tubes you have to cut down on the heat. You are going to be the monarch of composting.

It's funny because I bought black ABS because I liked the look better. But now thinking about it you are probably right. Should have went with White and it is a lot cheaper. Ohh well I will see how this does. I am going to order worms next week.

Congrats I love worms.

ishootaction wrote:Hey I modified your worm tube to be 4 ABS 2in tubes placed in the middle of my SFG. I haven't finished it yet but i did put them in. Where would you buy your worms from?
I live in AZ and hope our summers aren't to much for these guys. My beds are 8in deep by the way. I think the beds themselves will be cool enough. I am just a little concerned about the tubes. Thamks for the idea. I will let you now how it went.

They look great! I don't think the black tube will be to hot, even in your temps, the worms will be down in the bottom part of the tube. I have never had any problems with mine, I don't fill the tube all the way up, just like when you use a storage container, you don't fill that all the way up. I add some water to the tube once in a while too, just to make sure everything in there is moist and wet. I fill it up with food scraps according to how fast the worms eat it, maybe about 1/2 tube every couple of days. It's not a big chore to stop by the worm tube and add some food scraps while on the way to the compost pile. Are you going to sit something on or over the top of the tubes? The darkness will be good for the worms, plus no flies or small animals will get in. I don't have any problems with either of those.
Keep us up to date on how it works out for you!

What do you have in the middle of the four tubes that sticks up with a cap on it...it looks like some kind of mesh do-hickey beneath the cap?

@Josh Yes I will cap them. They really aren't finished yet. I will straighten them up put a cap on it etc. I order worms on Monday. I will keep you posted.
@ Luci that thingy in the middle???? That would be a solar light that I was just messing around with. I just stuck it in there for the heck of it.

So I found someone who sell red wigglers locally. I have never bought them before, so just wondering if these prices seem about right? They seem reasonable to me. I guess they would be different all over depending on that market, but I think I will buy some.

Mixed sizes
50 for $5
150 for $10
350 for $20
700 for $35
Whats the best amount to start with? I will probably have them inside all winter now.

I am going to buy mine at http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/index.php/Live-Worms/2000-Red-Wigglers-Free-Shipping/flypage.tpl.html And for 25.00 get the can.

Happy Gardening

Well! That definatley looks to be a better price:shock:

I will be ordering on Monday and it is free shipping.

Happy Gardening