Vermicomposting Log

Fri 9/4/09 75 pounds of worms were delivered today. I walled off half of the 6 x 20 bin to create a 6 x 10' area. I covered that area with shredded paper and saturated that paper with water. Then I dumped out the worms which came in 5 lb bags onto about half of that area. The worms covered about 6 x 5' this was a smaller space then what the worms would normally fill but I had a limited amount of food with which to cover them so I wanted to reduce the surface area I had to cover and the chance that they would dry out.
I watered the worms a little bit and then covered them with the 1/3 barrel of food that I had with me and watered a little more. It was not very much so I went across the street to the starbucks and picked up about 5 gal of coffee grounds, which the worms love but which also heat up the compost pile considerably. Then Michael met me at the site to put the lids back one.

Sun 9/6/09 Michael and I scrounged for compost from other sources today because we did not get the expected barrel from the DC, we each had some prep waste which we had saved from our own kitchens and Pneumatic diner made a contribution of about 5 gal of pulp form making juice and Raley's donated someof their rotted produce which they normally sell for livestock feed. Raley's gave about half a barrel worth. We took all that and spread it over the worms and in a pile at the middle of the edge of the worms. The pile was an experiment to see if the worms would move into that area to feed on the food in the pile. There was lots of lettuce and whole fruits and vegetables as well as lots of nice rotty tomatoes. We also watered them well, taking care to run the hot water which had been sitting in the hose off before spraying the worms so as to avoid cooking them (water was burning hot). The worms seemed very happy, were wriggling about and seemed to be getting into the food we had left them.

Tues 9/8/09 Michael picked me up and we got a half barrel of food from the DC, lots of pineapple tops and a mix of other things. When we lifted the lid off the bin we saw the lettuce leaves pulsating, upon investigation we learned that there were tons and tons of maggots in the pile. We were not sure what to think of this but were certainly not thrilled about it. We checked the lettuce pile and found that the worms were well into it and seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly. We placed teh new food along the edge of the worms in a row and spread some towards/on top of the worms in an effort to encourage them to spread out a little more. We watered them again, well.

Thurs 9/10/09 Michael watered the worms with a friend and reported by phone that they were doing well, he watered them well (but not to soaking or puddling anywhere) and noted that they had eaten a considerable portion of the food they had and that most of the pile was dark brown.

Sat 9/12/09 I took my husband and our niece and nephew to see the worms and help me water, the kids, especially the nephew thought the worms were really really cool and were verry interested in learning about them and even touching them. We got there late in the day and the worms wer fairly dry on top, some were dead but not very many, some of what I saw was actually dried pasta and upon turning over a few spots I found that the worms were very healthy underneath and that they had spread out as desired so are a little less concentrated.
Sun 9/13/09 I went back and watered the worms again since it is hot and seems like they need to be watered every day when it's hot. The worms really had eaten a lot and I decided it is time to feed them again. We may have castings sooner than we thought! There are still a lot of maggots but the worms seem happy and well settled in.

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