Worm Inn (Update 5)

The last time I checked on the worms inside the worm inn they weren't doing all that well. Remember that I split the colony in half and moved one half or more of the population to the outdoor bin. This left the indoor worm inn without the usual amount of workers to eat all the microbes and make some real nice vermicompost.

It seemed like one thing after another went wrong and after a few infestations, which are gradually coming back under control, as well as me disturbing the system too much, adding too much water, too much food without a proper carbon ratio, resulting in an acidic environment where everything except the worms seemed to thrive until my worm population was all but gone completely.....

And then I decided to leave it alone.....after I disturbed it once more that is. So last week I added a bunch of roots from dead plants, some leaves, egg shells, a bunch of cardboard and paper and let the system dry out the last week, because when I was digging around I could only find worms at the very bottom 4 or 5 inches of the worm inn. The other 2 feet or so of trash above them contained nothing but flies, maggots, mites, and every other kinda microscopic recycler one can imagine. I was so sad and disappointed at my failure to create an environment indoors where they were thriving.

So this last week nothing happened. I closed the bathroom window, and put a towel under the door to keep the room where the worm inn is located warm. I checked every few days to see if the contents of the bin were shrinking or if any runoff/leacheate was being collected and heard drips and saw shrinkage but didn't disturb the inn.

 Until today.....

I lifted the piece of cardboard off of the top layer and a few worms were congregated together in some roots from a plant that were tossed in a week ago. They all moved away quickly, except for one who let me snap a photo, before sliding away.

I decided to add some rabbit droppings to the root section, and since I've now adopted a new method of feeding, where I only feed on one side and allow the contents elsewhere to age and decompose, I fed only the front area where the roots were. I prepared the manure by soaking the rabbit droppings in water in the coffee can I keep them in. I usually keep a lid on the can throughout the week to encourage white mold to start the decomposition process before I add the white, furry rabbit droppings to the worm inn, where the microbes and mold will do their job.

Here's a picture I took of how this new feeding will work. I will only add food to the area where the rabbit poo is and let the rest of the surrounding trash break down.

I've started keeping the top layer covered as well. I'm finding that if I leave the top layer open, it seems to encourage flies of all sizes and shapes to breed, which creates larvae that competes directly with the worms for food and could possibly hurt the worms as well. So I'm doing my part to "help nature." :)

more updates to come