[Duff in VT]

I am into vermicomposting with redworms. Anybody else here doing this? It is so cool. I have Rubbermaid bins and the worms eat my kitchen scraps and leave me vermicompost (castings) that are very rich and wonderful for my flowers and garden. I never knew it was so popular until I searched the internet.

My question is, there are stackable units you can have right in your kitchen that are so much easier to use than the bins. They have trays and you put in newspaper, pizza boxes, cardboard and of course the kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and apple cores. The worms process all and you add another tray with fresh food and they move up to the new tray and in a few weeks when they have all move up, you use the bottom one which is now pure compost. I'd love one, but can't find a source here in VT. I do not want to pay the huge shipping amount online. Does anyone know were I can get one locally? I did ask the Solid Waste District and they do not have them. (and I did find one at the well -known place in Burlington but I cannot afford to pay that much !!)

[tkln]

I don't see it on their site now, but this place used to sell all kinds of containers and stuff. Maybe you can contact the and see if they have a source for you?

Good luck! I've been dying to do this too, just don't have the room for it here in NY.

Green Mountain Soil, LLC - Home

[Duff in VT]

Ok, I have learned of a dealer for the stackable units. They will be at Solarfest and I may take that in next week-end and see if I like it.

It really does not take much room. My nephew's girlfriend has a bin in her tiny kitchen in Burlington. They do not smell at all, really !! If you don't have room for traditional composting, this is a very nice way to compost your kitchen waste... and newspaper, cardboard toilet paper rolls, coffee grounds and filters, pet hair, vacuum cleaner dust. The worms eat it all !

The link you sent is where I got my worms. Nice fellow and very healthy worms. It has been a fun project.

[Dwatted Wabbit]

Oh, from the title I thought you were from MA or NY.

Congratulations on having good worms!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Dwatted Wabbit

Oh, from the title I thought you were from MA or NY.

Congratulations on having good worms!

hmmmmm....are you suggesting that NYers and MAers have no clue that there are beneficial worms?

Funny thing: on Monday, I was in the Rite Aid in Springfield, VT looking at cortisone creams. I saw -- for the first time in my life -- a package for pin worm medication. One box doses the entire family. I cringed! I have two children and never before had I heard of pin worms until I saw the box and Googled 'pin worm'. Ewwwwww! Silver lining: I learned something new.

To the OP -- thanks for the info! I wanted to start composting and like the idea of a worm which composts paper goods, too.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

hmmmmm....are you suggesting that NYers and MAers have no clue that there are beneficial worms?

Funny thing: on Monday, I was in the Rite Aid in Springfield, VT looking at cortisone creams. I saw -- for the first time in my life -- a package for pin worm medication. One box doses the entire family. I cringed! I have two children and never before had I heard of pin worms until I saw the box and Googled 'pin worm'. Ewwwwww! Silver lining: I learned something new.

To the OP -- thanks for the info! I wanted to start composting and like the idea of a worm which composts paper goods, too.

lol

[Duff in VT]

Originally Posted by Duff in VT

I am into vermicomposting with redworms. Anybody else here doing this? It is so cool. I have Rubbermaid bins and the worms eat my kitchen scraps and leave me vermicompost (castings) that are very rich and wonderful for my flowers and garden. I never knew it was so popular until I searched the internet.

My question is, there are stackable units you can have right in your kitchen that are so much easier to use than the bins. They have trays and you put in newspaper, pizza boxes, cardboard and of course the kitchen scraps like vegetable peels and apple cores. The worms process all and you add another tray with fresh food and they move up to the new tray and in a few weeks when they have all move up, you use the bottom one which is now pure compost. I'd love one, but can't find a source here in VT. I do not want to pay the huge shipping amount online. Does anyone know were I can get one locally? I did ask the Solid Waste District and they do not have them. (and I did find one at the well -known place in Burlington but I cannot afford to pay that much !!)

YAY, I found a small hardware store that sells these at a reasonable cost (half what the ones at the big garden place cost and they have more trays and are a better model than theirs !). They will ship for only $10. If you have an interest, send me a private message and I will respond.

I've got mine set up and now I can compost right in my basement year- round. You would not believe how much food waste these worms can eat. I have had to ask for banana peels and watermelon rinds from friends to keep up with them ! Also, I am putting in most of the cardboard boxes, and paper towel rolls and such for bedding and getting super compost from the worms. P.S. the worms are little red worms, not big ugly things like you find in the garden !

[tkln]

So you're keeping everything indoors???? Wow. I thought they had to be outside, which is why I was waiting to get in on it. How often do you have to 'feed' them????

[Duff in VT]

Yes, mine is in the basement. My nephew's friend keeps hers in her small Burlington apt. (lots of young folks are into this to be "green"). The bins do not smell. You'd never know what it was. Many people keep them in their kitchen. I feed mine every other day. I have 3,000 or so worms. I started with 2 lbs. and they do multiply, but you can easily give away or sell extra worms. To avoid fruit flies (from the grocery store produce) I take my scraps and freeze them in old yogurt containers, etc. Pull out a container, let it thaw with a cloth on the top and then put it in the tray I am feeding. Cover with torn up cardboard, egg cartons, etc. to keep any fruit flies from finding it. In a couple of days the worms will be ALL OVER it, so I feed in a different spot.

The stacking composters have trays. You put the shredded cardboard, newspaper strips, etc. in the bin and feed the worms as above. Eventually, the worms eat the whole thing, bedding and all. You put another tray on top (trays have a screen-type bottom), bedding in it and food. The worms migrate up for the food. You leave the bottom tray alone. Do not feed that tray. You may do this a few times, adding new trays. Eventually, the bottom tray is processed into wonderful compost. You dump the compost to use, perhaps taking out a few straggler worms and bits of stuff they did not process, clean out that tray and it becomes your top tray. In winter, you can save the compost in plastic bins to use in the spring.