Thursday, December 3, 2009

Worm Hive stackable worm bin

Introducing the Worm Hive
Now available on our site for several prices depending on the number of layers
This is a multi layered design. Each layer consists of four solid wood sides with an open top and a bottom covered in ¼ inch hardware screen. They are designed to stack and interlock to avoid being knocked off one another.
The top layer is covered with a simple flat wood lid with a few air holes and a handle. The bottom layer rests in a four legged frame which has a fine aluminum mesh on its bottom and suspends the stack overtop of a plastic catch-bin. The bottom layer is filled with some worms, bedding and food scraps then topped with dry shredded paper to help keep away unwanted flies. Continue feeding in this layer until full then place new bedding and food scraps in next layer up, the worms will naturally migrate towards the food leaving a layer of harvestable castings. The open bottom and air holes in the lid help maintain air flow to reduce odor and increase oxygen to worms and beneficial bacteria. Any excess moisture that builds should pass through the box to the catch-bin at the bottom where it can be removed and used to feed plants. Any loose castings will also fall through to the catch-bin for easy harvest. As the worms migrate upwards, the lower level is removed and the castings can be sifted by shaking the layer and allowing them to pass through the screen, this may also help you find any wayward worms that didn’t move upwards. After the layer is emptied, any worms and unprocessed biomass can then be returned to the full layer and the empty one becomes the top. Maintaining this constant cycling of layers also helps extend the life of the box since each layer will be allowed a resting period at the top where it can dry out.

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