Bins 2 & 3, Update 10, 20 July  It dawned on me editing the video that this is a good subject for school kids and I like cussing, so I’ll cuss as much as usual. Or, add a few extra to keep your on your toes, the only difference is I’ll bleep it out.  I won’t use the normal bleep sound.  There are all kinds of interesting and fun sound effects that are a much better substitute.  I’d rather be me, do the bleeps and still have something that may have educational value that a family could watch together.

Since that’s why I started all this to begin with.  Documenting examples of things I did not see on video/photo.  There are always lots of words often with no photographs or video.  I’ve thrown several food waste items in my bins I’m not sure how many times over the last two years successfully.  Then read online at various websites how this or that is a never, no-no, ever! kind of thing.  The worms in these bins have a different opinion on what they find acceptable.

Following no dogma, I like to see for myself, the who, what, when and where.  Then share what is discovered with video/photographic examples.  Much is edited out of my videos for brevity.  I don’t want to waste time with unnecessary footage that doesn’t add anything or document an actual event.  Update 10 video for bins 2 & 3 has more footage than usual because extraordinary events did happen.  It will show more detail how the bins are maintained and recorded.

Bin 2 starts with a little excitement when I discover a gecko in the bin.  Didn’t notice it when the cardboard was moved all the spiders were distracting me.  While I was trying to figure out where and what to do the with more than 20 spiders I spotted a gecko in the bin.

20 July Spiders do well in bin 2

Once you see them you have to move fast or loose your chance to catch them.  When this happens I’m usually able to catch it and let it go outside.  This time all the chaos and my unsuccessful attempt at capture and release was recorded.  Maybe next time.  Hope I get it before the cats do.

20 July Bin 2 Gecko

As can be seen in the photos in this blog and in the video, the worms and other insects have picked everything clean.  It’s amazing to see.  The mangos want to grow don’t they?  It looks like a nursery for mangos seedlings.

20 July Bin 2 Mangos reaching for the sun

There was no noticeable odor or roaches.  Overall it looks good inside bin two.  The addition of more worms has clearly worked.

20 July Bin 2 Picked clean mango seeds

Bin 3  Not much to note about this bin.  No odor, no roaches or chaos.  A single mango seedling trying like all the others.

20 July Bin 3

There must be a lot of worms in bin 3 because they clean the waste in there like a boss.  Look at the photo below or better, the video.  What an amazing transformation.

July 7 Bin 3

20 July Bin 3

The video has as much as the fun and excitement as the camera could capture. Would liked to have caught the lizard and moved it off the porch to think if the cats get it leaves me unsettled. But that is life in or on any porch in Florida, a deathtrap for lizards when there is no food source or in many cases, they’re on the menu.  Seems like I have a few regular viewers and readers of the blog.  That’s a surprise.  Hope you find something useful here while you visit. -13

Update 9 for bins 2 & 3.

1JUL2018- Bin 2 & 3, moving worms from bin 3 over to 2.  There is a noticeable difference in consumption between the bins.  Both bins have an odor from the mangos.  The smell is only noticeable when removing the cardboard layer and expected at this point in the process.  Surprising how there is no smell only feet away.

Bin 3 1JUL2018

Bin 2 1JUL2018

There was a buildup of moisture on the lid and cardboard in 3.  Looked like it was about to rain.  The amount of worms were not as visible as I thought they might be so I only scooped up a few handfuls to move over to bin 2.  See how this affects the bins before moving more.  They’re usually more concentrated making it easier to move with less casting loss from the donor bin.

This time the food was evenly distributed and it seems so were the worms.  In the past they did not receive as much as once so they gathered in more concentrated groups.  Easy pickings when it’s time to move them.  They’re in bin 2 now so lets see what happens next.

8JUL2018- Bins 2 & 3, clearly the addition of worms from bin 3 over to 2 made a big difference.  The before and after shown in the video is amazing to see and demonstrates why it was a necessity.  When opening the bins there was no foul odors and it looks like I’m keeping the roaches out.

Forgot for refill my water sprayer before I started so none of the bins were sprayed this time.  I’ll give them a spray Monday or Tuesday they won’t need much.  Bin 2 didn’t look like I’d added anything except that all the excess was leveled.  Bin 3 had the low spots created when removing worms on JUL1 that will slowly even back out.  By the next time they’ll be close to unnoticeable. It is another interesting thing to see happen in these bins.

Wasn’t much to do but add more waste and let both bins equalize with all the changes.  I have to get better at taking stills for all the reasons I use them.  When I don’t it bites me in the ass every time, that and the autofocus. Check out the video below for some good close ups of the worm transfer.  -13

Update 7, Bin 1, One meal at a time and lots of poop is how it will be built. Watching this process is fascinating.  Waste in, waste out, soil.  No foul odors or unwanted insects.  Looks like the population is growing.  There were plenty of the roly-polys and a few worms visible.  Didn’t want to disturb much so they will settle in.  When they’re hard to see like that they are usually directly under a food source.  Rather leave them be so they can flourish.

I’ll wait another few weeks or so before digging around in there to see how the worms are doing.  Next time I film these bins I’ll try some different views for a closer look inside the bins.  Check out the state of bin 1 in the video below.

Update 6, bin 1.  This update starts with a seedling mango tree trying to compete for food with the worms getting put in its place.  Then, not much.  No foul odors or unwanted insects.  All left undisturbed so they can settle in and start building without interruption.

Added new waste to shallow end to see how long it takes to build up to the other higher level.  This is my favorite bin at this point due to the nature of the experiment.  Unknown worms and other insects from an unknown source plus the roly-poly stray adoption along the way.  From the smallest worm find until now it keeps getting more interesting as they increase in size and population. -13

Short video below check it out.

Update 8 for bins 2 & 3.  Bin 2.  Need to add more worms and will within days.  No foul odors looking good.  Insect populations flourishing.  No roaches visible.

Bin 3 is in the same state as bin 2.  There is more waste consumed validating my need to move more worm into bin 2.  The good news is there is not much to note. -13

Video of Bin 2  & 3 progress.

Update 7 for bins 2 & 3.  Bin 2 is looking good.  No foul odors.  Looks like there is a notable amount of waste left in here than in bin 3.  This is indicating I need to move more worms from bin 3 over.  The difference is clear to see.  Moisture level seems good.  I’ll need to add more cardboard soon.  Better add some sand next feed time.

Bin 3 is working like a well oiled machine.  It’s unimaginable how much they can change the landscape inside the bin.  Somehow they move half a mango to make it look like it’s sinking into the soil.  Totally amazed by that.  Seems like there are more of the white dot and skinny bugs in bin 2 than in this bin.  Maybe they’re subsoil when the waste gets that low.  I can see them move in and out of the soil when I watch them.  Mostly I see them on top.  No foul odors.

Last post I mentioned roaches.  Thought it was going to be a big hassle to find it.  Wow was I wrong.  As I was moving the cardboard out of the bin the roach ended up in my hand.  At first I didn’t know it was there because it was in the gloved hand.  I then noticed something kind of squishy.  Thinking it was a small pile of worm bunched up I quickly looked where my fingers sensing the difference.

It was the roach, or a new one.  I was in disbelieve it was that easy.  Couldn’t have planned that in a million years.  Once I realized my luck I threw it on the floor and killed it.  The cats sitting there supervising me.  Hope that was all of them.  -13

Video Update 7 Below

Update 5, bin 1.  Amazing progress.  There are worms everywhere in that bin.  I thought they would be concentrated in the thicker soil under all the food waste I’ve been feeding.   What a surprise to find then in numbers under the decaying grass introduced last week.  They all look healthy.  The roly poly are also doing well I could see many smaller ones running around in there indicating reproduction.  They might overrun the bin.  If they do I let them loose on my yard compost pile.  It is an experiment.

When I lifted part of a mango I found another unidentified insect alongside the worms.  Was able to get a close up on video.  It looked like something I’ve seen when pulling bark off a rotting tree.  Maybe I’ll be able to figure out what it is.  Guessing it was in the soil that the worms were in when I introduced them to the bin.

Can’t remember if I was going to start putting waste on the thinner soil side this soon.  After seeing the number of worms under the grass I will.  Start building it up.  Couldn’t be more fascinated by this bin and it’s progression.   The distribution and number of worms, rapidly reproducing roly polys and a new species.  Added strawberries, sprayed a good rain to keep the moisture up seemed a little dry in there.  The hard part at this point is knowing how much waste to put in without creating a stinking mess.  Don’t want to over do it.  -13

Video Update 5 Below

Update 6 for bins 2 & 3.  Bin 2 is progressing along nicely.  The worms from bin 3 seem to help keep the balance so I can put an equal amount of waste in.  It appears healthy and moist.  I may add more worms from 3 later but am still watching the consumption rate.

Bin 3, doesn’t seem to have any noticeable difference in the consumption rate since I moved the worms.  The soil is moist.  There’s an abundance of the smaller insects that usually inhabit the bins.  Everything seems to be fine.

I did notice a roach on the cardboard when I was editing the video and have yet to locate it.  Here I go again with the roaches.  I haven’t introduced anything questionable to the bin lately so there hasn’t been much to note.  I’ll keep taking before/after stills and video to track the consumption rates, and when I introduce a questionable item that I haven’t filmed before.  Time to hunt for roaches. -13

Video Update 6 Below