Compost bin question

When the compost has an earthy smell, no bugs, looks like soil then use it. Good compost is the best thing for your veggies. As soon as I add it the earthworms gravitate to it. There’s a reason.

Staying away from meat and dairy

Just food scraps, bread veggies fruit egg shells etc

It got too wet, maybe that attracted them? I read online to put like juice in it to kill the maggots, but that might also kill other microorganisms

Sure you can use it - your plants will be fine.

quote:

---

Just food scraps, bread veggies fruit egg shells etc

---

Since you are using food scraps and you have a bin, have you thought about “vermicomposting Composting worms - not the same as “earthworms”. I’m doing this and it’s amazing how quickly they compost food scraps, when it’s warm.

Ordered mine from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm LINK.

You’ll only need to buy them once. Sounds like the way you are set up, you’d just have to buy and add the worms to the bin and keep adding food scraps. You can add strips of shredded newspaper (moisten it) if you run short of food scraps.

As I recall i ordered 1,000 red worm mix package, it was 5 years ago ago or so.

Air is a good thing for helping with the decomposition. That is why I will turn my pile at least once a week, if not more.

Too much water is not a good thing, but then again, neither is completely drying out. There has to be a happy medium.

quote:

---

You think i should try and remove maggots, or just add worms?

---

What kind of maggots are you seeing - white maggots from house flies or some larger brownish-yellow maggots? Several days ago I saw larger brownish “maggots”/insect larvae of some type in my composting worm bin that I didn’t recognize - was going to take a photo and send to an entomologist at LSU I know for an ID. I’ll check later to see if the maggots are still there.

Anyway, I’d think in this heat the maggots would metamorphose into adults and disappear quickly. To my knowledge I don’t think maggots would hurt worms. So I’d wouldn’t be concerned placing your order for worms within a few days.

And as other posters have recommended you want to keep the bin moist - like a wrung out sponge - not really wet nor excessively dry. I have holes in the top and sides of my 2 bins, and most importantly the bottom of the bin to allow for excess water to drain. Elevate your compost bin several or more inches off the ground to insure excess moisture drains adequately. You won’t need to turn the material in the bin with composting worms, they are like miners, they do that for you.

quote:

---

My worm bins get soldier fly larvae every summer.

---

Just googled a photo of soldier fly larvae and that’s is what I have in my worm composting bin. Good to know they don’t hurt the composting worms, just complete for the same food resources while they’re present. Thanks for sharing that info.

Bovine, do you add castings straight to your garden or have you tried making tea using bags in a bucket with aeration? I have about 3 gallon bags of castings

Bovine, what’s your go-to method for harvesting the castings/compost while separating the worms?

In the past I emptied the bin on a sheet of visqueen in piles. The worms will go to the bottom fleeing light. You can separate them pretty easily then. If I'm in a hurry I just get my overflow bin and transfer all the uneaten food and newspaper bedding over to it. Then I take a garden trowel and separate the worms and castings by hand. This is a much quicker method. You will miss a few worms but they end up with your castings which is good for your soil. A healthy bin will have so many worms it doesn't matter. You will also see a lot of egg pods during cold weather harvesting.