3 Things Nobody Tells You About Having a Worm Bin in Your Kitchen

1. You will find worms wandering across the floor.

• It's what they do. Especially if the bin is too moist, they will find a way to escape. One time I fed my worms old rice, it turned into a giant mass of white fuzz, and the worms found their way to the lid and out in droves.
• If you use finished compost in your house plants, it will be contain tiny newborns that grow up. Loose soil that looks suspiciously composty falling out the drainage holes is a good sign there is a worm(s) in your potted plants. You may eventually find them crawling on the floor of your living room or, more likely, shriveled up.
• They move down easily, but making they're way back up… not so much. Apparently, falling through a hole you're crawling over is easy. In my bin, the worms fall all the way to the catch tray. Then there's nowhere to go but out the pour spout.

The space between the black ring and filter is safe place for wayword worms to hide. But if they fall into the drip tray, there's nowhere to go but out the little pour spot and onto the floor.

2. Kitchen worm bins take F.O.R.E.V.E.R to make compost. 

Unlike big, outdoor compost piles, they don't get hot, and this changes everything.

• Anything water-repellent, resistant to being softened by moisture, is going to be problematic.
• Anything tough or fibrous… the worms cannot break these down quickly. No stems.
• Garlic and onion skins, apple peels, … it's best to dry and crumble, or chop finely before use. If it's a protective skin, I recommend not using it in your worm bin.
• Potato skins are pretty starchy, which means fermentation is a possibility. Alcohol as a by-product will drive off the worms. 
• Think twice about giving them the rice in the fridge you forgot about.

PRO TIP #1: If you wouldn't want it in a smoothie, don't put it in the bin.

• Bedding material needs to be finely prepared, too. If you use chunks of egg carton or torn cardboard and it takes longer to break down than the food scraps, you'll end up with finish compost with chunky bedding in it. There's no way to separate the two.
• Worms don't spend much time in spots filled with finished compost, so those chunks will remain for a long time while you wait for them to just decompose. Adding feed to areas of mostly finished compost may or may not work.

PRO TIP #2: Use a cross-cut paper shredder to prepare bedding.

 

3. Using the compost can be problematic.

• Kitchen bins are popular amongst apartment dwellers and condo owners who don't have a yard. But without a yard, how do you use the finished compost? The local Master Gardener is going to prove their inexperience yet confidently say, "Use it in your houseplants!" See #1, 2nd bullet point ☝️.
• The local Master Gardener is going to admonish you for using invasive worms, and tell you that you can't use the compost in your garden or yard. See "Do Composting Worms Pose a Threat as Invasive Species?" 

Do you have an indoor worm bin?

What tips or wisdom can you share with readers? 

Raising Monarch Butterflies, with 10 Pro Tips

Whether you're new to raising Monarchs or it's not your first rodeo, I'm sharing some tips today to help ensure you're successful. These are tips you don't often see published but can make a real difference for your butterflies.

Tip 1: All butterflies lay multiple eggs on a single plant. The best placement is on the underside of leaves but when host plants are in short supply you'll find eggs on top, too. Planting more host plants can increase proper placement and survival rates. For monarchs, there is only one host plant: milkweed. Choose a variety that is suited to your region, for example Showy Milkweed in Colorado, Swamp Milkweed in Virginia. Mine is happy in a 5-gallon pot because I can't risk the rhizomes escaping my condo allotment. If milkweed is simply not an option for you, then plant some native nectar plants for the butterflies. The adults need to eat, too.

It's estimated that as low as 2% will survive to become a butterfly.

Tip 2: Collect the ones you wish to raise while eggs. From tiny caterpillars all the way to chrysalis, they are vulnerable to a variety of parasites. Bringing them in as an egg increases your chances of successfully raising a healthy butterfly.

Inexpensive setup but frass collects on the lid. A yogurt container or something with a flat lid is easier to keep clean.

Tip 3: A few floral tubes are worth acquiring. I bought mine online but really should have Wished in my local Buy Nothing Group. Floral tubes are good because they can be laid on their side without spilling water, and it's easier for caterpillars that fall off the milkweed to get back on. Especially when competing for leaves, caterpillars fall off their milkweed frequently. You'll often find two caterpillars munching on the same stem, thrashing about if they touch one another. The larger the caterpillars, the more likely a fall. 

Look for skeletonizing before carefully turning over leaves, to avoid harming tiny caterpillars.

If you have a sprig of milkweed in a floral tube, presenting the caterpillar with fresh food is a simple rescue. Otherwise, encourage the wayward caterpillar to climb onto your hand and hold them against some milkweed until they walk off. Be patient. If you've ever tried to get a cat — a feline one — to eat a special piece of food you put literally in front of their face… it's like that. 

Found this little one wandering on some lantana.

Tip 4: Late 5th instars will absolutely refuse food. If it's on a walkabout, consider relocating it instead. Fast-paced walking or a good distance away from its host plant are clear signals that it's ready to pupate. If you've never seen a chrysalis before, this is a terrific opportunity for you. Move the caterpillar somewhere it can climb that offers a safe place to transform. Most likely you'll be rewarded within the next 24-36 hours.

They'll frequently stay on one leaf for 24-36 hrs, not moving. 

Tip 5: They spend LOTS of time doing seemingly NOTHING. Don't mess with them! Magic is happening inside. Doing nothing for a full day is a precursor to molting. Be prepared for a photo opp. 

Tip 6: A yellow head is a sure sign of a freshly molted caterpillar. It takes a couple of hours for the color to develop. In the video, the black striped lens cap hasn't been flicked off the head yet. 

Tip 7: During and after molting, they are particularly fragile. Make sure to not jostle them. Exophagy, eating the shed exoskeleton, helps the caterpillar conserve energy and provides resources to resume rapid growth. 

Silk pad started, viewed with a macrolens.

Tip 8: Monarch caterpillars seek a high place to pupate. They'll pick a spot to rest, often horizontally, for a day or so. Warmer outdoor temperatures speed things up while A/C indoor temperatures slow things down. Remember, resting doesn't mean doing nothing! They'll play dead if they feel threatened so you probably won't see it, but they're throwing strands of silk to secure their spot. It's very difficult to see, even with a magnifying glass.

Tip 9: They can fit through a honeybee queen excluder no problem. I laid my honey bucket mesh bag over top to keep them in. When I lifted the bag to take a peek and heard shredding, I learned that the caterpillar throws silk pretty far when building the pad from which the chrysalis will hang. The sound of tearing silk is distressing! I hope I've saved you that feeling of guilt.

Tip 10: There is a way to tell a male from a female while in chrysalis form!

Look below the two black dots, above the first horizontal line. That tiny slit means female.

BONUS TIP: I have a macrolens on my phone to capture this detail. It's no longer in production, but I hear that Apexel lenses are really good, and they're inexpensive, too.

No slit = male. Can't wait to welcome you to the world, Theo!

Last year, I named my first big caterpillar Theo on a whim. "He" was big and easy to identify from the others in my caterpillar enclosure (a 5-gallon bucket). Then one morning, lots of molting had happened and everybody was Theo. As it turned out, his pace stayed ahead of the rest and he turned out to be a boy after all.