Waikiki Worm Co.: Can-O-Worms

	Can-O-Worms™ Hawaii's top distributor of Can-O-Worms™ Waikiki Worm Co. is proud to feature the Can-O-Worms vermicomposting system. Manufactured in Australia from 100% recycled plastic, we consider it to be by far the best of the many stacking tray worm bins on the worldwide market. • Innovative stacking tray system • Comfortable home for thousands of worms • At full capacity can process 2-3 pounds a day • Fly-proof ventilation • Easy to assemble - 20" in diameter, 30" tall • Excess liquid (leachate) easy to collect and drain • Easy to harvest You'll want to open up this can of worms to show your friends what YOU are doing for Hawaii! The Can-O-Worms houses worms in over 300,000 homes, schools, and offices around the world. Since 1994, Can-O-Worm colonies have diverted 100,000 tons of food and other household organic waste from landfills and converted it into valuable vermicast. Place the Can-O-Worms in a sheltered, cool spot, either indoors or outdoors. There is no odor to attract rats, insects, or the interest of household pets. Here's how it works Start your vermicomposting system by bedding the worms in the first working tray. As they eat your garbage, the tray fills with vermicast. When filled, place the second tray on top. The worms migrate up through the mesh bottom to reach new food as it is added. Place the third tray on top when the second tray is filled. When all three working trays are filled, harvest the vermicast from the bottom tray. That empty tray goes on top. It takes 6 to 9 months to complete one cycle and fully populate your worm bin if you start with the manufacturers' recommendation of one pound - about 1,600 - worms. Once the Can-O-Worms has been built up to capacity, your worm colony will produce a full tray of dark, rich castings approximately every three months.
	Can-O-Worms™ Package • Can-O-Worms worm bin • One pound Perionyx excavatus composting worms • Coir bedding block • Instruction and guarantee $345 (plus tax) Can SANS The Can-O-Worms WITHOUT the worms! Same coir bedding block, instruction, and guarantee. $195 (plus tax) Think global, buy LOCAL When you purchase your Can-O-Worms from Waikiki Worm and our retail partners, you are supporting HAWAII'S vermicomposting industry. Mahalo!
	Set Up, Management & Maintenance Need a lesson or two on Can-O-Worms operation? Download our illustrated instructional fliers, below:

	Set Up Your Can-O-Worms Assembly, bedding, care & feeding Click to download tutorial	The First Cycle Moving up the system, harvesting and maintenance Click to download tutorial
	Frequently Asked Questions about Can-O-Worms Why do my worms congregate in the collection tray? How can I get them to go back? Worms are hard-wired to go down to seek moisture, especially in hot weather. Just ignore them – they can easily crawl back into the bed. Water generously, drain the leachate every few days, clean out the collection tray occasionally, and don’t worry about the worms – they can take care of themselves. It is normal for them to travel actively throughout the Can-O-Worms system. How do I keep ants from getting into my bin? Recycle five tuna cans (or other containers) and place them under each leg. Fill with water with a little dish soap or vinegar. You can also isolate the bin with a smear of vaseline around each leg or leg-dish. Ants will not cross water or vaseline. My worms are not consuming food very fast. How can I get them to eat more? Speed up feeding rate by chopping food waste – the finer the better (some people use their Cuisinart) – to create more surface area. You can also collect your food waste in the freezer, where ice crystals break the cell walls. Be sure to thaw before feeding! I'm going on a three week vacation. Do I need a worm sitter? No. Slow down feeding rate by feeding food whole or in big chunks. What are all these bugs doing in my Can-O-Worms? There are over 500 different critters in the worm bin community, all working in harmony with the worms. Most of these organisms are microscopic – bacteria, fungi, nematodes and others – but many are visible, including compost mites, earwigs, springtails, millipedes, beetles, snails, molds and mushrooms. They will not leave the bin and pose no danger to you, your pets, plants, or home furnishings. How often should I add water to the bin? Water generously and often – as long as the bin is draining freely, you cannot overwater your worms. Do I need to purchase more coir as I add trays? Not necessary. The 2-to-4 inch layer of paper/cardboard over the food will supply sufficient bedding. You will continually build up and transfer this paper layer to the next tray as you move up through the system. Don't hesitate to add plenty of cellulose material - paper and cardboard - whenever you feed your worms. This FREE bedding material holds moisture, creates air pockets, adds structure and bulk and provides the worms with shelter, protection, and a place to cool off. If you prefer coir, we carry it for $7/brick. The cast in my bottom tray looks rich and finished even though my Can is only two trays tall. Can I harvest now? Sure, why not? There is no law that says you have to use all three trays! Some people like to rotate only two trays and find the vermicast sufficiently finished for their needs. I really don't want to handle the worms. Is there an alternative way to harvest? Try this efficient harvesting method: When ready to harvest, remove the top three inches of material - half-eaten food, paper cover, etc. - from the top tray, as usual. Put this top material a bucket temporarily. Then remove the bottom tray and place it on top of the top tray. Gently fluff up the processed material (vermicast) and make a mound shape right there in the tray. Start picking away at the mound, shaving off the surface to make it smaller and smaller, collecting the vermicast in a bucket or other container. By the time you have picked down the mound of vermicast, the worms will have all squirmed down through the holes into the tray below. Simply dump in the original top material and you're pau! Re-establish your pattern of feeding beneath the paper cover and adding more paper as needed. The processed material in each finished tray looks very compressed. Is it OK to fluff it up? Absolutely! Gently loosen up the compressed material with your fingers, moving slowly and carefully so you don't hurt any worms. It's good to add oxygen into the system and fluffing helps the bed to drain better. Don't be afraid to get your hands in there! Can I put dog and cat feces in my Can-O-Worms? Not recommended. The vermicast I harvested is very wet, not like the kind I see packaged for sale. How do I dry it? How do I store it? What's the shelf life? Spread it out to dry in the shade, crumbling it with your fingers as it dries. Don’t let it dry completely – it should be slightly moist and cool to the touch. Store in a plastic container with holes in the lid for ventilation. Properly stored, vermicast will retain its potency for two years. How do I use vermicast? What is compost or vermicast tea? Mulch in vermicast as a soil amendment – do not use as a top dressing. For leafy greens and foliage plants, mix 5%-20% vermicast with potting or topsoil. For fruits and flowers, a richer mixture of 20% -30% is optimum. You can make an aqueous extract, or tea, by seeping a cup of vermicast in a mesh bag in a 5-gallon bucket of water for a few days, stirring vigorously. Use it as a foliar spray or soil drench. Vermicast tea is ideal for delivering nutrients as well as building resistance to plant pests and diseases. See the "Vermicast and Compost Tea" webpage for more information.