How the compost gets made (in 5 minutes and 28 seconds)

August 8, 2020 11:46 AM

8-week timelapse video of a worm bin in action.
posted by spamandkimchi (9 comments total)

Cool... but the video needs "nomnomnom" sounds.
posted by rpfields at 12:17 PM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

This time lapse is cool. Makes me realise that I'm probably not putting as much paper scraps in my worm bin as I should. They seem happy enough though.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:01 PM on August 8, 2020

Are those repeated additions of ice? ah, yes, so says the description.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 4:35 PM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

I found myself feeling more and more panicked as they piled on more and more compost material. The poor little worms are working as fast as they can! Give them a minute to get one layer dealt with before you pile on five more!!

…I am realizing that work has really gotten to me lately.
posted by snowmentality at 6:25 PM on August 8, 2020 [16 favorites]

There's a 2019 timelapse video by the same person that covers 80 days in less than five minutes.
posted by spamandkimchi at 7:03 PM on August 8, 2020

I was reasonably certain that I was one of a very select few who had ever watched these videos, and that it was my interests in vermiculture, composting and increasing worm production that made me watch them.

I took my hobby for granted, and now it's on Broadway.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 7:45 AM on August 9, 2020 [2 favorites]

Oh that was ice.
I'm moving my bin outside this year. It won't have a bottom on it so the worms can go as deep down into the soil as they need to to stay warm (is my theory). It's just that after three years of a worm bin in the garage, I want my garage back.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 11:31 AM on August 9, 2020

Incredible, thanks!

Doesn't compost produce a bunch of heat (from the bacterial and fungal saprophytic decomposition)? I'm a little surprised that it doesn't need to be stirred/ aerated over two months.

I remember my compost pile steaming in the winters, and steaming even more a day or two after a good aeration (and helps the aerobic microorganisms compete over the stinkier anaerobics). Or are the presence of the/ these-specific worms self-aerating?

We're seeing a lot of saprophytic feeding here, are there any predators taking advantage of the bioenergy conversion process? Would it affect the composting process?
posted by porpoise at 6:37 PM on August 9, 2020

I think the worms are doing the lion's share of breaking down of organics here, as opposed to a traditional compost pile, where the bacteria are.
posted by spamandkimchi at 6:48 AM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]