DIY plastic drum BSFL compost bin

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Aug 27, 2017

After the success of my previous BSFL compost bins I decided that for this coming season I will build a larger system that will allow me to use more larvae and compost more food waste. So I use the materials I collected over the months and started the construction of Pantagruel. Those who have followed me must now know about Gargantua, my DIY CFT. In the french Literature, Gargantua is a character from a novel from the 16th century by François Rabelais, Pantagruel is Gargantua's son, they both have a huge appetite.

About two years ago, I have collected three 220L (55 gallons) plastic drums, tw...

Homemade BSFL protapod

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Feb 19, 2017

Couple of weeks ago I found this I don't know what type of plastic container in a rubbish bin near a marina so I took it back as I could do something for the Black Soldier Fly Larvae. The bottom has a conical shape so I thought it would be great for drainage. The dimensions of the container are 44cm (17in) diameter, 30cm (12in) deep and the tapered zone is 18cm (7in) high.

Today I decided to make a mini protapod. I started to make the ramp by cutting a triangle out of a foam play mat for kids. It is glued to the container using some aquarium grade silicon caulk.

I then fitted a 32mm PVC pipe...

A tour of my BSFL biopod in video

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Jan 21, 2017

Today even though it was cloudy the temperature was over 30C (86F) and rain was predicted for late afternoon. As I got home I saw about 6 female flies escaping the bin and 14 egg clusters have been deposited in the new and old trap (which I have thrown in the new bin so the few eggs left would hatch).

Also good news is the ramp seems to work as I can see some stains the pupae have left behind and some of them are still on the surface of the collection bucket.

I added the photo at the end of the video I did for the bin construction tour.

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My homemade BSFL biopod

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Jan 18, 2017

My prototype BSFL bin was working all right for what I needed it for. I don't have chicken or fish to feed the pupae to so I didn't need a perfect bin for the larvae. But here were the issues I found with that prototype:

• it was too shallow and was filled uppretty quick and there would be no space for a drain filter layer.
• BSFL are able to climb vertical walls if the moisture on the walls is high enough for them to stick to it. So in the prototype bin some managed to escape to the outside. Not critical for me though.

I've been sent the link to another BSFL bin which I like even though it is d...

How to collect Black Soldier Fly eggs

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Jan 17, 2017

I'm currently working on my new BSFL composting bin and will soon post the pictures and maybe a video if I have time to get at it. Meanwhile, I thought some of you might be interested in the subject and would like to start getting some BSF eggs to also start their journey into BSFL composting.

So a little reminder: female Black Soldier Flies are attracted to smelly food and would oviposit (deposit) their eggs on a dry material adjascent to the food. By smelly food, I'm not talking about stinky food like garbage, I'm more talking about food that have a strong smell such as coffee ground for exa...

Closing the loop with Black Soldier Fly Larvicomposting

Posted in A day in a worm farm, Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Jan 16, 2017

You are probably asking what do Black Solider Fly Larvae have to do with a worm farm. First, they are quite a common critter to be found in a worm bin if you live in a country where the weather can be hot enough for them. And second, they can compost food scraps that worms cannot eat and the frass the produce is excellent worm food.

Having composted all my fruits and veggies scraps, I have decided to now take care of food worms cannot eat such as meat, dairy products, fatty food etc... This is why I started investigating and trialing with Black Soldier Fly Larvicomposting.

What are Black Soldi...