Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread
- Thread starter Rising Moon
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getogrow
Well-Known Member
This is more proof that you dont need to PH anything in containers.Thanks so much! Will you give em citrus? I'm juicing limes every weekFrom what I've read, there seems to be a divided house on sharing peels with the worms
Yes , i give them everything except the things i mentioned above. Im assuming what they mean when they say not to give too much citrus is that if you used citrus ONLY to feed them , then the mix may get too acidic for the worms ? Thats completely plausible. As long as your feeding other things then the microbiology of the container will stay proper.
It sure wont hurt. ive added plenty of bokashi bran to my bins but never fed bokashi only. The organisms in the bokashi are completely different then the aerobic bacteria we all love. I would add it to the bins but not so much as to "waaste" the bran. That bran is so full of life ....it almost seems like a waste because the worm bin is so full of life on its own. Thats just my rambling opinions.
I cannot see anything wrong with doing so.
getogrow
Well-Known Member
no but thats thug shit right there! much respect for your worms !! you sir, are my idol for the day. I LOVE ORGANICS !!!
crittertime
Active Member
Just harvested a big ol' jug of worm castings for the first time. Felt kinda bad taking it from the lil buggers -- they looked so happy nestled in their dirt.
Anyhow, I was wondering just what it is exactly is in worm castings. Everyone knows its good for growing, but why? What does it do? Off to research
Anyhow, I was wondering just what it is exactly is in worm castings. Everyone knows its good for growing, but why? What does it do? Off to research
hillbill
Well-Known Member
Light NPK values which are immediately available to plants and tons of mi robes. Also have Earthworm Mites and Springtails, Psuedo Scorpions and other tiny things and their frass as well. Humic acid enzymes also. Castings are extremely refined compost and you can see yourself with a good glass.
I use Greensand and very fine bring limestone, a bit of Azomite for grit. A lot of “grit” sifts through with castings which is fine with Hillbill.
It is also a lot of fun.
I use Greensand and very fine bring limestone, a bit of Azomite for grit. A lot of “grit” sifts through with castings which is fine with Hillbill.
It is also a lot of fun.
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crittertime
Active Member
Hey friends. I just read here that using synthetic fertilizers kills most or all of the microbes in the soil food web.
I was about to top dress my plants with my homemade worm castings and feed with Tiger Bloom. I was even going to use a full recommended dose since my plants are showing signs of deficiency in their third week of flower. Turns out Fox Farm nutrients have synthetic ingredients. So now I'm kinda at a stand-still on whether I should use my worm castings now, or save them for an all-organic grow.
Do any of y'all use synthetic fertilizers? Do you believe that they kill living soil? Would my use of this fertilizer make the worm castings useless?
I was about to top dress my plants with my homemade worm castings and feed with Tiger Bloom. I was even going to use a full recommended dose since my plants are showing signs of deficiency in their third week of flower. Turns out Fox Farm nutrients have synthetic ingredients. So now I'm kinda at a stand-still on whether I should use my worm castings now, or save them for an all-organic grow.
Do any of y'all use synthetic fertilizers? Do you believe that they kill living soil? Would my use of this fertilizer make the worm castings useless?
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I personally use as little bottled things as possible. Only three bottles I have are fish hydrolysate, therm x(yucca extract), and em1. I am in the camp of building the soil full of all the nutrients and then maintaining the soil via a topdress or a nute tea if needed during the grow. That said, I have always had plenty of room for improvement on all my grows, but I have also been happy with the end product.
I know there are a lot of other people using bottled nutrients along with their well built soils. I'm not sure of the quality or ingredients in the products they use, but I've seen beautiful plants from going this route.
Cool thing about having the worm bin is that you, ideally/hopefully, have a steady supply of vermicompost so that you can always replenish some microbes.
crittertime
Active Member
Ahh, big brain time
snowdog203
Well-Known Member
Hmmm just food for thought. I zap my veggies (less than 1%) in the microwave to keep the flies and such to a minimum. I use 99% coffee grounds and whirly grind all my egg shells the other less than 1%. The worms have been thriving for nearly a decade with this diet. I think I'll start making compost tea this week for my first legal outdoor grow. Darn polar vortex has me playing the waiting game. Also top dressing with straight vermi-compost typically turns to a hard shell and some folk don't recommend it for this reason. My feeling about bottled nutes is if it grew in soil (mother nature) it should get along without the bottles. My attitude is if it grows well, looks good and I did it without buying bottles, more power to me. Glad this thread is up and running. Now that things are legal in a few places, maybe natural growing be revived.
crittertime
Active Member
I've been seeing that! What do you recommend to mix into the vermicompost to make it more useable?
snowdog203
Well-Known Member
Not a big user of Perlite but have used it to mix with vermicompost. I like the way I can feel the vermi "mud" get macerated by my hands when I rub the Perlite and Vermicompost together!
Sand! It is already a huge component of soil. Worms use it for grit. Win win.
Bears_win
Well-Known Member
I don’t think ew castings would be “useless” because your using tiger bloom, it’s definitely nit going to cause your microbe population to thrive though..maybe like the poster above says .. try some fish hydrolysate ( vital earth Brand is my fav).. I find if your gonna go organic / then maximize synergy.
The anecdotal evidence I have is ...
I am mostly organic, hugels, knf, try to create a living web... but also use epsom salt in my regime. Worms are thriving and living in my soil. Epsom salt is magnesium sulphate, a white crystalline and I use it sparingly with seemingly healthy soil.
But Dyor maybe run a side by side with tiger bloom vs a more organic fertilizer.
getogrow
Well-Known Member
i agree with this 100%. a little tiny bit of salt that the plant is going to eat quickly is not going to do much harm to your soil food web. "Synthetic nutes kill the microherd" is a very bold statment. Studies are being done everyday finally. Organics are still not fully understood by the masses but we know it tastes better then hydro grown.
If you are having problems with 100% organics then add some synthetic food so they survive. Thats the number one problem with most organic growers. Were scared to put chems in our living soil therefor we have a def almost always. Add some of what the plant needs and go from there.....
getogrow
Well-Known Member
Had a friend do the same. how? mine took care of itself almost. i just had to empty out the bin every once in a while a put fresh paper in there with some table scraps of about any kind.