Compost Organisms

Hi folks

So I mixed up a super soil following the revs recipe from his book TLO, and after a couple weeks of composting Im starting to see organisms that look like nematodes and mites. I've read that there probably not a problem, and that they may just be the type of nematode and mite that just decompose organic matter.

Has anyone seen organisms like this while composting super soils? And were they a problem when it came time to use the soil?

They are an indication of a healthy soil. They are to be expected and they are helpful

Yes when I fir st went o organic I will still up size pots and man I would pull plant out of 1 gal b
Pot and I have so many spring tails bugs everything and was like ok... that can't be good. But yes it'd natural. The are all helping the biology of soil

I'm going with 25 gallon geopots this next round, and am hoping to introduce worms. I'm hoping that 25 gallons is sufficient to support them in a no-till

Thanks for the replies guys! That makes me feel a lot better!

Rrog said:

I'm going with 25 gallon geopots this next round, and am hoping to introduce worms. I'm hoping that 25 gallons is sufficient to support them in a no-till

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you'll have no problem doing that, all my containers are full of redworms. I scrape a teensy layer off the top and there they are.
in my EWC, and compost like crazy, so I couldn't keep them out if I wanted to.
The smallest fabric pots I have are 7 gallons and they are totally fine in there.
The size of the pot sorta dictates their reproduction habits. Or it would seem.
25 gallons is plenty of room, if yu are in a dry area I suggest a layer of paper or cardboard on top of the soil after watering, you'll see the roots grow all the way to the surface of the soil, AND your worms will be happy too.

Groovy-

I'll be doing a constant-drip system again. Works great.

Rrog said:

Groovy-

I'll be doing a constant-drip system again. Works great.

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a teensy topdress of coffee grinds is a good nitrogen supplement for your plants AND will keep your reds nice and happy.
Common misconception with coffee grinds as a nutrient for plants, there aren't very acidic at all.
I use the hell out of coffee grinds on my compost pile, I don't feed my reds them anymore though, they like fruit more, takes like a month fro them to eat the grinds but like 3 days for rotted fruit

If your in the south or lower you should consider African night crawlers as your composted. They only poop on the surface and eat underneath this means you can harvest the top and have only castings. You'll never have to remove worms from your product but I have noticed the hose is over kill for watering a worm bed. It watered in alot of casting. I have since assembled a pvc sprayer to lightly spray the bed 15min a day. Also they're really hungry. Feed worms molasses to help promote reproduction.

Oh and back on to weird things in the soil. Most pests are soil born and you should stay careful. Neem oil or other pest repellents work great but shouldn't be sprayed directly on the leaves. Iv got lots or millipedes, centipedes, spiders, gnats, aphids, etc. Ha but I'm outdoors and they quickly get eaten. I also companion plant with chives or onion.

greasemonkeymann said:

a teensy topdress of coffee grinds is a good nitrogen supplement for your plants AND will keep your reds nice and happy.
Common misconception with coffee grinds as a nutrient for plants, there aren't very acidic at all.
I use the hell out of coffee grinds on my compost pile, I don't feed my reds them anymore though, they like fruit more, takes like a month fro them to eat the grinds but like 3 days for rotted fruit

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I used upwards of 40 gallons of coffee grinds as well as bokashi made from grinds, peat, and EMe last pile. No manuer but lots of fermented kitchen garbage and leaves. I was certainly worried about the acidity but it composted in 3 weeks as usual and performed very well with all my types of plants.