Vermicomposting - a thing to consider

hey ohsogreen, what else do you use in your organic soil besides worm castings? do you still need/use other organic NPK ferts or ammendments? thanks in advance for what ive already learned from your thread

Subcool has a nice soil recipe if you have not checked that out i would highly recommend looking at that.

Im Loving Vermicompositing so far!!! My worms are not eating a half pound of food a day but they are eating quick enough. Can anyone help with how damp the bedding and worm castings should be while still having worms in it??? To keep the bin wet I just use a spray bottle and spray the top layer and then mix it in a bit. Is this good enough???

Thanks in advance!!!

sheerinterest said:

hey ohsogreen, what else do you use in your organic soil besides worm castings? do you still need/use other organic NPK ferts or ammendments? thanks in advance for what ive already learned from your thread

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Sheerinterest.... Sorry, I missed this one. I use compost from my own compost barrel / piles (recyled grow soil, bunny poop, yard wastes & kitchen waste), peat moss or well rinsed coco fiber and perlite.
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My basic soil mix is 50 percent well aged compost (bagged from Lowes or Home Depot will work), 30 percent sphagnum peat moss or well rinsed coco fiber, 10 percent perlite (the plain - not enriched type) and 10 percent worm castings.
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You can do up to 20 percent worm castings with no worries, but over that is not good. Since, worm castings are very heavy / dense for their size. Too much and roots will have a harder time pushing through / past them. (wasted energy).
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic....
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farel2 said:

Subcool has a nice soil recipe if you have not checked that out i would highly recommend looking at that.

Im Loving Vermicompositing so far!!! My worms are not eating a half pound of food a day but they are eating quick enough. Can anyone help with how damp the bedding and worm castings should be while still having worms in it??? To keep the bin wet I just use a spray bottle and spray the top layer and then mix it in a bit. Is this good enough???

Thanks in advance!!!

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Farel2..... The easiest way to keep the bin moist, but not wet is - Go to Wal-Mart and buy one of those cheap soil moisture meter's. Keep your worm bin bedding in the middle of the dial (on the meter) and it's sweet sailing. Five buckets well spent, it takes the guess work out of the equation.
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Also, when you add water to you worm bin, only add it to one half at a time. Like the right half or the left half. Then the next time you need to add more water, add water to the opposite half.
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Doing this helps the worm bin slightly dry on one side (temporarily), then the moisture tends to even out over the course of a few days. Just like with Mary, overwatering is a bad thing in worm bins. I learned this little tip from an very experienced worm farmer. She's got dozens of bins and they're alway in great shape.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real...Organic.....
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thanks ohso!!!

Ill try that and see how it goes!

Let's bump this old thread back up. Everyone should get vermicomposting a try. It's cheap, easy and the payoff is black gold.
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Keep it Real....Organic....
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i have worms in my composter... same effects?

ok when people say organic growing that means NO NUTES right?

ReggaeGanja said:

ok when people say organic growing that means NO NUTES right?

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ReggaeGanja.... No, nutes are an absolute must, to make anything grow. When when grow organically, we work with nature, feeding the soil and letting it feed the plant. This is truly the best way to grow.
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Here is a good link, that covers the basics :
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http://www.organicgardeningguru.com/
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And before someone asks, No that's not a picture of me in the upper left hand corner of that page. I'm not quite that handsome.
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Hope this helps.....
Keep it Real.....Organic.....
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Let's recycle this old thread...
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Worm Poop is truly black gold.....for Mary......
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billdo said:

I was wondering what other vermicomposters do to separate out the castings? Do you use a screen? If so, what type/size?

I don't even bother with it... as anything else at that point is just great compost.... but I am considering separating the tray that just finished.

anybody care to opine?

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I'd be interested also.

For large scale vermicomposters, there are mechanical separators, but big $$$$$.

Seems like back in this thread a screen was mentioned, but my eyes are already crossed from so much reading, I'm not going to go back and look for it.

Wet

I'm going to be starting my frist grow here in a while (1 1000w HPS for flower 1000 MH for veg) and I was really considering going organic. I live in an area choked with the organic culture, so a wealth of experience and knowlege is readily available. For regular flower and vegetable farming....

Would you recommend organic farming to a beginner in this field? I come from a long line of bootleggers and farmers so i take to this real well.

I have a question. What do I use to start it? Do I use stuff like miracle grow, or just backyard dirt?

connorbrown said:

I have a question. What do I use to start it? Do I use stuff like miracle grow, or just backyard dirt?

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For a worm bin??

Did you read the thread or, follow any of the links?

Do some reading! Your answer is in the first few posts and expounded upon in the rest of the thread.

Wet

connorbrown said:

I have a question. What do I use to start it? Do I use stuff like miracle grow, or just backyard dirt?

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No, miracle grow contains harsh chemical fertilizers that would be harmful to your worms. Also Miracle Grow does not constitute an "organic" grow even in the loosest definition of the word.

First off, like Wetdog said, I would advise you read the thread from the beginning. I know it's long, but well worth the read. Very useful information. Do what I did when I first discovered this thread, smoke a bowl, grab something to drink/eat and just read it.

But to just answer your question quickly, start with a layer of lightly wet newspaper or other "brown material" (cardboard, straw, etc.).

Here's a couple links to outside material that may be helpful. But seriously, this thread, and OhSo in particular, contain a vast amount of information. If you want to grow organic, read this and every other thread started by OhSo.

Just let us know if you have any other questions. We're always glad to help one another.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/Vermicompost107.shtml
http://www.nyworms.com/vermicomposting.htm

I read the whole thread and it helped a lot. But the reason I asked was just to clarify.
So can I start with some organic soil from wal-mart?

To help start out the process you can add a couple handfuls of soil. This adds "roughage", which aids in the worms' digestion. A couple handfuls of bagged topsoil would be fine. I would avoid using any potting soil or other mixed products as they may contain supplemental nutrients or other foreign contaminants. Even though Miracle Grow Organic says organic, it contains fertilizers that may harm your worms.

I'd be wary of using soil from your lawn as well because it may contain harmful pathogens. So again, I'd suggest adding a couple handfuls of bagged topsoil or compost. Hell, even sand can be used, as it is the sand in soil which aids in the breakdown and digestion of food for the worms.

Just be patient with it, in a couple months the "black gold" produced by your friends will be much more beneficial, and organic, than anything you could buy in a store.

connorbrown said:

I read the whole thread and it helped a lot. But the reason I asked was just to clarify.
So can I start with some organic soil from wal-mart?

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No, shredded newspaper or cardboard.

You need 1 SMALL handful of topsoil or sand to sprinkle in the bin. Worms have gizzards like chickens and need a few grains of sand to aid in digestion.

Other than that, no dirt or soil in the bin.

Wet

Wetdog said:

I'd be interested also.

For large scale vermicomposters, there are mechanical separators, but big $$$$$.

Seems like back in this thread a screen was mentioned, but my eyes are already crossed from so much reading, I'm not going to go back and look for it.

Wet

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Put the food on one side of the composter. In a few hours, the worms will have migrated to that side, leaving the other side evacuated and ready for harvest. Then, feed them on the other side, and now the side you didnt harvest is empty of the worms and you can collect from there.

farel2 said:

Subcool has a nice soil recipe if you have not checked that out i would highly recommend looking at that.

Im Loving Vermicompositing so far!!! My worms are not eating a half pound of food a day but they are eating quick enough. Can anyone help with how damp the bedding and worm castings should be while still having worms in it??? To keep the bin wet I just use a spray bottle and spray the top layer and then mix it in a bit. Is this good enough???

Thanks in advance!!!

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Thanks farel2. Yes I did see subcool's recipe but I like to get advice from many sources for the sake of diverse knowledge and experience.