Vermicomposting - a thing to consider

the worm count in my b.d.compost pile is now about 1 baitshop per shovel!

slippery p- on county road 'C'? it's been a long time since I've been to Alpine! a lot of good memories there! that's probably still the best venue in the area. I saw your bong rec.area sign...I've heard those signs keep disappearing!

s.c.mtn.hillbilly said:

slippery p- on county road 'C'? it's been a long time since I've been to Alpine! a lot of good memories there! that's probably still the best venue in the area. I saw your bong rec.area sign...I've heard those signs keep disappearing!

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LOL...I bet you gotta lock those down....Come to think of it...id like to have one of those...

Bump...& recycle.......
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Was wondering how to keep temps cool in hot areas. Even in garage seems too hot. what are ideal temps too? Thanks ohSo for recycle.

How much castings should you put in a tea per gallon? On the back of the bag it just says 1:3 ratio, but no measurements.

Off Topic, but I have a few bong signs from Superior when I went to school. Bong Recreational Park, Bong Bridge ect. Richard Bong... lol Dick Bong.

Sorry for the off topic, I'm quite high and found it funny and quite relevant considering the offtopicness.

I'm really thinking about starting a worm farm for next season outdoor.

I have quite a few horse and cow farms around my area that I harvest pies from for use as an amendment. I've always just bought soil that contained castings, but I feel I may be able to get awesome results with my own farm and castings.

This thread has been quite awesome, thanks for all the wonderful information guys/ gals.

Vermicomposting is bad ass!

THanks for all this info everyone!!!! Makes it a lot easier to try new things. OhSo Probably wouldn't be trying true living organics if it wasn't for your posts!!!!!!!Vermiposting is the way to go!!! How much food do you start with for a pound of worms? Or is it just trial and error. Example: put in a peice of bread and an apple and see how it does. I assume less is better than more to start>?

farel2 said:

THanks for all this info everyone!!!! Makes it a lot easier to try new things. OhSo Probably wouldn't be trying true living organics if it wasn't for your posts!!!!!!!Vermiposting is the way to go!!! How much food do you start with for a pound of worms? Or is it just trial and error. Example: put in a peice of bread and an apple and see how it does. I assume less is better than more to start>?

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Start them out VERY slowly. I had to start over at one point because of overfeeding. My bin was toxic.

Some more advice, while i am on it.

Nothing spicy (even bell peppers seem to be eaten slowly)
No rhubarb
No meat
No dairy
No onions (peels seem to be OK, but still slower to eaten than other goodies)

farel2 said:

THanks for all this info everyone!!!! Makes it a lot easier to try new things. OhSo Probably wouldn't be trying true living organics if it wasn't for your posts!!!!!!!Vermiposting is the way to go!!! How much food do you start with for a pound of worms? Or is it just trial and error. Example: put in a peice of bread and an apple and see how it does. I assume less is better than more to start>?

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Farel2..... You are welcome. Sorry, I missed your post and just found it today.
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I'm always glad when I help someone make the switch from chem ferts to organics. Organics are just a much better way to grow IMO.
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Billdo gave some good advice. Small amounts are best. A healthy group of worms can eat 1/2 their weight a day, but temps and humidity also affect their feeding rates, as well are soil pH.
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If the moisture content in your bin is over 50 percent R. Humidity, your bin pH is between 6 and 7, and temps are above 50, but below 80, your worms will eat, & eat & eat, pooping out that Black Gold like crazy. Also you will see their numbers increasting (doubling ever 90 to 120 days), which is an added bonus.
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For a great read on worm care....check out this site...... It's geared for kids but the info is really solid and easy to follow. It's where I got my start in vermicomposting.....
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http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic.......
& Black Gold is about as Organic as one can get.....
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I love worms and that thing is cute...I have a hard part with a bit of it....Heres a quote from the site.

When you dig in your garden and find worms, you probably think that I have always been here in America. Actually, early European settlers brought me over to North America during the 1600's and 1700's. Many travelers back then would bring plants with them from their country. I tagged along in the soil around the roots of these plants. (You can learn more about these times at Jamestown Timeline .)

As an imported foreign animal, I am a little different though. If I hadn't been brought over, your soils and gardens would be very poor. If I did have any ancestors in this country before I was brought over, they were probably wiped out during the last Ice Age 10,000 to 50,000 years ago.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!!!
i have a few other questions
1. i just got my worms and so i am blending the veggies and fruit etc in a food proecessor so that they can digest quicker. I am worried about food rotting. Will this technique help with that?
2. The max mix you can use castings with is 30% of your mix right??
3. Can you burn a plant by using both worm castings in the soil and as a tea?

I am very excited to get this all started!!!!!

Thanks everyone again!!!!
Gotta Love Roll It up-Organics@!!!!!!!!

Also Before i added the worms i soaked newspaper with tap water not thinking!!!!!!! ( still used to chem ferts) Will this kill/severely affect my worms???? is there anything i can do at this point if it is really really bad for them??

Thanks again

1. bury the food under the top layer of newspaper or soil - just so the food isn't exposed. Washing the food off will help get rid of any fruit fly eggs that may be on the skin/surface. Chopping the fruit up only helps the worms eat faster by increasing the surface area.
2. You can probably do more, but it would be a waste of the castings and decrease the drainage and aeration of the soil.
3. Worm castings is very low in nutrients, but high in humic acid and microorganisms. I do not believe they will burn the plants.

In regards to your chlorinated water question - I did the same thing and did not notice any negative effects on the worms . The chlorine/chloramine in the tap water will kill off the microorganisms in the worm castings thou. Kind of defeating the purpose of vermicasting if you keep applying the untreated tap water.

awsome thanks a lot!!!

I was a little worried about the tap water hurting the worms a lot also.

Im really excited for vermicomposting!! I hope I do not get a lot of flying bugs though im in an apartment and so my bin is inside.

will having food buried ensure that bad pests stay away or can they still multiple with in underneath the surface?

just bought a 10 gal container the other day now just gotta get a couple pounds of newspaper and il be set. i know i cant use magazines cause the color and gloss but what if the newspaper is in color?

i did not use pages that were all full of colour, other than that i just shredded it and tossed it in. Hope this was the right thing to do lol

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?

kebnutkush said:

Off Topic, but I have a few bong signs from Superior when I went to school. Bong Recreational Park, Bong Bridge ect. Richard Bong... lol Dick Bong.

Sorry for the off topic, I'm quite high and found it funny and quite relevant considering the offtopicness.

I'm really thinking about starting a worm farm for next season outdoor.

I have quite a few horse and cow farms around my area that I harvest pies from for use as an amendment. I've always just bought soil that contained castings, but I feel I may be able to get awesome results with my own farm and castings.

This thread has been quite awesome, thanks for all the wonderful information guys/ gals.

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maybe they named the bong for him...he was a heavy hitter! "light 'em up!"