Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

First pic...
Notice the dark spot directly under the mushroom cap? Spores!!!!!!
I'm not that we'll versed on mushroom hunting or really identification either. I'm thinking this is some variation of endo or ecto. I had these in my compost barrel about 4 months after I added a bale of straw. Even if it's not endo or ecto, it's still fungi and adds balance to the ecosystem.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

Tomatoe seedlings are poping out of the farms top tier.
And..... fucking mushrooms.....
Diversity-
View attachment 3603791 View attachment 3603790 View attachment 3603789

I really like your DIY worm bin!!! I think that I have the material laying around to build one, nice design, looks simple and effective.

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

I really like your DIY worm bin!!! I think that I have the material laying around to build one, nice design, looks simple and effective.

Thanks man.
It's really basic.
2x4 for the frame
1x2 for the alignment (make sure to slightly round the tips so the trays easily stack)
Burlap
3/8" plastic fencing.

Probably the easiest thing I've made to date. But the most important non the less.

 

[Kind Sir]

agreed, most believe their wormbins are the most important part of their set up, should be stickied, I think one for good bugs/bad bugs would be good too, there seems loads of confusion in that area

Agreed and thanks. I neex that bug sticky, I couldnt imagine sticking my hand in my worm bin anmymore. I used to enjoy smelling it, now aill end up sniffing a mite up and cloning them in my lungs.

 

[Kind Sir]

USB microscope, not too expensive and very good for checking trichome colour and finding bad bugs. I noticed some thrip on my last grow and pulled a leaf off to look at some under the scope. Turns out I also found an early infestation of spider mite, small amount of immature but there must've been adults cos there were eggs aplenty, so I added some hypoaspis mite and some other mite (amelius andersoni or something like that), not had a thrip or s-mite in ages now, but you can see how many predators are in my VC bin and also in my soil (I Inoculated both). I don't think I'd have caught the mite infestation so early without the scope and a bit of luck, I guess.

Hey what scope do you use?

 

[DonBrennon]

This is the exact one I've got, I think it must've been on offer when I bought it, I only paid £35. I'm sure they can be picked up for around £30/$44

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/usb-digital-microscope-with-400x-magnification-n43hh?gclid=CL3ax7q66MoCFQgW0wodYJMCiQ

the stand for it is practically useless and because of the wire, it's very difficult to focus at 400x magnification. They are a great bit of kit for the price though, despite the faults

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

I was anxious to run these screens so I harvested 3 trays today.
Fluffy, spongy, earthy....gold!
Not bad for 3 trays, I'll weigh it up and see my haul. This is all the burlap that's left. They must like it. From the looks of it, I harvested about 1/2 of the total farm volume.

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

Now for the woody beer grain farm I've been doing in a storage tote. Added back the volume lost from harvesting.
Topped it off with some hemp mulch.
Going to add 1/2 of an avacado to each tray to get an even migration for the reds. The Europeans like to stay on the bottom tray and they prefer a higher C to N than the reds.

 

[Beemo]

This is all the burlap that's left. They must like it.

be careful with burlap
from Elaine R. Ingham
Fresh burlap should be used with caution, though, as it is soaked in
preservative materials which can be extracted into the tea and kill the organisms.

have you tried coffee grounds? they are free at starbucks all day long

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

be careful with burlap
from Elaine R. Ingham
Fresh burlap should be used with caution, though, as it is soaked in
preservative materials which can be extracted into the tea and kill the organisms.

have you tried coffee grounds? they are free at starbucks all day long

Ok cool, I had no idea about burlap. I thought it's was clean. But I do soak it in RODI before it needs to be replaced.

I do use coffee grounds and the worms love it.
Lol, Starbucks is actually one place I get used grounds, dunking donuts is the other.

 

[Beemo]

cant wait to start mine again... too cold right now...
had a 55g smart pot. lumperdawg style
filled with alpaca shit and coffee grounds (free).. and amendments (not free)...
recipe gotten from an old organic farmer.... worms love it...
bitch to harvest....
lol... got a similiar sifting screen like yours. 1/4 and 1/8
mainly used the 1/8 only tho....

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

cant wait to start mine again... too cold right now...
had a 55g smart pot. lumperdawg style
filled with alpaca shit and coffee grounds (free).. and amendments (not free)...
recipe gotten from an old organic farmer.... worms love it...
bitch to harvest....
lol... got a similiar sifting screen like yours. 1/4 and 1/8
mainly used the 1/8 only tho....

Mannnnnn, Dat alpaca shit is amazing stuff!! I love it and I know worms do too! It's done wonders for my outdoor raised tomato beds. Till it in, top dress or feed worms. Fresh is safe to use, absolutely zero burn!

Yeah, the 1/8 is the better one because I still have babies that slip through the 1/4.
A barrel harvester is my next next project. I'm going to have to look around for odd sized screen. 1/4 is too much and 1/8 just ain't enough. Gotta take the fucking labor out of harvesting, ya know. Shit gets old real quick, lol.

 

[Beemo]

Mannnnnn, Dat alpaca shit is amazing stuff!! I love it and I know worms do too! It's done wonders for my outdoor raised tomato beds. Till it in, top dress or feed worms. Fresh is safe to use, absolutely zero burn!

Yeah, the 1/8 is the better one because I still have babies that slip through the 1/4.
A barrel harvester is my next next project. I'm going to have to look around for odd sized screen. 1/4 is too much and 1/8 just ain't enough. Gotta take the fucking labor out of harvesting, ya know. Shit gets old real quick, lol.

lol, had the same problem with 1/4. many cocoons...
barrel harvester might be the easier way...
but my next design... want something similar to this...

that way you can harvest from the bottom.. and keep top feeding thru the top...
a lot of vineyards use this setups...
wonder how they make great grapes and wine... EWC

 

[Grandpa GreenJeans]

lol, had the same problem with 1/4. many cocoons...
barrel harvester might be the easier way...
but my next design... want something similar to this...

that way you can harvest from the bottom.. and keep top feeding thru the top...
a lot of vineyards use this setups...
wonder how they make great grapes and wine... EWC

Must have!!!!

 

[Beemo]

some more examples of flow thru worm bin..

 

[Wetdog]

GGJ ... Use 2 - 1/4" screens, slightly offset, 1 on top of the other. Nothing larger than 1/4" and the majority slightly smaller.

Much, MUCH easier than trying to source 3/16" screen. Small tie wraps work well to hold them in place

Wet

Mannnnnn, Dat alpaca shit is amazing stuff!! I love it and I know worms do too! It's done wonders for my outdoor raised tomato beds. Till it in, top dress or feed worms. Fresh is safe to use, absolutely zero burn!

Yeah, the 1/8 is the better one because I still have babies that slip through the 1/4.
A barrel harvester is my next next project. I'm going to have to look around for odd sized screen. 1/4 is too much and 1/8 just ain't enough. Gotta take the fucking labor out of harvesting, ya know. Shit gets old real quick, lol.

 

[MustangStudFarm]

I was looking at worm chow recipes, and I came across this. Is this really all that it takes to make the stuff? I am guessing that everybody has seen Purina worm chow?

TexasRedWorms.com Worm Chow is:

1 part corn meal

1 part ground up oatmeal

add crushed egg shells for minerals and flavor

 

[Theophagy]

I was looking at worm chow recipes, and I came across this. Is this really all that it takes to make the stuff? I am guessing that everybody has seen Purina worm chow?

TexasRedWorms.com Worm Chow is:

1 part corn meal

1 part ground up oatmeal

add crushed egg shells for minerals and flavor

I have been using this mixture for awhile now.
2 parts corn meal
2 parts oatmeal
1 part egg shells
throw it all in the blender. I started off just sprinkling a little at a time on top.
Worms seem to love it.

 

[Richard Drysift]

Seems like stickies are helpful
Thanks DonB
But I still...
I wish beneficial bio predators were common place and readily available at every store that sells these hydro nutes that seem so readily available city to city
Not one in my region has myco
My whole grow can exist mail-free minus the myco and lights,
Who thankfully I have a a great guy like @DonPetro to have tredged the foggy hi ways of .

I guess the industry is still coming in to its own
It's up to us to request these things and educate store owners
Some are eager to get lists from guys like us
Other talk shit about worm castings like they only ever grown Che-lated.
Gotta get to know your city and the best shop and then help people go there I guess.

My old shop that is now out of business tried carrying organic amendments and even had a worm tea club where you would pay monthly $20 and get up to 2gal of tea per week but it didn't work because they didn't keep it fresh- was anaerobic many times I tried to pick it up so I decided to make my own once my wormies were established. The problem is that they just can't make the same money off of us organic growers as they can off growers addicted to nutes. Plus only a few guys working there were knowledgable enough to even help out those doing living soil grows...they just want to sell you stuff & they don't care if your plants are healthy or not as long as you keep buying shit from them.

 

[ForRealz]

Oooh, this area has loads of Slurm for me to slurp up, Im glad I wriggled my way over to this corner!