Vermicomposters Unite! Official Worm Farmers Thread

[Rozgreenburn]

Finished harvesting EWC from my 5 bins, zoiks, 30 gallons of fresh EWC! It's a good thing, to be a soil mechanic. So at this point, I'll be amending our vegetable garden too! I need to set up 2 more bins but don't have space. Too hot outside now, but in late September I'll start some extra bins in my wife's greenhouse. I'm guessing there will be some worms to sell come spring, lots of worms!!!

 

[Friendly_Grower]

Thanks for this thread.

May I suggest that the Title be changed to include the search terms "Vermicomposting, Vermicompost and Worm and Worm Castings?
At least Vermicompost.

I started another thread because this doesn't show up in keyword search.

Okay so I am now officially into Vermicomposting!
I wanted you connect with others and I have 85 pages to read but I am making my hello post!

*From old thread*

For my first ever VermiComposting adventure I've gone and sourced everything I read about.
Parts shredded cardboard, part soil with fresh roots from some clone in a pot, chopped up fresh clones ( not needed ) and kitchen scraps saved in a lovely "compost can" that looks like a miniature garbage can. very nice. You might want one for your kitchen. Impress your friends. Keeps the smell in with activated carbon scrubber in the lid. Also I am experimenting with corn from bird feed that I cannot use now due to bird-flu. In composting it, it disappears fast.

This Vermicomposting looks to be perhaps one of the lowest maintenance projects for making a soil amendment that I have experienced so far.
Oh I make compost and I recycle my organic soil used in previous season by adding the old soil to new composting. Some things like Azomite and Greensand take time to be available to plants so it is a good idea to recycle if, like me, you added these things the season before. In my mind bio-activity is king.
I suspect I should check on these, my new gardening buddies every week or so.
They have Plenty of food-stuff for them.
Things are moist and once I get the fabric screen to finish their proper Vermi-Bin I'll transfer them from this temporary bin with no drainage to a bigger bin with drainage.
I have a timetable of being ready to Grow the Winter grow come October. "To every Season Turn, Turn, Turn.."


And now some pictures. A favorite part of posting for me.











So that is it for my initial efforts.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

I now feed my worms all sorts of selected goodies and treats:

Wakame kelp

Dried Red Clover flowers

Dried Yarrow flowers

Dried Valerian flowers

Dired Chamomile flowers

Dried Nettle leaf

Fresh Comfrey leaf

Hemp powder

Cannabis leaf/stem

Diatomaceous Earth

Powdered eggshells

Coco fiber

That is like little razors!!! It is meant to cut insects to have them "leak out and die."

Why use that for calcium?

 

[0potato0]

DE does not harm earthworms. Earthworm farmers use it to treat their worm beds for parasites, fungus gnat larva etc.

 

[Kushash]

That is like little razors!!! It is meant to cut insects to have them "leak out and die."

Why use that for calcium?

I also use DE to control fruit flies and have found it to not be harmful to my worms.

 

[hillbill]

I also use DE to control fruit flies and have found it to not be harmful to my worms.

Got rid of centipedes in my bin with DE. Worms not bothered.

 

[0potato0]

Did the centipedes eat the worms? Otherwise they are super beneficial they attack anything that moves

 

[hillbill]

Did not wait to find out. Second time I brought em in myself. Centipedes have no home in my home.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

Well Really!

I'm impressed on DE then.
So it's used in the bins for pest control! It would also provide some calcium
Nice to learn something new!

Around here, out in the country, I see nats. Black Soldier flies and house flies so far.
Nats are going to be around because I also keep Guinea Pigs and they get veggies and they have poo and pee collecting. That is what their job is: To poo and pee up the hay bedding for "further processing."

I can tell I am not alone in the Man of the Soil club around here! NICE!

Do we know the patron Saint of the Soil is? Oh Crap I thought it was St. Stanislaus but I got that wrong.
I guess it is a toss up between St. Francis of Assisi (patron saint of animals and environment), St. Isidore the Farmer ( (1070-1130) is considered the patron saint of farmers and rural communities.) and St. Fiacre, the chief Catholic saint of gardeners.

Well, I got to page ten. Only 75 more pages to read.

 

[hillbill]

Silicon

 

[0potato0]

Centipedes have no home in my home.

WHY?

 

[hillbill]

They fucking “bite”

 

[Friendly_Grower]

Throw another "Centi on the Barbi?"
I'm sure Shrek would like it.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

So hey, should I save my egg shells to the side, dry and grind them for "Grit" for the worms?
I am reading that egg shells are for grit. is that still a valid point of "Worm-Farming?"

 

[0potato0]

I powder them in a spice grinder

 

[Friendly_Grower]

DE does not harm earthworms. Earthworm farmers use it to treat their worm beds for parasites, fungus gnat larva etc.

I wonder if it works against Black Soldier Fly larvae.
If I understand things I do not want BSF in the worm bin.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

I powder them in a spice grinder

I forgot about that kind of grinder. is that the same as coffee bean grinder?

 

[0potato0]

I wonder if it works against Black Soldier Fly larvae.
If I understand things I do not want BSF in the worm bin.

It has to on the top to work I don't think it works once it's mixes in or wet

I forgot about that kind of grinder. is that the same as coffee bean grinder?

Yeah exactly

 

[hillbill]

BSF and red wiggles live in my same outdoor compost barrel.

 

[Callisto405]

I gotz some some red wigglers I got from Walmart in my compost bin