I'm curious, do you grow any other amendments for your soil or worm bins? I was considering stinging nettle and horsetail
Just Got A Worm Bin Going
- Thread starter Deadhead13
- Start date
I picked up some alfalfa seeds along with some aloe seeds, have never seen aloe seeds locally so figured why not try em. Set up a little spot in my closet to try these out with a spare qb I had sitting around. I'll let you know how it goes once I get them. Stuck in this shitty one bedroom apartment for now, so everything for me right now is just trial and error on a small scale. Would love to get some beds of this stuff going one day though.come to think of it, i wouldn't mind growing my own alfalfa as well. Not sure how hard any of these are to grow of course
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
Will do sir. Gonna mix up a fresh batch of soil this weekend and then mix even more aeration in for the alien's soil. Used a similar set up on some nursery bought aloes a while back and they seemed to do very well in that mix.
Never bothered for several reasons. Mainly, they are easy enough to collect in the wild, but the main reason, compared to comfrey, they take forever to break down (great for a compost pile though). Comfrey, unfrozen, takes about a week. Frozen for a few days, reduces that to ~2 days till it's black goo.
Second, comfrey is more complete across the board, nutrient wise, grows extremely fast and the worms love it. When you get 4-6 clear cut harvests per season, that kinda seals the deal for me. I'm 72, so woods walking excursions are a thing of the past.
But, by harvesting half of my 8 plant comfrey bed, I can feed all 7 of my worm bins. 2 weeks later, I clear cut the other half and 2 weeks after that, the 1st half is ready to be cut again. It really grows that fast.
Another trick learned from fruit and nut growers is to plant comfrey between rows, or, a few feet out from the main trunk and left alone. Just the natural growth of the comfrey is like a perpetual top dress of both nutrients and minerals that the trees can't reach. The main comfrey tap root can reach up to 15' deep in the soil, way deeper than the trees can reach. Getting mowed over is NBD, since the crown and the important stuff is well underground and protected.
It's just a win-win-win situation.
Wet
Wow, that is impressive. I'll be placing a comfrey order this week from the link you provided. Thanks!
Have never even seen seeds, just pups, that Aloe Vera throws quite easily. In SoFl it was known as the 'burn plant' and my G-parents were growing it before I was born.
For soil, use a cactus or succulent mix and keep on the dry side.
Wet
Cool Beans!!
Use a very loose mix, adding more perlite is not a bad idea. Be sure to bury the crowns a inch or so below the soil line. Water once a week at most. But I'm sure SM gave you detailed instructions.
They will wilt when dry and in hot weather outside, but when watering my outside bed, before I can get to the end of the first row, the first plant will be totally perked up. Once established, you can actually see this in progress, it just takes minutes...amazing.
Wet
insomnia65
Well-Known Member
Brilliant idea, I think I will do the same.
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
All seems to be going smooth and I’ve had to do very little in terms of work since making the bin. I’ve put in a little moist compost and banana peels.
Deadhead13
Well-Known Member
Dam best plant I had was a boy and now it’s wormfood. Crap luck on the farm.