pheno hunting for this season...

bf80255 said:

want free worms? put a layer of your rabbits shit about 4 inches deep on the soil in a shaded and protected area of the yard and put a wet piece of cardboard on top..... wait a couple days and you can begin collecting

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whlie awsome those worms are mostly deep feeders and not the "best" for composting :
'
Also known as red wiggler worms or Eisenia fetida,these worms are commonly used to break down organic molecules in compost and decaying matter; worm poop or castings are used as a soil enhancer and fertilizer in the garden, on the lawn, or on houseplants.Unlike most other earthworms, red wigglers are surface feeders with the ability to consume up to half their body weight in decayed matter each day so household and agricultural waste are a ideal food for the red wigglers who turn it into worm castings – natures perfect food. This species of worm does not migrate so it can be easily kept in captivity if we provide a home, air, moisture and food. The worms do all the work!

Worms are hermaphrodites (both male and female). Each worm can produce up to 2-3 cocoons or capsules per week which hatch out every 3 - 4 weeks producing tiny white baby worms called threads. The baby worms that survive will mature to reproductive age in 1-2 months. Under healthy conditions there can be a rapid increase in population available to eat more garbage or to share with a friend. Under ideal conditions with plenty of food and room in a well established bin, one pound of worms can double in three to four months.

Most good worm castings will grow you some new worms.

yea I been looking for the red wigglers. Haven't had much luck sourcing, and I'd rather buy em local then order online.

@Dr.D81 are you going to use some of the castings and let them breed or they going to get used up?

@Mohican would bagged EWC from a nursery/grow store work ya think to start them?

If it is fresh enough. Check with local nursery and even bait shops for fresh. Which part of OR are you in?

In my country you can buy red wiggler in the local tackle & bait fishing shop. I believe by the kilo.

Have seen a guy who composted horse manure for over 18 month. At some stage he pulled out handsfull of those worms from the compost. Never saw so many of them in one spot. But he did the composting large scale outdoors on his plot.

Gbuddy said:

In my country you can buy red wiggler in the local tackle & bait fishing shop. I believe by the kilo.

Have seen a guy who composted horse manure for over 18 month. At some stage he pulled out handsfull of those worms from the compost. Never saw so many of them in one spot. But he did the composting large scale outdoors on his plot.

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They really like rabbet poo and under my pen is were my current bed is. Yea I think I am going to use some of theses and add some food back. If you can get use a bucket of worms from those folks I will use it.

Putting the final bracing up tonight. Papapayne helped me get the two wind braces up thanks

I have got to figure a better way to separate my castings than the back breaking way I did this last run, with 3 times as many totes now the next time I harvest. The stuff I'm left with is black and rich and earthy smelling vermicompost that is mostly wet and sticky. I tried screening with two screens a 1/4" and an 1/8" for the cocoons but it didn't work for me as the vermicompost would need to be pretty dry it seems to separate the castings, so I just hand separated the worms/uncomposted bits from the vermicompost and didn't worry too much about hatchling works and cocoons, leaving them in my newly separated and ready for action vermicompost.

Anyway, not attempting a hijack but since we've gone this far, I've tried the light and scraping a bit and waiting and scraping. It's slow and sux. I've tried the stacking new bins and you get half or so of the worms to migrate. Still had to hand separate and still lose cocoons. I've tried putting food to one side and again, it just seems I always have a mix of worms throughout the bedding regardless. There has to be an easier way than by hand. What do you guys do?

I saw a cool machine a while back. It is posted on the Vermicompost thread.

nice Pheno

Dr.D81 said:

They really like rabbet poo and under my pen is were my current bed is. Yea I think I am going to use some of theses and add some food back. If you can get use a bucket of worms from those folks I will use it.

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Yes in my language we call them red worm or "manure worm "

Btw your greenhouse looks great!

To seperate the worms I only have one idea.....
put a new pile of manure on one side of the old than you could make the old one a thin layer and dry it while the new one is kept wet. Maybe they go from old to new when old becomes to dry for them.
just guessing

Gbuddy said:

To seperate the worms I only have one idea.....
put a new pile of manure on one side of the old than you could make the old one a thin layer and dry it while the new one is kept wet. Maybe they go from old to new when old becomes to dry for them.
just guessing

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this is the "concept" it is called "flow thru worm farming" no you never get all the cocoons. the big guys just stack big layers of screens and food . up and up and up . the bottom ones are sifted with a multi screen setup . i am building one on a trailer for easy moving to the areas i need castings.

Smidge34 said:

I have got to figure a better way to separate my castings than the back breaking way I did this last run, with 3 times as many totes now the next time I harvest. The stuff I'm left with is black and rich and earthy smelling vermicompost that is mostly wet and sticky. I tried screening with two screens a 1/4" and an 1/8" for the cocoons but it didn't work for me as the vermicompost would need to be pretty dry it seems to separate the castings, so I just hand separated the worms/uncomposted bits from the vermicompost and didn't worry too much about hatchling works and cocoons, leaving them in my newly separated and ready for action vermicompost.

Anyway, not attempting a hijack but since we've gone this far, I've tried the light and scraping a bit and waiting and scraping. It's slow and sux. I've tried the stacking n ew bins and you get half or so of the worms to migrate. Still had to hand separate and still lose cocoons. I've tried putting food to one side and again, it just seems I always have a mix of worms throughout the bedding regardless. There has to be an easier way than by hand. What do you guys do?

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lots of options and pics on page 16 from this link .http://www.hrt.msu.edu/assets/PagePDFs/john-biernbaum/Worm-Composting-Biernbaum-23pgs-Jan2013.pdf
7. Harvesting of worms from finished compost or castings and screening finished compost

A key management process is separating the worms from the castings. There are at least four options:

 Option1 – Place fresh bedding and food adjacent to or on the surface of vermicompost beds and worms will move into fresh material. In Michigan several large greenhouse businesses import tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and other bulbs from the Netherlands. The bulbs are transported in plastic crates which can be purchased. These crates packed with fresh bedding and feed have worked well for collecting and moving worms. An 11” x 22” by 6” deep crate (about one cubic foot) can collect 2 to 3 pounds of worms and can be moved by one person.

 Option 2 – Keep worms moving up through fresh material and collect vermicompost from the bottom through a screen or by using stacking layers with large screen bottoms (variation of option 1).

 Option 3 – Use either light or drying to move the worms to the bottom of pile of finished worm compost and remove the surface layers of worm compost. This works well if workers can be doing other tasks in the PSGH and occasionally removing the next layer of material as worms move down. If taken to an endpoint a “worm ball” will form and worms can be collected, weighed and redistributed in new beds.

 Option 4 – For commercial production of worms for fishing bait, the bedding can be passed though a rotating, pitched screen that will sieve out the castings and collect the worms at the end of the screen. Based on our limited experience primarily the larger worms are collected and smaller worms pass through the screen with the finished compost. The small worms can be extracted from the finished compost by placing fresh bedding/feed at the surface of the pile as an attractant.

wow what a big day!

I hear what that article says and believe me bro, I try to research stuff thoroughly on my own before asking. Like I said, I've utilized all the methods and none are full proof. Old boy I bought my first castings and wigglers from has the commercial tumbler and he keeps his bins about as dry as you can and not kill the worms.

Smidge34 said:

I hear what that article says and believe me bro, I try to research stuff thoroughly on my own before asking. Like I said, I've utilized all the methods and none are full proof. Old boy I bought my first castings and wigglers from has the commercial tumbler and he keeps his bins about as dry as you can and not kill the worms.

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you did not go to page 16 of the link ?
it shows how to harvest the way i do it in a greenhouse with stacked boxes . pull bottom box . done.

Yeah, I tried stacking bins with fresh bedding and like I said in my first post, some migrated and a lot didn't, even after 30 days. I still had to break up my vermicompost and hand remove a lot of worms.

Btw, that rotating screen separator is exactly what the man I know uses to separate out his pure castings and cocoons. I've found the plans for several smaller home versions I may try.

I think another reason the commercial worm guy I know has a different type vermicompost from mine is undoubtedly the bedding he uses. He keeps his worms in a 50-50 shredded cardboard and peat mixture and feeds coffee grounds and Purina worm chow. In my research, I can't help but think his choice of bedding, grounds and chow produce a dryer vermicompost, easier to separate. His castings I bought kept my plants nice and healthy, but I couldn't help noticing they looked a lot like fine peat moss, with a subtle coffee undertone. I can't help but believe my moister, blacker, clumpier compost, with the composted manure, alfalfa and weekly feedings of banana and melons with some bone meal and green sand threw in isn't higher quality, but who knows. Thanks for responding and the link Joe.

Smidge34 said:

Yeah, I tried stacking bins with fresh bedding and like I said in my first post, some migrated and a lot didn't, even after 30 days. I still had to break up my vermicompost and hand remove a lot of worms.

Btw, that rotating screen separator is exactly what the man I know uses to separate out his pure castings and cocoons. I've found the plans for several smaller home versions I may try.

I think another reason the commercial worm guy I know has a different type vermicompost from mine is undoubtedly the bedding he uses. He keeps his worms in a 50-50 shredded cardboard and peat mixture and feeds coffee grounds and Purina worm chow. In my research, I can't help but think his choice of bedding, grounds and chow produce a dryer vermicompost, easier to separate. His castings I bought kept my plants nice and healthy, but I couldn't help noticing they looked a lot like fine peat moss, with a subtle coffee undertone. I can't help but believe my moister, blacker, clumpier compost, with the composted manure, alfalfa and weekly feedings of banana and melons with some bone meal and green sand threw in isn't higher quality, but who knows. Thanks for responding and the link Joe.

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look at build a soils worm casting product a patented process . i spoke with the owner and he says you/we are right on point . feeding a complex foodsouce is where its at for bio activity . thermophillic single source compost is the best food source (what his souce uses ) . peat and worm chow the worst IMO . the salts can get high in the peat mix and it tends to have sandy grit sediment i dont admire as well ...

as for stacking ... sinice i top dress alot of my castings the eggs and little ones dont bother me in the soil . they just make it better and migrate readly to my thermophillc composting area

Makes sense. Hell, they multiply quickly anyway if you give them the right conditions.