This wasn't originally a worm project, but it's turning out to have an interesting application.
Our composting worms aren't really going to enjoy winter unless they can stay ever so slightly above freezing... so what can we do to help?
First off, I raked out my garden beds and put down a fresh layer of newspaper over each bed. Then topped them off with grass clippings and about 4" of composted horse manure.
Then, compliments of my friends at www.WhollyBuckets.com I started putting the Bucket Huts over the soil.
The first set of buckets that I put out had holes in them already for spring seedlings to grow thru, but the others will be left solid until spring to absorb light and hold as much heat as possible through the winter months.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Worms love lasagna.
The Lasagna Garden method, that is....
In the '70's we called it Sheet Composting. The current trendy phrase is Lasagna Garden... Built in layers as you would do lasagna,,, and YES, worms love tomato sauce!
I just did a batch, but, alas, no pics... There was an unused section of my garden that was knee deep in weeds and quack grass. I pulled it all out y the roots and left it on the surface. Then a layer of cardboard and office paper. Nothing shredded, just a thick layer of paper products. Then I added a bunch of spoiled veggies that I collected. Tomatoes, vines, pumpkins, etc. Then, I mowed the lawn and buried it all in grass clippings.
This is first week of September and it will (did) get a good soaking form the hurricane and then start to percolate. That hot phase will take a few weeks and then the worms from below and nearby will move in to work on the contents through fruition. I'm putting a Solexx cold frame over it to extend the season... That I should be able to get a pic of.
The result should be a 6'x8' raised bed with NO WEEDS! (since everything on the surface will have been hot composted) and many pounds of worm castings.
Tune in soon to see our next articles about Wintering your Worms.
Thanks for reading, Critter
In the '70's we called it Sheet Composting. The current trendy phrase is Lasagna Garden... Built in layers as you would do lasagna,,, and YES, worms love tomato sauce!
I just did a batch, but, alas, no pics... There was an unused section of my garden that was knee deep in weeds and quack grass. I pulled it all out y the roots and left it on the surface. Then a layer of cardboard and office paper. Nothing shredded, just a thick layer of paper products. Then I added a bunch of spoiled veggies that I collected. Tomatoes, vines, pumpkins, etc. Then, I mowed the lawn and buried it all in grass clippings.
This is first week of September and it will (did) get a good soaking form the hurricane and then start to percolate. That hot phase will take a few weeks and then the worms from below and nearby will move in to work on the contents through fruition. I'm putting a Solexx cold frame over it to extend the season... That I should be able to get a pic of.
The result should be a 6'x8' raised bed with NO WEEDS! (since everything on the surface will have been hot composted) and many pounds of worm castings.
Tune in soon to see our next articles about Wintering your Worms.
Thanks for reading, Critter
Monday, August 29, 2011
Response to YouTube inquiry:
I'm curious to know just exactly how much you wind up composting on a weekly basis, when you have all 4 trays going.
Response:
Great question! These are always started with only one tray to establish the worm colony and then materials added to a second tray until that tray begins to mature.
Composting worms do best and they concentrate on the upper 4-6 inches of the bed. the content below that contains cocoons that hatch in 4-8 weeks. By the time your 4th tray goes into service, which could be 8 weeks - 90 days, the bottom tray is ready to harvest. It will be completely converted to castings. Only add fresh food to the top one or two trays. If odors or fruit flies develop just hold off on fresh food for a few days. The worms aren't keeping up with you.
As to weekly volume: the Worm Factory 360 and the Cam of Worms worm farms (CommpostCritter.com)are designed to handle one - two pounds of worms. Worms can consume 1/2 of their weight per day, so when operated properly, which takes two to three weeks with a new farm, each stack should consume one to two pounds of food per day. Within limits...
Food has to breakdown or be a consistency that the worms can eat it... they don't have teeth. Bananas will be ready for the worms within hours. Lettuce can take more than a week. Wet old leaves go quickly. The process for any food can be sped up by microwaving, freezing or shredding. Look for our earlier post about cooking for your worms. It's not a necessity but can speed up the capacity.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Using worm castings in potting soil
These pics are showing harvesting compost and blending it with coir, worm castings and sand to produce a soft nutritious blend of potting soil for all uses.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
My vermiculture friend in New Zeland, Duncan Carver posted a great response to a reader about the start up cost of a worm system. His website is WormFarmingSecrets so be sure to check it out and subscribe to his newsletter.
In total agreement with him, here is what I added to his comments:
Good Morning, Duncan,
Your first conversation in this newsletter is so 'right-on'!
With tax, 1# worms and either a Can-of-Worms or Worm Factory 360, the
investment to my shoppers is $159.00. ( see CompostCritter )
When I meet someone and talk about worms I tell them "Here's a one-cup
container of castings. Take it home, it's free, and put some on several of
your houseplants tonight. Water them well and call me in one week."
Everybody calls back.
My first suggestion to them is the low-tech Rubbermaid container or a
5-gallon bucket. I have about 20 5-gallon bucket farms which I fill with
compost and worms twice a year and I harvest twice a year... how much
effort is that for 100 gallons of perfectly converted castings, loaded with
cocoons!? Investment? $25 for worms and $5 for a bucket at Home Depot...
( and you can't tell me that you don't see free buckets lying along the road
every day...)
I'm a highly regarded 'dumpster-diver' and I bring 5 gallon buckets home
almost every day... construction sites are the best. I pick up a fair
share along the interstate, but dodging traffic has its hazards.
Larger scale? Bathtubs. I have a plumber friend who calls whenever he
removes a fiberglass tub during a renovation project... I now have 12 and
had to start turning him down. Do I take the time to drill them full of
holes so there's lots of ventilation? ... no... sorry... Do they
produce hundreds of pounds of castings year after year? YES!!
Do I buy worms? I did... Uncle Jim's Worm Farm is my primary source when
I decide to go that way, but most of my worms were free. Whenever I want
to collect a few thousand.
A customer of mine has a horse farm. BIG old manure pile out in a field
that she keeps dumping on and never touches. I go down there several times
each year and collect worms. Around the edges of the pile I rake off the
top layer of dry stuff till I get down to the mucky layer of wet muck, which
is LOADED with worms.
I just shovel the muck into buckets, worms and all. I can fill 20 buckets
(100 gallons) in about 45 minutes.
Let's guess that there's only one pound of worms in each bucket... $25 * 20#
= $500 value. Maybe I'm being too generous... cut that in half... $250
value and 100 Gallons of well composted (vermiposted) manure. It's a one
hour drive each way so that nets out $111/hour for my time.
In 2 hour and 45 minutes I created 20 worm farms. I can be lazy and let
them sit for 90 days and just harvest as castings, or I can dump them into
the bathtubs (or a 4' x 12' pile on my garage floor) and keep adding food
scraps, newspaper and compost for a never ending supply... In the fall I
just add them to my lasagna garden layering system on my outdoor beds.
Let's see... That initial investment, if I went the retail route, was
$159. $159 / forever = $0
Free fertilizer for life???
Today I spread the contents of 6 bathtubs over my front lawn. The grass is
always greener...
The only issue most people have is "That's a lot of work". I have to
ask... "do you have a pile of food scraps collecting in your kitchen, or do
you throw them away?" OK, so you are ALREADY doing the work... Just put
the scraps in your worm bin instead of letting them stink and attract flies
in your garbage can.
Thanks for your newsletters and insight, Duncan! Have a great summer!
Jeff Kurtz
www.TheWormist.com
In total agreement with him, here is what I added to his comments:
Good Morning, Duncan,
Your first conversation in this newsletter is so 'right-on'!
With tax, 1# worms and either a Can-of-Worms or Worm Factory 360, the
investment to my shoppers is $159.00. ( see CompostCritter )
When I meet someone and talk about worms I tell them "Here's a one-cup
container of castings. Take it home, it's free, and put some on several of
your houseplants tonight. Water them well and call me in one week."
Everybody calls back.
My first suggestion to them is the low-tech Rubbermaid container or a
5-gallon bucket. I have about 20 5-gallon bucket farms which I fill with
compost and worms twice a year and I harvest twice a year... how much
effort is that for 100 gallons of perfectly converted castings, loaded with
cocoons!? Investment? $25 for worms and $5 for a bucket at Home Depot...
( and you can't tell me that you don't see free buckets lying along the road
every day...)
I'm a highly regarded 'dumpster-diver' and I bring 5 gallon buckets home
almost every day... construction sites are the best. I pick up a fair
share along the interstate, but dodging traffic has its hazards.
Larger scale? Bathtubs. I have a plumber friend who calls whenever he
removes a fiberglass tub during a renovation project... I now have 12 and
had to start turning him down. Do I take the time to drill them full of
holes so there's lots of ventilation? ... no... sorry... Do they
produce hundreds of pounds of castings year after year? YES!!
Do I buy worms? I did... Uncle Jim's Worm Farm is my primary source when
I decide to go that way, but most of my worms were free. Whenever I want
to collect a few thousand.
A customer of mine has a horse farm. BIG old manure pile out in a field
that she keeps dumping on and never touches. I go down there several times
each year and collect worms. Around the edges of the pile I rake off the
top layer of dry stuff till I get down to the mucky layer of wet muck, which
is LOADED with worms.
I just shovel the muck into buckets, worms and all. I can fill 20 buckets
(100 gallons) in about 45 minutes.
Let's guess that there's only one pound of worms in each bucket... $25 * 20#
= $500 value. Maybe I'm being too generous... cut that in half... $250
value and 100 Gallons of well composted (vermiposted) manure. It's a one
hour drive each way so that nets out $111/hour for my time.
In 2 hour and 45 minutes I created 20 worm farms. I can be lazy and let
them sit for 90 days and just harvest as castings, or I can dump them into
the bathtubs (or a 4' x 12' pile on my garage floor) and keep adding food
scraps, newspaper and compost for a never ending supply... In the fall I
just add them to my lasagna garden layering system on my outdoor beds.
Let's see... That initial investment, if I went the retail route, was
$159. $159 / forever = $0
Free fertilizer for life???
Today I spread the contents of 6 bathtubs over my front lawn. The grass is
always greener...
The only issue most people have is "That's a lot of work". I have to
ask... "do you have a pile of food scraps collecting in your kitchen, or do
you throw them away?" OK, so you are ALREADY doing the work... Just put
the scraps in your worm bin instead of letting them stink and attract flies
in your garbage can.
Thanks for your newsletters and insight, Duncan! Have a great summer!
Jeff Kurtz
www.TheWormist.com
Monday, May 23, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Feed your worms BETWEEN THE ROWS!
 |
| Feed your worms 5 21 11 |
A) I doubt that you have any idea what a ton of worms looks like.
(attitude day, sorry...)
B) Let's calculate. they eat 1# per day per pound of worms. Let's be conservative and say they only eat 1`/2# per day. Did you give your worms 1,000# of food yesterday?
C) If you don't feed them they will leave. Picture this (from an old post)... August 2010. I turned over my garlic patch and found great garlic, dry bedding and NO WORMS!
When was the last time that I fed them? Fall of 2009??? Where did they go??? The adjacent compost heap. The green lawn? Worm Heaven?
This year I'm composting grass clippings and horse manure and putting the kitchen leftovers (microwaved) between the rows. Let's see how we're doing in August this year.
Critter.
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