I get that from my local Amish feed store and the Guy even grinds it to flour in his mill for no extra charge. your feed mill is your friend.
Not to be a hater...but. Peat moss, newspaper, chicken scratch, and dolomite doesn't exactly sound like a very rich and diverse diet. It sounds to me like it would be great for vermiculture but not so great for vermicompost. I don't think I would drive to far for this product. Just my .02 cents.
It's not a far drive, at all. What you're saying is the castings are probably just a byproduct of their main focus which would be raising the worms, then? I've searched for a bit and have yet to find a Worm Power castings analysis, though a comparison with others does show blue ridge's is lower in elements; no analyses have shown microorganism diveristy nor population, either. The most near Worm Power distributer is way too far for me, too.
If you're in a pinch go ahead and get some.If you have a couple weeks or so I might add a sack of Chickety-Doo-Doo and let some worms work it over even for just a short time. I just know you've got some really old horseshit around your place. If your horses are on unsprayed pasture or hay....you've have a damn good source to make your own. Add some coffee, straw and dynamic accumulators and I'd say you're going to have a product far superior to Worm Power. I've been looking into Worm Power lately. I know the owners of Coyne Farms have been awarded as Dairyman of the Year in the past. I found a YouTube video where the owner is talking about what he is growing in his fields to feed the animals...the video was put up by Dow Agro Sciences. From my understanding these animals are mostly grain-fed with BMR corn and alfalfa. I am curious if pesticides/herbicides are used in the fields or if these animals ever leave the barn and concrete floor they are shitting on. They just recently received 100k grant from USDA. Something about testing in conjunction w/ a University in N.Y. What can I say? I'm always a skeptic. If these guys are the biggest and bestest...I figure it's worth looking into further. There are many things I am looking to emulate, but on a smaller scale, I'm certain there are many things I'll be able to do better.
I completely agree that I have all the materials, on hand, to make the best worm castings in my area; I'm already in the process of turning that horse poo and some comfrey and nettles into castings, I just need to mix some soil sooner than what these worms are going to allow. That is why I've been trying to source some EWC. I believe approaching things as a skeptic is the most scientific way to think; and I'm completely skeptical of anything Dow touches. Something's better than nothing (in this case, at least) and I can get their (blueridgevermi) castings at $10 for a 5-gallon bucket, so even if it's medium-quality, it's still not breaking my wallet. I'll probably grab some cocoons while I'm there, too.
I'm going on sketchy memory from 4-5 years ago, but wasn't there a decent worm operation based in Greer SC? Seems like it was worm something, dude, wrangler, expert. Did some very slight searching, but couldn't dig up a physical address. I remember it because I located it after I had already ordered worms and still don't need any after 5 years. Wet
Hey man...it's all good. I was just giving you my honest opinion. I certainly don't have all the answers. I'm sure your VC will be the 'shit' once it's ready. Certainly a fair price from Blue Ridge in the meantime.
Depending on where you (anyone) live(s), $10 for a full 5 gallon bucket of vc isn't a bad deal at all Steve. Good luck. J
Jerry That's the price from the worm guy in Camas that Chunk & I have done business with for several years. He's one of the larger worm suppliers in the northwest as well plus offers a wide range of bins that he builds in his wood shop - mostly horizontal flow-thru versions. CC
Thats a nice design Coot. Are you still running your big flow-thru bin? I know you were doing big Smart-Pot type "bins" so I wasnt sure if you found them easier - or what? j
Jerry I run the flow-thru for the MMJ garden and other container plants like culinary herbs and medicinal plants like Tulsi. I run SmartPots to top-dress the raised beds 3 or 4 times a season and to maximize worm production to sell which is a good source of revenue for me. CC
Cost was a big consideration and then there was the deal that I had a large amount of Red Wigglers along with European Nightcrawlers. The Euro species are not a good choice for vertical flow-thru bins because they tend to stay close to the bottom of the bin which results in vermicompost that is 'more finished' but since you harvest your vermicompost from the bottom you can see why they're not the best choice. The other reason is that I can buy certified organic compost for $29.00 a yard which is produced from organic materials from the apple & pear district in and around Hood River. All that needs to be done with this compost is add kelp, neem and crab meal and dump a few pounds of worms and it's a done deal. The large bin is filled with compost that I make which starts with organic barley straw and when it hits the mesophyllic period I add the same amendments and then it's allowed to cure for several months - 7 - 9 months is the goal. This produces a better compost in my opinion and that's why I use it for container-grown plants. The usual agriculture vs. horticulture paradigm. CC
Coot, do you cover or mulch the Smart Pot bins? Do you need to do much once it's full of compost, hydrated and charged with worms or is this a "set it & forget it" deal? Thanks, J
Jerry I use barley straw as a mulch and apply that before hydrating the compost. Then it's just monitoring the hydration of the compost every other week or so and whip out the ol' Chapin sprayer and get things dialed it. Almost set it & forget it - almost! LOL! CC