Vermicomposting (Make your own Worm Castings)

Discussion in 'Growing Organic Marijuana' started by OldPork, Feb 8, 2009.

  1. Yeah, leaching is one of the major factors about large scale compost considering most will just pile it up and leave it exposed to rain, snow, etc. Not a big deal when doing the small piles we make at home but it becomes an issue when you start stacking 500+ cubic yards on a cleared lot in a giant pile.
     
    Nitrogen is pretty mobile (for an element), same concept with large scale ag. farms that use soluble fertilizers....run off, which can be serious if it reaches your water table. 
     
    Covering your pile reduces or eliminates the concern over leaching from excess rain.  

     
  2. Lucky for us rain is almost unheard of here in the summer. ;)
     
  3. I'd feel pretty sure the concern over the cost of trying to cover a very large pile over rides the concern over leaching.
     
    Plus, you know a yard guy would tear it up the first week trying to dig around it rather than move it out of the way. :eek:
     
    Wet
     
  4. #2864 GiMiK, Oct 20, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 21, 2014
    Yeah its not the most economically feasible solution for large scale composting but it is a factor of consideration when doing it. Concrete pads help quite a bit on this aspect.
     
    I drive by my local recycling plant and look at what they call "compost", which is just simply piled leaves, sticks and whatever yard waste they pick up from the roadside every day on the way to work.
     
    ....scares me a little bit that they can legally call it that and sell it for profit, even though they NEVER hit proper temperatures to eliminate pathogens.
     
    They don't even turn the piles, they just keep adding to them and then move on when ones too big to work anymore.  :hide:
     
  5. Right in the ass of it too. Use rock salt shot.
     
  6. Can anyone tell me any good place to get worms in New England. I use unclejimswormfarm.com right now. They are nice but I want to try one other.
    Second what happens if one of the trays gets too much stuff and it packs down. what should i do. This is my first worm factory. I have plastic bins with square holes in the bottom of each tray. My bottom tray was almost all black but it packed really tight and I lost some worms to pressure. So I moved my bottom bin to the top and added food. I'm playing musical chairs with the other two. The top one has too much stuff in it to add another bin on top. It will pack the coir and dirt so much. I added some compost to the top that I got from BAS. Can I add steamed bone meal to the worms food...
     
  7. Worm farming is true LITFA (Leave It The Fuck Alone). If you just gave them food, don't add more, new farms take time to really get processing. I mess with my farm about once a month, cleaning out a tray and adding fresh compost in its place.


    Check out my grow! Mars II LED & Organic No-Till Soil.
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    Live Free
     
  8. I have sort of a general question. I harvested what I thought would be finished vermicompost yesterday but I have a couple questions. I started out with a 30 gallon fabric pot and horse manure/ horse bedding. I filled the pot with the manure and had intentions of buying a pound of worms but never did. I continued to keep it moist and added my leftover teas and some old soil and stuff to the top. That's been going on for around 15 months. I kept a piece of cardboard on top and when I take it off the top is covered with worms. I assumed the worms came in the manure and multiplied. My only concern is when I harvested there weren't anywhere near the amount of worms I was expecting...not even a pound I would guess. There was a TON of babies though that I couldn't sift out. Theres nothing distinguishable in the harvested material. Would you say there were enough worms to process this in that amount of time? Even if the worms haven't been through it all, do you think it's composted long enough to use in a soil mix? The bottom of the pot was wet and compacted like soil you would dig out of your yard but crumbles in my hands to a nice consistency. Its all a dark brown almost black.

    Thanks

    Solo
     
  9. #2869 GiMiK, Oct 21, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 21, 2014
    I would likely use it, though that depends on how it looks, smells and feels. I've come around to the perspective that more of this is based on having an "eye" for what finished material looks like than strict "rules" to abide by.
     
    Sounds like its been degraded enough to work as a humus component, especially if it sat around for months before that. I would not call it vermicompost though if you did not find a decent population of established adults when sifting or moving the material.
     
    Personally I'd give a 20 gallon smart pot something like 3 months with a lb or so of worms to start, using compost as the bedding and various "waste" materials (fan leaves, tea dregs, small amounts of fruit/veggies, etc) as mulch/feed.
     
  10. I don't fuck with nothing besides adding food to the top tray. The worm farm told me to take everything out and put it on the top. I don't touch them because I know not to and I read the book that came with it. I was just asking because the worm farm told me to do it. It was about 1/2 black. I am just wetting it if it needs water and adding food when needed. It's in my Back small bedroom. And it stays at a 65 temp
     
  11. Thanks gimik. That's pretty much what I was thinking. I got the manure from a guy on Craigslist and he claimed it had been sitting around and his wife plants their garden and flower beds directly in the stuff every year. There's no alarming smells. There may be more worms than i realized...I've never bought worms so I don't really know. I think I'll probably mix it 50/50 with the coast of maine compost I normally use and use the rest as "seed" for the upcoming bins.

    Thanks

    Solo
     
  12. #2872 Franklins Tower, Oct 22, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 22, 2014
    It says that 1 lb of worms can eat 1/2 to 1 lb of food a day.i don't give it food all the time. I watch and look to see if they need food. I've had this for almost two months. When can I expect it to be thriving. It looks like it is. The worms are all over around food areas. I am very new to this and I love it it gives me something to do being a at home disabled vet. I just want that black gold I worked hard to get, making sure not to over feed. Feed the correct stuff. I use kelp in with a grain mixture the farm sells. I use banana peels veggies coffee grounds (unflavored) egg shells from hard boiled eggs only. I don't want to mess the worms up. I like this and I listen to the seasoned vets and take their advice. How can a bin of mostly good EWC but is now the feed tray and has alot more in the bin. Coir and ewc, compost and food.
     
  13. How is corn silage for worm food? There's a local place that has worm castings...15.99 for about 5 gallons. I asked the place about their source and he said they come from a place in Tennessee. He said the worms are raised for fishing bait on beds of peat and fed corn silage. He said they've had them tested and they read "as you would hope". I've gotten them a couple times...sometimes dark black and other times a dark brown. I brought this up because I was reading the backyard composting thread and I saw somewhere where Chunk said corn silage was good for worms. Any thoughts?

    Thanks

    Solo
     
  14. #2874 GiMiK, Oct 22, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 22, 2014
    It works well.
     
    Silage is just the remains of the plant after they harvest the desirable parts, in this case the ear(s). It gets chopped and shredded than piled, covered, fermented and then used for animal feed.
     
    Its a good deal for vermicomposting, usually can source silage from a farm for free minus labor and transportation costs. If you have a good source of leaves (for bedding), silage is one of the better options as a feedstock, imo. Free nitrogen base for compost too but its a bit of a hassle to work with in bulk by hand. Lots of moisture.
     
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silage
     
  15. #2875 LilJ86, Oct 22, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 22, 2014
    My wife is an operations manager for a agricultural construction company here in the Midwest. Part of the company is trucking and hauling. Silage being one of the things they haul. Never gave 2 thoughts to using silage.. sure have ample availablity.. thanks for that tidbit Gimik! Silage can stink, but what doesn't with organics. Lol
     
  16. Lumperfan has a post around here somewhere with a pic of his factory. The trays are stacked on small wooden blocks (inserted under the lips of each tray being used) to keep weight off the bedding in the lower trays. Seems to work really good.

    I've been adding aeration items to my bedding when I put a tray together. I use alot of cocoa shell and pumice mixed into finished compost with whatever scraps. IME, cocoa will stay intact for approx 6 months give or take. The pumice ain't going nowhere. The added aeration makes it so much easier to harvest without the clumping.
     
  17. How much mass is lost in vermicompost production? For example, if you start with 16 c.f of material in static bins how much will you harvest?

    Thanks

    Solo
     
  18. I imagine one should take care that it isn't Roundup resistant GMO-corn? Or any other nasty pesticides? These issues would concern me.
     
  19. Beat me to it...
     
  20. I typically lose at least 25% when using compost as a foodstock. Expect to lose more if using uncomposted materials.
     

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