That's your only source? I wonder how long it takes for compost to become 100% castings? I've got a flow through bin as well as two 50 gallon "static" bins going. The statics have been running for several months. There are always worms on the top... I wasn't trying to start shit with you. I only asked because I remember reading in Vermiculture Technology that many large scale EWC producers sometimes rerun the first "harvest" from their bins. Too bad the link you posted didn't provide any experimental data to back up the toxicity claim. I'm sure it has everything to do with concentration... Also found out why the soil mites were leaving the bedding in my flow through bin. I had removed the plastic covering from the bedding the last time I added material to the bin because I felt that I had added too much water to the compost, and wanted to let it dry out a bit. After I replaced the plastic, no more roaming mites...
Honestly man ...I can't even remember the first time I had read it. I did a 30 second google search for ya. That information may even be in Vermiculture Technology. I want to say MM was the one who first shared this info with me. You will never be able to achieve 100% castings...nearly impossible. The worms would die off before this would occur. Do you topfeed your static bins? Or did you fill them up completely and are just allowing the worms to work? My guess is you topfeed and this is keeping the worms up top. If you fill the bin completely they have to go to the bottom to find food eventually...or does that material on the bottom turn into vermicompost by magic? Anecdotally, I filled two 18g rubbermaid w/ compost and a lb or two of worms. It was fed absolutely nothing for over a year. There were almost no worms left by the end. This accounts for 90% of the humus portion of my soil mix that I'm currently running. For me it's not that hard to believe that castings are toxic to worms...it is their own shit afterall. Is it toxicity or starvation that makes them die if they live in too much of their own shit? I don't really care about the semantics. Bottom line is they will either die or try to find a better home.
no there's not, I figured I need to make drainage holes in the bottom once the water dried up. N yeah, I found a few more still alive and a ton of them alive on the ground next to the bin
I regularly find reds much deeper in my bins than is suggested for their species.... my 250g smart pot had majority of them in the bottom half, where it was more hydrated and my wooden bin has them all throughout the bedding regularly. I'll copy and paste the source in a while but yeah, their excrement (castings) is toxic to themselves if allowed to build up exponentially. Pretty certain it's somewhere in VC Technologies.
The wooden bin bedding was more evenly moist than the smarty or, am I reading it wrong? I was thinking about the distribution comment. Excellent observation with the RW and deeper in the bin. That used to concern me so much, the experts saying that the RW stayed only in the upper 6" or so of the bedding, then trying to do bins accordingly. Really confused me when the large smarty's were being touted. Like, what about the depth of those large containers? Your observation showed that depth (within reason), is not a super concern. Wet
Is it safe to say that the worms we see in our gardens and in the compost pile here are all red wigglers? I find them now and then under containers sitting on the ground and just throw them in my worm bin. Guess it couldn't hurt right?
IDK and care less, just do the same as you do and chuck them in the bin. Some are on the large size to be RW I guess, but variety in the bin shouldn't hurt. I know I've spread plenty around from the cocoons in fresh VC. Wet
But wet, are the regular worms "organic" enough or do they not count. You know, do the regular worms digest the organic material in an NOP manner or do they cheat "the system" like "Dah Dude"?
You would be much more likely to find red wigglers naturally in your compost pile as opposed to your garden (I'm assuming your garden outdoors). Most likely the worms you are finding (if they resemble red wigglers) are in the Lumbricadae Family. Using this as a base for your search you should be able to find pictures and make a positive I.D. if you care to do so.
Hey worm farmers I started my latest bin on Dec 2 in a 15 gallon smarty with 2k red worms. A week or two later, I added another 1k red worms and 1k eu nightcrawlers, so 4k total worms have been added, of multiple ages. Even saw a few cocoons in the bedding of the second batch of worms. They have been very active in the bin. The bedding consists of homemade, amended thermal compost and grain hulls. I have buried a small amount coffee grounds/filters too but I plan to leave em be for a while. Anyway, was wondering how long I should wait before I start harvesting from this thing? I'm not concerned about getting pure castings. Just wondering how long I can expect this amount of worms to spend working through this amount of material to get a usable vermicompost for potting mixes, given decent living conditions. Thanks in advance!
Yo TJ, I have a 65 gal smartie with amended compost. CC said it would be a good 7-8 months for that size. Sorry I'm not more help. Lol
My bin is a Seattle tilth aprx, 15 gallon I put 5lbs of R.W in it the first part of april . My first harvest was the end of July,but a month of that was waiting for them to migrate to the new bedding. I harvested my second time in Oct.. About a week ago I put fresh bedding in figure the end of Jan. first part of Feb. before I harvest again. Not sure if its the right way but it seems to be working for me. HTH
waktoo Jack Chambers @ Sonoma Valley Worm Farm has been producing vermicompost for over 40 years. He experimented with producing pure worm castings and eventually quit because it took over 18 months to achieve this feat. 18 months...... CC
RD Earthworm Ecological Groups explains the 3 groups of earthworms - Endogeic, Epigeic and Anecic which proves your point(s). CC
RD Reminds me of a line from a Seinfeld episode - The Glasses We're with you aqua boy...God speed LMAO
It took me 8 months to begin harvesting castings when I started my outdoor worm farm. I began with used peat growsoil as a base, and 10 wheel barrows of leaves, and loaded the bin with 10,000 red wigglers and 1,000 night crawlers for aeration needs. I turned the worms and their food several times, being wigglers stay towards the surface and don't dive too deeply for their food. It took just as long to prepare semi composted leaves to supply them with ample feed. I try to sustain the farm with what comes from the land and some meager veggy scraps from the kitchen. Leaves from this fall will feed the worms next fall. I harvest roughly 30 wheel barrows of leaves every year. My second year into the worm farm now. The worms have eating the old soil and left all the pumice. Once below the food layer, is about a 1' deep of castings that resemble coffee grounds, minus the smell. 90% clean and will have about 2 yards of prime castings for my outdoor grow. Between recycling soil and my worm farm, I've cut down my grow expenses by about 70% Weed taste much better when everything comes so cheaply. Luv my worms, best partners I ever had.
What type of leaves do you use. I'm in the northeast so we have pine trees and alot of maple oak and Birch trees. those are the trees I have around my yard and I get l the leaves.
It took too long but I harvested my first batch of ewc. About two to three gallons of it. That's one bin. I have another to dump but I'm waiting on my sifters to arrive. I am very proud of myself. I have 2k red wigglers and 400 night crawlers. That's what I purchased 4 months ago.
I have a question. I top with ewc and barley multch. I have worms in my BAS living soil. How many is good and will they kill my plant if the population gets too big. They lay eggs every 3 months I think. Let me know. I don't think they will hurt the plants. I think they will help.