Vermicomposting (Make your own Worm Castings)

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

  1. My bedding is primarily my compost. I have perlite in it as well as I throw my old soil in my compost pile.

    When I make new bedding, I grab a few shovels full of compost, throw it in my top bin that is now empty, and store my finished vmc into a bucket for future use.
    I have zero coco.
    Leaves brown and green, green weeds from the yard, wood chips, Peat, perlite, egg cartons, paper bags, cardboard, green waste from the kitchen, tons of coffee grounds, egg shells, pine needles... That's what makes up my compost.
    The worms have not complained yet
     
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  2. I have baby worms! I suspect this means my worms are happy? Surprised just how small they are (I have found quite a few crawling up the side of my bin, and they are teeny little noodles!)

    I just cannot believe how quickly worms break stuff down into castings. I've had this bin for maybe 3 months. I added all the useless trim from my last harvest and within weeks it was gone. Food, gone. The only thing they're not so quick to digest is the chaff from oat hulls, and wheat straw bedding. But, I know that's just a matter of time.
     
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  3. That is great and congratulations on bringing more little composers to the world.
     
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  4. I am a firm believer that chaff is an outstanding addition to a worm bin, good on ya my friend! Just so ya know, if you go to use the castings and the chaff isn't broken down yet, you can use it with no worries. It breaks down slow and is an excellent slow release additive, and it adds some extra aeration. I think about it like using rice hulls. Its ok that aren't broken down when in the soil mix. If I could get my hands on chaff, it would be in everything I mix. From compost, to castings, to soil mix!
    cheers
    os
     
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  5. Thanks, Os!!! Yes, I am also OK with the chaff as I figured it'd break down slowly.

    I wish my mushrooms (cubensis) didn't grow so well in coir...otherwise I'd be adding TONS of my spent substrate to the worm bin. Sadly, they just get dumped into my compost heap for the outside garden.

    Once I get things dialed in with my gourmet mushrooms (which do not grow on coir!) I'll likely be adding that to my worm bins..but that's a slow-moving project.

    In any case, thanks for the encouragement and information, my friend!
     
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  6. Double good on ya for growing your own gourmet mushrooms as well.
    cheers
    os
     
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  7. So speaking of mushrooms and vermiculture...I have 4 jars of oats that have been colonized by mushroom mycelium. Unfortunately they're also bacterial, so I just need to toss them. Think my worms would enjoy these as a meal, and if so should I follow typical feeding guidelines (i.e., not overfeed)?
     
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  8. I'm sure the will love them, just cover up the oats with some bedding.
    I meant to ask about your name. Is it AK native, it looks super familiar to me.
    cheers
    os
     
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  9. Hah! I wish my name were something as cool as that. No, it's from H. P. Lovecraft's mythological horror books, specifically "The Call of Cthulhu."
     
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  10. How often do you guys water your bin, if at all? I think mine got too dry and most of my worms are gone. I only found a few.
     
  11. Not at all. Plenty of water from the food I give them.
     
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  12. My bin is inside my house, a little low on humidity. I have to mist my bin a couple times a week.
     
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  13. And one of Metallica’s finest instrumental pieces!:metal:
     
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  14. Indeed! Just spelled a little differently (Ktulu). Back in the day when they were instrumental - ahh, the good old days :metal:
     
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  15. Want to up my vermicomposting game a little bit, so looking for some advice/thoughts.

    I currently have just been feeding my worms kitchen scraps, and trim from my indoor grow. However, I see a lot of good growers here who suggest adding things like compost, manure nettles,etc. - outdoor stuff, basically.

    I don't have any manure (yet - a few cows around here and I'm thinking of looking for some fresh pies I could snag); but I do have a ton of clover plants - and many other 'weeds' that are rampant and overgrown. I'm thinking of taking some of these down and putting them in my bin.

    For those of you who add stuff to your bins from outside, do you freeze/blend these as well, or do you find that's not necessary?
     
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  16. You just don't want to start a heating up compost pile in your bin. Just lay enough on top and replace when eaten. The bedding does not need to be nutritious or contain food. They drag the food down and process it. If it composts and gets hot they die.
     
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  17. This morning I chipped up some oak bark the was from a pile of firewood.
    20200623_120757.jpg
    I filled a couple of totes with it and I'm thinking about trying it for my being in one of my bins. I thought it might be good in the outside bin that I only harvest once a year. I recently just added some euros to it this bin.
    If you were gonna use it what would you do? Would you still put your normal inputs into it like lime, kelp...........
    Or would you just put it in there with a little aeration and let the worms have a party, feeding it like you normally would. Or would you even mess with it?
     
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  18. Ive done tge t shirt before lol I couldn’t believe how quickly it was eating they just left the collar and the rest of tge shirt vanished


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  19. Nice looking stuff. When I use shredded leaves I give them nothing but melon skins,cucumber skins and squash ends.. They are still loving life. Here's a picture, I'm collecting some mycelium right now on that rice. 20200623_183653.jpg
     
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  20. Were they euros? Euros seems to die off quickly when things get too dry. The wigglers are more hardy and resilient to harsh conditions. That being said i hardly water the worms bin. Like somone has already mentioned the scraps compost and wet cardboard i put in usually has plenty of moisture to keep them happy. In the winter when the heats on i have to mist every two weeks or so because the heater the bins near dries it out a bit. Banana peels are a great refuge for tge worms if your bedding is drying out. I eag atleast 1 banana a day so the worms get their fair share. In the winter if the bin gets too dry the worms usually find the banana peels or melon rinds and take refuge till i remoisten the bedding. Hope that helps.


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