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Thread: Worm Farming

  1. #31

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    I use all the time but lazy I buy them . But after reading keen to have a go thanks
    [SIGPIC]

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  3. #32

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    do you think it will be a good idea to dig out some worm containing dirt from my garden and take it to my guerrilla plot ?

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  5. #33

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    the information on the worms is great, i don't use them now bc i'm going veganic but it certainly is helpful if you'd like to use them. for example, not having the compost too hot for them to thrive in.

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  7. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by lkdj2003 View Post
    When to harvest?

    The finished worm castings are normally like a dark brown muddy paste. There are no other visible decomposer insects present, and the worm population also has usually started to decrease in size, imho. This happens usually one or two months after I stop adding more food in the bin. Note that I am talking about non-juiced/ground foods here.


    How do I/you/we harvest castings? - god shave the queen

    There is the Scoop-Off-Thin-Surface-Layer-While-The-Worms-Head-Downwards-In-The-Bin-technique.

    A handy one, especially for harvesting worms, is the Lure-The-Pink-Wriggly-Workhorses-Into-A-Disposable-Plastic-Box-With-Sum-Fresh-Banana-Peels-tech, this takes 2 or 3 rounds before basically all over 2 week old worms are harvested.

    The first one above is ok for small bins. The second one will work with larger ones, but you will need to add more plastic-box-trap-containers if the bin is large.

    For big jobs, its best to use a worm harvester made of stainless steel screen. Its basically slightly tilted rotating cylinder made of screen with a 'solid wall' end that you gradually dump the bin contents into. The processed caste falls to the collecting box under the harvester, while the worms roll downhill inside the cylinder into the solid-walled 'collector'.


    Is there any way to get everybody out of the castings before they're harvested? -Lumbo

    Yes, in my opinion there is. Food lures! The worms will go after moist white bread or banana peels like a rasta for ganja!!

    As worms can use their sense of smell to track down worm-treats, and move actively after foods, using food lures works very well, especially so in a mature bin where fresh food availability is low.

    Combined with some kind of simple mechanical trap this works very well, and very few worms will stay behind.

    A wormer by the OG name of 'Aprilfool' introduced this simple concept:


    The method that I use for seperating worm from the bin is something I call worm wrangling. When the bin is about two months old I don't feed them for a week or two then place a slice of bread on top. In a day there are hundreds of worms under the bread that are easily scooped with a trowel and placed in a new bin. I do this for a week. Then I leave the rest of the worms to finish the food that left in that bin. In about another two months there are few worms and all castings, in that bin.

    I have four bins.

    In a tray system, or a box-in-a-box type of worm bins (where the outer box acts as a leachate-juice tray) one can simply add the food lure in a empty tray and after some days most of the worms will be in that tray, and can be collected. Repeat once or twice and you should have helped almost all hatched worms in the bin to emigrate.

    Or one can simply bury some kind of empty container so that its mouth is flush with the worm castings surface and drop a worm treat in the container - since the worms have easy access to a fresh food source they will congregate in the container.

    Remember to keep things moist so that worms and their food lures wont dry up.

    There are other ways - like you mentioned, drying the vermicaste will motivate the worms to find more hydrated surroundings. I guess one could use citrus peels as a repellent to drive them out.

    Of course, getting the cocoons (the worm eggs) out would require hand sorting or a mechanical cocoon separation machine.


    I wonder how long the new generation would survive in pure castings. maybe you could let it sit until they die-off. - SatGhost

    Well, many worm farming guides and companies say that the worms will eventually die in 'finished' worm castings.

    I have not seen this happening in 'finished' worm castings. Also Mary Appelhoff, 'The Worm Woman', US worm movement 'spokesperson' says that worms will survive indefinitely in worm castings. I think that well made worm castings will always contain at least few worms, unless separated mechanically or otherwise.
    Welcome as always fella
    Pull up a comfy one.

  8. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by lkdj2003 View Post
    How to use worm castings in a soil mix?

    Worm castings can be used in a multitude of ways - mixed into a soil mix, a soilless mix, or as a tea or slurry.

    Usually worm castings is thought of as an additive. Recommendations vary wildly, but I would recommend adding one tenth to one fifth in any organic mix (10-20%).

    Top dressing with worm castings would work well, too, especially with indoor containers. Making a worm castings tea by steeping the castings in clean well aerated water makes for a life giving plant-nutrient. I recommend filtering worm tea before use and returning the dregs into the worm bin after a couple of rounds.

    One can use plain worm castings as a growing medium, and in my experience it works very well. But usually finished worm castings tends to be mud-like in consistency, and needs something to aerate and lighten up the texture. Perlite and expanded clay work very well for this. 50% of expanded clay (multiple size) and 50% worm castings makes for a nice quick-n-dirty primo soil(less) mix.


    The Classic Shabang Mix

    "The mix that I recommend is basically nothing but castings and drainage. I used to cut it with all sorts of things, including soilless peat-based mixes like pro-mix.. but then you're introducing a source for pH problems-- especially when others try and duplicate it but can't find the right brands then substitute with a peat-mix that is too acidic. So down to the bare basics of a mix:

    40% castings
    30% perlite
    30% vermiculite"



    Quoted from \'shabang\'s

    102% Hyper Veg Mix by Aallonharja


    * 25% coco peat
    * 25% expanded clay
    * 50% worm casting
    * 2% alfalfa meal pellets
    * 1/4 tablespoon of dolomite lime per liter (1 per gal)
    * lemon juice (or 8% citric acid solution)
    * seaweed extract according to taste
    * silicon nutrient additive

    Note:

    - This is a guideline, not a recipe. Know your ingredients!

    - If things get too sticky, muddy or water retaining with the worm castings, add more coco peat, peat, perlite or expanded clay.

    - The stretching due to alfalfa can last up to 5 or more weeks.

    - For alfalfa meal pellets 2% is a careful estimate. More can be used if the plants can take it.

    - This mix should last about 4 weeks, ie. supply the plant with nutrients during the vegetative period, PK and N+Mg+Ca additive may be needed in bloom.


    Meek Flowering Mix

    * Worm castings, from bin fed with fruit and vegetables and peels (High K, Medium P)
    * Optionally in the first 4 weeks of flowering, add as needed:
    Pinch of dolomite lime or epsom salts
    Pinch of gypsym
    Pinch(es) of clean, pure wood ash


    Mix in a bucket of water, and filter solids. Water during flowering.



    Note:

    - This is a guideline, not a recipe. Know your ingredients!

    - Yields very vivid aromatic tones

    - Basically a high K + P + Mg + Ca + S solution - all thats needed in bloom.

    - N supplementation may also be necessary.


    Oh also, you could talk a bit about Casting Tea aswell.

    Well I've usually simply spooned some more or less finished castings into a cheapo nylon stocking and dumped that in a bucket and a reservoir.

    A surefire way would be using 100% finished worm castings with a high quality filter material, and place that in a bucket with water, aerate the water for 48 hours, and then use that water for watering, provided it didnt contain visible pests and didnt smell like rotten fish (aerobic teas shouldnt smell bad in the first place).
    Seriously. This is what came up when I clicked reply with quote


    Anyway yeah, pretty much just the upper leaves.

  9. #36
    mellowed Guest

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    I always get this randomly quoting as well mate. You on tapatalk still? ?

  10. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by lkdj2003 View Post
    Worm Farming Reference Data
    NPK Nutrient values for some common worm foods

    High N:
    Blood Meal (NPK 13-1-0)
    Coffee grounds (NPK 1,99-0,36-0,67)
    Felt (NPK 14-0-0)
    Hair (NPK 14-0-0)
    Tea grounds (NPK 4,15-0,62-0,4)
    Worm Meal (dried & ground worms) NPK 10-1-1
    Greens, leaves & meals, alfalfa, stinging nettle

    High P:
    Bone Meal generic NPK 4-21-0,2
    * steamed NPK 13-15-13
    * burned NPK 0-34,7-0
    Shrimp Waste NPK 2,87-9,95-0
    Tea Leaves ash NPK 0-1,66-0,4
    Wheat bran NPK 2,65-2,9-1,6
    Oats, Chicken Manure

    High K:
    Banana skin NPK 0-3,08-11,74
    Molasses NPK 0,7-0-5,32
    Potato skin NPK 0-5,15-27,5
    Wood Ash NPK 0-0,15-7,0
    Wood ash (broadleaf) K 10%
    Wood ash (coniferous) K 6%
    Alfalfa, ashes, potato wastes, peel & skin (-ashes, too)

    High Calcium:
    Poultry manure (0,5-0,7% dry), dolomite lime, egg shells, bone meal
    Note that its usually thought that worm castings is high in calcium (perhaps with the presumption that lime or eggshells are added during the process).

    High Iron:
    Stinging nettle (Also high N)

    High Magnesium:
    Dolomite lime, poultry manure, epsom salts


    Vermicomposting by Numbers

    Facts from a technical compost quide, section 'Vermi-stabilization' (of composted communal waste). (Komposti, WSOY 1984).

    They are talking about the red wriggler Eisenia Fetida:



    Optimum pH range 5-8. The worms die under pH 4,5 and over pH 9.

    Optimum Humidity 80-85%.

    Dissolved salt leves should not exceed 0,5 % (5000 ppm?). Ammoniumacetate is toxic to the worms when concentrations exceed 0,1% (1000ppm).

    Greatest growth rate in temperatures between 20 and 25 C degrees, greatest feeding rate in 15-20 C degrees. Temperatures above 37 C degrees cause worm deaths. Can adapt to live in temperatures close to 0 C degree.

    "Its been theorized that with optimum temperatures and sufficient food source the worms would achieve maturity in 5-9 weeks, meaning that a population of 100 worms could produce an offspring population of 250 000 worms in a year."

    "..up to 20% of the waste materials weight can become wormbiomass ." (worm biomass is the worms themselves, not the worm castings)

    "The will never be a problem with overproduction of worm- biomass, as the worms can always be dried and ground to produce a plant fertilizer. The NPK value of the dried worms is approxemately 10-1-1. The worm-biomass also contains 0,8% sulphur, 0,6% calcium, 0,3% magnesium and minerals that benefit the growth of plants."



    Worm Species Data

    Eisenia fetida (foetida)/Eisenia andrei
    Common names: redworm, tiger worm, manure worm

    Maximum reproduction under ideal condtions:
    3.8 cocoons per adult per week
    83.2% hatching success rate
    3.3 hatchlings per cocoon
    Net reproduction of 10.4 young per adult per week

    Maximum growth rate under ideal conditions:
    32-73 days to cocoon hatch
    53-76 days to sexual maturity
    85-149 days from egg to maturity

    Temperature requirements ?C (?F):
    Minimum 3?C (38?F)
    Maximum 35?C (95?F)
    Ideal range 21-27?C (70-80?F)

    Eisenia hortensis (Dendrobaena veneta)
    Common names: Belgian nightcrawler, European nightcrawler

    Maximum growth rate under ideal conditions:
    40-128 days to cocoon hatch
    57-86 days to sexual maturity
    97-214 days from egg to maturity

    Temperature requirements ?C (?F):
    Minimum 3?C (38?F)
    Maximum 32?C (90?F)
    Ideal 15-21?C (60-70?F)

    Heat tolerance is dependant on moisture level. This worm is very tolerant of environmental fluctuation and handling, but has a slower reproductive rate and requires very high moisture levels, relative to other worm species.


    Other common composting worm species

    Bimastos tumidus - often found in compost piles, tolerates medium C:N ratios and cooler temperatures better than Eisenia foetida , multiplies rapidly in old straw and spoiled hay, hardy to Z-5 and will survive in ordinary soil conditions hence once established it would survive without extensive preparations. Earthworm Ecology and Biogeography in North America

    Eudrilus eugeniae: (African nightcrawler) do well but cannot withstand low temperatures.(composter or surface worker species)

    Lumbricus rubellus: (common redworm or red marsh worm), used in Cuba's vermicomposting program, (composter or surface worker species), native to U.S.

    Lumbricus terrestris: nightcrawler, native to U.S. Not suitable for vermiculture.

    Perionyx excavatus: (Asian species) do well but cannot withstand low temperatures. (composter or surface worker species).
    Im sure you will mate. They look like right beauties already.



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  12. #38

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    awesome read. im in the middle of making a wooden compost bin out back,
    and already have a worm bin inside.
    but yea very descriptive.

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  14. #39

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    Very useful, had a farm for sometime still took valuable info from this

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