Vermicomposting-2

We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/691406/

Thanks maragran

I'm glad to find someone else that is using the bokashi composting I think it is a great way to make use of just about everything we have for trash food wise.

It's also a way to compost plants that could otherwise spread and become a nuisance, like bermuda grass and tomato vines. Once the plant matter is fully fermented, it's not going to sprout. I use a separate bucket for the garden trimmings of concern versus the food scraps.

garden_mermaid,
Bermuda grass and tomato vines I have. How do you bokashi them? I was thinking of shredding w/ the lawn mower then putting in the pile.

Dean it is the Bokashi I was talking about on the first thread the EMAmerica link I put in ...the gal that is the manager in Texas lives south of Tyler

Thanks Mibus!

Dean, shred them up, put in the bokashi bucket with either the starter or activated EM, seal the lid on it and ferment it for a week or two (longer in cooler climates, can get by with shorter time in warmer climates). When you open the bucket after fermenting, the plant material will look pickled and have a fermented aroma. This fermented plant material is then buried in the soil to finish composting.

I recommend you do a test plot with the first batch of fermented Bermuda Grass and tomato vines to test for sprouting. If the grass sprouts, you need to ferment it longer.

garden_mermaid now long have you been using the bokashi composting?
We just started it late summer this year after moving to Texas since I have to do something to get the sand and clay to where I can plant and grow in it

This Bokashi sounds interesting. It surely deserves a thread all it's own. I'd certainly follow it. (Stated in a humble and sweet tone) :-)

Maggie

I agree with Maggie (where's my cookie, your promised?) [smile] Actually, I'd love to see a separate thread for this. Never to much information on this subject!

Hi ya'll
So... somebody tell me where the worms go when the ground freezes?
I have (what I think is) a beautiful compost pile full of grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps and steer manure.
I hoped the worms would help me out, now that winter hit I'm not sure what to expect from my compost or worms.

Dove

They just go deeper and away from the cold. Keep your pile working, they'll go to the heat and keep on making those lovely castings.

That's great news. Before it snowed the pile was nice and warm a few inches down. I assume it's still a little warm someplace deep inside or close to the bottom.
I have visions of heaps magical vermicompost for my rose garden next spring.

You will, you will. Just keep adding to the pile to help it work and let your worms do their thing. Lovely, black gold in the spring!

Aye-Aye Doc, will do.

Nice pile, dovey.

Thanks Dean,
I'm kind of proud of my handy work, (As I suppose the photo shows) *LOL*

So do I want to make sure NOT to turn the pile when the temps are down? Don't want those little guys to freeze. Or can they get down into the warmth fast enough that I don't have to worry . . .

Trying to round out the last 5 years of grass clippings in a nitrogen-heavy pile that's way too big. I'm trying to add in as much manure and red wiggler worm castings as I can and spread it out to aerate it so that I can use it all in the spring.

Kathleen

Oh, you hit the mother lode! The worms can move fast enough not to worry. They will be sending out an all point bulletin with that feast! LOL
Dig a trench in the center of that leaf pile and start adding from one end to the other, it'll make it easier for you. The worms won't care.
I don't turn my pile much in the winter, but I'm in a little milder climate than you are. Once in awhile we bundle up and go have a look........too impatient....but it's fun to see the steam coming off the pile. We usually cover with a tarp and hook one end so we can get it off easily.

I just need to get the already-composted peat-like grass chunks integrated with the brows from the leaves and manure. I kind of got them together when I put the manure in, but I'm hoping that it all loosens up a little so that I can keep "churning" it around together. I can't wait until I have worm castings to add in. Yum!!!

Hi all,
I earlier told yall about heating my building where i keep my worms well we finally came up with a solution I am very proud of. My DH took a 50 gallon drum and turned it into a wood burning stove with a kit he bought. now my worms can keep a happy 70 -75 degree temp and eat and reproduce constantly. I am so happy. It's much better then having to run the torpedo heater in there much cheaper burning wood!

WTG, fieldsems! That's great and your worms are lovin it I am sure! All those lovely castings, I am so jealous. I'm still working on DH about that..........grin

I have an attached insulated garage that maintains a temperature range between 40 to 50 degrees F through the winter months, which is the temperature of the worm media as well. I decided to try an experiment using my seed germination heat pad to warm the bins. Within a couple of days I had exceeded 80 degrees F, so I attached the thermostat probe and adjusted to 77 degress.

I would like to experiment with monitoring moisture in the bins as well using a garden type moisture probe that reads in percentage. I have not been able to locate any for less than $100 plus. Has anyone come across a simple garden soil temperature probe that measures in percent for less than $100?

morgan

Mibus, I've been working with Effective Microbes and Bokashi for a little over two years now. I brew up a batch of Activated EM from time to time and it in soil drenches and foliar sprays (diluted for both applications). I've also used it to help keep the drains clear in the house, and spray some diluted AEM in the worm bins.
My plants stay healthier and seem to grow better when I use it.

Garden_mermaid are you making your own EM? If so I would love to know how myself then when I do run out of the gallon I have I could just make it up instead of contacting the gal again to buy more...the bakashi I can make once I get the ingredients

Mibus, I buy the "mother culture" and then extend it by making the "activated EM" as per the directions from SCDWorld.

Click on the EM Activation Instructions at this site for basic information.
http://www.scdworld.net/category_s/77.htm

How are you currently using EM? Bokashi only or other uses?

Check out the Earthworm Digs at this site:

http://www.organicvalley.coop/culture/ovie/index.html

the EM I have is called EM-1 from the site I gave for emamerica.
I have used it a lil in the bokashi even though the gal told me it was already an ingredient in it
and then I have mixed it in with water when watering the flowers and bushes I do already have here.
I need to get one of those hose sprayer's so I can cover more ground as I water.

Mibus,

I'm moving the Bokashi/Em discussion to this thread:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796403/

ok headed over there to post something so I can keep up on it Thanks

I totally don't understand the whole bokashi thing do you buy this to feed to your worms? Does it speed up the compost process?

Bokashi is method to ferment food waste (or plant materials from the garden) and is then traditionally buried in the soil near your plants or in a trench for a couple of weeks for finishing. Finishing involves earthworms eating it in the ground. Some of us also put the fermented food waste in our wormbins. I layer it in the worm bedding. The worms love it and the vermicompost created by feeding Bokashi to the worms is richer in beneficial microbes than standard vermicompost.

OH I see but how much does that stuff run I'm cheap thats why I have my worms in the 1st place but if it improves there compost it may be worth a few more bucks

fieldsems, please go to the thread I cited above for more information on the method.

Thanks I have and find it pretty interesting

I would like to try some Canadian Nightcrawlers (lumbricus terrestris) in the garden, but they seem to be sold mostly in small quantities, for bait, and at outlandish prices. The lowest price I've found for a large quantity (online) is at "Ray's Worms & More." Has anyone had any experience with these suppliers, or with Canadian Nightcrawlers as a garden worm?

This is a small urban raised-bed garden, by the way. We are NOT going to attract wild worms, nor is there a field close by where I can hunt for them. :)

I have already added to the garden:
* about 1/2 pound of redworms (eisenia fetida) in June after my first attempt at a worm bin
* about 1-1/2 pound of European Nightcrawlers (eisenia hortensis) in July
* 5 pounds of "garden culture" mix in November. This is a blend of redworms, Europeans, and "Golden Jumpers" (pheritima hayakawa), to cover a range of depths. I have doubts about how well the pheritimas are going to do in a Seattle winter, which is why I'd like to try the Canadian Nightcrawlers.

I worked a lot of organic material into the soil in October. I want to do an absolute minimum of tilling from now on, which is why I am impatient to get a big worm population built up before spring -- as challenging as that may be. :)



This message was edited Dec 23, 2007 7:26 PM

Anitra, worms have a "sweet tooth". You might want to try watering the bed with a cup of unsulfured molasses mixed in 1 or 2 gallons of water. That brings the worms running around here. It also adds some trace minerals to your soil (like manganese) and is good food for the soil microbes.

The DirtDoctor recommends adding dry molasses:
"Dry molasses used at a rate of about 20 pounds per 1000 square feet should be all you need to get the earthworms moving in and doing their magic. There's no need to purchase worms. If conditions are good, they will come."
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=174

Molasses is also included in the ingredients of Purina's Worm Chow!
http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/month.200412/msg00267.html


This message was edited Dec 22, 2007 9:19 PM

This message was edited Dec 22, 2007 9:20 PM

I've searched the Purina site and there is no mention of Purina Worm Chow, where do you find it?

Well y'all have given some great info and now that it is the holiday and I am not driving my school bus I have time to sit here next week and read up on everything, but I know Santa isn't bringing me any worms hahahaha so I have time to work on doing a few things to get more stuff ready to get some.

Merry Christmas everyone