coffee grounds and worms

Is an one using coffee grounds and red worms for composting? I could use a little help.
MickeyAz

There's a WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE thread that discusses worms and coffee grinds on the soil and composting forum. I use coffee grinds in my compost pile. Do a search in the box for "worms in the compost" and look for posts by Gymgirl. Send me a dmail if you need more help finding the post, ok?

Mickey...I'm probably in the minority on this subject, but I say forget the coffee grounds in the worm bin. Great for compost piles, but I can't see where there is any benefit to the worms from injecting coffee grounds. I also use coffee grounds as part of my pepper potting up mix...low nutrients...with a slight amount of acidity.

My earthworms only kicked and twisted in a clockwise direction until I added coffee grounds. Now they kick and twist clockwise two times in sequence and the third time anti-clockwise while at the same time curling up and relaxing. I don't know why but this drives the big bass crazy. :)

There is normally enough living bacteria to convert anything put on a worm bed to a food the worms will eat and turn into casts. Common sense applies to all additions. An overload of anyting will not be a benefit until it completely rots. This possibly leaves a temporary odor near the bin while rotting. A covering of leaves or grass will mask the process when used a few inches thick over the problem addition.

I am using just used coffee grounds and a little greens to feed the worms. I want all the castings I can get. I have a friend in the city who had done this for years.. In Arizona the castings help our "soil" a lot.
Mickeyaz

The presence of worms and likewise castings will help any soil in the world.

I have seen lots of anecdotal reports where people report increased worm population with use of UCGs. However, I've never really seen anything scientific to back that up. Anybody know of any studies out there?

I do use UCGs in my compost and directly in my soil, and I do have a lot of worms. However, I use a lot of organic matter on my soil so I can't really claim a connection between the grounds and the worms.

I'm not a vermicomposter and I don't add worms to my compost bins. Much of the time the compost is way too hot for worms.

Karen

Karen............the world of hands on experience is 99% interested in biological observation. One of the world's largest vermiculture persons is not far from where I live. He hires a man to make the coffee grounds pick up...full time. He also picks up manures, big box produce waste and other organic wastes. His largest volume waste is coffee grounds. The use of coffee grounds discussion is in nearly all organic based books. Whatever those worms eat produces a better product in the form of casts which rebuild the soil.

Coffee grounds going into the compost piles or directly to the soil has about the same value as fall dead leaves, many raw manures and compost that has not been totally finished.

These elements support the biological community and build soils. All man made chemicals cripple or kill the biological community which is required content of soils for better growth. The one is evident since time began and works without fail. The other was invented after the first world war to use the chemicals and companies used in bomb making. This is the one that needs to be eliminated with the same vigor it was introduced and used to this day. There are few worms and casts in soils nuked to death by chemicals. The quality of food raised on these soils is very questionable and scientifically proven much less value than from biologically strong soils.

Most coffee grounds go to the landfills and garbage dumps. We as gardeners and even small vermiculture hobby folks can greatily improve our total by using them. In fact anything that once lived will rot and could be the subject of this discussion not just coffee grounds.

Red worms are the manure worms family who work in and around the compost piles and full time in the vermiculture business interests.

Unless your garden is full of unfinished compost elements the red worms will have done their jobs and gone into retirement. The gray worms now come into play and continues the conversion from raw foods into humus. Both of these worm families will eat coffee grounds.

Observation is easy. Put out a light sifting of used coffee grounds where worms are active. Within a few days they will be gone. This is more evident in the warmer part of the season. They will not simply rot that quickly.

docgipe: I'm aware of that stuff. I wondered if there were studies.

I just can't tell a difference in my own garden because I use a lot of organic matter, so I can't attribute worm population to worms rather than compost, leaf mulch, grass clippings, etc.

I read "The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms" by Amy Stewart. It has been some time ago, and I don't remember whether the author cited anything about UCGs. Possibly, but I don't remember now. If you haven't read it, it's a good read.

Karen

Karen............the organic movement has never had the big bucks but that is changing as more and more organic and biological products are arriving on the marketplace. We are a very long way from dollar matching with the major chemical companies that front tons of grants and studies.

When you think of used coffee grounds there is no money trail save the landfill costs and savings realized by the users of them.

You are absoutely right about intergrated mixed living and dried plant parts and manures. All of those parts go into soil building, good compost or vermiculture and end up at the same place with the same purposes. The folks with the money are not going to spend their bucks to make themselves look bad.

Yes, that's very true.

Karen

I might add that the introduction of an organic potting medium by Scotts is one of Lowe's hottest selling products. In my relatively small city area it is selling two or three to one against all others including others of their own make. If Scotts is breaking this and other organic products as well in all markets other major sellers will have to peddle hard to catch up to the established lead enjoyed by Scotts.

I make it even better by using about equal thirds of....garden soil, their planting medium and coir with a modest addition of organic Fertrell's 4-2-4. I really like what the early growth and plant conditions are showing me this year.

I have a small composter outside my back door. I moved the contents , a years worth, last week and there must have been ten worms per handfull! We make a pot of coffee a day and I add all my kitchen scraps so it is maybe a five to one ratio grounds to fruit and veggy peal. Sonetimes I add pulled weeds from that side of the house.
Just guessing. Hope this helps