Who can tell me a few good books I can start reading re: vermi posting. I think I am going that route.
Mike, you started last year with worms, didn't you? I saw a comment on thevermiposting thread. Any advise/ warnings?
Coby
Composting/Vermiposting
Worms Eat My Garbage. Don't have the authors name offhand
BB
I almost ordered this book already from Amazon. It seemed a good book to me. Is it really useful?
Gives a really good basic look at vermicomposting for beginners. I am about to dust mine off because I want to put in a large worm bin
BB
Allright, I'll order it then. Let's go for the worms!
Thanks. Coby
I did it for a year until we moved and am planning to do it again now that we are settled in. You've got to be patient though...it's a very slow process.
Meaning, when I put the worms in ..I DON'T have worm casting a week later ?????? aaawww man!
Just kiding.. yes I'll be patient. Still figuring out what bin and where I shall put it.
I ordered the "worms eat my garbage" book and a Walter Reeves book about Georgia vegetable gardening.
Tulip
Your bin is best kept inside unless you put some kind of screening over the air vents. My DH freaked out when some of the worms escaped and made me put it out in the garage. Unfortunately, some Japanese beetles got into it through the air vents and laid their eggs. Wound up with a tub full of grubs! Yechhh! I'll take worms over grubs any day!
Eeeuuuwww! That sounds unpleasant! My DH is questioning my choice already, I wanted the tub in the garage. I heard about escapees before so a fine mesh screen will do better.
I said I would not post, since I am going for quadtruple bipass on tue 24th, but I had to respond.ALL my worms are local red wiggerlers, and I gathered them ahead of the robbins.I have them outside in a leaf worm bed.Watter oak leaves work best, along with kitchen scraps(NO meat, or dairy products).The worms will feed on the leaves, and build the pile to compost in a years time, and after that Dividens.
I have never bought the worms mentioned in the book, but believe, as long as you keep your leaf pile thick, that the local red wigglers will do the trick.
The "night crawlers move too great a distance to use.They are the long slow worms.
Mike
Stopped at the bait shop a few days ago and bought my red wigglers and got the bin started up again. This time I lined the bottom and top air holes with some fabric screening to keep them in and other bugs out. They're out in the enclosed carport, but it got pretty cold out there last night in the low 20's. Hope they survived.
Mike, THANK you for your post anyway.
I'm thinking of starting a small home-made bin first and put it in basement. DH gives me some grief, teenage daughter twice as bad! Also our garage might be too warm in summer, I know I can barely do anything in that garage!
Trying it first low-budget before I go into buying expensive bins etc. i have decided on waiting with vegetable garden (other than tomatoes) untill next year anyway. I have too much on my plate right now.
Thanks everybody for info. And btw the book mentioned on top -Io1, is really usefull ! Explains a lot.
Coby
Coby you could go the cheap like mine, I scavenged an old bathtub and raised it up on legs, if you do this you can adapt the drain so that you can collect worm tea.
Mine is outside under a sweetgum tree at the end of our house, I don't do anything special just feed them and pour 5 gallons of water over it every few days for the tea.
The tea runs out the drain and collects in a 5 gallon bucket I keep under the drain end, you just have to keep an eye on the bucket if it rains very much.I planted a small shade garden around mine so any overflow goes to my hosta's and liriope
They don't drown Fremar?
Worm bin not doing well after that blast of freezing temps and snow we had a few weeks ago. Started too early. Checked it several times and only saw 1 big old fat worm! He's got all that food for himself. Will order more online though since the bait shop was actually kind of expensive.
the worms or the hosta's BB?
The water drains through the bed in about 20 minutes and I only lose what the bed needs to stay moist, the rest runs out the drain a nice brown color.
the hosta's are on high ground so they have good drainage, as long as I keep the bucket emptied after a rain I don't get that much overflow.
The worms.
I still like the idea of worm castings - but I cannot be convinced for this year to start. Although backyard is done (well...I guess one is never done) but you know what I mean, And I DID make a mini vegetable garden, but our basement is in such a state that I won't put a wormbin there.
I WILL start next year. Can one start a worm bin in the fall, Fremar? Do you know?
I would think that if you were doing this inside it wouldn't matter when you do it, I don't do anything different regardless of what season. I know for a fact Mike feeds his year round and I've seen literaly thousands of worms in his bin at any time of the year.Temp and moist medium and regular feeding.
Seems like I read somewhere that worms reproduce according to their food supply, so I assume daily feeding and given time the results are limitless.
True. If I'm not mistaken in the worm book mentioned above, they say when you overfeed worms, they don't breed as much. When you feed them just enough they breed a lot. I'll check again if that's right. Does that mean they're soooo busy eating they have no time for "anything" else????
Your kinda wright Coby, what it is, is a polution of the territory, and they stop their function, witch is to eat all the time.I feed mine on food scrapes from the kitchen waste, but not to where they can't eat it all.Also never meat scraps, or dairy products.
When I use compost in the yard, I always prepair the ground good, and add the compost to the soil with the worms, thus thinning the worm population, and enriching the soil I am working with, by keeping a good enviornment for the newly added worms.They have to have a reason to stay around, so a little veggie scrapes can be worked in as well as a mulch.Mulch being the key factor.
Mike
Mike, you are always SOOOOO good at these things!! It's sure is good to have you "back".
Maybe this is a strrange question but... what do you do with the worms if you go on vacation? ask you neighbours to feed the fish AND the worms?
No Coby, they don't need to be fed that often, the scraps can last up to three weeks, and have nourishment for the worms.
It is easier to over feed, than underfeed.
Mike
LOL coby, his daughter and I feed the critters ie cats,birds,worms.
I'm the designated worm feeder
Mike show them some pics of the worm bins
here's a picture of my worm "tub"
I love the worm tub. Maybe I can talk DH into remodeling the bathroom, get a new tub with jets or something. And then I could say, hmmmm maybe I can use that old tub for worms. Think that would work? It would work real well next to the compost bin. Neat way to get worm "juice" too.
There is no doubt that the tub is a great idea to get "worm juice", and they are not as apt to get over fed, since the tub is flushed often.
This is the way I raise my worms, and they too get flushed, but I miss out on the "juice".Oh, I have four bins this size.
Mike
Huh,,, interesting. Actually we are going to redo our daughter's bathroom. Remove her tub and replace it for a shower, we could use that one I guess. But mind you, here in Atlanta we don't have many acres to hide something like that, cause you have to admit... "it don't look prutty" !
Does the tub not have to be covered ? How do you flush the tub - don't flush the worms flush out too?
I have to agree purty it aint. but that area is somewhat hidden by some leyland cypress and some other plants.
But that was my main reason for moving to the booney's , as long as it doesn't offend me I really don't have to give a rip
As for washing away the worms I put a screen over the drain hole when I filled it the main ingredient for mine has been leaves and a combination of coffee grounds and tea bags once in a while I add some browning lettuce or an egg shell .
Fremar:
What happens in the Winter. Do your worms die?
BB
BB, I'm sure some do.but I've never added worms they even survived 8 inches of snow in April. Maybe it's because I have it so close to my house, it does catch the norning sun for about 2 hours until it's shaded by the sweetgum tree I have it under.
OK
I just picked up an old tub from work and Mrs B wants her worm tub so I will give it a shot.
Do you cover yours?
BB
Hey you guys, just got back from trip to Holland. Couoldn't sleep anymore so got up at 6 and started some house activities AND DG of course!
BB. How are you. AND why are YOU up so early????? Take it easu huh?
I'm still reading the worm thing, still thinking too. BB have you atrted your tub already
BB
(sorry I know I've seen your name somewhere but can't remember it this morning)
The absolute first thing I would suggest is MEASURE the tub so you can get an idea how big your stand needs to be to raise it up( I didn't)
I used cinder blocks simply because that was most available, but back to your question, no I never cover mine these last 2 days of rain have given me over 10 fallons of worm tea.
freddie