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Vermicomposting 101

V

vonforne

I have wanted to do this for some time now.

About a year ago I set up my own vermicomposting, and now I wanted to share how really easy this is at home or even in an apartment.

Basic facts on Vermi-composting:

Vermicompost (also called worm compost, vermicast,worm castings, worm humus, worm poop or worm manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by some species of earthworm. Vermicompost is a nutrient-rich, natural fertilizer and soil conditioner. The process of producing vermicompost is called vermicomposting.
file:///f:/Grow%20info/CategoryVermiculture%20-%20Appropedia.htm

The earthworm species (or composting worms) most often used are Brandling Worms (Eisenia foetida) or Red Wigglers (Lumbricus rubellus). These species are only rarely found in soil and are adapted to the special conditions in rotting vegetation, compost and manure piles. Composting worms are available from mail-order suppliers, or from angling shops where they are sold as bait. Small-scale vermicomposting is well suited to turn kitchen waste into high-quality soil, where space is limited.

Vermicomposting uses earthworms to turn organic wastes into very high quality compost. This is probably the best way of composting kitchen wastes. Adding small amounts of wet kitchen scraps to a large compost pile in the garden day by day can disrupt the decomposition process so that the compost is never really done. But it works just fine with vermicomposting.

Many gardeners use vermicomposting systems for all their garden and kitchen wastes, many more use both types of composting, and thousands of households without gardens use neat and unobtrusive worm boxes indoors to compost their kitchen scraps (as well as newspapers and cardboard boxes), reducing their garbage by up to a third and providing their own organic soil for pot plants and container gardens on balconies and roofs to grow their own healthy food.

The reason I wanted to start using my own castings is because I believe fresher the better. And I get to use the liquid tea for free not $29.95

In this thread I will outline specific worm suppliers, plans to construct your own bin according to your needs and do a DIY with pictures later on in the thread.
 
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HeadyPete

Take Five...
Veteran
Nice thread! Great info. I have used the Red Wigglers in my outdoor composting bin for a few years now and they are great. They survive the winters and make great compost. They also make great trout bait!

I set up the local wildlife shelter I volunteer at with some wigglers and now they have a great indoor bin going for their scraps from feeding time.

This will surely be of interest to lots of peeps here!

Peace.
 

Suby

**AWD** Aficianado
Veteran
Hey Vman,

I have jonesing to get going on the vermicomposting, I love critters and crawlers but I am low on space.
I'll be keeping tabs on this, I want a good model for a composting bin.

Peace
S
 

HeadyPete

Take Five...
Veteran
I used a rubbermaid storage bin with a top and drill holes in it for air. Anything will do, as long as it is dark and has air holes.

I am interested to see what vonforne recommends/uses.
 
V

vonforne

Thanks for the props everyone. Here is some more basic information on vermicomposting. Those of you who are more advanced please be patient. Over the next few days I will cover all the basics. If I have missed any information please feel free to chime in and let me know.

I added the following information to remind everyone why we should compost even if we are not currently growing MJ.

Organic gardening is a term for combining some basic gardening procedures with an ethical philosophy of environmental preservation.


The distinguishing feature of organic gardening is that it uses only naturally-occurring materials for all phases of the growing operation--from improving the soil, fertilizing, and liming, to preventing and solving pest problems. The 1990 Florida legislative definition of organic excludes the use of synthetic chemicals on vegetables and other products grown for sale.


Every home kitchen generates food scraps for disposal. Throwing these scraps in the garbage can create odor problems and adds to the volume of waste going to the landfill. Disposing of kitchen scraps in a garbage disposal is convenient, but it adds to the burden of the waste-treatment system and throws away a potentially valuable resource. Furthermore, garbage disposals are not recommended for homes that rely on a septic system for waste disposal. A viable alternative to disposing of food scraps in the landfill or the sewer system is to compost them. The resulting material is a useful addition to gardens and potted plants.

Why make your own vermicompost? This is a question that I sat down and ask myself.

1. Fresh castings IMO are better than store bought.
2. You can taylor to your needs in what you feed your worms.
3. You help the enviroment by not adding waste to the already over burdened
land fills.
4. Vermicomposting can be done either indoors or outdoors, and is a great
way for urbanites to compost their kitchen scraps.
5. Vermicomposting is a great way to turn your kitchen scraps into useful
material for the garden.
6. And for those of you who have young children (Suby) its fun for them.


Vermicompost contains not only worm castings,
but also bedding materials and organic wastes at various
stages of decomposition. It also contains worms at
various stages of development and other microorganisms
associated with the composting processing.
Earthworm castings in the home garden often contain
5 to 11 times more nitrogen, phosphorous, and
potassium as the surrounding soil. Secretions in the
intestinal tracts of earthworms, along with soil passing
through the earthworms, make nutrients more
concentrated and available for plant uptake, including
micronutrients.
Redworms in vermicompost act in a similar fashion,
breaking down food wastes and other organic
residues into nutrient-rich compost. Nutrients in
vermicompost are often much higher than traditional
garden compost.

Here is some additional reading for everyone. Until next time. :)

http://bio-eco.eis.ynu.ac.jp/eng/da...le texts/Vermillennium 2000/Vermicology I.pdf
 
V

vonforne

First, sorry for negelecting my thread but work has been hell and I'm kind of lazy at night.



Suby said:
Hey Vman,

I have jonesing to get going on the vermicomposting, I love critters and crawlers but I am low on space.
I'll be keeping tabs on this, I want a good model for a composting bin.

Peace
S

I have peeps like you in mind. For most people space is limited and with children even less so. I will gather all the materials over the next couple of days to build a small one first. What space do you have to work with Suby?

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

That link is a PDF to the one I have built before. I was thinking this would be about the size you might need. The bigger the better because each person in the household can feed 2 square feet per week or 1lb of food waste per person. And with three of you now Suby, you are going to need a big one. :smile:
 
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stevr59

Active member
man i have all ways wanted to start a worm farm i am pulling up a chair here. this take me back to when i was a kid and help my grandfather with his worm bed.
 

PHB

Member
Vonforne,
The file:// links won't work for anyone but you since it is a link to your local system. Is there another place you can put those documents?

Thanks,
PHB
 
V

vonforne

PHB said:
Vonforne,
The file:// links won't work for anyone but you since it is a link to your local system. Is there another place you can put those documents?

Thanks,
PHB


Got it. Sorry about that. you know being a stoner and all sometimes I miss things.
 

stevr59

Active member
now i was checking out the bins and was thinking if i wanted the first bin just to collect the liquids how big of holes would i use so the worms didn't fall in to the rez was thinking of making a 3 bin system with the first just to catch any liguids and install a drain on it and the other 2 for the worms to live in.
 
V

vonforne

You have to make the holes at least a 3/8 inch hole. you can use hardware screening to keep the worms in and the castings from falling through while still giving the worms plenty of air cirulation. You could install a faucet of use a large catch pan to gather the liquid.
 

PHB

Member
Thanks Vonforne. Do you have another location for the CategoryVermiculture - Appropedia file as well? The Worm Bin article is great!
 
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stevr59

Active member
i was just sitting looking at this pile of trim from my scrog and was thinking if i add this to the worm bin would the thc in the trim hurt the worms?
 
V

vonforne

PHB, I'm looking. Yes.

Steve, no the thc will not hurt your worms.


I will post alot of links for you guys to read while I get my lazy ass to building and photographing.
 

Dignan

The Soapmaker!
Veteran
I'm looking forward to this, Vonforme. Not to rush ya, but ... :lurk:


vonforne said:
Secretions in the intestinal tracts of earthworms, along with soil passing through the earthworms, make nutrients more concentrated and available for plant uptake, including micronutrients.

I read somewhere recently that the secretions also cause the castings to work in a sort of "time-release" fashion, as the secretions break down.
 

Pimpslapped

Member
Dignan said:
I'm looking forward to this, Vonforme. Not to rush ya, but ... :lurk:

I read somewhere recently that the secretions also cause the castings to work in a sort of "time-release" fashion, as the secretions break down.


I could be wrong, but from what I understand most organics are somewhat 'time-release' as it is. The biological processes of the microherds involved make more nutrients available to the plant over time. What length of time for various additives, I have no idea. Just my two bent pennies.
 

stevr59

Active member
dam vonforne you must be building one hell of a worm bin i got part of mine done all ready got the top bin done was holding off on the bottom one till i see what you come up with only thing i need now is da worms and some reason i cant find any i done dug up half my yard looking for em with no luck guess i will have to go to a bait shop soon.
 
V

vonforne

Sorry for the delay. I have been busy at work. I build houses so when I get home its hard for me to pick up my tools again. I do have a responsablity to get it done.

And I will do that.

And the worms you want don't come from your yard or the bait store. They are red wrigglers and you can order them online. Here is a link.

http://www.vermitechnology.com/

My humble apologies for the delay. I will be posting that info up shortly and will upload the pics to go along with them.


And I did get into some bidding wars lately for genetics on seedbay.
 
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G

Guest

Ya know V,
I'm interested in a bit of vermicomping myself. Perhaps I'll use another Rubbermaid to start a bin too. I'm watchin and waiting!

J.
 
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