Question about worm compost

Big Nasty · Dec 21, 2018

Hi folks,i've got a question about using compost as the main part of a soil mix.My intention is to feed the worms with what i would use as fertilizers for the plants;i'm using raw milk,acid casein extracted with lemon juice,ash,non-mature compost,depleted soil,crushed egg shell,maple syrup,dead yeast,nettle,food waste(no sodium in it),cardboard,etc.
I keep adding worms to the bin(30 lt),both earthworms and red worms and so far they're looking good and it seems they're doing a good job.I plan to try different % in the final mix with a nice organic potting soil, from 80/20 (compost/soil) to 20/80.
What do you guys think?Will I be able to go from seed to harvest this way without top dressing,just water?
I plan to let the worms "cooking" the compost for 2-3 months then start to grow,no bad smells and bugs so far.

Teddybrae · Dec 22, 2018

I don't know a lot about the science of this ... but I have worms in a garden bed chewing madly as I write, hopefully making nutrients in the root zone of my plants. The plants are growing very well and I continue to feed the worms.
Seems to me you will not have to use all of the compost you make ... the end product is very rich ... but you can experiment ... can't you?

Big Nasty · Dec 22, 2018

Teddybrae said:
I don't know a lot about the science of this ... but I have worms in a garden bed chewing madly as I write, hopefully making nutrients in the root zone of my plants. The plants are growing very well and I continue to feed the worms.
Seems to me you will not have to use all of the compost you make ... the end product is very rich ... but you can experiment ... can't you?

Hi Teddy,the idea is to amend the compost(slowly) rather than the soil mix and use it as both media and fertilizer:it could be too strong hence the different ratios,of course this is an experiment...let's see if it works,the goal is to use mostly garbage and low cost amendments a part from milk.Nothing coming from sea,no manure and shit,i'm not paying more for shit than i would for my own food

Sweetdog760 · Jan 1, 2019

Big nasty. I like your idea brotha.

I was thinking the same thing just yesterday. If we assume that the soil is going to be 3 equal parts peat, aeration, and worm castings. Then ideally we would feed all of our amendments directly to the worms. 100 gal of soil would require 33ish gallons of castings. Add the correct proportions of amendments for 100 gal soil.

Amendments could be substituted for things like alfalfa, comfrey, nettle, or whstever really. But that makes it harder to determine the exact amount of nutrients unless you know what a lb of nettle breaks down into.

Then when it's done all u gotta do is mix the aeration, peat, and "super castings" and ur set. You could even put the peat straight in the worm bin since its pretty much void of nutrition with a little extra to account for it breaking down and just mix that 2/3 castings to 1/3 aeration...or something like that.

Anywayz... How's ur project going?

Teddybrae · Jan 1, 2019

Thinking further ... yes I see your goal. There are recipes around for making worms FAT. I 'm wondering if fat worms have rich poo?

Big Nasty · Jan 1, 2019

Sweetdog760 said:
Big nasty. I like your idea brotha.

I was thinking the same thing just yesterday. If we assume that the soil is going to be 3 equal parts peat, aeration, and worm castings. Then ideally we would feed all of our amendments directly to the worms. 100 gal of soil would require 33ish gallons of castings. Add the correct proportions of amendments for 100 gal soil.

Amendments could be substituted for things like alfalfa, comfrey, nettle, or whstever really. But that makes it harder to determine the exact amount of nutrients unless you know what a lb of nettle breaks down into.

Then when it's done all u gotta do is mix the aeration, peat, and "super castings" and ur set. You could even put the peat straight in the worm bin since its pretty much void of nutrition with a little extra to account for it breaking down and just mix that 2/3 castings to 1/3 aeration...or something like that.

Anywayz... How's ur project going?

Hi man,i think it's going well.I'm going by the touch as i don't want to build an accurate recipe.I'm incorporating the aeration in the vermicompost as well,sand and char,maybe lava rock too;i'm cutting the compost with a very soft and light potting soil(there also coco in there),the key is to find the right ratio.

Teddy,i read somewhere that high protein food makes the worms grow fatter while high carbon food makes them"horny".
European nightcrwlers grow very fat but their castings are more compact and harder than the red worms ones so a mix of the two should do the trick.

Big Nasty · Jan 1, 2019

I'm neither a hermit nor H.D. Thoreau but i went to the woods a week ago and found some useful stuff:
wild cow shit,full of seeds

sand from a dry creek,very light,should be good for aeration along with moss

this blueish-gray mold,i don't know what it is but could be useful

and composted material in an area where i usually find mushroom

Big Nasty · Jan 1, 2019

Then i harvested horsetail,nettle,broom(we call this plant ginestra) and made a tea,i'm using this in my vegetable garden too

acid casein and milk serum,the serum it is now too acidic to feed it to the worms so it goes in another compost compost bin;this casein is really easy to made and is a great and clean source of N and P while the serum is good for Ca and N

I'm starting to see a few worms cocoon in the bin,this should be a good sign,have a nice new year everybody.

h.h. · Jan 1, 2019

My amendments go straight into the worm bin.

Just be careful of too much protein.

Big Nasty · Jan 1, 2019

h.h. said:
My amendments go straight into the worm bin.

Just be careful of too much protein.

Hi h.h so you know for sure what's in the bin,don't you?
How much ewc do you use in the final mix?How long do you let it cook?
I think it can be too hot for seedling stage,i'm trying to guess what would be the right amount.As for protein i add 15 grams at a time,no ammonia smell so far.

Microbeman · Jan 1, 2019

Big Nasty said:
Hi man,i think it's going well.I'm going by the touch as i don't want to build an accurate recipe.I'm incorporating the aeration in the vermicompost as well,sand and char,maybe lava rock too;i'm cutting the compost with a very soft and light potting soil(there also coco in there),the key is to find the right ratio.

Teddy,i read somewhere that high protein food makes the worms grow fatter while high carbon food makes them"horny".
European nightcrwlers grow very fat but their castings are more compact and harder than the red worms ones so a mix of the two should do the trick.

It is a waste of real estate adding things like sand, rock dust and lava rock to a worm bin. They live on organic matter and I highly doubt their transformative influence over rock particles. I'm not sure on biochar. Perhaps very small particles may be of benefit.

When growing with living soil some of our initial mixes consisted of almost 50% vermicompost. You are correct that vermicompost consisting of a fairly diverse source input is just about the only amendment needed in your initial mix. We did have free horse manure. You don't have a source of free manure?

I think you will really regret mixing moss into your soil.

DrDee · Jan 1, 2019

Big Nasty,
I agree with HH on the protein and also avoid fatty stuff. I think they are too wet. Add in some dry corn meal to their food. Cheap and they love it.
JD

Big Nasty · Jan 1, 2019

Hi Microbeman,i don't want the worms to feed on rocks,just use them to lighten the compost a bit and the final mix as well.I can find free wild cows and boars manure but they feed mostly on seeds,wild weed and berries,i mean whatever they find in the woods.
Do you think moss can be a problem?I thought it was good,maybe i can strain it out later.

Hi DrDee,the casein when dry is approx. 95% protein,fats and sugar stay in the serum which i'm not feeeding to worms anyway cause i use the lemon juice to extract.
Think of it as a regular fish-shrimp-krill meal but higher in N and salts-free,i'm trying to go light on this one,it can increase ammonia to a toxic level for worms(and plants too),thanks for the input i'll add corn meal too.

DrDee · Jan 1, 2019

Big Nasty said:
Hi Microbeman,i don't want the worms to feed on rocks,just use them to lighten the compost a bit and the final mix as well.I can find free wild cows and boars manure but they feed mostly on seeds,wild weed and berries,i mean whatever they find in the woods.
Do you think moss can be a problem?I thought it was good,maybe i can strain it out later.

Hi DrDee,the casein when dry is approx. 95% protein,fats and sugar stay in the serum which i'm not feeeding to worms anyway cause i use the lemon juice to extract.
Think of it as a regular fish-shrimp-krill meal but higher in N and salts-free,i'm trying to go light on this one,it can increase ammonia to a toxic level for worms(and plants too),thanks for the input i'll add corn meal too.

The worms just won't eat it if it's something they can't tolerate. Also go easy when giving them new stuff...just a little till you see that they like it. But corn meal is an all time worm fav...so you'll be OK with that.
JD

Microbeman · Jan 1, 2019

I was just meaning it may be better to save the rock for your final soil mix. I'm sure the cows graze on some good materials. You could have weed seed issues. We did with horse manure. Ideally it is heat composted first.

aridbud · Jan 1, 2019

I wouldn't feed earthworms raw milk or meat by-products. Red wigglers thrive on paper, cardboard,veggies, eggshells, dust, vacuum cleaner contents, coffee grounds and such.

oaxacapulco · Jan 1, 2019

aridbud said:
I wouldn't feed earthworms raw milk or meat by-products. Red wigglers thrive on paper, cardboard,veggies, eggshells, dust, vacuum cleaner contents, coffee grounds and such.

No don't listen to this newbie aridbud. He's clearly a conventional grower.

Don't feed your precious worms paper (bleach), cardboard (glue and other hazardous recycled materials), dust (polyester), vacuum cleaner contents (could potentially contain mercury from a broken thermometer or energy savings light bulb!)

We don't want to kill our precious worms or make them sick. We want healthy worms. Only a healthy worm will produce healthy compost.

oaxacapulco · Jan 1, 2019

Only use organic coffee grounds!

bigtacofarmer · Jan 1, 2019

Best food my wigglers ever ate was 50/50 mix of finished bokashi and coco coir that has been let cool for a month.

Big Nasty · Jan 2, 2019

What i'm trying to do is not only to feed the worms(there are 3 species of worms in the bin)but at the same time i'd like to create an almost suitable growing media for the plants without the need to add amendments during the grow.While the red wigglers love manure,cardboard and vegetables the nightcrawlers mostly eat rotting leaves and dirt.
I want to keep the things in balance so each amendment that i would use to fertilize the plants is added slowly over time to not bother or kill the worms,let me clarify that it is not just about feeding the worms,something goes in for worms and something else for the plants and texture.I appreciate any input though.

Question about worm compost

Active member

Teddybrae

Active member

Member

Teddybrae

Active member

Active member

Active member

Active member

Active member

The Logical Gardener

Member

Active member

Member

The Logical Gardener

automeister

New member

New member

Well-known member

Active member