Hmmmm. Currently only ever used hydroponics, but wondering whether to step over to the muck & magic side. Needs to be indoor though.

A friend got a worm farm recently from WormCity including worms, and it seems to be going well, producing leachate and vermicompost- apparently 10000 more microbes/bacteria than compost.

Has anyone got one of these- they seem to be cheap but I bet you would need a big one to make enough for a reasonable grow.

Could you use a base compost and this as the only added fertiliser? And would it be organic? You add lots of paper and cooked and raw kitchen waste. I bet dried leaves would go well too?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Bud

hello bud ... very easy to make one your self ....

you need a black dustbin with clip on lid (if your looking for a large one that is ,just scale it down to what ever size you want )
plastic tap with plastic nut ...
strip of 1 or two inch draft excluder
strong glue
dry play sand (not beach or builder to much salt in in )
very fine net curtain .
bag of charcoal (not brickets they fall apart massive surface area on it for build up of microbe 1 gram of charcoal can have the surface of 500 sqm and depending on how its produced can be up to 1500 sqm)
small bag of composted tree bark fines .

to make it .....
drill a hole up through under the bin to take your tap ... cut any thread of that sticks over the nut .use plumbers tape or what ever you want to use to seal.
sit the bin on 2 concrete blocks ...making sure to tilt it forwards a little .
cut a small sq of the net curtain to cover the hole as a filter and glue in place
fill the bottom of the bin with sand and half the charcoal to about 8/10 inches or so
then use the rest of the curtain to cover your mix on the bottom ..glue if you want to .cut and fit to shape
then fill 15 inches of the tree bark
cut draft excluder to fit on the lip of the bin and inside the bin lid ... glue in place ...when the glue is dry just make sure you can clip the lid tight nice and tight on the bin (keeps the worms in place when they want to walkie's near a full moon i kid you not... )

get your self a mixed kilo of composting worms drop them in to the bin (making sure thats its nice and moist in there)

done jobs a good en ... in twenty mins or so .... your on the way to making worm casts and leachate (tea)

plenty of stuff on line about worms .. but if your not sure just ask me or pm .... not a bother on me ......

hope it helps .....



easy as 1 2 3 ..................



note
you can not use the worm casts alone to strong in most case's mix at about 30/to what ever else you are using

another note ... for fecks sake don't leave it in the sun esle you will have stewed worms and a fecking smell that will kill ya
leave it alone for a week before you start to feed it ... this give it time to develop a micro herd which is needed to feed and sustain the whole process

Hey RIPTD,
By "small bag of composted tree bark fines" can you just use B&Q composted bark?? As I am interested in making one so if you can pm me any info regarding what the best stuff to feed them would be etc. Thanks mate.
P.s also if the worms go into the composted bark why does it need the dry play sand and charcoal? sorry if it sounds a dumb question as I have never done this before.

I have a worm farm and use coco coir mixed with the casts for my plant mix. Working really well with biobizz nutes. The veg in the garden is thriving in it this year.

Think mines 100 ltr capacity or bit bigger, has a tap at the bottom for the liquid. Its so good that im thinking of getting another one. Plus they lay eggs so you get more and more worms as it goes along.

You can feed the worms your kitchen scraps, ie news paper, tea bags, coffe grinds, egg shells, fruit, veg, just no meat bones, dairy, pasta, rice or citrus fruit. There is loads of info on the net about what they will and wont eat, thats just a few examples. Had mine up and running for several years now. You can also feed them fan leaves, stalks, root balls aswell so great to get rid of the unwanted stuff.

Yup its 100% organic

I thought you needed two bins (one on top of the other) if you wanted to have actual wormcasts as well as tea?

Or am I missing something ?

If you're up to it rtd...fancy doing a pictorial?....

ok guys will update it in the am when my head is a fresher and my brain will engage .....



slanta ....

No worries.

thanks mate.

hello dude your more than welcome ..... I will work on redoing the worm composter post today and make it much more in depth for you all to

and if I can get pictures I will do that to ........ leave it to me ...............

as long as you understand the process then kool ......if not just ask me ..............if you go to here to carbon thread you will see why we use the charcoal and composted tree bark to

The basic principles of composting and vermi-composting.


Composting is a controlled process in which micro-organisms break down organic materials under aerobic conditions.
It is an aerobic process, which means it occurs in the presence of oxygen. The composted material must contain the correct proportions of nitrogen, e.g. soft or cooked food wastes, and carbon, e.g. paper, cardboard, wood chip, sawdust, dead leaves etc. Most wastes can be composted successfully.

Different communities of micro-organisms predominate during the composting process.

The micro-organisms that break down the organic material have a few basic requirements, such as air, water, the right food and temperature. Combined in the right way these create a good composting environment.
If any one of these conditions should go out of balance during the composting process, it can result in the pile turning anaerobic and thus starting to smell.
The carbon source in the compost pile serves as food for the micro-organisms, while the nitrogen source serves population growth.
Too much supply of either kind of material will bring the composting process out of balance. While the bacteria break down the components of the compost pile, they generate heat. If too much heat is generated, the bacteria will die, so constant monitoring of the conditions within a composting pile is essential.

The composting process progresses through three distinct phases:
1. Mesophilic phase
2. Thermophilic phase
3. Maturation (curing) phase

After mixing carbon and nitrogen sources mesophilic bacteria, carrying out decomposition and bringing the temperature within the compost to rise initiate the start of the composting process.
Once the temperature rises above 40-45°C these mesophilic bacteria become less active and are replaced by Thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria. Under the higher temperatures, the breakdown of fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates is accelerated.

Mid-temperature loving (<40°C)

Once most of the decomposable waste has been consumed by the micro-organisms,

The heat will drop and the composting process will slow down, leading to the final stage of the composting process.
The material has to be cured, i.e. it has to be rested until it is inactive and ready for use as a final product.
During all three stages of the composting process, fungi also play an important role.
These include moulds and yeasts, which are responsible for the decomposition of tough debris, organic residues that are too dry, acidic or low in nitrogen for bacterial decomposition, such as paper, bark or woody stems.
Compost fungi are aerobic and can form grey or white fuzzy colonies or spider web structures.

VERMI-COMPOSTING PROCESS

In vermi-composting, the traditional composting process is amended with worms.
Therefore, vermi-composting is an attempt at a more accurate simulation of the physical and chemical activities taking place in the soil environment than is composting alone.
The worm is an intestinal tract with a grinding tool wrapped in muscle. Tiny pebbles and pieces of grit in the thick- walled gizzard grind up food passing through the worm body.
Digestive enzymes secreted by the wall of the intestine chemically break down the food.
That which is soluble is absorbed into the blood, while undigested food passes along the intestine and is digested.
The common perception of vermi-composting is that worms feed on decaying organic matter.
In fact, worms have only a limited ability to digest organic matter.
They derive most of their nutrition from the digestion of micro-organisms and, in particular, fungi, protozoa and algae.
Most organic matter and many bacteria pass through the worm gut Unharmed.
During the process, nutrients are released and converted into plant- available forms.

Worm excreta are known as vermicast.

Vermicast is a light, friable material which is high in microbial activity and which generally does not require curing after decomposition.
There are two groups of earthworms: humus formers and humus feeders. The first group are used for vermi-composting.
They are called epegic detritivorous worms, dwell on the surface and feed on nearly 90% organic matter and 10% soil.
They have a flat tail and are generally red in colour. The ingested organic material undergoes chemical changes within the earthworm, which then excretes castings that are very high in nutrients.
Their structure promotes soil aeration, through this process the original substance is compacted, thus reducing the overall volume. Earthworms also
Stimulate microbial populations, compost plant residue and reduce harmful Nematode counts.

The most common types of earthworms used for vermi-composting are:

• Brandling worms (Eisenia foetida),
• Red worms or red wigglers (Lumbricus rubellus).

These are not to be confused with the common garden or field earthworm (Allolobophora caliginosa and other species), which prefers ordinary soil
Though sometimes can be found to feed on the bottom of a compost pile.
Red worms and brandling worms, however, prefer the compost or manure Environment.
Passing through the gut of the earthworm, recycled organic wastes are excreted as castings (worm manure). This organic material is rich in nutrients, often much more than ordinary garden compost, and looks like fine-textured soil.
Earthworms produce no toxins and carry no diseases; in fact, there is evidence to suggest they are capable of destroying harmful bacteria. Earthworms can reduce waste volume by up to 90% and neutralise soil pH.
Earthworms will eat almost any organic waste and on a larger scale are capable of feeding on 70% of all material currently being sent to landfill sites. They can feed on most food processing waste as well as farmyard manure; neutralising the odour, reducing volume and producing a high grade finished product for use in the garden

How the filters works (taken from another post but is the same thing really)

Charcoal is carbon. Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms.
The use of special manufacturing techniques results in highly porous charcoals that have surface areas of 300-2,000 square metres per gram depending on how it was produce .These so-called active, or activated, charcoals are widely used to adsorb odorous or coloured substances from gases or liquids. ­

­The word adsorb is important here. When a material adsorbs something, it attaches to it by chemical attraction. The huge surface area of activated charcoal gives it countless bonding sites. When certain chemicals pass next to the carbon surface, they attach to the surface and are trapped.

Activated charcoal is good at trapping other carbon-based impurities ("organic" compounds ), as well as things like chlorine. Many other chemicals are not attracted to carbon at all -- sodium, nitrates, etc. -- so they pass right through. This means that an activated charcoal filter will remove certain impurities while ignoring others. It also means that, once all of the bonding sites are filled, an activated charcoal filter stops working. At that point you must replace the filter.
So the carbon is basically blocked with organic solids , to release this organic fraction we need to introduce the carbon to something that will eat the organics so it becomes unblocked freeing up the blocked pores.

To do this we need to make the carbon part of a bio filter to utilise beneficial microbes as in worm composter , anaerobic digestion or in bokashi
Digester (which is anaerobic digestion) so during all of the above process’s there is a liquid (lechate run of ) that is the bi-product of the over all reduction in volume , chemical and biological actions of the above .

The filter is made up of just two things dry clean sand (not beach sand as to salty) and or a mixture of composted tree bark fines (smaller size that’s be graded ) this is how the layers are constructed.
The basic filter is 4/5 inches in depth of sand mixed with your used charcoal at a ratio of 50/50 , on top of this you place a layer of tree bark fines (does not matter how wide it is just scale up or down depending on the size of your worm composter/digester/bokashi unit ) .
And using this filter to clean up the liquid as it filters through the medium ,it takes about a week for it to become biologically active with anaerobic bacteria , the microbes feed on the suspended solids as the lechate filters through and with in a few weeks the charcoal is clean and working efficiently again.

There are a few other benefits to using this in so much as the bod (A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by micro-organisms in breaking down organic matter in effluent during a certain period) is reduced ,the lower the figure the better (water has a low bod of 4/5 while raw sewage sludge or land fill lechate can be has high as 2/3000) the lower it is the better for your plants when used as a tea type feed.

So as you are going to be replacing you filter every 9/12 months depending on the type (approx) , this will then allow the reuse of the charcoal as you bio-filter .

To use your charcoal again just dismantle your bio-filter by first removing your tree bark layer and tipping the sand charcoal mix out , screening of the sand , allowing the charcoal the air dry and finally stick it in the oven on a medium heat for an hour or so , and there you go clean fresh charcoal.

The liquid run off or tea is in a much more beneficial state than just using the unfiltered liquid that in some case may have undesirables in it , you could use a small pump to oxygenate the liquid to really clean it up and encourage an aerobic bloom .

Especially with the worm tea as this will have lots of dormant beneficial microbes , fungi spores (from the tree bark composting process) that will bloom when oxygenated .

Anaerobic digestion


Unlike composting AD is carried out in an oxygen-free environment (known as anaerobic conditions) to allow the presence of bacteria adjusted to these conditions which then multiply and grow, and by so doing achieve the process aims of:

* sanitisation of the feed material and of any liquid discharged;
* a net positive surplus generation of energy as a biofuel to allow power production from methane gas (biogas) produced by the organisms.

Bokashi the basic's

In a nutshell, Bokashi involves the use of a bucket (or other sealed container) and a special microbial concoction - using what are known as “Effective Micro-organisms”, or EM for short. This term is actually a trademarked brand name, not simply a description.

The “Effective Micro-organisms” concept was developed in the 80’s by a Japanese scientist, Dr. Teruo Higa, and as stated on the EM America Website these beneficial microbes are “non-pathogenic micro-organisms that secrete compounds that are useful, or beneficial, to other life.” If the list of EM uses on this website is any indication, it is pretty clear that these “Effective Micro-organism” mixes are used for far more than just waste management!

All that being said, I should probably point out that these terms (”EM” and “Effective Micro-organisms”) are widely used, and don’t always necessarily refer to specific products of Dr. Higa’s company (much to their chagrin, I would imagine!)



The EM mixture used for this process is combined with some sort of “carrier” material - typically bran mixed with molasses and water. You have the choice of purchasing this mix ready-made, or you can make it yourself (of course, you’ll still need to buy EM, bran, and molasses). Aside from the overall process itself, it is this mixture that is called Bokashi.

The actual process of filling a Bokashi bucket is quite straight-forward. You simply add your organic waste materials you can even add meats and dairy, then cover with a layer of Bokashi. Repeat this process until your bucket is full. At this point you let it sit undisturbed for a period of time ranging from several days up to a couple of weeks. As such, it is probably not a bad idea to have at least a couple Bokashi buckets going at one time.

Once this ’sitting’ period is over, it is then suggested that you dig the materials directly into your garden, or simply add them to your outdoor compost bin.

pros and cons of Bokashi:

PROS
1) It is VERY easy
2) Can be accomplished on a small scale (so well-suited for home owners)
3) It is apparently odour-free (or at least does not create nasty rotting smells)
4) Produces a material that will act as a ’slow-release’ fertilizer in your garden
5) works well as a partner strategy with composting/vermicomposting
6) It will use any waste from the kitchen ,meat, fish, and dairy.

CONS
1) You’ll need to have a constant supply of Bokashi mix on-hand
2) Need at least a couple buckets (assuming no other waste management strategies used) for continual Bokashi action
3) ‘Finished’ material is not really finished - still needs to be aged in soil or compost bin before beneficial for plants.
4) Even though it can be done on a small-scale, the end product needs to be put somewhere (ie. potential winter limitations).


Buying bokashi is fairly costly thing It is, however, perfectly possible to make EM bokashi bran

Why? This is why I write about “practical minimum volumes” instead of simply minimums: sometimes, while smaller is possible, it doesn’t make much sense. You could make EM bokashi bran a pint at a time, but why bother? It takes the same amount of time and effort. Cost? Bran is cheap! And bokashi bucket fermentation is far more likely to be successful if you’re generous, even profligate, with your EM bokashi bran.


By all means, go ahead and ferment EM bokashi bran in smaller containers if you can’t spare a big bucket for the month or haven’t anywhere to put one; but you might as well mix up as large a batch as you’re likely to need. The make-at-home instructions include drying the post-ferment bran for storage; assuming you have the space for that, you could make enough EM bokashi bran for the year, all at once.

Me, I’m not so into the drying, and it’s not actually required if the EM bokashi bran will be used soon. Sources differ about just how long the undried product can be held without spoiling or losing effectiveness, and I’ll post about it if/when I manage to spoil some, but it won’t be a baby batch that happens to! One pound of EM bokashi bran at a time is right for my needs: it’s enough for at least two apartment-sized buckets, can be mixed up in the kitchen in a single container, without fuss or any need for odd utensils, and gets used quickly enough that there’s no need to worry about drying it.

(we had them at home and they work well , as soon as I make one for under my kitchen sink I will post picture of it )

To make one baby batch of EM bokashi bran:

Mix 1 tablespoon molasses into

1 cup warm water. When thoroughly blended, add

1 tablespoon EM-1 inoculant fluid.

Pour into 1 pound wheat bran or other inert carrier and mix well. Seal container and set aside three to four weeks before using; ready when coated with an even layer of white mycelium. DO NOT OPEN TO CHECK ON EM BOKASHI BRAN until at least two weeks have passed *Note: for my bulk bran, 1 pound = 7.2 cups dry. I’m not that precise, seven to seven and a quarter cups works just fine. Mix it in a container that looks about a third again too large for the dry bran, as it will expand as it absorbs water.

EM


EM™ is an acronym coined by its developer, Dr. Teruo Higa, consisting of the initial letters of "Effective Microorganisms™". As a commercial product, it is marketed and sold as "EM•1®" by our authorized licensees around the globe.

EM•1® is a liquid containing many co-existing microorganisms. The major groups of microorganisms in EM•1® are lactic acid bacteria, yeast and phototrophic bacteria. EM™ was first developed in 1982 as an alternative to chemicals in the field of agriculture. Through extensive research and experiments over time, EM™ became recognized as effective in various fields, including environmental remediation, composting organic waste, reducing odor in livestock operations, treating wastewater and many more. We call the technology that utilizes EM•1®, EM Technology™.


making your bin ...just scale it to what ever size fits your needs ....

you need a black dustbin with clip on lid (if your looking for a large one that is ,just scale it down to what ever size you want )
plastic tap with plastic nut ...
strip of 1 or two inch draft excluder
strong glue
dry play sand (not beach or builder to much salt in in )
very fine net curtain .
bag of charcoal (not brickets they fall apart massive surface area on it for build up of microbe 1 gram of charcoal can have the surface of 500 sqm and depending on how its produced can be up to 1500 sqm)
small bag of composted tree bark fines .

to make it .....
drill a hole up through under the bin to take your tap ... cut any thread of that sticks over the nut .use plumbers tape or what ever you want to use to seal.
sit the bin on 2 concrete blocks ...making sure to tilt it forwards a little .
cut a small sq of the net curtain to cover the hole as a filter and glue in place
fill the bottom of the bin with sand and half the charcoal to about 8/10 inches or so
then use the rest of the curtain to cover your mix on the bottom ..glue if you want to .cut and fit to shape
then fill 15 inches of the tree bark
cut draft excluder to fit on the lip of the bin and inside the bin lid ... glue in place ...when the glue is dry just make sure you can clip the lid tight nice and tight on the bin (keeps the worms in place when they want to walkie's near a full moon i kid you not... rofl.gif )

get your self a mixed kilo of composting worms drop them in to the bin (making sure thats its nice and moist in there)

done jobs a good en ... in twenty mins or so .... your on the way to making worm casts and leachate (tea)

plenty of stuff on line about worms .. but if your not sure just ask me or pm .... not a bother on me ......

please excuse my grammar and spelling I'm dyslexic and even with the spell checker stuff stills get through ... and what I see on the page will not always be the same as you ....


hope it helps you






ps speedman

.. try to get organic tree barks fines if you can ... they have a better selection of microbes and fungi....or failing that you can use part composted compost...

I will add a fact sheet on how to use the composter and remove the compost from the bin later on ... but for now a quick and easy way to remove your worm casts is to feed on one side of the bin only ....... leave it for 2/4 days and the worms will migrate over to the feed source ..then you can take out how ever much you need for use .......

Og

your right in a way with your thoughts on a layered tray type bin .. but I have found these to be less useful and problematic in use ... this is a tried, tested and much more forgiving system to use and yes you can have 2 on the go and use them in rotation .

you can also scale it down to a size that will fit under a kitchen sink for use as a bokashi and worm composter (one stop solution for all you organic waste in house with no garden) for those that don't have a garden and live in a flat .

there are probs a few things I have left out but i will keep going back to and adding more info as and when I remember them ......

I have left this open in edit mode in a new tab in fire fox so I can edit during the day so as to keep it tidy like .... as was pointed out to me by a mod .. my posts were untidy .............. so no sweat mod just for you a tidy post ..............you know who you are ............. ...................

Thanks rip

ps

Can't see the stuff in yellow though

sorry im in black background so will sort it out now ........... thanks for telling me ..............

what colour would look best as I'M colour blind to ......sorted

high ... I know I'm being thick here ....... but for the life of me ...what does pinned mean ..........

and is it possible to edit that post to finish it of ..?

Pinned as in stuck to the notice board for all to see. It'll be right at the top of the forum it belongs in.
Yes should be able to edit it I think? cant see why not.

Great post ript Got a little time on my hands atm and need a solution to this.


Bert...

Go on mods Pinnit :-)

eta
Doh! nice one.

Hey Rip.. top post mate..

Think you can only edit for 45 mins after the initial post mate....

Thanks for the info too... just need to talk the Mrs round to another facet of this hobby now...

Think it'll just be the one bin to start with...

............ Thanks bert ............ and yes I was being very thick , that I did not see that mate ..............

must be all the microbes breeding in me head after years of working with the little feckers...

Environment

Worms like their environment to be cool, dark and moist. If they are too cold they will become inactive and if they get too warm they might start trying to climb out. (Above 50º, Below 85º) If their home becomes too dry they will die. So site the bin in the shadows or in a shed or garage
It will take a little time for the bin to get fully established as your waiting for a whole Micro system to develop, they all work together to form a symbiotic partnership with other organisms (especially of different species) which are all beneficial to each other and your worms.

it may seem to take ages to fill the bin, but this is normal because of the reduction in volume by a factor of 70/80% so to add 1000 litres of food waste will become 200 litres of fine worm casts (approx)


Getting your worm bin started...

The most important thing is to give them a nice bed , and can be made from the following;
-composted tree bark fines
-shredded newspaper
-shredded cardboard
-leaf mould/dry leaves
-well-rotted sawdust or wood chip
-Coir (coconut fiber) block
-finished compost (sieve it first)
-or a mixture of all or some of the above together

Make sure that the bedding is thoroughly watered (avoid over watering) and feels spongy and moist to the touch.
When the worms arrive, put them in their new home and leave them for a couple of days.
They can eat the bedding to start with. Then start adding food to the container in one corner.
The next time you will add waste will be in another few days next to the last waste you added. You should continually add waste every couple of days or so until the worms have processed it. If you put too much in at a time, the food waste will start to compost and which will produce a lot of heat which they don’t like. Some people have had their worms jumping out of their bins when this happens.
They will eat about their own weight in food each day so the more worms you have the more food you can put in. depending on the size of your worm bin(s), you will probably need to empty it between 3-6 months.
It will be about a 3/6 months to get the worm compost working to its full capacity.
In that time your worms will have produced at least another lot of worms and will reach there own saturation level
Stacking worm bin systems tend to work best if you are adding smaller amounts of food each time. The worms won’t be able to cope with large amounts of raw fruits and vegetables or peelings in these types of systems, so it is better to chop big chunks of food


To make and use the tea

The lechate or tea is full of beneficial microbes to include bacteria, fungi (many types) and many others .... to make best use of this tea and to make it much more efficient and better for your soil , I would recommend that you oxygenate the tea to dilute and further enhance its already wonderful property's

To do this you will need to make a microbe teapot ...
follow the same route as above for the compost bin but exclude all the inner workings (tap and just the bin with lid) or any container you can get your hands on .

Method

take a pair of tights or anything to make a big teabag out of as long as its strong and wont rot or break down on you
drain of any tea in the vermi-comp and pour in to the bin or what ever you have made it from
take about 5/6 litres of worm cast (you can add the bokashi tea and compost mix to)
push in down inside your tights tie a knot in it and hang over the edge of the bin
put your pump in side the bin and fill about half way up
turn on the pump and let the magic begin to bubble away for about 24 hours or so (from 12 hours is ok )
the longer you leave it the better it is (max two days)

to use just dilute at a ratio of 10/1 and use any where you want to .......
and can be used a foiler feed to (but at a ratio of 30/1)

Cheers RTD Your a star.

RTD Suspect I'll be having a go with this soon ...

Soil life and microbes


Bacteria

Bacteria are the most numerous type of soil organism. Every gram of soil contains at least a million of these tiny one-celled organisms and highly fertile soils can have as much as 650 million bacteria per gram. There are many different species of bacteria, each with its own role in the soil environment. One of the major benefits bacteria provide for plants is in making nutrients available to them. Some species release nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, and trace elements from organic matter. Others break down soil minerals, releasing potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, and iron. Still other species make and release plant growth hormones, which stimulate root growth.


Several species of bacteria transform nitrogen from a gas in the air to forms available for plant use, and from these forms back to a gas again. A few species of bacteria fix nitrogen in the roots of legumes, while others fix nitrogen independently of plant association. Bacteria are responsible for converting nitrogen from ammonium to nitrate and back again, depending on certain soil conditions. Other benefits to plants provided by various species of bacteria include increasing the solubility of nutrients, improving soil structure, fighting root diseases, and detoxifying soil.

Fungi

Fungi come in many different species, sizes, and shapes in soil. Some species appear as threadlike colonies, while others are one-celled yeasts. Slime moulds and mushrooms are also fungi. Many fungi aid plants by breaking down organic matter or by releasing nutrients from soil minerals. Fungi are generally quick to colonize larger pieces of organic matter and begin the decomposition process. Some fungi produce plant hormones, while others produce antibiotics including penicillin.

There are species of fungi that trap harmful plant-parasitic nematodes. The mycorrhizae are fungi that live either on or in plant roots and act to extend the reach of root hairs into the soil. Mycorrhizae increase the uptake of water and nutrients, especially phosphorus. They are particularly important in degraded or less fertile soils. Roots colonized by mycorrhizae are less likely to be penetrated by root-feeding nematodes, since the pest cannot pierce the thick fungal network. Mycorrhizae also produce hormones and antibiotics that enhance root growth and provide disease suppression. The fungi benefit by taking nutrients and carbohydrates from the plant roots they live in.


Actinomycetes

Actinomycetes are threadlike bacteria that look like fungi. While not as numerous as bacteria, they too perform vital roles in the soil. Like the bacteria, they help decompose organic matter into humus, releasing nutrients. They also produce antibiotics to fight diseases of roots. Many of these same antibiotics are used to treat human diseases. Actinomycetes are responsible for the sweet, earthy smell noticed whenever a biologically active soil is tilled.


Algae

Many different species of algae live in the upper half-inch of the soil. Unlike most other soil organisms, algae produce their own food through photosynthesis. They appear as a greenish film on the soil surface following a saturating rain. Algae improve soil structure by producing slimy substances that glue soil together into water-stable aggregates. Some species of algae (the blue-greens) can fix their own nitrogen, some of which is later released to plant roots.


Protozoa

Protozoa are free-living micro-organisms that crawl or swim in the water between soil particles. Many soil protozoa are predatory, eating other microbes. One of the most common is an amoeba that eats bacteria. By eating and digesting bacteria, protozoa speed up the cycling of nitrogen from the bacteria, making it more available to plants.


Nematodes

Nematodes are abundant in most soils, and only a few species are harmful to plants. Root feeding nematodes are usually kept in check by a healthy soil microbial system which contains predatory nematodes and micro arthropods. The harmless species eat decaying plant litter, bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and other nematodes and as they do so, they release nutrients stored in the bodies of their prey. Like other soil predators, nematodes speed the rate of nutrient cycling.


Arthropods

In addition to earthworms, slugs, and snails, there are many other species of soil organisms that can be seen by the naked eye. Among them are sow bugs, millipedes, soil centipedes, and springtails. These are the primary decomposers. Their role is to eat and shred the large particles of plant and animal residues. Some members of this group prey on smaller soil organisms. Springtails are small insects that eat mostly fungi. Their waste is rich in plant nutrients released after other fungi and bacteria decompose it. Also of interest are dung beetles, which play a valuable role in recycling manure.


Earthworms

Earthworm burrows enhance water infiltration and soil aeration. Fields that are tilled by earthworm tunnelling can absorb water at a rate 4 to 10 times than that of fields lacking worm tunnels. This reduces water runoff, recharges groundwater, and helps store more soil water for dry spells. Vertical earthworm burrows pipe air deeper into the soil, stimulating microbial nutrient cycling at those deeper levels. When earthworms are present in high numbers, the tillage provided by their burrows can replace some expensive tillage work done by machinery.


Earthworms eat dead plant material left on top of the soil and redistribute the organic matter and nutrients throughout the topsoil layer. Nutrient- rich organic compounds line their tunnels, which may remain in place for years if not disturbed. During droughts these tunnels allow for deep plant root penetration into subsoil regions of higher moisture content. In addition to organic matter, worms also consume soil and soil microbes. The soil clusters they expel from their digestive tracts are known as worm casts or castings.

Castings range from the size of a mustard seed to that of a large canna seed, depending on the size of the worm. The soluble nutrient content of worm casts is considerably higher than that of the original soil. A good population of earthworms can process 20,000 pounds of topsoil per year. In some exceptional cases earthworms can produce turnover rates as high as 200 tons per acre.


Earthworms also secrete a plant growth stimulant. Reported increases in plant growth following earthworm activity may be partially attributed to this substance, not just to improved soil quality.


Earthworms thrive where there is no tillage, generally, the less tillage the better, and the more shallow the tillage the better. Worm numbers can be reduced by as much as 90% by deep and frequent tillage. Tillage reduces earthworm populations by drying the soil, burying the plant residue they feed on, and making the soil more likely to freeze. Tillage also destroys vertical worm burrows and can kill the worms outright.


Earthworms prefer a near-neutral soil pH, moist soil conditions, and plenty of plant residues on the soil surface. They are sensitive to certain pesticides and some incorporated fertilizers. Carbamate insecticides, including Furadan, Sevin, and Temik, are harmful to earthworms, notes worm biologist Clive Edwards of Ohio State University. Some insecticides in the organophosphate family are mildly toxic to earthworms, while synthetic parathyroid’s are harmless to them. Most herbicides have little effect on worms except for the triazines, such as Atrazine, which are moderately toxic. Also, anhydrous ammonia kills earthworms in the injection zone because it dries the soil and temporarily increases the pH there. High rates of ammonium-based fertilizers are also harmful to earthworms.

Why Minerals?

One of the biggest issues affecting the quality of our health today is the declining mineral content of our fruits and vegetables due to the depleted soil from stressed agriculture practices.
Minerals are essential to life
Living organisms are incapable of manufacturing mineral elements, and yet, we must maintain a proper mineral balance in the body for optimal health. Minerals play a significant role in disease prevention.
Soil vitality is key to plant health
Decades of chemical farming methods have stripped the soil of its natural vitality.



About Worm Cast and Worm Compost

I like to look at the whole picture ... a balanced soil is a happy soil

Worm compost or vermi-compost is the mixture of worm cast and composted organic matter made by feeding food waste to worms. With the help of other microbes and organisms, the food is broken down by passing through the worm gut and is excreted as high nutritional worm casts. Studies from the University of Georgia, USA has shown that worm cast is much more beneficial for plant growth compared to soil and other potting mixes. When compared with soil, worm casts contain:

* 5 times more nitrogen;
* 7 times more phosphorus;
* 1.5 times the calcium;
* 11 times more potassium;
* 3 times more exchangeable magnesium.

The casts are also rich in humic acids, which condition the soil, have perfect pH balance, and have plant growth factors similar to those found in seaweed. The low electro-conductivity also means that it allows plants to absorb water more easily. T


Science and literature

Vermicompost, like conventional compost, provides many benefits to agricultural soil, including increased ability to retain moisture, better nutrient-holding capacity, better soil structure, and higher levels of microbial activity. A search of the literature, however, indicates that vermicompost may be superior to conventional aerobic compost in a number of areas. These include the following.

Level of plant-available nutrients

Atiyeh et al. (2000) found that compost was higher in ammonium, while vermicompost tended to be higher in nitrates, which is the more plant-available form of nitrogen. Similarly, work at NSAC by Hammermeister et al. (2004) indicated that “Vermicomposted manure has higher N availability than conventionally composted manure on a weight basis”.
The latter study also showed that the supply rate of several nutrients, including P, K, S and Mg, were increased by vermicomposting as compared with conventional composting.

These results are typical of what other researchers have found (e.g., Short et al., 1999; Saradha, 1997, Sudha and Kapoor, 2000). It appears that the process of vermicomposting tends to result in higher levels of plant-availability of most nutrients than does the conventional composting process. Level of beneficial microorganisms

The literature has less information on this subject than on nutrient availability, yet it is widely believed that vermicompost greatly exceeds conventional compost with respect to levels of beneficial microbial activity. Much of the work on this subject has been done at Ohio State University, led by Dr. Clive Edwards (Subler et al., 1998).

In an interview (Edwards, 1999), he stated that vermicompost may be as much as 1000 times as microbially active as conventional compost, although that figure is not always achieved. Moreover, he went on to say that “…these are microbes which are much better at transforming nutrients into forms readily taken up by plants than you find in compost – because we’re talking about thermophillic microbes in compost – so that the microbial spectrum is quite different and also much more beneficial in a vermicompost. I mean, I will stick by what I have said a number of times that a vermicompost is much, much preferable to a compost if you’re going in for a plant-growth medium.”

Ability to stimulate plant growth

This is the area in which the most interesting and exciting results have been obtained. Many researchers have found that vermicompost stimulates further plant growth even when the plants are already receiving optimal nutrition (see Figure 8). Atiyeh at al (2002) conducted an extensive review of the literature with regard to this phenomenon.

The authors stated that: “These investigations have demonstrated consistently that vermicomposted organic wastes have beneficial effects on plant growth independent of nutritional transformations and availability.

Whether they are used as soil additives or as components of horticultural soil less media, vermicomposts have consistently improved seed germination, enhanced seedling growth and development, and increased plant productivity much more than would be possible from the mere conversion of mineral nutrients into more plant-available forms.” Moreover, the authors go on to state a finding that others have also reported (e.g., Arancon, 2004), that maximum benefit from vermicompost is obtained when it constitutes between 10 and 40% of the growing medium.

It appears that levels of vermicompost higher than 40% do not increase benefit and may even result in decreased growth or yield. Atiyeh et al further speculate that the growth responses observed may be due to hormone-like activity associated with the high levels of humic acids and humates in vermicomposts: “”…there seems a strong possibility that …plant-growth regulators which are relatively transient may become adsorbed on to humates and act in conjunction with them to influence plant growth”.

This important concept, that vermicompost includes plant-growth regulators which increase growth and yield, has been cited and is being further investigated by several researchers (Canellas et al, 2002).

Ability to help suppress disease as in a balanced way

There has been considerable anecdotal evidence in recent years regarding the ability of vermicompost to protect plants against various diseases. The theory behind this claim is that the high levels of beneficial microorganisms in vermicompost protect plants by out-competing pathogens for available resources (starving them, so to speak), while also blocking their access to plant roots by occupying all the available sites.

This analysis is based on the concept of the “soil foodweb”, a soil-ecology-based approach pioneered by Dr. Elaine Ingham of Corvallis, Oregon (see her website at htxxp://www.soilfoodweb.com for more details).
Work on this attribute of vermicompost is still in its infancy, but research by both Dr. Ingham’s labs and the Ohio State Soil Ecology Laboratory are very promising. With regard to the latter institution, Edwards and Arancon (2004) report that “…we have researched the effects of relatively small applications of commercially-produced vermicomposts, on attacks by Pythium on cucumbers, Rhizoctonia on radishes in the greenhouse, and by Verticillium on strawberries and Phomopsis and Sphaerotheca fulginae on grapes in the field.

In all of these experiments, the vermicompost applications suppressed the incidence of the disease significantly.” The authors go on to say that the pathogen suppression disappeared when the vermicompost was sterilized, indicating that the mechanism involved was microbial antagonism. Arancon (2004) indicates that OSU’s Soil Ecology Laboratory will be conducting significant research in this area over the next few years.

Ability to repel pests

Work in this area is very new and results to date have been inconsistent. Nevertheless, there seems to be strong evidence that worm castings sometimes repel hard-bodied pests (Biocycle, 2001; Arancon, 2004; Edwards and Arancon, 2004). Why this repellency works sometimes and not others remains to be determined. One theory is put forward by George Hahn, a vermicompost producer in California, who claims that his product repels many different insect pests.

He feels that this is due to the production by the worms of the enzyme chitinase, which breaks down the chitin in the insects’ exoskeleton. Independent testing of his product has, however, produced inconsistent results (Wren, 2001). Arancon (2004) believes that the potential exists, but that the factors are complicated and are a function of the entire soil foodweb, rather than one particular substance such as chitinase.

In recent research, Edwards and Arancon (2004) report statistically significant decreases in arthropod (aphid, mealy bug, spider mite) populations, and subsequent reductions in plant damage, in tomato, pepper, and cabbage trials with 20% and 40% vermicompost additions to Metro Mix 360 (the control).

They also found statistically significant suppression of plant-parasitic nematodes in field trials with peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, and grapes. Much more research is required, however, before vermicompost can be considered as an alternative to pesticides or alternative, non-toxic methods of pest control.

How to use worm cast

Seed beds

Worm compost will not burn your plants, but studies have shown that there is an optimum mix of worm compost which will provide the most benefits for the plant growth. A mixture of 25%-40% of worm cast in your total potting mix with other soil or compost is shown to provide the best growth. Anything over 40% will not provide any more benefits and may even stunt the growth of your plant. In a seed bed, you can dig a shallow seed row. Plant your seeds and then sprinkle some worm cast on top of them, then cover it back up with soil. The worm cast will directly become a rich source of nutrients for your growing plant.

Transplants

As you transplant your vegetables or flowers from your pots to your garden, add a handful of worm cast into the bottom of each hole you will transplant in. This way the roots will have immediate access to the rich nutrients the casts will provide.
Top dressing
Worm cast are excellent for top dressing, and its easy to apply as well especially for your indoor plant pots where you only need to sprinkle on top of the plant soil. As the plant in watered, the nutrients will be brought down to the roots along with micro-organisms, all ready to give your plants the boost! Repeat this every 45-60 days.

PLANT NUTRIENTS - PLANT FOOD FOR HEALTHIER PLANTS & IMPROVED YIELDS


Plants obtain nutrients for their biosynthetic processes in the form of carbon dioxide, water, nitrate, phosphate, and ionic forms of potassium, calcium, and other essential elements. Nitrogen generally enters the roots as nitrate and becomes assimilated by the plant’s bio-chemistry into organic compounds. Accordingly, nitrate can be classified as a "natural" plant nutrient or can it?.

In a natural system, nitrate in the soil is derived from the gradual breakdown of humus, the dark, complex, polymeric material that gives the soil its "tilth." Nitrogen is integrally bound to the carbon atoms that make up the organic structure of humus, which is itself the end product of a complex chain of events that carries nitrogen into the soil. The main path of entry begins with the deposition of organic nitrogenous compounds on the soil in the form of animal feces and urine and the dead remains of animals and plants. These largely organic materials are subjected to hydrolytic and oxidative degradation by decay microorganisms, yielding organic low-molecular-weight products that support the growth of soil microbial flora. These processes finally yield a mass of microbial cells, which on their death, together with some other remains, become humus. The other source of soil nitrogen is nitrogen-fixation, which also delivers the element to the soil system in organic form. Thus, in a natural soil system, untouched by human technology, nitrogen enters into the system in organic combination with carbon, largely as the nutrient for microorganisms that eventually produce humus.

Farmers who wish to add nitrogen fertilizer to the soil to support crop nutrition have two main alternatives. Nitrogen can be added in a natural, organic form - as plant residues, manure, sewage, food wastes, or for that matter, in the form of any nitrogenous organic compound that can be metabolized by the soil’s microbial flora and thereby yield humus. In the alternative, nitrogen can be added in an inorganic form, such as nitrate or ammonia.

Soil is an integrated system and there is a vast difference in the outcomes of the two methods. Because nutrient uptake is a working-requiring process, it must be driven by the root’s oxygen-dependent energetic metabolism. Humus is much more than a store of nutrients; is also the chief source of the soil’s porosity, hence of its oxygen content, and therefore of the efficiency with which nutrients, such as nitrate, are taken up by the crop.

The critical difference between the alternative means of supplying nitrogen fertilizer is that the organic form leads to the production of humus, while the inorganic form does not. The use of synthetic urea as a fertilizer provides an informative test of this distinction. Urea is, of course, an authentic organic compound and is, in fact, an ordinary constituent of a clearly natural source of nitrogen-urine. The scientific agronomist may often cite the organic farmer’s objection to pure urea as a fertilizer - it is a fairly common one in modern agriculture - as evidence of the irrational basis of organic farming. But is it?

While urea is, indeed, an organic compound, it will not support the bacterial growth that is essential for the formation of humus. When urea is metabolized, the products are ammonia and carbon dioxide. Thus, urea yields carbon in a form that will not support the oxidative metabolism of soil bacteria. To accomplish that, carbon must be in the reduced state, combined with hydrogen as it is failing to support the growth of soil bacteria, and therefore the formation of humus, it does not quality as an "organic fertilizer."

The intensive use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (or urea) may so overload a humus-depleted soil with nitrate as to cause it to leach into surface waters when nitrate levels may readily exceed public heath standards. Leached nitrate also wastes expensive fertilizer synthesized from an increasingly diminished supply of natural gas. Apart from any other possible and yet to be established virtues, the use of organic fertilizer (as defined above) avoids these difficulties and holds the promise of restoring the natural source of soil fertility - humus.

While it remains to be seen whether food grown in such naturally fertile soil contributes distinctively to the health of people, the practice can, it seems to me, contribute significantly to the health of the soil and the economy.

Dr. Barry Commoner
centre for the Biology of Natural Systems.

source centre for the bns

Wow! i seem to have opened up a real can of worms here (ouch!)

This is fantastic stuff, especially all the info from riptd. Thanks mate!

However, lacking the time and DIY skills for riptd's project, I've bought a wormcity wormery. Just a single tray to start. It probably costs as much as riptd's bin for a much smaller output, but it was up and running within about 1/2 an hour of it being delivered, so I'll update when it's been going long enough for results. Everything they said has been backed up by riptd's excellent info, so it should work fine.

Question for riptd- can you add Bokashi mix to a wormery to accelerate results or is it either/or?

Bud

No .... its for anaerobic conditions only (with out air) worms need air to survive ,the microbes are different type and will only survive with out air ......Bokashi is really anaerobic digestion and will give of methane and ammonia among other things
as a voc (volatile organic compound) and thats a no,no for your new pals .....................

it can take up to 6 months for your worm composter to become effective so just small amounts of simple food waste to start with ... the biggest reason for failing with one is over feeding them ......... let the worms dictate the pace ...


good luck with dude ...........

ps I write this at Dublin airport ..........late plane

high all ..

ok now for all you budding composter's out here is a nifty free little bit of software .....

it will work out your carbon to nitrogen ratios for you as well as bulk density ect ....

its free and the company that allows it to be free normally sell it as part of there commercial side of things (big scale) but they give it away to the house user for free
as apart of there continuing support for home composing around the world ...... very decent of them I think .....

its free and you can get it here .. hxxp://www.compostingtechnology.com/probesandsoftware/compostcalc/ I have used it for years and was used as part of eduction programs and has always worked well .............

easy enough to get the hang of and you can even make your own recipes up to ............. tiny download and very safe

enjoy as I'm sure a few of you will .....

e2a.............. I will post later, on how bulk density and c to n ratios are important to compost for those that might be interested .....

Humus


understanding the soul of you soil

Soil health and humus are indivisible: health is the vitality of the soil's living population, and humus is the manifestation of its activities. As the cornerstone of the soil ecosystem, humus influences and is influenced by every other aspect of the soil. Building soil humus improves its physical and chemical properties as well as its biological health.

All humus is organic matter, but not all organic matter is humus. Raw organic matter consists of the waste products or remains of organisms that have not yet decomposed. Humus is one form of organic matter that has undergone some degree of composition. There is no hard and fast dividing line, but a continuum, with fresh, undecomposed organic materials-manure, sawdust, corn stubble, kitchen wastes, or insect bodies-at one end, and stable humus, which may resist decomposition for hundreds of years, at the other.

Humus is dark brown, porous, spongy and somewhat gummy, and has a pleasant earthy fragrance. Chemically, it is a mixture of complex compounds, some of which are plant residues that don't readily decompose, such as waxes and lignins. The rest are gums and starches synthesized by soil organisms, primarily bacteria and fungi, as they consume organic debris. Humus is highly variable in its composition, depending on the nature of the original material and the conditions of its decomposition.

"Humus" is actually more a generic term than a precise one. Its qualities will reflect different origins and composition. Just as wine can vary widely in quality, so can humus. And, just as different wines are suitable for different culinary purposes, the varieties of humus serve varying soil functions.

Several classification schemes for humus have been suggested. Theories differ as to how it is formed, why it behaves as it does, and how it should be measured. Humus that can still decompose readily is known as effective or active humus. It consists of a high proportion of simple organic acids (fulvic acids), which will dissolve in either acids or bases. This type of humus is an excellent source of plant nutrients, released as soil organisms break it down further, but of little consequence for soil structure and long-term tilth. This kind of humus is mainly derived from the sugar, starch, and protein fraction of organic matter.

Humic acids, which dissolve in bases but not in acids, characterize more stable or passive humus; humins, which are highly insoluble and may be so tightly bound to clay particles that microbes can't penetrate them, are the main constituents of the most stable humus. Because stable humus resists decomposition it does little to add nutrients to the soul system, but it is essential to improving the soil's physical qualities. Carbon-14 dating has revealed that very stable humus complexes may survive unchanged for thousands of years. Stable humus originates from woodier plant residues, which contain lots of cellulose and lignin.

The status of soil organic matter and humus is a dynamic one, continually changing through the activities of all the creatures that live there. Ideally, there should be a rough equilibrium among the different kinds of humus at any one time, with the more active fractions predominant when plant nutrient needs are highest, then giving way to more stable forms after harvest or when plants are dormant. Fungi and actinomycetes, which are more abundant that bacterial decomposers under cool, damp conditions, are also more important in the creation of stable humus.

The changes are fastest under optimum conditions for soil biological activity, and fresh supplies of raw organic matter must continually be added to keep the cycles moving. Anything that harms or disrupts one member of the soil community can lead to a form of "indigestion" in the soil. For example, if large amounts of nitrate fertilizer flood the soil system, the bacteria responsible for converting protein fragments into nitrates will be suppressed, in turn "backing up" the whole organic decomposition process. They will recover after a while, but if this process is repeated year after year, the capacity of that soil to digest fresh organic matter will be seriously damaged.

The process by which organic matter and humus breaks down in the soil is called mineralization. While humus is the product of organic matter mineralization, it too can be mineralized under the right conditions. Organic matter management,, requires that you understand what conditions speed up or slow down mineralization.

Mineralization occurs quickly when conditions are perfect for bacteria to reproduce: high aeration, adequate moisture, good pH, and balanced mineral nutrients. Cultivation speeds it up by introduction air; if soil is dry, irrigation will also stimulate mineralization. Increasing soil temperature with dark mulch or row covers, or actually heating the soil in a green house bed, also encourages the faster release of nutrients to plants.

As is true with fertilizing, it's important to understand the concept of "enough" when you choose to stimulate mineralization. Too quick a release of nutrients from organic matter can cause problems, which parallel those of over fertilizing: excess plant nitrate uptake or possible leaching of nutrients into groundwater. It's also important to avoid "burning up" vital, stable humus reserves by making sure to add enough organic matter to replenish what is mineralized.

Humus tends to accumulate fastest under conditions unfavourable to mineralization: cool temperatures, low pH, and poor aeration. While to some extent this is desirable, the extreme example of going too far is the case of a peat bog, composed of almost pure humus. The key here is balance: an active, healthy biological population will continually be mineralizing humus at the same time that it is being formed. As you become attuned to the sighs of biological activity and health in your soil, as well as the rhythms of growth and rest in your crops, you will develop a better sense of "enough" when it comes to humus formation and decay.

take from the soul of your soil

Would just like to add guys that you should look at your councils website where you may be able to buy a worm farm, composter and other garden waste recycling systems (products and prices differ for certain areas ) really really cheap

My composter was £25, then I looked on the councils website and could have got it for £10

Wow! Nice topic RTD! I was wondering as to the source material for all of your informative posts. Did you write all this material or did you pull it from somewhere.

In any case, thank you!

Hi RPTD,

After searching for the right composted bark since you posted in this thread I have now got some:) but can you now post the part where you advise on the easiest way to remove the casts from the bin? as per one of your prev posts, as I will be building this at the weekend Cheers mate.

just see your post on here Randalizer mate ..........

a lot of it comes from websites I have run over the last 12 years or so, of which 2 are still active and used by local councils and schools projects, worms and composting are my fields, having spent the last 30 odd years in composting (turnkey projects up to 140.000 tones per annum) and a lot in developing countries with transfer of back end technology using worms .

the last piece on soul in your soil is from a book by the Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers (Paperback) by grace gershuny and is the soil bible to many good organic farmers ect,


hi ya speedman................

no probs dude just working on updates and pictures over the weekend, but for sure it will be months before you get any thing out of it yet, with an over all reduction in volume of about 80/90 % takes a while to fill up.

the single biggest cause of failure is over feeding at the start and not having enough patience.


have patience and you will be rewarded well ..................

Help RPTD,
I looked at my worms today and their is a lot of condensation on the sides with what looks like a ring of dieing or dead worms around the sides also the worms are mostly on the surface and not very active?? could this be due to the positioning of the wormery?? to much sun light on it? or the play sand not being absolutely bone dry? Thanks for help in advance mate. P.s their is a hell of a stink when I open the lid, like the my old fishing days with worms when I left them in a tub for to long Oh and I tried draining it using the tap at the bottom but nothing came out.

ooo that sounds like it went anerobic not any fresh air getting in but iam not the expert on this stuff

I do not know how air is meant to get in it as it all sealed? I am sure RPTD will come wake up in a minute and post
I am now thinking maybe I could drill holes in the lid and cover with fine mesh to stop them escaping??

good morning speedmon,

your not far of the mark mate about me just getting up (bad night)
sounds like heat stroke on your worms, the smell is the worms going off after death, to much sun on your bin is a problem, so to rectify it you need to have your vermicomposter in a cool dark corner, in a garage or some were with no direct sun on it.

to help it along now just lightly mix the top 5 inch's or so over to get air back in to it and leave the lid of in day light hours, there should be no need to add extra air vents but would do no harm to do so as long as you cover it with fine mesh or net curtain.

as for leachate, its very early days to get any out yet,

how many worms (in weight) did you stock it with ? and remember it takes a while for your composter to bed in properly, can take up to 3 months to begin to work well, just make sure you don't over feed .................

hope that helps ................ just ask if your not sure

see ya

Cheers for getting back to me mate As for the worms I got the 750 grams of flea bay but with the stinking rotting ones I do not know how many I have left now? but I do have a lot of baby ones so maybe they will recover and breed. I have now adapted the lid and side walls with 10mm holes covered with the fine mesh I had left over for the water butt tap. When the stench go's I will start emptying more scraps in their.

Great thread!

I look forward to building myself a wormery to enrich the compost I already produce

A couple of months in with the bought in Wormery (see earlier posts)

I'm up to 3 trays now, and the worms seem to be pretty happy and numerous. The bottom tray is starting to look quite composty. It has got quite wet at times, but I add in loads of shredded paper. I also crush up all my eggshells which is good for the pH and for the worms intestines apparently.

There is some liquid in the bottom, but it looks quite clear and there isn't much of it so I think it's just water got in down the sides. No bad smells so far either. Having the trays has made it easy to turn over each layer, which I've done a couple of times.

It's been pretty easy to manage, but 1 tray isn't enough for a 2 person household.

Cheers

Bud

im starting mine too bought some dendra's Dendrobaena Veneta (also known as the European night crawler,(not mentioned earlier in the species part) they are native to the uk and dont cause problems with our forests. They grow larger (good for fishing) but do not consume as much as tiger,Brandling red wiggler Eisenia foetida species

you can buy these from bait shops across the uk

Another 6 weeks in and they sump now has a dark cloudy liquid in it, although it doesn't reach the tap yet. The bottom tray looks pretty dark and composty, and there are lots of big fat worms all through the 3 layers.

I expect them to slow down over winter.

... sounds like you have got to grips with them dude ....you could always insulate your worm bin with an old sleeping bag or lagging from a immersion tank or straw and cover with a black bag to keep the rain of ..... if it gets very cold the worms will go in to a torpor like state and the feeding will slow down a lot, so be aware of this fact as a lot of folks have problems in the winter months by over feeding ...........


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