Vermicompost- Worm Farm

[Guest podgy]

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

[ripthedrift]

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.

Edited June 21, 2009 by ripthedrift

[ripthedrift]

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

[BudAbbott]

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

[ripthedrift]

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

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 ........... :wink:

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

[ripthedrift]

high all ..

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

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 ..... B)

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 .....

Edited July 2, 2009 by ripthedrift

[ripthedrift]

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

[Flowery Haze]

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

[Randalizer]

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!

Edited July 5, 2009 by Randalizer

[ripthedrift]

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 ..................

[groovelick]

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

[ripthedrift]

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

[meduser]

Great thread!

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

[BudAbbott]

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

[agito]

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