Worm castings

[Funk P]

https://www.scirp.org/html/1-9900039_2490.htm really interesting case study I stumbled along today.

@blackpoolbouncer @green_machine @MindSoup

[blackpoolbouncer]

@Funk P worms rock mate!

[murphyblue]

I was looking at trying to sort out a worm farm or wormery or whatever u call em.

There's so many ready made ones made my head swim and as i dont really know what i'm looking for any recommendations out there.

I'm sure i seen a nice wooden diy one on here somewhere but cant remember who made it.

Also could do with a list of what i would need if i do go down the diy route and what worms to get i got some right whoppers in the garden but dont know if they would be right kind.

Been adding them to my outdoor plot so hope they do some good.

The good thing though is i will reduce waste even further plus get some stuff i can use on my plants whats not to like.

[MindSoup]

57 minutes ago, murphyblue said:

I was looking at trying to sort out a worm farm or wormery or whatever u call em.

There's so many ready made ones made my head swim and as i dont really know what i'm looking for any recommendations out there.

I'm sure i seen a nice wooden diy one on here somewhere but cant remember who made it.

Also could do with a list of what i would need if i do go down the diy route and what worms to get i got some right whoppers in the garden but dont know if they would be right kind.

Been adding them to my outdoor plot so hope they do some good.

The good thing though is i will reduce waste even further plus get some stuff i can use on my plants whats not to like.

 

I'm gunna be building one soon, not a huge amount to it, you can even just make a heap in a cool dark place or fill a bin/plastic box and chuck some worms on the top. If you want layers drill a few holes in some stacking boxes/trays and have one at the bottom with no holes and a drainage tap. The ready made ones offer all kinds of features or clever designs, most of which are unnecessary, it's such a simple process.

[Funk P]

@murphyblue pretty simple mate just grab a tub most likely around 80l or more, grab 1kg of eisenia fertida. Grass clippings (Not to much, can get hot), leaf mulch, horse manure, cattle manure, bananas, calcium carbonate, shredded cardboard, *MIST* with compost teas. Just feed them an array of things that have all the nutrients cannabis would need, don't forget the micro nutrients also, don't go to heavy on food scraps they don't add too much compared to the stuff thats listed here but they still have their benefits & you will still end up with good castings. You could go into more detail I guess but that is more than enough to have some banging castings.

 

The bed doesn't need to be that deep, around 8-12 inches.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Funk P
Worm bed depth

[Creed]

On 21/04/2021 at 10:17 AM, blackpoolbouncer said:

If your worm castings are good and mixed source they should contain everything you need. 

 

Obviously you don't grow in straigh wc. But used as a fertiliser I dont see any reason why not.

 

I've been running some no till containers for 5 years. All they get fed is worm casting and compost.

 

Worms that are fed a poor diet wont be the best wc but my worm bin is essentially a balanced fertiliser maker due to the high quality inputs. 

 

Not gonna be lacking in anything if its good

Good morning blackpoolbouncer. I know this thread is almost a year old bushes daft to start another. I'm prepping my soil for the coming season and was thinking of adding some worm castings,calcified sea weed and rock dust. All ready in the mix I have chicken manure pellets and fbb and for flower I have potash and bone meal . My question to you is should I add the wc,seaweed and rock dust during my transition to flower or should I only include these during veg? I'm very much the noobie and so much conflicting opinions on line. I want experience and I believe you are the man for this topic.

[blackpoolbouncer]

@Creed in living soil pots or outdoor beds? 

[Creed]

2 hours ago, blackpoolbouncer said:

@Creed in living soil pots or outdoor beds? 

In beds. Deep beds which is another question I had for you. Should I be using more ferts than is recommended since the beds are so deep?

[blackpoolbouncer]

Just mulch it with some organic matter mate. Let the worms that are there make the ewc for free continuously. Use the ewc before planting out. This will be like an innoculant for the soil and will enrich it with organic matter and get those microbes feeding.

 

By all means ammend the soil with water you have. Don't exceed the packets recommendations. If anything use less. 

Big beds means they are doing more work themselves. 

 

I'm a big proponent of improving soil health rather than feeding a plant directly. So look to improve soil health and all these inputs become unnecessary. 

 

Rock dust can be added at the beginning. It's not really a fertiliser but again is for soil health and feeding azomitic microbes which can help with the uptake of other nutrients. This isn't something to be top dressed or treated like fertiliser really. It has no npk.

 

Liquid seaweed can be fed throughout. Same with meal. 

Tbh though I'd chuck se down at the beginning and a bit going into flower and that's all that's required really. 

 

 

 

Good luck. Don't make it complicated. 

I have pretty good soil and all I do Is pop them in the ground. Give them a good luch of compost with a cardboard weed barrier and let nature grow them.  

If you have good rich soil then the battles already won and you just need to nurture it. 

If its solid clay or limestone or something horrid then you have a  different approach 

[Creed]

I have an abundance of dead leaves piled up in the garden. Would these make a good mulch? I was intending either wood chips or straw but these were at a cost. The leaves are free. And then when it comes to feeding I can turn the leaves into the top soil when I apply dry ferts? The ground is not very good hence the reason for beds,but the location is perfect. I intend on using the site for as long as poss so making a good soil is what I'm aiming for. I have access to horse manure but I believe the horses are medicated which is a bummer. The horse manure would of been perfect for bulking out the compost and small amount of native I've managed to scrape together. I do have 80 litres of coco,but would of much preferred the manure

[Funk P]

@Creedleaf mulch is the one of if not the best food for your soil especially if you've got a lot, when it comes to horse manure as long as it doesn't have aminopyralid or clopyralid (from certain pesticides etc that are sprayed on the hay etc) its good to go. A LOT of organic market gardeners use horse manure, you can only be so thorough and trust me I'm anal with it but something's you cant avoid unfortunately. As far as I'm aware the vast majority of horses are medicated in some form or another and I believe they kinda have to be, I'd be more scared of the shit they spray the hay with which then gets fed to the horses... Which again isn't the end of the world if it doesn't have amino or clop in it but still would love it to not be sprayed cause the mircobes surely won't be thankful. 

[Phillybonker]

On 4/21/2021 at 1:13 AM, MindSoup said:

 

A lot of those "organic" liquid feeds aren't really true organics either. 

If some of the organic liquid fertilizers aren't true organics then what does the liquids contain that makes it non-organic?

[Slippy One]

Just now, Phillybonker said:

If some of the organic liquid fertilizers aren't true organics then what does the liquids contain that makes it non-organic?

Minerals in aqueous form. 

[blackpoolbouncer]

* chemical minerals that haven't been derived from an organic source, ie a living thing

 

Organic means it's come from something living. Poop, bone meal, seaweed etc......organic matter.

 

 

Mineral/salt ferts use a chemical process to present the minerals in a form already available to plants directly therefore not reliant on healthy soil and the soil life to convert it. 

 

 

 

Some would argue the fact it comes in a plastic bottle itself means it's a non organic product. I personally rate that as rubbish.

 

 

 

Think what mindsoup was meaning though is that some nutrient manufacturer(not pointing any fingers )  call ther products stuff like "organix" 

 

Wtf does that mean????........it means it's not organic and can't legally be called organic because its not approved or certified by the organic soil association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MindSoup]

As above, these boys put it way better than I would.