Jump to content

Worm Castings?


JB420

Recommended Posts

watch the "fresh castings" closely. they will come with millions of crawling insects. some are doing the job you want them to, some are looking for a cannabis plant to harvest. When you make your own you can control this better with a "veganic" approach to feeding the worms. I used strictly cannabis trim for the job and it was an awesome experience for years and years. lots of work though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent my cash on 100,000 worms and two 10 stack farms. I grew that through breeding to three more stacks and countless worms. I in the mean while I used the instant tea from their watering to feed my plants, along with jobes organic spikes. I sprayed the tea/water mix as a foliar in veg and watered all with it daily. It only takes a spit of it in a 5gal pale, bubbled for a day or two. I had several going at once. I didn't even buy one bag of castings, although tempted as you. I focused on feeding DRIED garden trim and fresh root balls to the worms, soon they could consume a 5 gallon pale of dried leaf trimmings/sweep a week, plus weekly root ball tosses. They got nothing else ever. Pretty quick the bottom tray was black gold( only a few weeks I think. don't put fresh leaves in their, and only feed on the top tray. don't put worms in the top trays, but they get there anyways. I pulled out the bottom trays and used a dedicated cement mixer to "fluff" it with some bacteria mosquito dunk chunks, and the pile of composting dirt I always have going. That was used to fill my 2 gallon pots and were fed with only worm tea all the way through, or combined with the remaining truckload of jobes. either way the worm dirt with the worm tea was all they needed. The first time I walked by my stars in 30 days flower with pure worm dirt/tea I was floored. The fertilizers you choose will most definitely have effects on your finished terpene profiles. The best way to exploit all of the available genetic code is to diversify your fertilizer supply. if possible, rabbit pooh, mixed with worm castings, some insect frass( no worries there, your worm farm will breed that well) some compost, chicken pooh will have profound effects compared to just one of those. make sure food is available to the soil all the time, the plants know exactly what to do with it! hope that helps. I'll gladly share my love affair details with the worm anytime. It lasted many years. I only freed them recently. red wigglers for the win

Link to comment
Share on other sites

heres a list of worm suppliers in michigan, no idea if updated.

http://www.findworms.com/home/farm_listing_search/Michigan--%20219

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/state/greenbizdetail.cfm?staticname=Coventry-Earthworks-40676

Coventry Earthworks Inc.

Worm Castings Worm Poop by the yard

 

might be your ticket, although waterford isnt that close to flint.

 

heck i might as well just start making a list here while i search for closer farms for you.

 

wayne county: http://goodsweetearth.com/worm-compost/

wyoming, mi : http://www.organicycle.org/products/worm-castings

benzie county (traverse city) http://benzieorganicsolutions.com/shop/organic-gardening/castings/

west michigan (ferrysburg) http://www.getwormcastings.com/product-category/worm-castings/

Edited by t-pain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Much appreciated, I am going to check into a few of those. I have talked to a cpl ppl, but quality was not good. working on putting together a pretty good size flow through bin myself. Really looking to get a good portion of the garden organic and hopefully no till. I was kind of surprised at the lack of good organic amendments in almost all of the grow shops. Never paid much attention before, but now that I am trying to switch it's not so easy to find the things I need locally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

reading the compost book again, i think it had a good idea for compost that can be used in worm dirt farming.

 

that is to shred everything you give the worms. that organic material will break down much faster if shredded.

and the worms can eat easier if its smaller pieces. much like you cannot eat an entire apple in one bite, if someone cuts it up for you, you can eat it quicker.

 

yeah you can bite an apple, but you need hands for that, and worms dont have hands!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Freezing food scraps before adding them to worm bins also helps speed up the process.

Freezing and thawing got old fast, so to feed my work bins I added a large compost tumbler to the grow room.

It is really nice to have a place to dump all stalks, rootballs, and trimmings without worrying about how much they weigh and what some @sshole cop would consider them as.

Dump them in and roll into the mucky pile, safe and easy.

No more incriminating trash either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Freezing food scraps before adding them to worm bins also helps speed up the process.

Freezing and thawing got old fast, so to feed my work bins I added a large compost tumbler to the grow room.

It is really nice to have a place to dump all stalks, rootballs, and trimmings without worrying about how much they weigh and what some @sshole cop would consider them as.

Dump them in and roll into the mucky pile, safe and easy.

No more incriminating trash either.

 

No issue with insects due to decomp?  What about smell?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

compost tumblers are usually enclosed on all sides. also, indoors and winter, i'd assume insects are kept at a minimum. if the compost is reaching 150F , not many insects survive that either.

 

theres going to be smell, humidity, and heat.

 

but that sounds just like what carbon filters, dehumidifiers and fans are for. now where would you get those? hmmm ;)

 

 

all these fun hobbies have smells now. worm farming? compost? beer or wine fermenting/making?

my friend has 15 gallons of vinegar growing in his basement. stinks like vinegar!!

 

who said your house has to smell like fabreeze or those crummy artificial glade air fresheners?

the tv said it. you going to take advice from the tv? the tv says you have to shave 3 times a day too. well i'm sick of shaving! you hear that TV? you hear that king gillette ?!

 

a mans house is supposed to smell like beer, cannabis, vinegar and tinkle, motor oil and FIRE. ok maybe i've gone too far. maybe i just like the smell of an old fireplace.

Edited by t-pain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only fed cannabis leaves and root balls to my worms. if the leaves were fresh when I did the smell was bad. I learned to dry them before feeding(decarb'd?) and never had smells beyond fresh new soil. the rootballs never seemed to matter for some reason. They consume those before the leaf crumbles. SOme rotballs are dried when they get them others fresh cut. They were in an open stacked farm inside of my veg room year round forever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wet material into the bin is likely to mold, attracting unwanted pests in my bins. I discovered my worms enjoy the fresh harvest trim right out of the oven, for the decarboxylation maybe, lol. trim, oven dry, feed for the win. If the bins are located in the grow room I would not advise feeding any but a vegetarian diet with no fruit added.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

compost tumblers are usually enclosed on all sides. also, indoors and winter, i'd assume insects are kept at a minimum. if the compost is reaching 150F , not many insects survive that either.

 

theres going to be smell, humidity, and heat.

 

but that sounds just like what carbon filters, dehumidifiers and fans are for. now where would you get those? hmmm ;)

 

 

all these fun hobbies have smells now. worm farming? compost? beer or wine fermenting/making?

my friend has 15 gallons of vinegar growing in his basement. stinks like vinegar!!

 

who said your house has to smell like fabreeze or those crummy artificial glade air fresheners?

the tv said it. you going to take advice from the tv? the tv says you have to shave 3 times a day too. well i'm sick of shaving! you hear that TV? you hear that king gillette ?!

 

a mans house is supposed to smell like beer, cannabis, vinegar and tinkle, motor oil and FIRE. ok maybe i've gone too far. maybe i just like the smell of an old fireplace.

 

but... I am not a man ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No issue with insects due to decomp?  What about smell?

None so far, but I am pretty new to this.

First worm bin was started in May and it spent the first four months in my home, in a hallway, about ten feet from dining room table.

Wife with super sensitive nose never complained once. The only time I ever noticed it was when I opened it to inspect or maintain it. Smell would dissapate within minutes. Burying the food in the bedding keeps the bugs from finding it, they haven't got in yet.

After the initial trail at home the worms moved to my work and things are being ramped up now.

The composter has vent holes that I covered with two layers of standard screening material.

Any bugs that might make it in wouldbe dealt with by the time the compost is finished or runs through the worm bins anyways.

I put some pretty slimy/stinky stuff in the composter and cover it with leaves, the smell seems to stay in pretty well.

I have only had the composter going for three weeks, but the first batch is almost done. No issues yet.

 

I spent years being afraid of bugs and trashing dirt after one use to avoid problems. Then new dirt started coming with bugs so I faced my fears and educated myself in Integrated pest management.

For a year now I have been recycling dirt, plants are healthier than ever and bugs aren't a concern any longer.

It is pretty nice not to spend several hundred dollars a month on dirt also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

None so far, but I am pretty new to this.

First worm bin was started in May and it spent the first four months in my home, in a hallway, about ten feet from dining room table.

Wife with super sensitive nose never complained once. The only time I ever noticed it was when I opened it to inspect or maintain it. Smell would dissapate within minutes. Burying the food in the bedding keeps the bugs from finding it, they haven't got in yet.

After the initial trail at home the worms moved to my work and things are being ramped up now.

The composter has vent holes that I covered with two layers of standard screening material.

Any bugs that might make it in wouldbe dealt with by the time the compost is finished or runs through the worm bins anyways.

I put some pretty slimy/stinky stuff in the composter and cover it with leaves, the smell seems to stay in pretty well.

I have only had the composter going for three weeks, but the first batch is almost done. No issues yet.

 

I spent years being afraid of bugs and trashing dirt after one use to avoid problems. Then new dirt started coming with bugs so I faced my fears and educated myself in Integrated pest management.

For a year now I have been recycling dirt, plants are healthier than ever and bugs aren't a concern any longer.

It is pretty nice not to spend several hundred dollars a month on dirt also.

 

Thanks I wood!

I am very interested in starting a worm bin and eventually (sooner than later!) recycling my dirt.

It only makes sense to my frugal nature :)  I was taught not to waste and dumping soil well...

City living limits my space but I am certain I can come up with a workable solution :)

I was most concerned about insects in my apartment and any continuous smell.

I appreciate the reassurance!

 

Ever onward :jig:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...