Cool set up 3D! I just have the one tote right now, and I was wondering how to create what you have. So, to get the worms to go to the upper tote is what I am wondering. Do you have a lot of holes in the top tote? And, will that then be your bottom tote? Also, on feeding.........do you give them coffee grounds and veggies? How small do you have to cut the veggies? I shred up lettuce and bread by hand, but the pieces are still pretty big. Anyway, I like your set up. I planned on putting some of my worms outside in my flower gardens anf veggie garden, but I was reading an article on building a raised bed garden, and it cautioned that the red wigglers wont survive in Colorado because the ground freezes solid about a foot down. Now, I don't live in Colorado, (damn my luck, lol) but I fear the same thing could certainly happen in MYGODITSKANSAS.......So I may have to rethink that. I did buy me a 5 gallon bucket so I can make worm tea......I guess I can use it to grow anything..........well, it probably wont work on my little friend, but my wife is used to disapointment.............ltmt (laughing through my tears) Anyway, could you tell me about how you get your worms to migrate.... Thanks, Buddy!
@Dummy: Very cool wormbin. I'm just using 1 40 gallon roughneck rubbermaid tote. I still need to get the worms though, everything else is basically finished.
Whats up Slith. Both of my totes have a bunch of 1/4" sized holes in them. At first I was always worried that the worms would escape out of those holes so my bottom one had 1/8" holes that I later enlarged. The worms dont ever try to escape as long as they have food and adequate environment. Getting them to migrate to the next bin is really something they do on their own. Once they run out of food and the bedding is completely decomposed and turned into poop, they go where the next food source is, Dont ask me how they know where to go...I dont think that they can smell...I just put the new tote inside the old one, right down on top of them and they just started going up. Now, I know that all of them wont move out of the old tote...I will get them when I harvest the castings and put them in by hand...the idea is to try to get as many to move so I wont have to do so many by hand. I cut up the veggies and fruits to a fine texture before I put it in the bin. From what I have read, the smaller the food items the better because it takes less time for it to break down. Also, I freez them and then thaw at room temp. before I add them in. It helps to break things down even faster (I got that from WeeDroid here in the organic threads). I also add in different meals like alfalfa (sparingly because it heats up the bin...just sprinkle a little over the top), used coffee grounds and compost (I like to use composted chicken manure). So far the worms seem to love everything I offer them. Dont underestimate the power of the tea! That stuff works wonders if you apply it correctly and its not hard to make at all...Im sure your little friend will love it! There's a bunch of different ways to prepare it in the tea threads in the organic section. Good luck bro! Yeah, I followed the advise of the guys in the vermicompost thread and have not regretted it one bit. Saved me alot of money and time! I started with 1000 worms and I have since seen a lot of babies so who knows how many I have now!
That's crazy. I printed the opening of that thread, I just have so much shit going on. A worm bin is pretty low on the list, I would like to finish it though. How much can I honestly expect to harvest monthly I guess?
Yeah, i heard that you have to get their food super small as they have no teeth but use organs inside their bodies to grind their food into worm poop. Do you use a food processer to make your food small enough? And, how much are you giving the little fellows for food? I don't know if i should keep on feeding them or if I should give them a break for a week. I'm definitely taking some of these fellows for a fishing trip! Bluegill beware!!!!
I swear there is a town near Death Valley that has buildings just like that!! The town was founded as a mining town and there is still a small population there. There's a little two lane highway that goes right though it and the people just stare at you when you go through it...kind of like the movie "The Hills Have Eyes"....I make sure that Im topped off with gas before I have to go through there. Yeah they actually eat the bacteria (or microflora I think is the correct name) that grows on food as it breaks down...so the smaller that food item is broken into the better (according to this book I have). Some of the other growers here use primarily compost and different meals as the worm food in their bins. I might start going to that one day but right now, I basicly recycle food scraps but only veggies and fruits along with coffe grounds. I also saw that you feed corn meal to yours. Im going to try that also. I mainly try to put 1-2lbs of food in the bin at a time. Since my bin is so small, the worms generally go through it approx a week or so. Some of the others put enough food to last most of the time it takes to get casting...I need to start doing that but I dont know how much that would be so Im trying to gauge it. The worms need to have some grit in the bedding...this helps the gizzard to break the food items down into poop...so I think that the compost is important for that purpose also.
Makes sense to me. I've been giving my little friends coffee grounds also. I have to get me another tote so i can copy yours. And I can't imagine living in someplace like Death Valley, I like the color green too much............
Hmm, you must be busy, 3D, as I haven't seen any new pics of smoked meat lately. Lol. hope everything is ok with you!
Whats up Slith?! Thanks for checking in! Sorry to everyone that I have not been able to update lately. This week was another SUPER busy one for me with work and all. My work is keeping me traveling....Im not complaining though. I know alot of people who are unemployed so I count my blessings. I had a little time this week and used it for my first harvest of vermicompost! Its not exactly EWCs (I dont think) since I sifted everything through a 1/4" screen. I know that Jerry uses vermicompost in his soil and not pure castings. Following his lead, I can see this works just as well as EWCs. I'll tell ya, if there is a right of passage for harvesting worms from compost, I did my ritual!! It took a HOURS to separate those worms and I also tried to get as many eggs as I could along with what seemed like dozens of babies!! I'll get some pics later. I came home last night to find my plants showing deficiency issues. Im going to tweak my soil some more and go ahead and add in bone and blood meal. I tried to just go with the all purpose fert as advised by LD, CHunk and MIW but I must be doing something wrong...I keep getting N issues. They get adjusted pretty quick with alfalfa and kelp meal watering but I dont think that I shoujld be getting N decificiencies every two weeks (approx). Anyhow, aside from that, things are still going good. I took cuts from each plant last weekend and labeled each one so I can match it to the parent once I sex them...so in the meantime fingers are crossed for girl plants!!
I know what you mean about being blessed, I was so lucky to work for the railroad and get a pension. And I feel for people trying to find a good job in this economy. However, anyone who cares to listen, if you want a good job learn a trade. There is always going to be a need for plumbers, electricians, sheetmetal workers and welders. Always! And, with that trade in your porfolio you can get a job anywhere. Well, i have to climb down off my soapbox, but really, the nation has a shortage of people in these trades. And none of them require a college degree! Too bad bout your plants, 3D, I hope they recover!
You should add machinists as well. If you can run a CNC mill competently, you can get work. It's sad that high schools can mostly either no longer afford a robust trade program, or they think that 100% of the kids should go to college, and that working with your hands is some kind of failure. /thread derail
Thanks Slith. I got some alfalfa/kelp meal working right now....been going since yesterday. I checked it this morning and there is a nice froth on top! My plants will love it again Im sure. I just need to find a more stable source of N and possibly P...which is why I think that I will be adding blood/bone meal to my mix in the future....live and learn. Absolutely agree! Im more of a hands on type and I learn so much better when Im doing things that way...but in recent years, Ive been strapped to a desk. I dont complain though cause the pay/promotion is better for getting them bills knocked out and my back appreciates it also. Still though, working with your hands helps in so many ways. My good buddy for example was raised on a farm. This guy is smart as hell...and at the end of the day when he goes home, he makes all kinds of stuff for his house. His shelves, deck and even his bathroom are professional grade work! The guy is a jack of all trades...I guess living on a farm, you learn alot of skills!
This weeks Time mag said the same thing...too many degrees, not enough mechanics, welders, and trades that really keep the country going. Our High School offers auto mechanics, autobody/collison repair, drafting, welding/metalshop, cabinetry, tv and film production, digipen programming/digital media, composites, custom painting, culinary arts, graphic arts, commercial art, and cosmetology. Thank Gawd for the logging towns, we get the grants!!!...most of our towns kids would use the college degree to start the wood stove up. Some of us have cerebral kids that can't hold a peice of wood or think past a pen line, and have to go become dentists...unfortunately, that's my kid! 14% college increase this year, and next will be worse.
It seems like alot of trade oriented skills tend to be handed down through generations. When I was growing up, I never had my dad around but instead I have 6 uncles on my mom's side. Most of them are in construction so whenever they were building stuff around my granmother's house, I was out there too just watching and helping. I didnt learn alot about concrete but I learned a work ethic and got used to being on my feet. The computer age has definitely helped our younger genertations to be more intellectual (IMO) heck, my 8yr old had a power point project in school not too long ago!! There's just a huge area that gets left out when they dont learn how to use their hands.
Ive been wanting to add it to my mix but I have yet to purchase. I dont really like to buy all my stuff fom online sources just because of the cost plus shipping. I figure that if I can get it at my local feed store of nursery then Im all about it...but I dont think that I will have a local source for Neem meal anytime soon so I might have to go ahead and do the online buy.
Gosh 3D! I hope you are no where near the wildfires out there. I didn't think there were that many trees in Arizona...........Kind of like Kansas, people are surprised there are so many trees in this state too. I haven't heard of neem meal, Man! growing something so simple sure is complicated. How is your worm project going? My red wigglers are getting thick, so I am going to have to get another tote soon for them to migrate to. I took a bunch of peelings from zuchinni and parts of red and yellow bell peppers and threw them in a blender with just a touch of water and fed them that. They are living the worm life, lol. Coffee grounds and corn meal also. We have a trade school here in Topeka that offers two year or less career classes in Sheetmetal, refridgeration, and welding. The state was helping veterans take driving courses for CDL's. Unfortunately, my kid is better suited to be a cashier.......Now I'm depressed....
My internet is acting up today so I apoligize if this is double post... We got plenty of beautiful forest a few hours north in Flagstaff. Its beautiful up there! I can leave my house in the winter time where it will be in the lower 70's and go north where there will be plenty of snow! Its really cool! I do all my hunting up there!