Vermiculture

[rd200]

Well, at least i think that's what its called. Worm "farming" is what im getting at.

I am starting to grow wheatgrass and in my wheatgrass book is says taht a relatively easy way to compost the "used" wheatgrass mats was to get a garbage can, put it up on bricks, drill air holes in it, and then start with ripping up the wheatgrass Mats in smaller pieces, then put in kitchen scrapes and then use Red wiggler worms and just keep adding the same things over and over and the worms should eat everything down and make a very rich compost. Sounds easy right????

well, i was reading on the worm farm website that worms are kinda picky and if its too wet, too dry, too cold, too warm, they will try and "run" away from the environment and wont eat the stuff you want them to eat. So, how can it be so different?? The book made it sound so easy... just throw the worms in and 3 months later.... Black Gold!!! And the worm farm guy says that its possible but they are picky and hard to please alot of the time.

Anyone have any experience with Worms??? Are they that picky?? And also, wouldnt they just crawl out of the holes im suppose to drill in the can??? I want to try it but i dont want to fail miserably and waste money on the worms and kill them on top of that too. Thanks....

 

[Beekissed]

I've done it before...the air holes should be in the lid of your container and they don't usually crawl out there. It's easier than you would believe but not so simple as throwing everything in a can and wishing the worms good luck. Just keep them dark, fed, moist but not wet(a good gauge is to feel the soil when you are feeding them....too dry, add some water, too wet add some dry material like shredded paper and just be careful next time you add some water.

When you add food like garbage scraps, pay attention to the foods that get consumed and those that just sit there and get gooey. You'll learn as you go and it's really hard to kill a whole tub of worms if you are paying even a little attention to the task....they are relatively simple to raise.

Make sure you thin them out on occasion or you will have some escapees looking for less crowded quarters. If you don't have chickens to feed the extras to, or customers to buy them, just put them directly out in your garden and feed them there. Give them some good cover in your dormant garden so they will stay there and not migrate towards greener pastures.

 

[so lucky]

I have had red wigglers for about 4 years, with varying degrees of success. I keep them in storage tubs. The instructions I had said to drill small holes in the sides and bottoms of the tubs, as well as the top. The worms do escape occasionally. I find them dried up on the basement floor. The biggest misconception I have found is that I read that they are supposed to eat their weight in scraps every 3 or four days. Well, that is just not true. Maybe every 10 days. You can get the bins overloaded with garbage pretty quickly, and it molds, draws gnats, etc. I still just compost most of my garbage.
The other thing I am puzzled about: Years ago I bought a bag of worm castings from a local guy who was starting a business selling it as a soil builder. The castings were almost black, fluffy, loose when nearly dry, very fine and soft feeling, kind of like black powdered sugar. Didn't hold together when wet. However, the castings I get from my worms are so dense it looks and feels like black clay when wet, and dries hard as a brick. Not loose fluffy and soft. I suppose the diet makes a difference--don't know for sure. Not what I expected, tho.
All in all, The worms have been sort of interesting to have, no trouble, good chicken treats, and so gratifying when the grandkids tell their friends "My grandma's got worms in her basement!"

 

[Beekissed]

My castings were the soft, silty kind....maybe the soil you use is different than what I used?