
Compost Worms
-Worms produce THE BEST soil that we can add to the soil.
-nutrients are in a very accessible form for plants.
-ecouraging worms in our gardens is a great thing, and their presence indicates healthy soil food web.
Compost Worms
-distinct from earthworms and soil worms.
-red wrigglers in the USA
How to keep compost worms
-need a bin of some kind with a drain in the bottom.
-old bathtub or large sink
-plastic bins
-put 2/3 full with manure
-1/3 green scraps (lettuce, green veg, cabbage, etc) laid on top (don't mix in)
-one kilo of worms (they will breed up to the max)
-keep high moisture in the worm bin
-cover to keep it dark, cool, damp and no rain coming in, and protection from birds.
-add fresh kitchen scraps whenever the previous batch is eaten down.
-don't add citrus peels, garlic, onions or hot spice,
-worms will double in population ever 40 days if there is enough room and food
-they eat their weight everyday!
-after 3 months there are millions of little turds, WORM CASTINGS
-nice black material
To Harvest:
-put the food only on one side of the bin,
-two days later 95% of worms will be there.
-harvest the other side, and use!
-add new manure to that side and put the food there (plenty moist)
-two days later worms will move into that side.
-harvest worm castings
-add more manure and kitchen scraps
-use the castings like compost, best on annuals, because of high bacteria count
-not so good on trees because low fungus
WORM JUICE:
-We can also harvest the worm juice
-Very rich material, used for orchids or as a powerful fertilizer
-liquid should be able to drip out of the bottom of the container into a bottle.
WORM BUSINESS
There is a fairly high demand for compost worms, worm casting compost, and for the worm juice
this can be an easy additional business to any farm.
only regular inputs are wastes from kitchens, and great outputs, even if no one buys!
-Worms produce THE BEST soil that we can add to the soil.
-nutrients are in a very accessible form for plants.
-ecouraging worms in our gardens is a great thing, and their presence indicates healthy soil food web.
Compost Worms
-distinct from earthworms and soil worms.
-red wrigglers in the USA
How to keep compost worms
-need a bin of some kind with a drain in the bottom.
-old bathtub or large sink
-plastic bins
-put 2/3 full with manure
-1/3 green scraps (lettuce, green veg, cabbage, etc) laid on top (don't mix in)
-one kilo of worms (they will breed up to the max)
-keep high moisture in the worm bin
-cover to keep it dark, cool, damp and no rain coming in, and protection from birds.
-add fresh kitchen scraps whenever the previous batch is eaten down.
-don't add citrus peels, garlic, onions or hot spice,
-worms will double in population ever 40 days if there is enough room and food
-they eat their weight everyday!
-after 3 months there are millions of little turds, WORM CASTINGS
-nice black material
To Harvest:
-put the food only on one side of the bin,
-two days later 95% of worms will be there.
-harvest the other side, and use!
-add new manure to that side and put the food there (plenty moist)
-two days later worms will move into that side.
-harvest worm castings
-add more manure and kitchen scraps
-use the castings like compost, best on annuals, because of high bacteria count
-not so good on trees because low fungus
WORM JUICE:
-We can also harvest the worm juice
-Very rich material, used for orchids or as a powerful fertilizer
-liquid should be able to drip out of the bottom of the container into a bottle.
WORM BUSINESS
There is a fairly high demand for compost worms, worm casting compost, and for the worm juice
this can be an easy additional business to any farm.
only regular inputs are wastes from kitchens, and great outputs, even if no one buys!