Fuggzy
Perfectly Flawed
Hey guys. This is a project I am doing a journal on. It is already started, but I am including the start of it too. I edited a small bit of the info that did not regard to AFN, as not to create any conflict.
I'm not a master at worm, actually rather a novice. If you feel that you could learn from the info I am able to provide I invite you to pull up a chair. If you happen to be a worm guy too, well hell, please chime in. The more information people can draw from the better chances there will be for success. Man I love open source info. I spend hours a day (4-6) researching things that interest me. Most of that happens to be in regard to organic gardening, and how to maximize my output while minimizing my input. I mean really.... Why pay for worm poop? It is byproduct of them living.
This project is for fun, but also to legitimately learn something, and build up a better soil.
The following entries are dated and basically word for word. I'll break them up so it is not just a wall of text.
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10/08/15
I wanted to document worms, their castings, and my ideas about wild castings. This is about a worm bin I am starting, and free range worm casting I collect. I'll document any changes in the bin so others interested might get an idea of what to expect. Nothing is set in stone, as I am still learning, and am not 100% sure what to expect.
The bin is starting with 2¼lbs of red worms. The base is going to be peat, compost, and some composted horse manure from the breeder. He uses a 50/50 peat/HM shredded together. The compost will be my own. The interior measures 9"x14"x20" (HxWxD)
I'm not exactly sure what their diet will be yet. Veggie, and fruit scraps, cardboard, soil amendments, who knows. I'll be filling in the info as I go, and find a feeding that works for me. As the bin gets larger, I'd think there will be more options. It is a small bin at the moment.
The bin has been prepped with air holes on all sides, bottom included. I may go with a flow threw design later. I can just cut the bottom out if I don't like the current idea.
I found the breeder on craigslist. He was more than happy to share any info with me, and offered me a tour before I asked. He seemed to be pretty knowledgeable regarding the worms. I can't remember everything said (the man can talk, a lot) but everything he showed me looked great. He is also certified/licensed to sell is worms/castings commercially. He was very gracious to show me w/e I wanted to know, and more. Best part was the prices. I paid $15 per pound of worms, and $8 for a 5gal bucket of castings. For $38 total I got 2¼lbs of worms, and 28lbs of castings. He made sure that they both over weighed, and expressed how ridiculous the market price of them where. Teddy was a interesting person.
Okay so lets talk about biodiversity.... I see a good amount of people that use different rock dust for diversity. The idea of if it comes from a different source, location, and/or composition, it will add different elements to the soil. Even 2 bags of azomite can have variances due to how the deposits settle. So why can't these all apply to worm castings? I am in a "special" position to be able to collect nightcrawler casting from a few different sources. They are all within ~15 miles of each other, however each of them are in a different environment. By that I mean they are all dominated by different trees, and plants. All the areas are private/protected land, and none of them use any ~cides of any kind. I also have permission to take these, and try do do so respectfully. I guess to make it easy I'll just list them by numbers.
Location 1: This actually happens to be my own back yard. My yard backs up to a nature preserve. I only have privacy fence on the sides, leaving the back of the yard totally exposed to the preserve. It is what I like to refer to as a cypress swamp oasis. It is a dense cypress forest, with lots of standing water, and close to nothing growing on the ground. I stopped cutting my back yard to encourage the wild flowers to grow, and in the process (i think) it created a worm habitat. My yard is sloped down to the forest, so it provides a dryer spot, near all the water they need/want. There are casting all over the yard, but the last ~12' before the water is almost blanketed by them. I collected about 2 gallons the 1st time and could barley tell.
Location 2: This is at my moms house. This area is dominated by oaks and other deciduous tree. The leaves are not collected,a nd just decompose where they fall. The outskirts (where I collect) has had an organic landscape for about 15 years. I collect them here, cause I feel like the soil amendments used in the bast have left this soil more optimal. I would think of this area more of the woods, rather than a forest. Its only ~2 acres.
Location 3: This is at a friends house. His yard is similar to my yard. It is also connected to a wildlife preserve, but it is more of a "wild" Florida setting. There are tons of palms, and Florida grass land types plants/shrubs, and lots of animals. A large river runs through his neighborhood, and is where I look. Of all the locations, this is the most natural of them.
So back to diversity. I also have casting from 2 vendors. That gives me a total of 5 different sources, not including the ones I will be producing. I know to be sure I would need to get them tested. On the other hand I also know that when making your own casting, you can change the outcome from what you feed them. This is the idea that I'm riding on. Maybe one of these days I'll get a test, but for now I'm putting my trust in mother nature.
Now I will admit I need to study more on nightcrawler casting. The small amount I have read though say they are still a great organic fert. I feel pretty confident that they will benefit my soil.
I will be finishing the bin today, and post a few pics. I hope this might help some other newbies to worms. If there are any questions please post them. If I'm not able to answer, then we both get to learn something new! I also expect this to start off rather slow. I might just start off with weekly updates. Anywho... Enjoy guys.
I'm not a master at worm, actually rather a novice. If you feel that you could learn from the info I am able to provide I invite you to pull up a chair. If you happen to be a worm guy too, well hell, please chime in. The more information people can draw from the better chances there will be for success. Man I love open source info. I spend hours a day (4-6) researching things that interest me. Most of that happens to be in regard to organic gardening, and how to maximize my output while minimizing my input. I mean really.... Why pay for worm poop? It is byproduct of them living.
This project is for fun, but also to legitimately learn something, and build up a better soil.
The following entries are dated and basically word for word. I'll break them up so it is not just a wall of text.
********************************************************************************************
10/08/15
I wanted to document worms, their castings, and my ideas about wild castings. This is about a worm bin I am starting, and free range worm casting I collect. I'll document any changes in the bin so others interested might get an idea of what to expect. Nothing is set in stone, as I am still learning, and am not 100% sure what to expect.
The bin is starting with 2¼lbs of red worms. The base is going to be peat, compost, and some composted horse manure from the breeder. He uses a 50/50 peat/HM shredded together. The compost will be my own. The interior measures 9"x14"x20" (HxWxD)
I'm not exactly sure what their diet will be yet. Veggie, and fruit scraps, cardboard, soil amendments, who knows. I'll be filling in the info as I go, and find a feeding that works for me. As the bin gets larger, I'd think there will be more options. It is a small bin at the moment.
The bin has been prepped with air holes on all sides, bottom included. I may go with a flow threw design later. I can just cut the bottom out if I don't like the current idea.
I found the breeder on craigslist. He was more than happy to share any info with me, and offered me a tour before I asked. He seemed to be pretty knowledgeable regarding the worms. I can't remember everything said (the man can talk, a lot) but everything he showed me looked great. He is also certified/licensed to sell is worms/castings commercially. He was very gracious to show me w/e I wanted to know, and more. Best part was the prices. I paid $15 per pound of worms, and $8 for a 5gal bucket of castings. For $38 total I got 2¼lbs of worms, and 28lbs of castings. He made sure that they both over weighed, and expressed how ridiculous the market price of them where. Teddy was a interesting person.
Okay so lets talk about biodiversity.... I see a good amount of people that use different rock dust for diversity. The idea of if it comes from a different source, location, and/or composition, it will add different elements to the soil. Even 2 bags of azomite can have variances due to how the deposits settle. So why can't these all apply to worm castings? I am in a "special" position to be able to collect nightcrawler casting from a few different sources. They are all within ~15 miles of each other, however each of them are in a different environment. By that I mean they are all dominated by different trees, and plants. All the areas are private/protected land, and none of them use any ~cides of any kind. I also have permission to take these, and try do do so respectfully. I guess to make it easy I'll just list them by numbers.
Location 1: This actually happens to be my own back yard. My yard backs up to a nature preserve. I only have privacy fence on the sides, leaving the back of the yard totally exposed to the preserve. It is what I like to refer to as a cypress swamp oasis. It is a dense cypress forest, with lots of standing water, and close to nothing growing on the ground. I stopped cutting my back yard to encourage the wild flowers to grow, and in the process (i think) it created a worm habitat. My yard is sloped down to the forest, so it provides a dryer spot, near all the water they need/want. There are casting all over the yard, but the last ~12' before the water is almost blanketed by them. I collected about 2 gallons the 1st time and could barley tell.
Location 2: This is at my moms house. This area is dominated by oaks and other deciduous tree. The leaves are not collected,a nd just decompose where they fall. The outskirts (where I collect) has had an organic landscape for about 15 years. I collect them here, cause I feel like the soil amendments used in the bast have left this soil more optimal. I would think of this area more of the woods, rather than a forest. Its only ~2 acres.
Location 3: This is at a friends house. His yard is similar to my yard. It is also connected to a wildlife preserve, but it is more of a "wild" Florida setting. There are tons of palms, and Florida grass land types plants/shrubs, and lots of animals. A large river runs through his neighborhood, and is where I look. Of all the locations, this is the most natural of them.
So back to diversity. I also have casting from 2 vendors. That gives me a total of 5 different sources, not including the ones I will be producing. I know to be sure I would need to get them tested. On the other hand I also know that when making your own casting, you can change the outcome from what you feed them. This is the idea that I'm riding on. Maybe one of these days I'll get a test, but for now I'm putting my trust in mother nature.
Now I will admit I need to study more on nightcrawler casting. The small amount I have read though say they are still a great organic fert. I feel pretty confident that they will benefit my soil.
I will be finishing the bin today, and post a few pics. I hope this might help some other newbies to worms. If there are any questions please post them. If I'm not able to answer, then we both get to learn something new! I also expect this to start off rather slow. I might just start off with weekly updates. Anywho... Enjoy guys.
** I got them at ~50% of market value.
