cow manure and cardboard

[cosmiccowboy]

as the only feed for worms..would this work?...just throw everything together in a containeer with airholes..

 

[guest2012y]

Being that this is the organic soil forum I would question if the cardboard were free of toxins.............But dispite that anal organic view,I can't see them digging much of that unless the manure and cardboard were VERY composted.

 

[NUG-JUG]

I'm in the process of building a vermicompost bin in my yard, and have never done it so take this with a grain of salt; I think the more diverse the worm's diet the better quality castings. Kinda like a person. Sure I could eat caramel apples and slim jim's all day and live, but I wouldn't be the healthiest dude around..

 

[big ballin 88]

I dont know about using the cardboard as feed but it works well as a top that keeps the moisture in the bin. If worms choose to they can eat through it, mine really choose not to. I think composted cow manure would work. I like using peat as a base and than throwing in stuff from around the house.

 

[Zendo]

I think the more diverse the worm's diet the better quality castings.

This!

I don't know if you can make a usable product with just those two, but if you are going to do your own bins, I would be thinking of making the best compost that you possibly can. I personally wouldn't add manure to mine.

along with adding a diverse amount of different veggies/fruits, etc.. I would also suggest adding rock dusts , like soft rock phosphate.

Check out the worming 101 thread, and google. If you are going to make your own compost, I would recommend making it as good, or better, than anything you can buy in a store....for less.

 

[jaykush]

like said what you put in is what you get out.

 

[ixnay007]

like said what you put in is what you get out.

Most people tend to put trash tho?

 

[cosmiccowboy]

the article is in the st petersburg times and is written by jeff klinkenberg from 2003 if you want to check it out.

 

[CannaExists]

Do you eat organic food? It's not difficult to stack some good scraps if you do. Most places around here sell organic bananas real cheap when they're ripe (and I like to eat them when they're ripe, conveniently). Organic banana peels, organic spent coffee/tea, organic apple cores, organic pineapple peel... sometimes I can fill a whole bucket with scraps in one day. In some cases, the price of organic food can be a turnoff, but think of it as putting in a vote for pure, sustainable food. When you continue to buy not-organic food, you continue to vote for a non-organic world... or wasteland whatever you wanna call it.

By the way this rant isn't directed at the original poster, it's moreso for anybody it concerns.

 

[jaykush]

Most people tend to put trash tho?

but one mans trash is another worms treasure lol.

think of it this way, the more diverse materials you use, the more diverse nutrients those materials have. to decompose those materials you need and get a diversity in micro organisms.

you can use cardboard and cow manure no ones going to stop anyone from doing it, but how many different nutrients does cardboard and cow manure have?

that being said those two will make a pretty good original bedding material compared to newspaper imo. then you can add things from there as "food"

 

[cosmiccowboy]

Do you eat organic food? It's not difficult to stack some good scraps if you do. Most places around here sell organic bananas real cheap when they're ripe (and I like to eat them when they're ripe, conveniently). Organic banana peels, organic spent coffee/tea, organic apple cores, organic pineapple peel... sometimes I can fill a whole bucket with scraps in one day. In some cases, the price of organic food can be a turnoff, but think of it as putting in a vote for pure, sustainable food. When you continue to buy not-organic food, you continue to vote for a non-organic world... or wasteland whatever you wanna call it.

By the way this rant isn't directed at the original poster, it's moreso for anybody it concerns.

i eat all kinds of fruits and veggies and alfready have a big pile cookin in the garden..but that doesnt have anything to do with the question...

 

[cosmiccowboy]

but one mans trash is another worms treasure lol.

think of it this way, the more diverse materials you use, the more diverse nutrients those materials have. to decompose those materials you need and get a diversity in micro organisms.

you can use cardboard and cow manure no ones going to stop anyone from doing it, but how many different nutrients does cardboard and cow manure have?

that being said those two will make a pretty good original bedding material compared to newspaper imo. then you can add things from there as "food"

jaykush,think i'm gonna try and do 2 bins. one with nothin but cardboard and cow manure and one with cardboard,fruit and veggi scraps..

 

[CannaExists]

i eat all kinds of fruits and veggies and alfready have a big pile cookin in the garden..but that doesnt have anything to do with the question...

I was just trying to get your creative juices flowin' with the possibilities. I figured since you were considering starting a wormbin with only 2 forms of feed you could use some suggestions.

 

[Microbeman]

cardboard and cow manure are fine. it is actually a good balance of N and C. If you purchase organic certified castings they have usually been on a diet less varied than that. Yelm worms are fed only cow maure (uncomposted) and wood shavings.