No-Till Design, Theory & Implementation

[ClackamasCootz]

2x vermicompost
1x chopped comfrey or borage leaves

I've been using this for a couple of months and wouldn't change a thing. By day 3 or 4 you will be doing this in your indoor and outdoor gardens. You can say good-bye to PM once & for all besides the 'nutes' from the leaves which is extraordinary

CC

 

[BlueJayWay]

By day 3 or 4 you will be doing this in your indoor and outdoor gardens.

Exactly - I reread my post above and it reads like I use all those plant materials at once. What I meant to say is that I will use what's on hand and just one or two 'choices'. My young comfreys couldn't grow fast enough, for me too it quickly became the plant of choice - you can watch this plant turn into rich dark soil when mulched!

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Best $10.00 that I've ever spent on a garden project - 4 root starts from our good friends at Horizon Herbs.

It's almost silly on the value returned which will continue for years and years to come...

 

[xmobotx]

I've incorporate that into my mulching -which has evolved to become all vermicompost

thats exactly how i do it as i started i would topdress and mulch that in but as the worms get going i move towards so-called nutrient cycling where amendments go through the compost ~and for me; the worms is the final stage of the compost

i like cootz' reco on just about everything and my comfreys are getting their start this year so thats down the pipe

got to keep experimenting!

one day it will probably all get combined, compost'd, worm'd and, i'll figure out how much peat to put w/ it

lol ~homogenized!

 

[BlueJayWay]

I have an experiment I want to do with worms and 20 gal smartpots, if there's interest I can update here as these would become no-till containers.

8x 20gal smart pots....or 4x but 8x would give better results.

2 will receive 10 worms
2 will receive 100 worms
2 500 worms
2 1000 worms

I'd like to find @ what point exactly is too many worms LOL, and just the right amount....experiments with high number of worms in the pot I think it'd be interesting....will high number of worms disturb roots, or create a symbiosis? Which will perform better in the long run? Etc etc....

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Worms control their numbers in a self-contained 'bin'

The rule of thumb usually quoted is that you can hit 1 lb. of worms per square foot & that's from the hobby worm bin sites & articles selling those horrible plastic stacking units like Can-O-Worms but there are others. I'm doubtful you could hit even those numbers unless you're really lucky.

In flow-through systems, Worm Power in New York maintains 3 lbs. of worms per square foot. They are running over 110 million worms in their operation. They're also doing everything exactly right on the food stock that's used which is probably more effort & time than most of us have to throw at a project.

If you want the advantages of using SmartPots and in particular the aeration you can achieve then you could look at the Bagster product that are available at many Home Depot stores, Lowe's, etc. and these hold 3 cubic yards - not cubic feet - cubic yards. The cost is $29.00

Load that up with whatever it is you want to use, add your worms and/or cocoons and keep it properly hydrated like you have to do when using SmartPots

Setting the Bagster on wood pallets or something like that is almost mandatory - VOE

CC

 

[BlueJayWay]

Oops! I forgot to mention that I meant worms in pots with cannabis growing in it! If nothing more, just curious to see how dumping a huge pile of worms in the pots will affect plant growth.

Although -

Worms control their numbers in a self-contained 'bin'

- this explains why I didn't see as many worms as I expected in my 45gal smartpot worm bin after a few months or so - initially 2lbs of worms and 1000 cocoons were added, there appears to be the same number of worms, or less, but a copious amount of baby worms, and some cocoons.

I'm currently separating it by hand into 20gal pots. Finished vermicompost in one, and larger pieces and the worms in another.

Worm power is pretty impressive!

I'm ordering 10,000 more worms or so to kick start more bins!

 

[Microbeman]

Worms control their numbers in a self-contained 'bin'

The rule of thumb usually quoted is that you can hit 1 lb. of worms per square foot & that's from the hobby worm bin sites & articles selling those horrible plastic stacking units like Can-O-Worms but there are others. I'm doubtful you could hit even those numbers unless you're really lucky.

In flow-through systems, Worm Power in New York maintains 3 lbs. of worms per square foot. They are running over 110 million worms in their operation. They're also doing everything exactly right on the food stock that's used which is probably more effort & time than most of us have to throw at a project.

If you want the advantages of using SmartPots and in particular the aeration you can achieve then you could look at the Bagster product that are available at many Home Depot stores, Lowe's, etc. and these hold 3 cubic yards - not cubic feet - cubic yards. The cost is $29.00

Load that up with whatever it is you want to use, add your worms and/or cocoons and keep it properly hydrated like you have to do when using SmartPots

Setting the Bagster on wood pallets or something like that is almost mandatory - VOE

CC

Coot; Have you determined that these are aerated and not just a poly 'tarp-like' material since you mentioned these to me?

 

[Microbeman]

Actually the highest density of worms I ever saw/had was in a tiny plastic bin in my kitchen. It was about 12 x 14 x 12 of practically solid worms. I used it for a while to seed larger bins by scooping out handfuls on occasion and it just repopulated immediately.

My plastic bin populations always propagate at a higher rate than my piles, even when it is the perfect temperature. I don't know why but worms looove wet plastic. My theory is that it makes copulation more convenient (fun) ;>

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Coot; Have you determined that these are aerated and not just a poly 'tarp-like' material since you mentioned these to me?

MM

Here's what I did to test that and I learned two different things.

I unfolded the unit and I began adding water with a hose to check the drainage. It wasn't very good so I let it sit until empty and put it on the pallets that I mentioned and this time the drainage was as good or better than I expected. When it was sitting on the concrete slab it seemed that a bond between the material and the smooth slab developed and that was what was restricting the water from flowing out.

So next up was to check the sides and what I did there was spray one side with a lot of water to kinda build it up a bit. I took a can of compressed air and on the opposite side of the water I put the air can about 6" away from the side and sprayed air and I had my other hand on the wet side to check the air flow and it was better than I expected.

Having said that, if you look at the units that are specifically marketed for vermicomposting (I can't remember the name) on the sides you'll see that they've added vents.

This could easily be done on the Bagster and I did check out different vents at Home Depot so there are several options as far as sizes, shapes so you could figure out the number of vents you might want to place. There's probably much better choices online.

I may do that yet - I'll see what happens when summer weather arrives. That will be the big test for me anyway.

CC

 

[Microbeman]

Good. Maybe I'll pick one up.

 

[ickyweed]

Much love to everyone posting, would not have gotten here without you. About 10% recycled soil I had laying around mixed in to coots recipe. #150 on pallets. White dutch clover cover while they cook (thanks MHG). So much for our closet grows, eh?

 

[BlueJayWay]

Nice man - that's gonna be awesome - wish I had room for a pallet jack!

 

[al-k-mist]

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

as ickyweed said, I wouldnt have gotten here without ya. and definitely people dat have posted in this thread.
these are approx 125 gallons, just sewed crinson clover. the rest of the cover crops in these just-built, but not-going anywhere, beds are lemon balm, spearmint, chocolate peppermint, peppermint, morrocan mint, dill, german chamomile, uh...basil, thyme, cilantro...oh, and blue dream, tahoe og, vanilla kush, cheese(dinafem), and jack herer, and blueberry.headband. more beds coming soon!

so to everybody here at the organic forum...

 

[ClackamasCootz]

ak-k-mist

The Pineapple Mint is an interesting color spot in the garden. There's also a Pineapple-Apple Mint with the same variegated pattern...

 

[al-k-mist]

AHHHHHHH, she has both, in the back yard.
she said the pineapple mint seems more ornamental, not pineapple-ish and more cat-mint smelling

that chocolate peppermint is SO good smelling.
mint and rose hips make an absolutely amazing tea, with or without chamomile flowers!

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Does she have Cinnamon Mint?

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Epazote

The essential oils of Epazote contain terpene compounds, some of which have natural pesticide capabilities. The company AgraQuest Inc. of Davis, California, synthetically manufactures a proprietary blend of identical compounds for use in their agricultural pesticide product Requiem. It is not licensed for residential use.

A study from the University of California, Davis found that the compound ascaridole in Epazote inhibits the growth of nearby plants, so it would be best to relegate this plant at a distance from other inhabitants of the herb garden.

Even though this plant has an established place in recipes and in folklore, it is wise to use only the leaves, and those very sparingly, in cooking.

 

[al-k-mist]

No, but it sounds nice....
you dont thin that other members of the mint family have an effect like slowing the growth of other plants, so ya???
I was hoping that the companion plants, in addition to providing herbs and keeping the soil moister longer...that they would help with insect control.....

 

[xmobotx]

that might be an interesting side by side ~w/ mint vs w/o

i would defo trim and harvest vs chop n drop w/ mint family stuff