No-Till thread?

[heady blunts]

AFAIK:

vermicompost is compost that has been worked by worms.

earth worm castings (EWC) are the finished aggregates left behind the exit end of the worm.

all vermicompost has EWC but it does not have to be 100% castings to be considered VC.

homemade FTW!

 

[Team Microbe]

AFAIK:

vermicompost is compost that has been worked by worms.

earth worm castings (EWC) are the finished aggregates left behind the exit end of the worm.

all vermicompost has EWC but it does not have to be 100% castings to be considered VC.

homemade FTW!

well put!

 

[Team Microbe]

I dispersed a pound of reds among 24 7g smarties about a month back. Vermicompost is different from regular EWC, right?

That sounds good to me, as long as a few get to each container they will build a population and regulate it depending on your container size. The worst thing you could do is add too many, because you'll come back with a few lbs of worms on your floor ready to re-locate

 

[Microbeman]

Vermicompost vs earth worm castings;

There are several versions of explanation. One is as Heady has stated.

In scientific research the term vermicompost is used pretty much exclusively for any form of earthworm castings or incompletely digested worm compost.

In the industry virtually all EWC that one purchases which has the appearance of little separate roundish poops are from the larger African or European species and not red wrigglers. This is because the red wrigglers enjoy a much wetter environment and their turds tend to stick together in a gooey mass and are much more difficult to harvest to look granular like the 'pure castings' are. (AFAIK)

 

[VERMONSTAH]

I usually just toss a handful or two of worms into each container I have and they produce fresh ewc on site and leave them where they're meant to be, all while eliminating the need for the 2'x2' footprint my Worm Inn required from me. Not a big deal for some, but for others this is big.

After a while the entire container will theoretically turn over into castings, and then I like to use that for the humus portion of a new mix 3x the size of the original. So 200 gallons of soil will turn into 200 gallons of enzyme-rich humus, and that will create 600 gallons total. Talk about sustainability!!

I experimented with this in 2010 and indeed it worked well! I'd like to ask though....should we be giving them any kind of ph neutral scraps to feed on into the soil? I'd like to keep my lower pots at a constant 60is degrees because ive found that to be ideal for my microbes and id like to see both the microbes and worms thriving! thankyou. My red wiggler castings stuck together like heifer patties man! check em out!

 

[Lapides]

The worms in my containers feed off of the amendments I add for the plants at the beginning of each flowering cycle.

 

[who dat is]

2nd run in no tills and the soil was ROLS to begin with

2nd run in the pallet planter too

 

[SkyHighWormGuy]

Guys, you don't need to feed the worms specifically (in your pots). Mulch. Mulch is good for all members of the soil food web, including the top level earthworm. Mulch also keeps upper soil horizon from drying out. After lots of playing around with different things, like living mulch for example... A diverse (dead) mulch layer has been best in my garden. A variety of dynamic accumulators like comfrey dandelion, etc Horsetail fern, canna leaf. When it decomposes add more. Mulch thick and grow happy.

 

[VERMONSTAH]

I actually just went out and harvested 4 trash bags of clean hardwood leaves that fell off into a paved road over the weekend! Gonna run half through the lawn mower into a bag then have the whole leaves break down slower in a longterm compost bin, wanted to try to incorporate some of the leaves but i may just grab a vetch,clover,etc mix and start planting it in every available spot of soil.

 

[SkyHighWormGuy]

^^ I get lots of leaves this time of year and bring them into the yard/house. Sometimes pests are included as a bonus. You can always solarize the leaves/etc before bringing them in. Put in black plastic trash bags and form into a thinner longer shape and put on ground, sunny spot in your yard.

I think of a few pests as food for the predators, keeps the good guys around.. But for some thrips mites etc are a big problem.

 

[VERMONSTAH]

The area i speak of is chock o block full of maple, box elder,slippery elm,beech,birch,sumacs, type foliage blowing down a clean paved road thats access to a bike path thats not regularly used as much this time of year. I am super happy to of had you respond, because i was curious about bringing woodland(outside) critters in on the leaves themselves, dont get me wrong i love neem oil but i hate having to utilize it so often if gnats etc start coming around.

I was also curious if i could get you guys to give me feedback on this soil recipe.......

 

[Lovesponge]

Just harvested. ;3 Sorry for the long absence, but I will have pictures up very soon. I have to say that... I really shocked myself with the quality that came from this first run trying organic no till. Dense, trichromes from hell, 4 hits and I almost fell asleep... XD And the smell is all there. Needless to say, I've found my growing method. Now to refine it. Thank you all for your wisdom and support!!

 

[VERMONSTAH]

^^ I get lots of leaves this time of year and bring them into the yard/house. Sometimes pests are included as a bonus. You can always solarize the leaves/etc before bringing them in. Put in black plastic trash bags and form into a thinner longer shape and put on ground, sunny spot in your yard.

I think of a few pests as food for the predators, keeps the good guys around.. But for some thrips mites etc are a big problem.

I wanna ask you this.............I am gonna go down to my area with leaves and although they are moist froma rainstorm im atill gonna harvest some and bring them to the basement until the sun comes out enough to help "solarize" them. Is there a link or can we talk more shop about these methods? I really enjoy grabbing stuff from nature and free piles, I wont beat around the bush either my pension pays my bills and im greatful im not homeless, but i have a lifestyle that requires i source things "differently" than most would i guess.So any information that helps is wonderful and greatly appreciated.

 

[who dat is]

I wanna ask you this.............I am gonna go down to my area with leaves and although they are moist froma rainstorm im atill gonna harvest some and bring them to the basement until the sun comes out enough to help "solarize" them. Is there a link or can we talk more shop about these methods? I really enjoy grabbing stuff from nature and free piles, I wont beat around the bush either my pension pays my bills and im greatful im not homeless, but i have a lifestyle that requires i source things "differently" than most would i guess.So any information that helps is wonderful and greatly appreciated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_solarization

It's pretty straightforward. I would just get whatever material you want and put it in some nice, thick plastic, "contractor" trash bags and set it out in full sun for several hours. If you can't immediately put the material in the bag and leave it outside in the sun then I would wait until you can. You don't want to bring anything in the house if you are worried about pests coming with it, even if it's in a bag - I wouldn't risk it.

The sunlight will heat up the bag and the heat will stay in the bag and continue to increase until you kill off all the pests. I would load it up with material that is as dry as possible too as wet leaves have a lot of weight to them and will take longer to heat up.

 

[VERMONSTAH]

hoping it gets nice and dry between now and when that damn hurricane comes up the coast by friday! thankyou!

 

[VERMONSTAH]

getting them dry was near impossible so i am going with three bags of black oak, maple and a nice potporri of slippery elm,box elder,maples,ash,beech,birch leaves in the final bag, should have 8 hours of sun right thru till saturday so im psyched, thankyou for that link.

 

[who dat is]

getting them dry was near impossible so i am going with three bags of black oak, maple and a nice potporri of slippery elm,box elder,maples,ash,beech,birch leaves in the final bag, should have 8 hours of sun right thru till saturday so im psyched, thankyou for that link.

Keep us posted on how it turns out for you

 

[SkyHighWormGuy]

On leaves:
I get as many leaves as I can in the fall. Leaves make excellent worm food/bedding. I have large piles slowly becoming leaf mold. One mans trash certainly is another mans treasure.

If you're not hip to leaf mold, check it out: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_mold
Leaf mold is an excellent, sustainable replacement for peat in our soil mixes. Personally I think it is much better than peat moss. It's alive, the texture and smell are really nice, it comes from my property, it's free, it doesn't come in a plastic bag, etc etc etc

 

[VERMONSTAH]

thx you guys. Trying to limit my sharing here cause ive encountered some sketchy behavior that has me spooked, but i will def check in on the thread and share my results, thankyou for your help.

 

[who dat is]

thx you guys. Trying to limit my sharing here cause ive encountered some sketchy behavior that has me spooked, but i will def check in on the thread and share my results, thankyou for your help.

Sketch, stay safe