Vermicomposting, worm bin, composting with worms community and forums
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Michael
- 30, Male
- South Africa
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Michael's Discussions
Can VT damage your plants?
Replied Oct. 8, 2008
Can VT damage your plants?
Replied Oct. 7, 2008
What do you do with the leac....stuff
Replied Oct. 7, 2008
Michael's Vermi Page
Latest Activity
I've never blended. When I first started, I hand-chopped my scraps to thumbnail size before dumping them in my collection container, then I froze them, thawed, drained and fed. But I had a lot of trouble with things going anaerobic in the bin, and...
i just recently started, but about a week before i ended my experiment, i stored some stuff to start aging. since then i've just been putting stuff in another bin under leaves and above bedding.
this is true most of th time the exceptions are when the food is small enough to fit into the worms mouth for example pureed pumpkin is devoured as soo as its plsced int the worm bedding i t has gottel to be so goon a feed stick i feed three pouns...
Peat moss. Going to try some coconut coir soon.
I either hand chop large pieces or toss it into the food processor. My worms seem to eat much faster this way. I also store my scraps in a large plastic container in the fridge. When it's feeding time, I scoop out a bunch onto a plate and let it s...
Hello Michael, don't klnow if anyone has said this to you already but the worms only eat the microbes that cause the decomposition of the food. They do not eat fresh food. I guess your apples were fresh? Regards Janet
We currently have 32 bins for our worms, so we don't have the time to freeze, thaw, grind, etc. We try to keep it as simple as possible. We collect food from local sandwich and coffee shops, a restaurant, horse stable and pet supply store. We put ...
I basically just dumped it in in a fairly thin layer. If I had to guess I'd say 4-5 cups (maybe half a bag) and that would cover half of the bin with 1/4-1/2" of blended food. I haven't had any problem with the food going anaerobic but I did overf...
Comment Wall (12 comments)
- At 8:51am on November 10, 2008,
Christopher Faenger said… - Thank you for trying to help me earlier -- I wish I had gotten around to responding sooner, but life got in the way.
It turned out I only had a few worms (10?) actually escape (to their deaths for the most part) - most of the ones I was worried would escape were really just hanging out at the top edge of the bin for some reason. I think it must have been due to the relocation and shipping process they had just gone through. Now, however, they seem really happy to stay down in the bottom of the bin. My camera got fixed (sort of) so check out the pictures I added.
- At 9:29am on October 15, 2008,
marylou said… - The earthworm pots (set of 3 pots, base and lid) decorated will cost r2500. Undecorated plain (red)terracotta set of 3 pots, base and lid: R1750.00. Hope you think that sounds reasonable. They take quite a lot of effort to make. looking forward to testing them and tweaking designs and decorations....
- At 1:27pm on September 11, 2008,
Steven Chow said… - Just saw your posting in the SAfrica group... i laughed when I read this "I am hooked on the horse poop"... you don't hear that everyday.
- At 11:41pm on September 7, 2008,
marylou said…
- ja- I am sure opinions differ on this topic. I think when people overwater their bins- the leachate is not that rich- but if you are patient and collect the drips- that is real VT. Shake it up- if it makes foam its VT- otherwise it is just tannin coloured water with some nutrient value... Please also feed real VT to some tomatoes alongside the tomatoes getting only brewed VT..... Good luck with the experiment I look forward to results.
- At 11:23pm on September 7, 2008,
marylou said…
- Hi Michael. I asked Danie about this other method of making VT- It does not get his nod of approval at all. The best and real VT is what drips out of the worm farm. I am sure this other method has its benefits but Danie says its a cheat and should be called something else- brewed VT or something
- At 9:40pm on September 7, 2008,
Charl Pienaar said… - Yes Michael
Vars pensmis is nie lekker nie, wel wat die wat al vir 'n paar weke komposteer het (op 'n hoop gele het). Nogal 'n komplekse vraag, die beste kos vir die erdwurms produseer nie noodwendig die beste kompos nie, of waarborg nie noodwendig die beste aanteel nie. So die ideale kos hang af van watter eindresultaat jy wil bereik.
Groete
Charl
- At 12:00am on September 5, 2008,
Dora du Plessis said… - Michael, my suggestion is that you never through anything that can be composted away. Rather bury that in your garden. I've done that for years now and all the extras that are too much for my bins, are buried in the garden wherever there is an open space available. The garden earthworms will enjoy that a lot!
- At 8:42am on September 2, 2008,
Jenni said… - Hello Michael, unfortunately I don't get down there as often as I would like. Quite a trek from Joburg!
- At 4:09am on September 2, 2008,
Dora du Plessis said…
- Thanks Michael! Will definitely do so whenever I get to that area again. Would like to see some photo's of your worms and bins.
- At 9:18pm on September 1, 2008,
Charl Pienaar said…
- Dankie, Michael, as ek naby Mosselbaai kom sal ek jou graag wil ontmoet. Jy is ook welkom om vir my te kom kuier in die Paarl
Profile Information
- How were you introduced to vermicomposting?
- My mother in law mentioned it one day and I did some research.....wasn't long and I had my first worms
- What do your worms like to eat?
- Lettuce leaves
- What kinds of worms do you have?
- Red wigglers
- What worm bins do you use?
- home made stacking system
- About Me:
- I am a Seventh Day Adventist and enjoy reading and listening to music. I enjoy cycling immensly and in the summer months you fill find me on the road very early in the morning. The newest hobby of course is gardening and vermicomposting.
Some of the flowers in the garden
These are just two of the flowers at the moment....pretty soon we will have a little more...I hope. Will post some more pics when possible. By the way they all get a weekly dose of VT.
Michael's Photos
Michael's Blog
MY TERRIBLE LAWN !!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday I got hold of a spike roller (see pic) to try and get my lawn to improve a little. Since we moved in we have been had a constant battle with creeping sorrel. Now it is finally 95% erradicated ( I hope) and I can start trying to get the lawn to grow. Now this is the problem. The grass is kikuyu. The house used to be a holiday home so it was not really taken care of. The lawn was so hard in places that the spikes on the roller could not penetrate. It took a thorough soaking to get the sp… Continue
Posted on October 28, 2008 at 7:48am — 8 Comments
EXPERIMENT - VERMITEA VS WATER - UPDATE
Hi all....well the results are in.....VT - 2, WATER - 0
I have two tomato seedlings that have made their appearance both on the VT side and on the same side for that matter. Not sure of the relevance of that but anyway.
I placed all the seedlings in a tray with the middle rows only getting water and the outside rows VT.
Only two have started growing. There are no results in any of the other rows, but as I mentioned in the first blog....the medium used was not the best. Experiment number 2 wil… Continue
I have two tomato seedlings that have made their appearance both on the VT side and on the same side for that matter. Not sure of the relevance of that but anyway.
I placed all the seedlings in a tray with the middle rows only getting water and the outside rows VT.
Only two have started growing. There are no results in any of the other rows, but as I mentioned in the first blog....the medium used was not the best. Experiment number 2 wil… Continue
Posted on September 26, 2008 at 6:30am — 4 Comments
NEW BLUE COMPOSTING BIN
I bought a 210 litre plastic (pic is under my photos) drum a short while back. It had some serious alkaline fluid in that the guys doing civil work on the roads use. It was empty except for about 300 ml of fluid in the bottom. I cut the top off and then gave it a good wash and let it stand for two weeks to air out and so on. No smell or residue left so the modifications can start now. I will be drilling some holes in the sides, around the bottom and in the lid to provide some airflow into the bi… Continue
Posted on September 16, 2008 at 8:39am — 3 Comments
EXPERIMENT -- VERMITEA VS WATER # 1
OK.....so I have planted some tomatoe and green pepper seeds in a tray. The outside two rows are those that get the VT. The inner rows just got plain old water. The initial soaking to wet the potting soil down was a very very diluted VT. The seeds were planted in some of our left over potting soil which I must say is less than the best unfortunately. But that should give all the seeds an equal opportunity. Each compartment contains two seeds in case one of the seeds decides not to make it's appe… Continue
Posted on September 12, 2008 at 6:30am — 4 Comments
Just got some molasses.......
Well I have just returned from the health shop. Got a 500ml bottle of molasses so that I can try my hand at this tea making process. At the moment I have a airstone in some water that I want to dechlorinate before adding the worm poop. As soon as the wife gets home I will persuade her to part with one of her stockings with the argument that it is for the greater good of the garden:-)
I am hoping to brew about 17 litres of tea with some of my VC left over from the previous harvest. The VC is sti… Continue
I am hoping to brew about 17 litres of tea with some of my VC left over from the previous harvest. The VC is sti… Continue
Posted on September 5, 2008 at 6:32am — 1 Comment
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