Harvested worm castings pics

[Southern Gardener]

Here is how I harvested my worm castings and added a new bin.
Here is the bin- the worms are under the lid (second bin) and the casting are in the first bin - I didn't get a pic of the worms. :/

Here are the castings:

I scraped out the castings and fished out the worms that were still in the first bin and added them to the second bin

The second bin is now the first bin - empty bin ready for new bedding

First I misted dry leaves - worms don't like a dry environment

I added shredded junk mail and newspaper to a bucket of water - wrung it out and mixed with the leaves

Chopped veggie scraps and coffee grounds

Placed veggies on the top of the newspaper and junk mail - that will encourage the worms to move to the top bin.

Last I misted several sheet of newspaper that are placed on top right under the lid

The End.

 

[obsessed]

Very nice set up. The worm casting are an amendment to your soil, right? Why do you do worms verses just regular compost? Do you get enough volume with the worm to make a difference in your garden? What else do you do to improve your soil?

I am just wondering because I compost most of my kitchen scrap and use bunny poop for my garden. But sometimes it crosses my mind that the bunnies are more work than they are worth and I would like to stop. But then what will I use for my garden. I think I am being held hostage by my soil.

 

[Southern Gardener]

obsessed,

yes, I'm going to add this to my small garden along my chicken run -
I do have two big compost bins - one is ready to be added to my vegetable garden and the other is still cooking, I probably won't add that one until the spring.

Let's see, I got my worm bin in February of this year and this is the first time I've harvested the castings. So, no it's not a big volume for that amount of time, but you can add several more bins and more worms. I really can't tell how much they have multiplied - I'm sure they have though. They seem to be happy where they are and eat up the food in no time.

Last year was my first attempt at vegetable gardening so my soil was mostly clay - I added compost and shredded leaves, cow, horse and chicken manure. I didn't get much out of it last year. This year I did much better on tomatoes, not so much on squash though, a ton of cukes and some snap beans. I'm hopeful that it will improve each year.

I keep all fall leaves in a bin for future use (the last bit I had went into the worm bin) I shred them and add them to the compost bin and I also use them as mulch for my flower gardens. I also keep most of my grass clippings - I have a huge pile right now that I'll add to the compost bin over the winter. I also add cardboard and newspapers.

I also keep all kitchen scraps - my mom also keeps hers for me. All kitchen scraps go three places, the compost pile, the chicken run or the worm bin.

I know what you mean about being held hostage. I don't really worry about that anymore. I'm just going to plant my seeds and let nature take over.

Sorry for the book and I hope that helps!

 

[valmom]

I have been wondering when to "harvest" the castings. The worm place I bought my set up from had a block of coconut mat to start the bins with. How do I know when they have digested it to the point that it needs to be removed? I do know my worms have multiplied!

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

Very nice set up. The worm casting are an amendment to your soil, right? Why do you do worms verses just regular compost? Do you get enough volume with the worm to make a difference in your garden? What else do you do to improve your soil?

I am just wondering because I compost most of my kitchen scrap and use bunny poop for my garden. But sometimes it crosses my mind that the bunnies are more work than they are worth and I would like to stop. But then what will I use for my garden. I think I am being held hostage by my soil.

Goat poo is as good as bunny poo, you get more of it at a time, and if you get a couple of milk goats you'll be able to have fresh milk too

 

[obsessed]

I live in suburbia and already push the limits of what my neigbors will accept with the bunnies and ducks.

 

[Sam The Yam]

Tonight I was at some friends home for dinner and visiting and I was telling them about my worms and composting. One of them, a lady, asked about the worm droppings and if that was what would be in the compost that would eventually go into the garden. She turned up her nose as if that was gross to think that worm droppings would be in the garden soil. I wish I was quicker at times to think and say things, but I came home and had went out to my worm/compost to put some apple peels/cores in it and the thought came to me that I should have said "Well what about the worms that are in the ground/garden where you get your vegetables out of? They must have droppings don't they"? Anyway, people sometimes just don't understand do they? Just like the person that can't eat a home raised chicken's egg because it came out of a chicken's butt, yet they can buy them from the store and think nothing of it!

Crazy isn't it!?

 

[obsessed]

Ignorance is disgusting. I try to have a thick skin but people can wear you down. Everyone at works thinks I am pretty much a freak for the whole garden thing and then there was the bunnies and the ducks. But they also think that the amount of my outdoor exposure is also freakish so I know it is mostly their problem. I mean who doesn't dig the outdoor, or making mud pies with your children...

 

[injunjoe]

Ignorance is disgusting. I try to have a thick skin but people can wear you down. Everyone at works thinks I am pretty much a freak for the whole garden thing and then there was the bunnies and the ducks. But they also think that the amount of my outdoor exposure is also freakish so I know it is mostly their problem. I mean who doesn't dig the outdoor, or making mud pies with your children...

I say;

Them!

You are someone who likes the garden, it shows! Just go with it!
We all have a hard time now and then, but we use that to learn from.
Next time when it goes right we feel accomplished.

As for what other people think, just let that pass through your mind like a breeze. What matters is you and your family, be it outdoors or in, it is up to you!

Peace my friend; Joe

 

[desertgirl]

Nice!

I love knowing that my actions are seriously putting a dent in the landfills. I read somewhere that organic waste makes up something like 65% of landfill waste. Instead, I use it to grow much of my own (chemical free) food and have happy creatures of all sorts around me.
Between the worms,the compost , the recycling, and the chickens, we hardly even fill our trash can each week.

And to that, I say...