Easily Separating Worms From Castings: My Invention
Boukmn
10 years ago
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Niivek
10 years agoNiivek
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Separating the worms
Comments (6)Hi there, I normally use the Bently turbo light harvesting method (google him, and you'll love his site and advice) on my small 10 gal totes. Basically, 1- pile a good amount of castings up one end 2- leave open under a strong light, the worms will burrow down away from the light 3- scrape off the top layer until you hit worms, 4- wait a few minutes (or longer) and repeat. In about hour, you could easily sort a whole bin. I know it's a bit labour intensive, but for a once in a while harvest of a small setup, this is the easiest by far. Another popular method is to stop feeding for a few weeks, then place a piece of hession or the like on top of the top layer, and feed on top with something really juicy, like an old mellon. In a few days, you'll have a large proportion of your worms above the hession. Simply lift the hession off and straight into the next / new bin. Do this several times and I think you'll like the results. As for when to divide, I like to let my 10 gal totes go about 9 months. This allows the population to really ramp up (like 1 lb into 3lbs+ per tote). I then season and prepare a new tote with all the usual suspects, then simply scoop out half the contents of the old tote and dump into new one. I then backfill the gap left behind some of the seasoned bedding from the new tote. Voila! one becomes 2. So in 15-18 months, 1 lbs becomes more like 6-8 lbs by allowing them room to breed up into the new environment. Seems to work OK for me, and the bonus is I can then give away a fully operational tote about once per month (I have 10 in total). Good luck!...See Moreseparating worms from castings
Comments (4)Jet, you are the only vermicomposter I have heard of as lazy as I am!!! so many people spend so much time sorting, sifting, stacking...all of which is great if you have the time. I've had no luck with the stacking. Dang lazy worms I have. Just like their owner. I do one more step than you, though. I pile my bin into a mountain (upside down cone shape), let the light in, and scoop the top until I hit worms. Then I re-shape my mountain, wait 15 minutes, and scoop again. Repeat as desired. I do also have a few bins going. I leave my harvested castings in a separate bin until I want to use them. That way I can get more worms out after the coccons hatch. works fine for me!...See MoreAzomite, red lava rock, manure, bone meal, worm castings
Comments (36)Red lava rock, or red-lava-sand, is a great source of iron and potassium. pH of red-lava-rock is 8.2. Red-lava rock is OK like 3 or 4 pieces, too much will UP the soil pH, plus prevent water from soaking through. I went to my neighbor when it was above 90 F one summer. She mulched her roses with THICK layer of black lava rock. I touched them, and they are the same temp. as our rock-hard-clay. She overkilled on the lava-rock: too much potassium drove down nitrogen, so her roses didn't have much leaves, lots of blooms. I would use no more than 3 pieces per rose .. too much and one gets iron-burnt (brown-spot). http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1539970/lava-rock-as-mulch ocdgardener(8) From what I understand about Lava Rocks is: Lava rock breaks down into Lava Sand. From all the sand in the bags I know it happens! Lava Sand is recommended as a soil amendment to HOLD MOISTURE. Now, the only thing I'm not sure about is temperature. I did notice though oddly enough last night when I got home from work the plants in the same bed mulched with cedar were wilting, the plants surrounded by lava were not. Here's the positives I've found thus far. On a slope where my bed is, compost, and every thing else added at the base of the plants washes down to the bottom and is replaced with bare soil. I have to add mulch over and over because it all slides away. The Lava Rocks are not only holding the compost in place but are keeping me from having bare soil. I know it does because we had a heavy rain this morning and I looked and everything was in place! --Not the usual bare soil I see after a rain! I think I should explain how I'm using the rock. I'm taking one rock at a time and pressing it into the soil. When you think of lava rocks as a mulch I think most people tend to imagine it piled up. ocdgardener(8) oh and btw you can't really see that much of the rock anyway - because the plants cover them. Example: This is what the yard looks like in the spring. ocdgardener(8) Update on the lava rock! I bought a soil thermoter and tested the temps. Although not lower, the temps were pretty close to the same by a degree. Also, I have calendulas blooming in the bed in the HEAT of summer. I've never had that before! mrwsm_yahoo_com Lava Rock has low thermal mass. It does not retain heat. Lava Rock keeps the soil soft like mulch, so if there is a weed, no problem, it pulls really easy. I prefer red lava rock, although I have both. Never put plastic underneath it! It keeps most weeds out as is. rickjones I don't know what happened to my original post, but here is a short repeat. LAVA ROCKS ARE WONDERFUL PLANTERS, ESPECIALLY IN THE EXTREME HEAT OF THE MOHAVE DESERT. Yup. I build and use cedar planters and window boxes all over my home, they are great, but do not compare with the flowers grown in the lava rocks that I hollow out and plant a variety of species in. Plants in these rocks see temps to 120 degress in our summers and do just fine! They retain moisture, cool with the air temps, and fertilize plants naturally. I don't use lava rock for bedding, I can see the problems with that. But as a planter? The best planter I have ever had. AND, no maintenance, and years of use looking great. jocoreed_yahoo_com Anyone who questions the ability of lava rock as a growing medium needs to come visit our islands out here in the Pacific. Our Hawaiian islands are completely volcanic is soil and sediment, covered in pure lava rock, and we have the most beautiful plants, trees, produce, and the like. Lava rock and volcanic soil is some of the most nutrient friendly planting medium on earth and is porous enough that it allows for good oxygenation and water flow. Come visit our islands and then come back and post how it's horrible to grow anything in volcanic rock or lava sand. Just my two cents : ) Aloooooha! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1539970/lava-rock-as-mulch...See MoreMechanical separation of Worm Castings and Eggs
Comments (4)This is the one I was referring to. It is simple and cheap. I tried it yesterday, but my castings were too damp to work as effectively as I wanted. https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrBTzwQdJNWahQABllXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByMDgyYjJiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Mechanical+Worm+Casting+Harvester&fr=yfp-t-901-s#id=10&vid=447ffe7515229ef478e4f18a19d5e8d7&action=view...See MoreBoukmn
10 years agopz2vn9
10 years agoBoukmn
10 years agoGerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
10 years agolivelydirt
10 years agoKatrin Lepler
8 years agogumby_ct
8 years agoKatrin Lepler
8 years agogumby_ct
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoKatrin Lepler
8 years agogumby_ct
8 years agogumby_ct
8 years ago
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Niivek