March 2009
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This question comes from Jerry:
Have an organic farm, am thinking of adding the worms
directly to the soil. Any imput on that. Have used worm castings, but
trying to do so on 10 acres is daunting.
Hi Jerry,
Red Worms can survive in soil IF it is properly prepared ahead of time. In other words, you can’t simply dump them in regular soil and expect them to improve it (well you certainly can, but you’ll end up disappointed – haha). It is important to remember that they are not soil worms – yes, they are part of a bigger group referred to as ‘earthworms’, but don’t be fooled by this.
The ideal habitat for Red Worms (and other composting species) is rich organic matter – a combination of nitrogen-rich materials and carbon-rich materials, with plenty of moisture and microbes.
My suggestion would be to create vermicomposting trenches that run the length of each row of crops. I had a great deal of success using these last year in my gardens. You don’t even have to make them super deep or fancy (although deep trenches may be required if summer temperatures are extreme in your region).
Simply making rows of waste materials (like food waste, manure, shredded cardboard etc) alongside your plant rows, then inoculating with Red Worms would help to fertilize your plants. That being said, it is definitely better if these systems are in-ground though, since (apart from the protection from extreme weather) the plant roots will be able to directly access the compost being produced, rather than waiting for nutrients to percolate down through the soil.
You will certainly need a lot of worms (at least 1/2 lb per foot of trench) and a lot of waste if you want to hit the ground running, but advantage here is that your population will continue to grow (not the case if you simply add them to the soil). You could start with a lot fewer worms and build up your numbers over time, but you would likely have to sacrifice one growing season in order to do so. If you are using organic manure as the feedstock for the worms this probably wouldn’t matter since it would provide excellent fertilizer value on its own.
Anyway – I hope this helps answer your question, Jerry!
Written by Bentley on March 11th, 2009 with 4 comments.
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This is probably just about the MOST common vermicomposting question out there! I’ve had quite a few people inquiring about this just in the past week alone – so it’s definitely time I dedicated a post to the topic!
Let’s first talk about the word “escape”, since it is a crucial factor when it comes to evaluating the situation. If your worms are indeed trying to literally escape from your worm bins – especially when doing so en masse – you definitely have a serious problem that needs to be addressed right away.
If on the other hand you have a handful of worms crawling up the sides and lid of the bin, with perhaps a few dummies ending up dried up on your floor – you are probably ok! Especially if your system is brand new.
I would wager to say that when worms are added to a brand new vermicomposting system – especially after being shipped – they are far more likely to wander a little, than to completely settle in right away! Consider the fact that they are 1) being introduced to a completely new environment, and 2) have been in motion for at least a couple of days prior to being added to the bin/bed.
Worms raised by worm farmers on a large-scale basis will typically be kept in giant, open beds, and will commonly be fed some sort of manure. They are NOT kept in a million Rubbermaid tubs and fed food scraps – I can tell you that much for sure!
SO…
When they are introduced to this totally new environment (the enclosed plastic bin), it’s not too surprising that they are a little restless for the first little while! How you set up your system can have a major impact on the situation as well. I recommend setting the bin up at least week before the worms arrive, so they are at least have a microbially active habitat. You can take this a step further by actually adding some compost inoculum (compost from another worm system would work well), or aged manure if you happen to have either of these. Even some leaf litter (decomposing leaves, found at the bottom of an outdoor leaf heap or on a forest floor) could help a lot.
Aside from preparing the best habitat possible, you can also take some steps to help keep your worms down in the bedding once they’ve been introduced to the sytem. If it is possible for you to shine a light over top of the bin for a few days straight that would be great (use a fluorescent or LED light to save power usage). Something that has also worked for me is adding a LOT of dry, absorbent bedding at the top of the system (generally more applicable for enclosed, plastic systems) – this helps to keep the sides and underside of the lid really dry, thus discouraging the worms from roaming up there.
I can remember back to when I received my very first European Nightcrawler shipment. They were very restless for the first little while, and I actually lost some due to them crawling out and falling onto the floor. When I added a bunch of dry bedding to the top of the bin, it worked very well! The worms stayed down where it was moist, and I didn’t lose any more.
Generally, after a few days (probably no longer than a week at the most) the worms should be quite used to their new home. If you are using the light technique I’d recommend turning the light off for short periods of time to see what happens – start with 10, 15, 20 minutes and go from there if they seem to be staying down.
How do I know if there is indeed a serious problem?
Trust me – you WILL KNOW!
If the worms are all balled up together in various spots in the bin, or in the handles (in the case of Rubbermaid-type bins), or they are escaping via every possible route you’ve made available (even the smallest air holes), then it is likely more than just being unsettled and needing time to get used to their habitat. Almost certainly, something you have added in the bin is causing them harm.
If you are using potting soil (something I definitely don’t recommend) for example – this can sometimes contain inorganic fertilizer salts which can really harm your worms. Even though these mixes typically contain a lot of peat moss (a good worm bedding), I prefer to steer clear of them altogether. Other types of bedding might cause issues as well – for example, some white office paper can contain irritating or harmful compounds (bleach etc). I recall back when I was still pretty new to vermicomposting, I set up a big bin using only white shredded paper as bedding, and the worms were NOT impressed. This paper can be used in moderation (and some paper is totally fine), but it’s better to err on the side of caution in my opinion.
Of course, the ‘food’ material in the system is very often going to be the culprit – if there is a LOT of waste materials, and not enough oxygen this can lead to serious issues, as can having too much N-rich waste (eg. grass clippings).
If your worms seem to be extremely stressed out, I would recommend a major overhaul of your system. Set up another bin using lots of moistened bedding (shredded cardboard) and any good rotting material you can get your hands on (leaves, compost etc), and transfer as many worms over as you can. You may not need to chuck out the contents of the first system (assuming the issue isn’t a nasty chemical of some sort), since these things tend to work themselves out over time.
Anyway, hopefully this post will help to put some minds at ease! In my experience, most of the time there is nothing to worry about when worms are crawling up the sides etc. As I like to tell people – it’s like ‘survival of the fittest’. All the ‘dummies’ and ‘weaklings’ manage to kill themselves off early, so your population then consists of the most tolerant, healthy worms. Any worms hatched into the new system will be even MORE tolerant and adapted to live in that environment!
Written by Bentley on March 6th, 2009 with 23 comments.
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I have decided to add a new category to the blog – “general questions”. Unlike our “reader questions”, these are not exact questions I find in my inbox (and quote directly on the blog) – but they will cover topics that people just generally seem to be curious about.
Today’s topic is a prime example of one that seems to come up a lot (especially lately, for some reason) – mold growth in worm bins. i.e. ‘Should I be concerned?’; ‘How much is too much?’ etc
As many people have discovered, setting up a worm bin in the manner I typically recommend – that is, mixing bedding with food waste then letting it sit for a week or so before adding worms – can (and in fact, likely will) lead to some obvious fungal growth. This is to be expected, and is definitely nothing to worry about. Excess mold growth in a bin containing worms on the other hand may be an indication of something potentially more serious.
Let’s deal with each of these scenarios separately. First we have the case of various fungal species taking hold in the moist, warm (usually), nutrient-rich environment of a bin that’s just been set up. This should really come as no surprise – you’ve basically created the ultimate, low competition microbial buffet (and habitat) – kinda like a five star resort for microbes.
Add to that the fact that fungi tend to thrive in somewhat acidic conditions (typical of rotting food wastes), and it should almost be surprising if they DIDN’T appear!
As mentioned above, this situation is generally not something you need to worry about. What I would recommend you do when you see this growth is simply mix up the contents of the bin (again, we are talking here about a situation where there are no worms). Mixing the contents of your new bin once or twice before adding the worms is actually a really good idea in general. If, aside from the mold growth, things seem a little too wet, you may want to add some new dry bedding as well. Similarly, if after mixing, there still seems to be a lot of dry bedding you may also want to spray everything with some water.
This mixing will break up the fungal mycelia (the hair-like growth typically associated with fungi), thus impeding further growth. Once the worms (and associated ecosystem) are added, the fungi should be kept in check via the movement, and direct grazing of the worms (and other critters).
This is why excess fungal growth when worms are present in the bin can be an indication of a problem – typically one of two things (often closely related to one another). The most common issue will likely be overfeeding. Plain and simple – if you add a lot more waste materials than the worms can consume, or if you add it in a form that is not particularly worm-friendly (i.e. you don’t do anything to assist the process), other organisms are going to take advantage of these food resources, often including various types of fungi.
Overfeeding can also be closely linked to the other main cause of fungal growth – the dreaded ‘sour bin’! This basically occurs when excess acidity builds up in a worm bin, most often as a result of too much food being added, or simply too much of a particular type of food being added. As some of you may recall, this is exactly what happened to me when I added too much food waste from one of my bokashi buckets to my European Nightcrawler bin (see “Symptoms of a ‘Sour’ Worm Bin“).
As I mentioned above, acidic conditions tend to favor the growth of fungi. Composting worms are actually quite tolerant of acidic conditions, so some drop in pH generally won’t be an issue, but obviously there is a limit to their tolerance.
Rather than waiting for the appearance of ‘mold’ in your system to let you know your bin is going sour, I would recommend being proactive in your efforts to keep things balanced. Slow-release pH buffers like crushed egg shells can help to prevent these conditions from developing in the first place.
Written by Bentley on March 3rd, 2009 with 16 comments.
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