Comments on: 50 Cocoon Challenge – Horse Manure – Update

By: Michael Allen

Michael Allen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:18:26 +0000

What would happen if you did a horse & food combo

By: Bentley

Bentley — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:30:54 +0000

Hi Heather,
The presence of red wigglers in a manure pile depends on their introduction into the habitat. These worms don’t necessarily occur in all regions for one thing, and they also rely to a certain degree on various means of dispersal (bird feet etc) since they are not really soil worms. I have come across quite a few piles that have been red worm free, even though I live in a region where these worms are definitely found.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:59:04 +0000

I didn’t see worms at the stable, in the pile there. Many gardeners go there to get manure for their compsot, and they haul off truckloads to composting companies, but still I would have to think there should be red wigglers there. The stable (and it’s pile) is probably 50 years old.
My systems/worms seem to handle it just fine– I either mix the stable stuff into my regular compost and let compost for a few weeks, or just let sit out in the sun for a few weeks before adding to my bins.

I wish we knew the answer also–don’t want to jeopardize or reduce cocoon hatching!

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:12:15 +0000

Hi Heather,
Interesting possibility – although the material did come from an aged manure pile that’s been sitting out in the sun. BUT, unlike the stuff on my outdoor trenches, the material used for this experiment came inside and sat in big garbage cans.
You are right – such a small number of worms from 50 cocoons just doesn’t seem right, especially when you compare with the ‘regular ol’ worm bin (which is now LOADED with worms).

As for not seeing worms in your manure – do you mean after you added it to your system(s)? You certainly aren’t going to always see worms in a heap of manure sitting at a farm/stable. If Red Worms have been introduced at some point and if at least some of the pile remains in the same location all the time, there’s a good chance you’ll find lots of worms, but as I’ve discovered, this doesn’t necessarily occur all that often. But it being too hot/fresh is also a possibility.

Anyway – interesting topic. I wish I knew the answer to this mystery!

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:30:10 +0000

Hi Bentley,
Glad you are back to the manure question–only 10 worms from 50 cocoons seems like a concern to me. How do you feel about it? I have to bring the de-wormer question back up again….”do you think de-wormer might have an impact on your system?”. I think there was a discussion recently on Vermicomposters.com about Ivermectin, the typical horse-dewormer, being inactivated by sunlight. I just picked up a large quantity of my stable mix (manure plus stall wood shavings, some hay and horse urine) today. I dug down to the bottom of the manure pile to the clay level without finding any worms. It might be too hot, or it might be de-wormer, but you would think you would see some wigglers?

I am going to wet this mix and let it sit in the hot Texas sun for 2-3 weeks before introducing worms.