Comments on: Horse Manure For High-Yield Vermicomposting

By: shaked

shaked — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 19:32:16 +0000

hi
can i control the qualitis of the casting by feeding in specific way or food? for exampel – can i get arich N vermicimpost ? or a rich k casting?

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:58:34 +0000

In reply to Jennifer.

Hi Jennifer – sorry for the delay catching your comments. I’d be curious to find out how things are going for you now. Euros can be really temperamental at the best of times so having them roam a bit isn’t necessarily an indication of problems. Buckets aren’t always the ideal bin simply because the surface area is so small (can get anaerobic much more easily) but if you feed in moderation and monitor moisture levels regularly you should do OK!

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:54:25 +0000

In reply to Jennifer.

Hi Jennifer,
That can depend on various factors and how well aged you want it. I like to think of it in terms of “habitat” potential and “food” potential. If you want really good habitat material the manure should be bedded with carbon rich materials (horse manure usually is) and left to sit for longer (maybe 1-3 months, but this will depend on local climate etc). Once you have an established safe habitat zone for the worms, much newer manure can be added (ventilation is important though).

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 05:04:27 +0000

I know a local place that boards horses and they pay to have the manure and shavings hauled away. If I go there and get a truck load, how long does it take to become well aged?

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 04:54:01 +0000

Thanks so much for all the awsome information. I just received worms for my first attempt at vermiculturing. I got a pound of Red wiggled and a pound of euros. It’s unreasonable cold here in Austin yesterday and today. Outdoor temps barely reached the 50s. I’ve been preparing kitchen scraps (no citrus or avocado peels), dry crushed up leaves (mostly pecan), and shredded (thru a paper shredder) cardboard then soaked in rain water. I also added some spent seed staring mix from my fall vegetable starts, crushed up egg shells and coffee grounds. The bins are in my garage which is around 60 degree. The red wigglers seem happy but maybe a dozen of the euros have crawled up the sides.

I’m a first timer so lots of advice is welcome.

I made the bins from big kitty litter buckets, the top one with the worms has lots of 1/4 in holes drilled in the bottom and covered with a piece of window screen and the lid has a bunch of 1″ holes also cover with window screen. I have lots of empty kitty litter buckets so they seemed like a logical choice over pickle buckets. I also have some larger plastic storage bins ready for their growing population.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 12:06:45 +0000

Hi Tod
Castings do NOT need to be black. You can get high quality castings in a wide range of “browns” as well – and this will be especially the case when working with manures (which result in some of the best castings there are). In my experience, food wastes tend to end up converted into a darker material – but this can also depend on what type of bedding is being used and how much. Honestly, I tend to be a bit suspicious of castings that are really black. I know some suppliers sell used bait bedding (peat moss that has MAYBE passed through a worm’s gut) as “castings” and others just generally rely heavily on peat, with less emphasis on actual nutrition, in their systems.

By: Tod Passmore

Tod Passmore — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:59:42 +0000

I am starting a worm farm.
Composted manure is my choice of bedding i sift it to smaller peaces it is aged no Oder,My question to you is how do i make shore the castings turn out black like coffee as i have seen it.also can i feed them only manure as for cost reason, i do add used coffee grounds also bra from the local shops in town, and i am looking for a speedy or a faster time frame that being said i am looking for more of a 50% completion.As castings work better mixed with other manure so why not just combine my effort as to speed up the process.What is your suggestions.THANK YOU!

By: Carwin Byington

Carwin Byington — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 21:32:11 +0000

I’m using an Urban Worm Bag, indoors in Las Vegas. I’ve only just started the system in January with one pound of worms. Online I saw that someone local wanted to get rid of his spent substrate for oyster mushrooms, and he also had a line on some horse manure. I agreed to take the substrate off his hands and mix it with the manure to feed to my worms. There was a study I’d read about mixing it 60/40, substrate/manure, for optimum feeding. The worms seem to like it, but it’s just confusing to know when I should add more feed.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:39:57 +0000

In reply to Carwin Byington.

Hi Carwin
Sounds like a fantastic mix to me! Interesting question. When I am working with manure I tend to look for a certain “worked”/”settled” appearance. I find it settles down a lot and resistant (woody etc) debris tends to come up to surface. What kind of system you are using would definitely play a role here – but with nicely aged manure it is hard to go wrong. Only think you need to watch for with bigger systems is heating.

By: Carwin Byington

Carwin Byington — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 17:35:24 +0000

I’m using a mix of horse manure and spend mycelium substrate for my guys. They seem to love it. My question is how can you tell if they need to be fed? After a week or so the manure still looks like manure, there just seem to be fewer worms hanging around at the top. I know not to feed food scraps until they’re mostly gone, but what determines how you feed when it isn’t obvious they’re finished with the meal?