Vermicomposting

[hexpert]

Hi, just joined the forums.

I have been considering Vermicomposting (composting with worms) or in other words, starting a worm farm. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried it before or has any thoughts.

Haven't really got room for compost bins, but can accommodate a wormery, hoping to use the resultant compost to start seeds off as well as using as a soil improver, also the liquid feed would be handy.

Been looking at a few different types on ebay, seem to offer 2 types of worms, some supply tiger worms, others supply dendrobaena worms. To me a worm is a worm, so if anyone can enlighten me to the difference I would be grateful.

My garden is heavy clay type soil.

[Galileo]

Hi Hexpert

I have been using a wormery for years and now have two. They are great for kitchen waste and the compost they produce is superb.

The worms slow down a lot in winter and you have to be careful not to over feed. The worms that came with mine were tiger worms, I have not heard of dendrobaena worms. Tiger worms are not the big deep burrowing worms you see when digging. They are smaller and live in leaf type litter at the surface.

I just never have enough worm compost. It is really great stuff.

Galileo

[selfraising]

I have a wormery too. Put loads in it and then tap off the liquid produced to use as plant food. The compost you get from it is really rich. Don't know the difference between the worms except that I think the dendrobaena worms are larger. Wouldn't be without it now!

[Digger-07]

Had mine for a few years now, loads of worm tea to dilute and water on the plants as well as the compost.

If you are handy you can make your own see

Cheap and Easy Worm Bin!

[hexpert]

Hi everyone, firstly thanks for the replys and advice.

I was wondering have you ever used the compost for starting off seeds, both flower and vegetable?

I am one of these people who prefers to keep things simple so being told to use a general purpose compost for A, john innes no. 1/2/etc for B/C/etc. doesn't really fly with me, I prefer 1 compost for everything.

[wormcity]

Hi sorry Im a bit late coming to this thread....
but for future reference

There are 3 types main types of composting worm they are

* Red Worm (Eisenia andrei) also known as red wrigglers
* Tiger Worm (Eisenia fetida) also known as brandlings, Manure Worm
* Dendrobaena (Eisenia hortensis) also known as Dendras, European Nightcrawler, Blue Nosed Worm

Red worms as their name suggests are red and the same size as the Tiger Worm (around 5 cm's)
Tiger worms and Dendrobaena are very similar to look at as they are both stripy, however Dendras are twice the size and fatter (around 10 cm's long)

Tigers and Reds breed faster than Dendras, but in our experience weight for weight Dendras eat more
Dendras eat half / all their body weight per day, Tigers and Reds eat their own body weight a day
A Tiger / Red worm weighs approx half a gram a Dendra weighs a Gram +

Dendras have a better acid tolerance, and because of their bigger size seem to survive better in the heat and cold.

If you are looking on ebay - most sellers selling Tiger Worms are probably selling dendras, as these are far easier to come by.

Tigers and reds live in manure heaps, Dendras live on the forest floor, both however will be found under stones, in compost heaps etc.

Hope that has helped

Ronnie

[sarraceniac]

Hi everyone, firstly thanks for the replys and advice.

I was wondering have you ever used the compost for starting off seeds, both flower and vegetable?

I am one of these people who prefers to keep things simple so being told to use a general purpose compost for A, john innes no. 1/2/etc for B/C/etc. doesn't really fly with me, I prefer 1 compost for everything.

Hi hexpert, welcome to the madhouse.

I have used my own compost for starting seeds but there are a couple of things to remember.

It needs well rotting and then sieving. It is useless trying to start seeds off in a compost with large lumps in it.

It holds too much moisture, so mix an equal part of sharp sand with it to aid drainage.

Good luck.

[hexpert]

Thanks for the replies.

Wormcity, I was wondering if I can release dendras into the (clay type) soil in the garden? Also when bird breeding season arrives can I leave them out for the parents to feed their young?

Got quite a menagerie of wildlife including foxes, squirrels, badgers, frogs, hedgehog and birds (including crow, magpie, thrush, starling, robin, blue tit, great tit, wood pigeon, collared doves, finches, sparrowhawk)


sarraceniac, did you use a worm compost or compost from a heap?

[wormcity]

Hi
Yes dendras can be released into the garden, they live on the surface.
Birds love them as they are very nutritional - high in protein

Ronnie

[cathd66]

I've been worm composting for over ten years now, making lots of mistakes and learning loads along the way.

Some of your questions (these opinions are personal but backed up by a fair amount of research as well as experience)

Type of worms: I like a mixture of composting worms- then you cover all the conditions in your bin.

Using as a seed starter: Vermicompost is great mixed with other composts as a seed starter- it promotes germination/ reduces diseases. But... Vermicomposting doesn't involve heat, so any seeds put in as waste food will survive. And germinate beautifully with your own seeds. Not a problem if you're starting something big- it's easy enough to sieve down your compost to smaller than a melon seed for example. A bit more problematic with, for example, tomato seeds as vermicompost clumps unless it's very dry and tomato seeds survive anything. (For this reason I've decided to only grow heritage varieties from now on so any 'volunteers will at least taste decent)

Using leachate as a plant food- opinions vary. Some sources will say that there's a risk that if you have any anaerobic conditions in your bin, or if you allow the liquid to stagnate, you may have toxic products in your leachate. Others say that if you have much liquid coming out the bottom your bin is too wet/ and or you need more bedding.
I get some leachate out of a can-o-worms occasionally, and I dilute it about 10:1 and use it around plants.
But note the liquid that comes out the bottom of a wormery is NOT 'worm tea'-. Worm tea is exactly what is suggests. A liquid made from soaking vermicompost in water - (sometimes a food and aeration is added to make AVCT- aerated vermicompost tea- a true wonder solution!!)

Personally I wouldn't 'release' composting worms into a heavy clay soil- they need a loosely structured soil with loads of organic matter to survive. Most of your released worms will end up as bird food. But plenty of worms will 'escape' when you add vermicompost too your borders/ pots because you can never rescue them all. Just make sure that there's at least some undigested organic matter for them to live on. If you're trying to get worms into a clay soil for aeration and soil health:
1- stop using chemicals. Any chemicals.
2- add loads of organic matter- manure or compost is good, but even dead leaves on the surface of the soil in winter will be of some help.
3- reduce the amount you dig
And the worms will move in of their own accord.

If you want to get started vermicomposting for cheap- definitely build your own bin- (I have some suggestions for 'harvesting' worms from a compost heap if you want to be really, really, cheap, on my blog.)

Good luck- but beware- you won't just be starting a new way of composting- rather a whole new hobby!! (or obsession- excuse the length of my post)

[hexpert]

Thanks for this and the detail of your post, very helpful.

[ccfcgirl]

Hi everyone, i've no idea if this thread is still active as the last post was a couple of years ago.....BUT, i've just begun composting at home and the idea of worm farms has really captured my imagination. I've done a bit of internet research and there seem to be quite a few farms on the market. Some quite cheap and some not so cheap! Does anyone have any reviews or recommendations for the ones that are available? Thanks in advance

Karen x

[wormcity]

Hi Karen

It pretty much depends on what your budget is, and what sort of wormery you would like.

I can tell you that bin type wormeries are harder to manager than stacking type wormeries, simply because of the lack of air flow, and surface area.

All stacking wormeries work in the same way in principle, however the designs and size vary considerably, so do your homework first.

Regards
Ronnie