Worm Castings

I'm just starting my first garden this year, and am in the process of gathering stuff, starting a compost pile, etc.

I came across all this cool info on worm farms, etc. Looks pretty easy to get started. I watched Josh's videos on here and am planning on buying the bins and doing it that way.

My question is, will the worm castings go straight into my Mel's Mix as part of the 1/3 compost, or will I have to do some type of aging on them, like you have to do with chicken manure, cow manure, etc.?

I'm just not real clear on that part. Thanks !

Straight in, and your plants will be saying !

And don't for get to save some for worm casting tea, spray it on the plants and water them with it, it's supose to help keep some creatures like aphids away.

Wow, this is pretty amazing. Now I have to go do research on worm "tea"...

TejasTerry wrote:I'm just starting my first garden this year, and am in the process of gathering stuff, starting a compost pile, etc.

I came across all this cool info on worm farms, etc. Looks pretty easy to get started. I watched Josh's videos on here and am planning on buying the bins and doing it that way.

My question is, will the worm castings go straight into my Mel's Mix as part of the 1/3 compost, or will I have to do some type of aging on them, like you have to do with chicken manure, cow manure, etc.?

I'm just not real clear on that part. Thanks !

Hey there - I am also doing my first garden this year! Wanted to share this worm farming method with you (using rubbermaid bins...links below). Also, I have not read anything about aging cow & chicken manure...is this necessary for bagged (i.e. already composted/decomposed) or just raw (i.e. dry from the pasture)? Keep us posted on your progress!

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t9506-worm-poop-day-video

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t997-wiggler-hilton

hkovach wrote: Also, I have not read anything about aging cow & chicken manure...is this necessary for bagged (i.e. already composted/decomposed) or just raw (i.e. dry from the pasture)? Keep us posted on your progress!

Black Kow composted cow manure smells like compost, so it's good straight in. However, some "composted" chicken manure will knock your socks off when you open the bag, so it needs some time to compost more(I usually let it air out for about 3 weeks, or mix it in with other finished compost if I know I won't be using it anytime soon). The easiest method to determining the compostiness of something is to use your nose. Take a big wiff after you open the bag and if it still has a strong odor, it needs more time.

Finished compost should be earthy smelling and you should not be able to pick out a specific item in the compost(ie: that looks like tomato, or that looks like a twig, or that looks like bark, etc.).

You should NEVER add straight manure to vegetable gardens, or you're opening yourself up to be sick from all the diseases that you're trying to avoid by growing your own veggies. Raw manure needs to be composted to get rid of all these pathogens. The only exception to this, that I know for sure, is worm castings.

Unmutual wrote: Raw manure needs to be composted to get rid of all these pathogens. The only exception to this, that I know for sure, is worm castings.

The proud mamas and papas of rabbits and llamas on the forum have let us know that they are the exception also.

Worms, bunnies and llamas --

Finished compost should be earthy smelling and you should not be able to pick out a specific item in the compost(ie: that looks like tomato, or that looks like a twig, or that looks like bark, etc.).

with Rabbit droppings watch out for fillers like old hay or straw that is shovled up in the processe of loading or cleaning under the pens,I screen my Rabbit dropping then run then throught a shedder this makes a fine powder type mix,looks alot like potting soil after it's done,but my point is the fillers some people use needs time to decompose into compose or it will burn your plants. fillers cause heat as it rots

Great info - thanks all