Time to Kick it in the Worm Bin

Spring is on the way, at least in my part of the world.  With Spring comes a whole list of activities that need to happen after a winter long season here in the North.

Every worm bin should be on some kind of schedule to make sure you are keeping finished material removed and fresh bedding added.  The gardening schedule is a perfect schedule to tune into for this as the finished material is the perfect addition to your gardening activities.

The material that comes out of your worm bin will be removed from the bottom of the bin.  The natural movement of the worms will leave the bottom material most concentrated with the castings and the top material will have mostly fresh bedding and food stock.

Since the worms are top feeders any new bedding and food stock should always remain in the upper portions of the bin.  Even when you mix the bedding to incorporate air into the bin you should try to keep these layers separated.  Turning the bin periodically is necessary, especially for the bottom layers as the weight of the bedding on top compresses the material and pushes the air out.  Portions of the bin that go without air will become anaerobic and this is bad.  Bad things grow in anaerobic environments that are not friendly to worms or garden.

So, the first thing you want to be doing as the gardening season approaches is to be harvesting a portion of the material from the bottom of the bin.

I use tubs to pull the top material off and set this aside.  Then I pull the bottom layer out.  I use kiddie pools to store my product while it dries.  The material on the bottom will be too wet to work with.  It should not be sloppy wet, but if it won't go through an 1/8th inch screen without clogging it up the material is too wet.

I then place the removed bedding from the top back into the bin, turn it well and add fresh bedding on top to start the building process again.

The harvested material should be stored out of the sun and wind so the drying process can be controlled.  I use a compost fork to turn the material twice a day until the material is dry enough to work with.  At this point you decide how you want to use the material.

If you are going to use the material in the garden for amending soil and transplanting then you don't have to work the material any further than to have it be workable for these tasks.  However, I use the separated castings to add to my seed starting mix.  This is a perfect application for screened castings.  The finished material is rich with life and nutrients and has a fine texture for seed germination.

If you want to use the material like this then the product from the bin will have to be dried further than that used in the garden.  As mentioned earlier, it will need to go through an 1/8th inch screen.  It is well worth the effort to produce this awesome product.

Happy worming,

Christy
Handle your organic waste the way Nature intended.
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com
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Worms and the Soil

This picture illustrates one example of what the worm does in our soil, burrowing tunnels that allow water and air deep into the sub-soil levels where the roots of our plants penetrate for water and nutrients.

But the worm does so much more by helping to complete the decomposing process of our organic waste, eating bacteria and fungi and mass producing these microscopic life forms in their gut and pooping it out in the form of castings.

Castings, often called gardeners gold because of its value has a unique shape of its own.  Torpedo shaped and covered in a substance that slowly breaks down like a time release fertilizer, the casting helps build the soil both in physical structure and chemical make-up.

Two books I recommend for soil education are:

The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms

and

Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition

Worms, the soil, gardening...these can not be separated.  If you do one you must do all three.

Chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides all kill the naturally occurring life in the soil.

Mother nature really does know best and if assistance from man comes is the form that mimics mother nature then you feed the cycle instead of breaking it.

Feed your garden and it will feed you.  Let the worms help!

Christy
Organic Minded
Organic Conspiracies

 

If You're Worm Composting for Your Gardening Efforts...

If you're worm composting for the purpose of having a better garden this year, then let me remind you, that is only part of the picture.

Castings are definitely the very best when it comes to soil ammendment, but it is not all you have to figure into the equation.

Starting early when you live up North is sometimes the only answer to getting a good harvest. And I would imagine that where it gets hot, it would be beneficial to start early as well.

No doubt about it, where-ever you live, you're going to get a more bountiful harvest if you get a jump on the gardening season. Even if you already get a good harvest from a product maybe you could get enough of a season to actually be able to plant a second crop, or even a third.

If you are planning your garden space well, feeding your soil and keeping it healthy there is much more you can get out of a square foot of space.

When you work so hard all season weeding, watering, feeding and staying on the look out for pests and disease, how disheartening is it for you to only get a handful of produce for your efforts?

Put a little more effort into getting an early start and your efforts will be rewarded many times over.

The gardening season is just around the corner and the best way to get a
jump on the season

is to start indoors. Get those seeds started while Ol' Man Winter
is still raging and you'll be

way ahead of the pack.

Use castings in your seed starting mix and you'll have what seems like a miracle right before your eyes.

Gardener's Supply Company - Free Shipping on orders of $55 or more >>

Rev your engines for a speedy start on the gardening season.

You can get some of your best Organic supplies right here!

For all the extras that you won't find on my site, I love to shop at Gardener's Supply. And with free shipping on orders of $55 or more, you just can't beat that.

My newsletter, Market Monthly News is just about ready to start this years publication. I will be sharing with you, step by step what I do to get an early start and achieve success in my garden. Go here to subscribe.

The catalogs are coming in. If they aren't coming for you please send me a message via my form here on this blog and I will share resources with you to help you get some of the best catalogs available for organic sources for seeds and supplies.

May the sun shine bright on your gardens,

Christy
MotherEarth'sFarm.com