Let's Farm some Worms = Free soil amendment.

Dean, I've heard a way to keep worms in the vegetable garden (so they don't take off... 😆 ).
Grass clippings two or three inches thick around all your veggies will keep the soil moist near the surface, great worm habitat. Dampened newspaper laid down under the grass clippings works well too.

Wouldn't it be great to completely eliminate synthetic fertilizers...
that's my plan eventually.
And with Tom Broome's proven success of using coffee grounds on cycads for scale insects (as well as for general health), I'm really encouraged by "natural" efforts. He says he's basically eliminated pesticides since he started using coffee grounds. Three cheers for that. 😀

Barb

Yes, in fact I'm in the process of going all organic. I still have some various fertilizers and insecticides, but I weening myself off them. 8)

Dean

Dean, I know so little about rock phosphates, greensand (and all that stuff) that I'll have to keep using boxed/liquid fertilizers but feel if we're using worm compost added to loamy/sandy soil, we're halfway there.

My 5+ dozen worms have been in the bucket in garage for a couple of weeks, they're still not eating as much kitchen scraps as I'm producing (and there are only two of us!)

Bet your 1,000 are making short work of anything you put in there.

Every few years I edge the driveway of huge drifts of perennial thyme that would grow right across if I let it.
Two days ago I edged a 50-foot section.
Could not believe the sheer quantity of worms in the roots of the thyme...just laying on the concrete! 😯

This time I didn't add them to the farmed worms...wonder what happened to my first bunch of collected worms.
Oh, there are also a couple of mice in the garage. 👿

Barb

You need to get some composting worms ( aka. red worms).
😆
Dean

I struck out within a reasonable radius of my place, and can't spend any more time looking for some.
These guys will just have to do...

How are yours doing?
Are they eating more stuff now than just lettuce?
Barb

Sorry to hear you can't find any red worms. 😥

Mine are doing well. I feed them stuff like bananas, bread and coffee grounds.

Dean

I saw three mice in the garage...likely more I didn't see.
This project may be doomed.

How's your worm farm doing, Dean?
Barb

Barb,

I had a maasive die off. I think I had fed them to much. It's probally going to be to hot in my garage anyways. Sorry, to hear about the mice. What makes you think there cominig because of the worms? 😉

Dean

Dean,
have you found dead worms?
Can you put the container on the north side of your house for shade?

The mice are attracted to the food scraps in the bucket, even tho' I've got a box over it with a weight on top.
The beggars can smell food.
And if I saw 3, there's probably 10 more unseen 😕

This isn't as easy as I first thought... 😆
Barb

Barb,

Yes, I did find some dead ones. I had dumped them out on a trash bag to take a look at them. This was about two weeks ago. Someone told me to put them on a diet for awhile. Let them eat up all the finished compost and what not.

So what your plans w/ your worms now? Are you going to give up on the project? 🙁

Dean

Once it warms up (if it ever does 😕 ), I'd like to put the food scrap/worm bucket in the back yard.
Close enough to the kitchen to dispose of scraps, yet still protected from harsh weather by the house.

On your inspection, did you notice that there's some nice loamy soil now?
or still not enough to use for your repotting?

I know worms don't like heat, so can you put the bucket inside of a larger bucket?
That way, the outside of the worm bucket won't be exposed to the heat of the sun.
Might work.

Barb

No, not enough castings to anything w/.

Dean

Dean, this is a tougher hobby than I thought.
Easier to buy worm castings...ha ha
😆 😆
Barb

Yes, I think it's a tougher hobby than initially thought. 😆 😆 😆

Dean

Dean,

Want to Deep Six this discussion then?

We can say the worms won...sort of. 😆
Barb