Worm Farms

[Chook Nut]

Hi all....

I would call myself a very enthusiastic but average skilled level gardner..... as i am sure i am not the only one like me i wanted to share where i am being successful at!

My worms are helping me to be successful. I have a four worm farms going at the moment and just wanted to share about the cheapest worm farm I have in case anyone was thinking of buying one for themselves...

The cheapest one I have come up with so far is using old Broccoli boxes from my local vegie shop. I bought 2 foam boxes and one lid for $1.40. All i have to do is put holes in the top box for drainage of worm liquid and keep filling the top one with scraps.

I keep one behind the garage and inside the chook pen (as much as they love worms they haven't figured out whats in there!).... another foam one i have with just holes in the bottom of it and am able to move it around the garden for direct fertilising of an area. The worms havent gone anywhere.

I get a lot of my scraps from my family to keep them all going, although one i just use for leaves as a lot of my neighbours have deciduous trees and my lawn gets smothered with them.

I posted this b/c i am having my best success with seed germination by using worm castings as the basis of my seed raising mix and spreading vermiculite over the top of that....i thought this might be too strong a mix but the strike rate is better than i could of hoped for and am now looking forward to having a bountiful harvest of vegies throughout our sunny winter here in Brisbane.

Cheers

Dave

[d_donahoo]

#### fine dave.

you've encouraged me sufficiently.
when we moved up to castlemaine our worm farm sort of found its way into one enormous compost pile to help get it really moving, and we haven't had any wonderful worm juice or castings since.

and with piles of cow poo that is composting slowly, a couple of worm farms is just what we need.

winter project no 1: establish new worm farms.

i have had lots of success recently just scattering onion and carrot seed (previouslt which i've found a pain in the next to plant) on open beds, then selectively planting pak choi or other chinese veges amongst them.

this means:
1. the fast growing cabbage shelter the ground and help retain moisture while the onions/carrots germinate.
2. i then harvest the chinese veges for stirfry - or usually as a green mulch (for broad beans).
3. then i thin carrots and onions as i go - using them as baby carrots or like spring onions right up until the final harvest.

but - if i could sprinkle a layer of vermicast over the top of all those seeds. mmmmm. wow. that'd be great!

[Chook Nut]

good to hear....

the first time i did carrots in Brisbane i did them in nice neat well spaced rows and got little in the way of a crop from a large area..... last time i did them i just did almost a square metre and we had baby carrots coming out of our ears....it took me some time thinning them all out too

this time i have gone for closer rows as i am growing bigger carrots....

as for onions we dont get much luck in our climate so spring onions are a goer here.....

the thing with worm castings is that you end up with other vegies you didnt grow as the worms have trouble digesting seeds.... i tested my PH for the castings today and it is between 8 and 9 so its pretty high!

as for getting cheap worms.... i would try your local community farm.... they seem to sell them much cheaper than Bunnings or nurseries

cheers

Dave

[d_donahoo]

ah dave.

thanks for the advice there - especially around the pH - any strategies there, or is that still under experimentation.

anyhow - the community gardens one is interesting - i have been looking, but looks like castlemaine doesn't have a community garden - and this is a shame, considering the expertise in the area across the whole permaculture/organic gardening spectrum.

so - i am now approaching council, and we might have to get our own up and running. but an ad on the local bulletin board should help me attract some worm farmers willing to let a few thousand relocate.

cheers

dan

[Chook Nut]

Hi mate

The PH levels should settle once the castings mature.... but shouldnt be that much of a problem by using them with a high PH anyways.....

Organic Matter should always stabilise the soil regardless of its PH.... even if some quantities are too high.... the plant will/should only draw what nutrients it needs and ignore the others.

My whole backyard has a PH of 6-6.5 which is right where it needs to be. My compost has a PH of 8 whereas the worm castings are 9. I have no problem growing anything with these or without anything; but the plants do best with compost and manures.

Searles 5 in 1 is organically certified and i have tested it at a PH level of 9.5 .... they say that it should settle down too. I put it down to the biodynamics; which is what we want and therefore a good thing!

To make a more alkaline compost use: Oyster shells, cuttlefish, limestone, woodash, mushroom compost(not from a nursery), and eggshells.

To make a more acidic compost use: Fruit/citrus skins, pine needles/bark, sawdust and acidic manures(that depends on what the animal has been fed)

As for your worm hunting.... try a fish and tackle shop they usually stock blood or tiger worms which are suitable for a worm farm.

There is info the the Community Gardens Australia website as to how to start a community garden. I may be looking at doing something similar myself in a few years time.... so good luck and keep us posted.

hope this link works if not cut and paste it:

http://www.magna.com.au/~pacedge/garden/

Cheers

Dave