More questions on manure

I have received request for information from one of my subscribers to my Worm Bin Composting Course.

Here are her questions:

My worms said they're already ready to move on, so preparing new bin. The old bedding is already gorgeous dark stuff :)And the worms are climbing to the top, so time to move, right? Does that seem right? Most of what I read usually gives longer times. Maybe mine is too shallow and they compost it all faster?

Main question is - what to do with horse manure before using it in the worm bin.

About a month ago I got a small box of it from a guy down the street and it's been sitting on my back patio. The horses had been dewormed 3 wks before that. It's dry, so it needs to soak, right? Not sure of the ratio of manure to carbon material. Can you direct me to the info?

There is no set in stone time to move your worms. If you have the right set up, ie. a worm tower, you are free to move your worms whenever you want. The difference will be the amount of castings that will be in your finished material. The longer the worms work it, the more castings.

The amount of time it takes for worms to work is unique to each system. It depends on many factors. The size of bin in relation to the amount of worms and how ideal you keep the system - temp, moisture...and how you feed. The worms will consume bedding material in relation to how much fresh "food stock" you provide.

I have recently made a post on my blog about using manure.

http://wormbincomposting.blogspot.com/2009/10/lets-talk-shit-i-mean-manure.html

However, I will elaborate for your specific questions.

One of the main reasons manure is a perfect bedding for worms is that you don't have to worry about C - N ratios. The material has a near perfect balance already. Moisture is the biggest concern.

If the material has been sitting dry then you want to put it into something that you can wet it down and let the excess moisture runoff. Make sure that ALL the manure absorbs moisture. Then you need to let it sit and make sure it is not going to heat up. It is always best to let the manure sit in a composting state at least 3 months if not 6. That means it needs to have moisture and air incorporated into the material.

If the manure is manure pooped from the horses three weeks after worming I don't think there should be any worming chemicals in the poop. There is mixed info on that anyway, since the worms that the worming chemicals target are different from the composting worms. Just always a good idea to let the material compost at least 3 - 6 months. I usually get a load in the fall that I let sit over winter and use in the spring/summer. Then another load in the spring I use in the winter/fall.

But everyone has their own set up. Just make sure the material is not going to compost further after you add your worms and start adding other bedding and food stock. The temps could kill your worms.

Hopes this helps. As a final note in regards to your setup - I always listen to my worms. If they are telling me they are happy I don't change a thing. Why mess with success. If your bin works for you and keeps the worms happy you're doing everything right.

Christy

Handle your organic waste the way Nature intended.
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

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Let's Talk Shit! I Mean Manure :)

Manure is my bedding of choice for starting a worm bin.

I mean, think about it. What is the other name for red worms...manure worms.

You dig around in a healthy pile of composted manure, no matter what kind and you are going to find red worms.

So let's look at some guidlines about manure if that is a route you want to take.

1. Any type of manure will do - horse, cow, pig, llama, alpaca, rabbit, zoo doo... Stay away from domesticated animal and bagged retail manure.
   


2. If the source is questionable (ie. medicines or other ingredients otherwise not natural) then you will want to let the manure set for 6 months.
   


3. Non-composted manure or fresh manure should not be used for bedding. The main reason is because the bedding will start heating up and this will surely kill your worms.
   


4. Manure that has been removed from stalls should not be used as this will contain high concentrations of urine and salts. Worms will not like that.
   


5. When I set up my manure for composting I build a three sided bin out of old pallets and pile the manure inside. This creates a pile much like a conventional compost pile and will allow the material to heat up, killing pathogens and weed seeds.
   


6. I try to control the moisture in the pile much like that of a conventional compost pile as well. If needed I will cover the pile to prevent too much moisture leaching out nuturients or creating an anaerobic condition in the bottom of the pile.
   


7. You'll notice when a pile is fresh there aren't too many other critters hanging out. Once these other critters start moving in I figure it's ready for the worms.
   


8. With a new bin started with manure, you don't mix it up too much or you will get active composting happening. Just add food stock the first three months in small amounts, then you can start layering in different bedding material. Always be mindful of composting. Things can get real hot real fast and fry all the inhabitants.
   


9. Other bedding materials I layer in after the first 3 months - shredded newspaper, leaves, grass clippings (sparingly).

Has this created more questions than answers for you. Send them to me and we will answer them together.

Happy worming,

Christy Ruffner
http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com/

Worm Factory® 360

New product online now

Gonna...Get...Caught...up!

I have so many emails from all of you asking questions, needing answers, looking for solutions...and you know what? I haven't been able to get back to any of you.

Lots of reasons all dealing with a little thing called life. But I promise!!! I will be setting aside a whole day (fingers crossed), Friday to personally write each and every one of you.

Many of your questions are so good that I am simply going to have to write a blog post for the benefit of everyone.

So have heart folks... I have not foresaken any of you. I will be in touch.

Christy

Wet Bin Delimma

I recently had a fellow wormer write me asking how to take care of a wet bin problem.

I have an excellent series of two videos that shows how I handle rejuvenating a bin that had a soggy tray and sludge in the bottom collection tray. You can watch it on my YouTube channel here.

This wormer had added food waste to the bin that was frozen, likely overdoing things. If you are using frozen food waste I wouldn't put the food waste into the bin frozen unless you have a heat problem. Otherwise, let the food waste thaw and drain before adding to the bin.

Otherwise, here is my answer to her questions:

• First make sure you solve the reason why you're bin is too wet...
  


• Do you have adequate drainage in the bottom of the bin?
  


• Is your bin elevated so it does not sit in the moisture and air can circulate to the drainage holes in the bottom of the bin?
  


• Are you over feeding/over watering?
  


• Have you had a die off of worm population?
  

Make sure you answer each of these questions adequately.

If you have adequate drainage in the bottom of the bin and you have identified why you have a moisture problem I would proceed to remove excess moisture by placing DRY newspaper strips in the bottom of the bin, stir the bottom portion (where it is the wettest to incorporate air into the bedding and add a well moisten layer of fresh bedding to the top of the bin if needed for the worms to move up into.

How does things smell? If it stinks you might want to consider getting the worms out and getting rid of the toxic mess at the bottom of the bin. The bad bacteria will kill your worms if you don't get things back into balance.

Always follow your nose and the condition of the worms when trying to decide if you have a problem in your worm bin.

Happy worming :)

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

What to do About the Yucky Muck!

First thing is, watch the above video! There is a part two on my YouTube channel

Next thing I would do is start a new tray and if the material in your existing tray appears to be fully composted I would go ahead and move them out of that/those trays into the fresh tray.

If you have a healthy population of worms in the existing trays, I would go ahead and use that material. If it is exceedingly wet I would work the material daily with my hands to incorporate air into the material until it is of a workable texture.

The sludge in the bottom collection tray...what you do with that depends on the condition of the material. Again, if it is full of worms I would scoop out the worms and add them to the fresh tray. The sludge can then be used. I would simply dig a trench in the garden along the root zone of your tomatoes (they love worm castings), pour/place the sludge in the trench and cover with earth or compost.

If however, there are NO worms and the material stinks, I would dispose of it.

Unless you have a microscope and know what you are looking for, there is no way to know if the material you have accumulated anywhere in your worm compost bin is healthy, except by the population of worms, how happy they are, and the smell of the material. The beneficial life in your compost is microscopic and can not be determined by the naked eye.

Happy worming :)

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

In the Heat of the Summer

A new friend of mine on Facebook asked me this question...

I live in Mount Washington, and, unfortunately, have no shade for our house, or yard. I want to have worms to take care of our green waste, but I'm afraid, in the heat of summer, they will die. At its worst, our house averages 95 degrees, even in the kitchen. I'm worried it will kill any red worms I might cultivate. When the weather is favorable, what can I do?

Heather, Here's my advise. First, understand that even in 95 degree weather in the house the ambient temperature of the worm bin will be cooler, as long as you are careful with your bedding and food stock that you do not get any active composting going on.

I would start with a tower compost bin like the Can-O-Worms which you can find on my website. This tower, when all trays are active, will give you a great surface area to feed your worms without the mass of a larger bin that might heat up when food waste is added to the bedding. (Note: you still need to be careful, but with separate trays available for the worms to migrate into, there is less of a chance you will accidently fry your worms.)

Second suggestion, if you want to compost outside, I would first consider proximity to a water source, electricy and the need for you to keep a watchful eye in hot weather. Make sure your bin is out of any prevailing wind, erect an arbor to grow your own shade, set up a misting system to keep the surface of the bin moist without drowning the bin and a small fan to move air over the surface of the bin. The air movement will cool the bin like a cool breeze cools you in the heat of summer.

I hope this helps all of you to worm bin compost no matter what your conditions are.

Christy
VermiCulture Northwest

Can Different Worm Species Co-exist in the Same Environment?

These red worms are in a bed of shredded newspaper.

A question I was just asked recently that I get alot is whether you can use the worms you find in your garden or lawn in the worm bin. This most recent question asked if they could co-exist with the red worms.

Please be aware that the worms you find in your garden or lawn are soil dwellers and red worms are composting worms dwelling in piles of organic matter such as leaves, manure, rotting grass clippings, compost piles, etc.

As such these worms each have their own requirements for their environment that are very different. These worms do not naturally co-habitate. Even if you find them in the same area around a pile of organic matter, the soil dwellers are at the soil level and the compost worms are in the organic matter. This is the only situation where these two organic consumers will co-habitate. Soild dwellers will not thrive in a worm bin. They are not deep enough to provide the soil dweller with area to burrow.

One way to have each of the lovely creatures in the same area is to dig a hole and fill it with organic material. This would provide the best of both worlds for each of the worms, and the area could be heavily mulched to provide cover for the colder winter months. (That's for all of us wormers in the North.) The material in the hole would need to be removed and replaced with fresh organic material to keep your red worm composters happy and in place. Otherwise, they will go looking for fresh organic material if you do not provide it for them.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

For now, happy worming however you decide to do it.

Christy

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com