Helpful Worms!

[applestar]

So My compost pile is pretty soggy still, and I was dreading going out to somehow collect enough sifted compost for making up seedling/uppotting mix for the June Racer tomatoes and hot peppers as well as the salvia starts.

I began by turning the compost pile, of course, and in the process moved three decorative ceramic container covers that I had left turned upside-down in a row next to the pile with a vague idea that they might help block the wind while gathering some warmth from the weak winter sun on their dark surface.

... and SURPRISE!!!!

A pile of earthworm castings tumbled out from each lifted container -- at least halfway up inside each one. We're talking about 8 quarts of the stuff.

THANK YOU WORMS!!!

Needless to say, I put the containers back next to the turned compost pile.

[gixxerific]

sounds goo Apple, nothing like free worm castings.

I want some you wouldn't beleive the number of worms in my ground now. It's really insane, pick a spot a dig and there are several worms. Gotta love it.

[Joyfirst]

Same here -compost full of worms, and dirt too. I am just wondering, when I put it in a raised bed, won't they start snacking my my plants too?

[gixxerific]

Don't worry about the worms, they won't eat your plants. They will however "process" your soil. They eat the soil in your garden take the nutrients in there and poop out even better nutrients. They proccess the stuff in your soil to make even higher concentraions of nutrients and make them in a form that is more available to your plants.

[Joyfirst]

Thank you, you gave a me a relief, because there are tons of them there. I just put in my beds my first compost, which was sitting for about a year. I was quite surprised, that my grapefruits halfs composted down nicely, but avocado peels are still intact...

[The Helpful Gardener]

Yeah, skip avocado peels. NOTHING composts avocados...

Earth worm eat earth; actually they consume earth, but are actually digesting the biology and putting the other stuff back, in better shape than they found it...

HG

[Gary350]

I don't think I am going to be able to use my composted material this year. I think I collected too much material last year. I kept collecting it and kept is piled up 5 ft high all summer until fall. I mixed in dirt and nitrogen all summer. Now it is 2 1/2" high but it doesn't appear to be finished composting. Lots of matted down grass clipping all tangled together like a pile of hair. Lots of leaves on top. I'm not sure if there is a way to make this finish composting so I can use it this year. I was hoping to use several very large hands full of compost in each hole with tomatoe plants.

I bought some composted cow manure in bags a few weeks ago but I am very dissapointed. Things are not what they use to be. The material in the bag looks like black sticks all broken up into small pieces. WHERE IS THE COW MANURE??? Composted cow manure use to be a very nice loose black powder material excellent for starting seeds and filling in around tomato plants.

[applestar]

I would spread the pile apart and rebuild it, mixing the leaves and the grass AND the disappointing composted cow manure all together. Water every so often as you build the pile (not too much though) with rainwater or de-chlorinated water mixed with some molasses (I'm guessing here, but, say, 1~2 Tbs molasses/5gal water?) That should get the pile cooking again.

I think you said in another post that you're going to start planting tomatoes April 1. That's only a week so I'm not sure that these will break down sufficiently, as compost, but you *could* dig extra deep holes and put the mixture in the bottom of the hole with a shovelful of soil buffer, or dig a trench alongside the tomatoes and bury them there. Either way should attract plenty of earthworms to enrich it further, and the tomato roots will grow into the mix.

You said you kept mixing in "dirt" last year -- maybe you added too much dirt?

[Toil]

Yeah, skip avocado peels. NOTHING composts avocados...

Earth worm eat earth; actually they consume earth, but are actually digesting the biology and putting the other stuff back, in better shape than they found it...

HG

Hey HG, with a bokashi fermentation followed by worm bin, I get an avocado pit done in about 6 months.

the peels? Forget it.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Yeah toil, the pit still has some food values as one would suspect; the tree will need some energy...

The skins are nearly pure phospholipid from my understanding, about as compostable as wax. An excellent packaging job by Mother Nature; how else to protect this fibre and fat rich fruit from all the fungi and bacteria that would LOVE to get in there? A water-proof, fungi-proof, bacteria-proof skin. Impressive...

HG

[gixxerific]

Gary I had a small pile of compost that wasn't used I just raked it flat. I am now digging through it (heavy leaves but they get thrown behind me in and mixed in eventually). But I'm planting in it.

What do I know, is I have some great soil and the critters love it (soil food web that is) so I must be doing something right.