hmm....I just have plain old worms in my piles - I guess they are not the "happy composting kind". Still, they are a pleasure to see in there, and my piles decompose just fine.
EG
- engineeredgarden
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 426
- Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 11:51 am
- Location: NW Alabama
-
- Full Member
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Sun Jul 18, 2010 11:08 pm
- Location: Leesburg, Ga
Uncle Jim's Worm Farm,,,, they have red wigglers for sale at 20 bucks per 1000. plus shipping of course but worth it to me,, I ordered last year and used compost my worms produced for my garden in the spring and have been in veggie heaven ever since! Also made tea from the compost and WOW!!! The results were,,,, just get the worms.
Ah yes walmart does sell compost worms they sell the euro nightcrawlers as trout worms. 30 for around 3.00 I bought 2 containers last mounth and having used e.Foetida (red wigglers) and E. Hortensis (Euro nightcrawler) I am at least a little familar with them. Yes I know the Canadian crawler Is sold also but it was clearly marked as such, at least in the store I was in. I ended up with 64 worms not very many but after a month I have 74. Yes 10 new Babies. and 30 cocoons. I did not check for cocoons when I bought them but counted all worms closely. then added bedding and worms into an empty two gallon Frosting container with some almost complete pile compost. I harvested 1/2 gallon of castings in the first month. We will now see what month 2 brings. they are now in an empty 5 gallon bucket with about 2 gallons of final finishing pile compost. I just checked the web Euros were 34 dollars a pound. I did not check on shipping charges even if included just to much money. One more thing no compost worms running wild up here, the cold gets them. only worms that go into the ground survive our winters.
When I first learned about the different worms I was too cheeep to buy any and got chicken manure in bags instead - and realized a few weeks later when I went to move the bags that there were FREE worms right under the plastic bags - I had my very own redworms just waiting for the right food. Ever since, I collect a few handfuls for my compost bins and worm bins to get them started, and now I have way too many to count. Loving it!
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 931
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:52 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada zone 1a
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
- I love the image of you trying to catch and wash all your worms without drowning them! Do you have a teeny minature scrub brush to use on them? Would never have occurred to me to wash worms. But as you know, I just the past couple months have my first worm bin, so definitely not expert on them.
Since I am CHEAP (!), I didn't buy any worms, just dug some out of my compost pile. Since it was late in the season and cold, I didn't get very many. I am planning in the spring, once the compost pile warms up again, to dig up more worms to add to the worm bin. No plans to shampoo them, just plop them in the bin, but I'm assuming since they will be coming from the same source as the original ones, it should be okay. Since you can find big masses of worms clumped together in the compost pile, I guess they aren't too territorial.
Since I am CHEAP (!), I didn't buy any worms, just dug some out of my compost pile. Since it was late in the season and cold, I didn't get very many. I am planning in the spring, once the compost pile warms up again, to dig up more worms to add to the worm bin. No plans to shampoo them, just plop them in the bin, but I'm assuming since they will be coming from the same source as the original ones, it should be okay. Since you can find big masses of worms clumped together in the compost pile, I guess they aren't too territorial.
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 931
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:52 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada zone 1a
Ok I guess that did sound pretty silly!!!! I can just see myself looking for a teeny tiny scrub brush! Since they wouldn't come from the same place I won't add to that worm bin. It's doing really well, guess I just wanted to see more action! (Just a little impatient) But when I added more leaves last night, along with dampening it down a bit, they are very busy down there. There's some real nice compost coming along great. Guess I'll leave my bright idea of washing worms and get more for another bin in the spring. It's probably too cold to ship them now, for a new worm bin. It's just plain exciting to see how those little beasties work in there. That compost looks great! I should have done worm bins a long time ago. But thanks to this great site, that's how I found out about them, and got going.----- Being in a province where it's so cold and snowy, is extremely hard when you want to do things outside. I can't wait till spring!!!!
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30514
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
I was feeling like my worms weren't being very well-cared for, and then you post about giving them baths!
I'd neglected them somewhat over the holidays, so when I got around to feeding them, I was gratified to see them busy. When I first opened the lid, I didn't see them anywhere and I got a little worried, but as soon as I shifted things around a bit, there they were. I need to find a replacement for the moist blanket -- I think that's the problem -- I had a quarter-folded burlap but it fell apart and they ate it. When I had an intact blanket, I saw the worms as soon as I folded it over to look in.
I'd neglected them somewhat over the holidays, so when I got around to feeding them, I was gratified to see them busy. When I first opened the lid, I didn't see them anywhere and I got a little worried, but as soon as I shifted things around a bit, there they were. I need to find a replacement for the moist blanket -- I think that's the problem -- I had a quarter-folded burlap but it fell apart and they ate it. When I had an intact blanket, I saw the worms as soon as I folded it over to look in.
most worms you get outside are not the same species of worms, and most of them have completely different living habits. its far better to spend 20$ and get the proper composting worms ( or be smart and find someone local who has worms to spare, trust me worm farmers are generous people) in no time your population will double, then double again, and again exponentially ever few months. if you wanted you could turn 1000 into a million by a years end. I started with a handful of worms years ago, in a year I had a old bathtub bin full of worms. its all on how you manage them. considering how much castings are worth and how much you can potentially get offsets the initial investment by far. I'm about to harvest 250 gallons of castings soon, in another month ill get to do it again, while doubling my worm population at the same time.
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 931
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:52 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada zone 1a
-
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
- Ozark Lady
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1862
- Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:28 pm
- Location: NW Arkansas, USA zone 7A elevation 1561 feet
Okay, look out folks, the wheels of the brain are spinning!
What if you had more than one worm bin. One for the red wrigglers to digest compost, and fill the container with castings.
And a second one, with manure and compost pile type ingredients, wouldn't the native worms also make castings, and digest foods?
But if I am reading this right, one is vegetarian and the other is carnivorous?
You might have to color code the containers, but why wouldn't it work?
What if you had more than one worm bin. One for the red wrigglers to digest compost, and fill the container with castings.
And a second one, with manure and compost pile type ingredients, wouldn't the native worms also make castings, and digest foods?
But if I am reading this right, one is vegetarian and the other is carnivorous?
You might have to color code the containers, but why wouldn't it work?
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 931
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:52 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada zone 1a
- Ozark Lady
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1862
- Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:28 pm
- Location: NW Arkansas, USA zone 7A elevation 1561 feet
I was thinking one color maybe red for manure and compost, and another color maybe blue for kitchen scraps, minus milk, meat, and eggs.
With them being color coded less chance of a mix up.
I do find worms in the soil, but also in hay piles, I wonder if they are the same kind of worms, or different...
Time to experiment?
Yes, I had a bit of a rough fall and winter, still not overly mobile, but feeling better bit by bit.
I have been back for a couple weeks, just not so vocal...
But, I haven't been vocal in person either.
With them being color coded less chance of a mix up.
I do find worms in the soil, but also in hay piles, I wonder if they are the same kind of worms, or different...
Time to experiment?
Yes, I had a bit of a rough fall and winter, still not overly mobile, but feeling better bit by bit.
I have been back for a couple weeks, just not so vocal...
But, I haven't been vocal in person either.
- Ozark Lady
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1862
- Joined: Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:28 pm
- Location: NW Arkansas, USA zone 7A elevation 1561 feet
I found some worm links.
The first 2 are for buying them, and the third tells about setting them up.
https://www.gardenworms.com/1000-red-wiggler-worms-free-shipping-p-99.html?gclid=CIuu296n1KYCFUHt7QodiCtpGw
https://www.wormsetc.com/webstore/red-worms-wigglers-eisenia-fetida-1.html
https://www.trails.com/how_40507_raise-bait-earthworms.html
The first 2 are for buying them, and the third tells about setting them up.
https://www.gardenworms.com/1000-red-wiggler-worms-free-shipping-p-99.html?gclid=CIuu296n1KYCFUHt7QodiCtpGw
https://www.wormsetc.com/webstore/red-worms-wigglers-eisenia-fetida-1.html
https://www.trails.com/how_40507_raise-bait-earthworms.html
-
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 931
- Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:52 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada zone 1a
They really are interesting to raise. They really do eat a lot after awhile. In the spring I am going to make a bigger bin, and buy more red wrigglers, quite a few this time. But won't be emptying the tub every 2 months, I want them to get lots of nice compost in there for spring planting. With all the snow, and -30 weather, they can happily stay in there and work away! The worm sites you posted ozark lady are very interesting. Fun to go back and see why I started my first ever worm bin.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
ok, this might be a little silly to ask, but I might as well because the only dumb question is the one not asked! is vermicomposting smelly? I have a garage, but it's not heated and I don't want to kill the little guys so I was thinking about just getting a bin or two in my closet so I can start making use of all the scraps I'm letting slip through my fingers (I work in a group home and there are literally too many organic solids/carbons that just get tossed/recycled each day - I may be starting to develop a tic about it lol) I guess I could line the top of the bin with charcoal if need be .
how many would anyone advise for starting say... a 12 gallon rubbermaid tote bin (I don't mind growing wormopolises). thanks in advance for any help!
how many would anyone advise for starting say... a 12 gallon rubbermaid tote bin (I don't mind growing wormopolises). thanks in advance for any help!
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
No, absolutely not smelly. The only smell to it is a bit earthy from all the fall leaves I put in there. And I have had my nose right down in it, because I like to inspect, see how it's all working.
I have no idea how many you would need, depends on how much organics you are trying to get rid of, but I would start smallish and see how it all works and then you can add more bins. I just dug up some worms from my garden, but people usually buy them. You can order them on line. I think a pound of worms is around 500 of them. A pound of worms should eat half a pound of food a day, once they are established and happy. As your worm population grows, so will the amount of food they eat.
I have no idea how many you would need, depends on how much organics you are trying to get rid of, but I would start smallish and see how it all works and then you can add more bins. I just dug up some worms from my garden, but people usually buy them. You can order them on line. I think a pound of worms is around 500 of them. A pound of worms should eat half a pound of food a day, once they are established and happy. As your worm population grows, so will the amount of food they eat.
Purchasing may not be essential; I've given composting worms to a few people who requested them on FreeCycle, so that may be worth a shot. At this time of year in Minnesota, though, most worms may be less active; it all depends on how the people have their worm habitats set up.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
You can buy red worms by the pound in many places. A pound run about $27 and 10 pound is about $209. You get about a 1000 worms a pound but can buy smaller ones and get more per pound! Shipping is about $10 a pound. I suggest that if you want worms go to the local playground at night after a rain and get a 100 in a half hour.My playground has 1000,s all over the place on a rainy night and I pick them all summer 200 a clip! Keep them cool or they will die fast where the red worms wil tolarate even a 100 degrees! The playground worms are not red worms but will work in the garden or planting boxes!
+++ I ordered a pound of very small worms about the diameter of spegeatt and made a box for them with a screen at the bottom but did not make it deep enough and lost most of the worms! Imay try it again this year since I fish alot!
+++ I found a worm about 10 years ago near my house in a rocky dry soil that was really strange because they moved like a snake very fast and their tail would break off when you tried to grab them. The tail that broke off was about a 1/2 inch long and was good bait for catching small fish for bait! You could not hold the worm in your open hand it would wiggle off fast and would dig into the soft ground very fast! I put them in my garden and have them all over the place now especially in the drier soil!
+++Walmart does sell red worms and they are fat and about 3 inches long. I think there are 30 in a box. They also have a trout worm or a small version of a night crawler. Another place I buy a thin worm is at a pet store where they are called trout worms and sold for the small lizzards and small animals they sell for $3.99 for 50 and our in a dry back soil in a styrofoam cup!
+++ I ordered a pound of very small worms about the diameter of spegeatt and made a box for them with a screen at the bottom but did not make it deep enough and lost most of the worms! Imay try it again this year since I fish alot!
+++ I found a worm about 10 years ago near my house in a rocky dry soil that was really strange because they moved like a snake very fast and their tail would break off when you tried to grab them. The tail that broke off was about a 1/2 inch long and was good bait for catching small fish for bait! You could not hold the worm in your open hand it would wiggle off fast and would dig into the soft ground very fast! I put them in my garden and have them all over the place now especially in the drier soil!
+++Walmart does sell red worms and they are fat and about 3 inches long. I think there are 30 in a box. They also have a trout worm or a small version of a night crawler. Another place I buy a thin worm is at a pet store where they are called trout worms and sold for the small lizzards and small animals they sell for $3.99 for 50 and our in a dry back soil in a styrofoam cup!
Eisenia foetida, or red composting worms (also called red wigglers), are litter dwellers. They live between layers of leaves, straw (hence horse manure), or compost. Earthworms--the ones that come up out of the...ah...earth after rain--are burrow dwellers. Their burrows are permanent.Bobberman wrote:You can buy red worms by the pound in many places. ...I suggest that if you want worms go to the local playground at night after a rain and get a 100 in a half hour.My playground has 1000,s all over the place on a rainy night and I pick them all summer 200 a clip! Keep them cool or they will die fast where the red worms wil tolarate even a 100 degrees!
Neither species can dwell where the other one does. Red composting worms will suffocate in the earth, and earthworms will die if denied the earth.
Red composting worms will NOT tolerate 100 degrees. A worm "farmer" would be lucky if his/her worms were to tolerate as much as 85 degrees in their habitat or less than 50 or so degrees on the other end of the spectrum. Mine are in a triple-layer worm habitat in my carport, under an old Army blanket which seems to even out the temperature swings. We got down into the 20s December 2009, and the blanket/carport arrangement worked just fine: no loss of hard-working invertebrates.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Bobberman,
This a direct quote from the link you posted [wormguy's blog]. I did put in bold the portion I think applies.
"Regardless of what you read on the Internet or in worm books, worms (In damp bedding) tolerate ambient temps over 100 degrees without any problem whatsoever! I usually have over 100 pounds of worms residing in my garage at any given time. Our local temps exceed 100 degrees quite often in the summer. I've never lost a pan of worms due to ambient temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Why? The bedding the worms live in keeps them insulated from the ambient temps. Conversely, I've worked outdoor events in 75-85 degree weather where I thought I had shaded my worms well, but the sun shifted, cooking my worms. How does this happen? If the outside of the bin gets warm to the touch, you create a frying pan situation for your worms. As the heat transfers from your bin to the bedding, worms begin to cook."
This is why others have said that worms don't like temps of 100'F. The worms survived in shaded, moist bedding, but direct sun and actual bedding temps of 100'F will kill your worms.
Bobberman, perhaps your worms were fully shaded and their bedding moist enough that the bedding and worms didn't actually get to 100'F, so you had a good outcome. That would be an exception to most experts recommendations and that needs to be made clear to people new to vermicomposting. JMHO
This a direct quote from the link you posted [wormguy's blog]. I did put in bold the portion I think applies.
"Regardless of what you read on the Internet or in worm books, worms (In damp bedding) tolerate ambient temps over 100 degrees without any problem whatsoever! I usually have over 100 pounds of worms residing in my garage at any given time. Our local temps exceed 100 degrees quite often in the summer. I've never lost a pan of worms due to ambient temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Why? The bedding the worms live in keeps them insulated from the ambient temps. Conversely, I've worked outdoor events in 75-85 degree weather where I thought I had shaded my worms well, but the sun shifted, cooking my worms. How does this happen? If the outside of the bin gets warm to the touch, you create a frying pan situation for your worms. As the heat transfers from your bin to the bedding, worms begin to cook."
This is why others have said that worms don't like temps of 100'F. The worms survived in shaded, moist bedding, but direct sun and actual bedding temps of 100'F will kill your worms.
Bobberman, perhaps your worms were fully shaded and their bedding moist enough that the bedding and worms didn't actually get to 100'F, so you had a good outcome. That would be an exception to most experts recommendations and that needs to be made clear to people new to vermicomposting. JMHO
I guess I will have to check this year the temp in the container using a aqaurium temperature thermastat I use in my soil testing! Gardening is sometimes like politics you don't know what or who to believe! If I use a styrofoam container to keep worms cool it will work only for so long then the ouside temp is the same in the container as the outside temperature and that is a fact!Thanks for posting the part of the article that I was referencing too!
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Video is little slow moving, takes them a long time to tell you the answer. But I confess, I always believed the myth they bust here, that worms come up in the rain to avoid drowning in their tunnels. So it was educational.
In the meantime, my worm bin seems to be a thriving ecosystem. Found a couple more BSF larvae lately after not having found any for awhile. Today I found a couple of roly-poly's (pillbugs). Very pale, looking sort of like ghost roly-poly's. Because it's dark in there all the time? And a bunch of tiny white bugs walking around, about the size of two periods lined up.. And a couple of seeds have sprouted in there.
I would prefer to have such a diverse colony of insect and other life outside my house, than in, actually, but I'm assuming all the life in the bin will stay in the bin.
I'm still not entirely sure how I will ever get worm castings out of it... it seems like they are mixed all through the food, leaves, etc. But in the meantime, it's now making pretty good quantities of worm tea, which I am now adding a little at a time to the water for my seedlings. Seems like very rich stuff.
In the meantime, my worm bin seems to be a thriving ecosystem. Found a couple more BSF larvae lately after not having found any for awhile. Today I found a couple of roly-poly's (pillbugs). Very pale, looking sort of like ghost roly-poly's. Because it's dark in there all the time? And a bunch of tiny white bugs walking around, about the size of two periods lined up.. And a couple of seeds have sprouted in there.
I would prefer to have such a diverse colony of insect and other life outside my house, than in, actually, but I'm assuming all the life in the bin will stay in the bin.
I'm still not entirely sure how I will ever get worm castings out of it... it seems like they are mixed all through the food, leaves, etc. But in the meantime, it's now making pretty good quantities of worm tea, which I am now adding a little at a time to the water for my seedlings. Seems like very rich stuff.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30514
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Are you doing cynthia_h's divide into 8 sections trick? My commercial bin is circular so I've divided the tray into pie-piece sections, and like she said, by the time I get all the way around, there are harvestable castings in Section 1 even when the entire tray is not completely digested. In fact, I used some for starting seeds yesterday.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
No, is there a link to that?
I bought two bins. The plan was that when I think (how do you tell?) there's enough worm castings in the bottom bin, I would drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of the second bin, put fresh bedding, food, leaves in the new one, set it right down on top of the leaves in the old one. Quit putting food in the bottom one and assume after awhile the worms will migrate into the new one.
Assuming that works and most of the worms migrate into the new bin, doesn't that leave you with a bunch of leaves and old soggy clumped up bedding in the old bin, with hopefully some worm castings mixed in?
In the meantime, I have discovered that along with onion skins and tops, my worms don't seem to like bread very much. There's a chunk of bread, now all moldy, that's been in there a long time, that I may just pull back out. But there was a post here somewhere (that I'm not going to look for right now) that listed things worms like and it included avocado shells. Since we had a big discussion here of how avocado shells don't break down in the compost pile, I tested a piece in the worm bin. As near as I can tell, it disappeared quite rapidly. So yay! My worms can have all the avocado shells they want, since my compost pile doesn't like them!
So here's a reason to have both a worm bin and a regular compost pile -- compost pile for the bread and onions, worm bin for the avocado shells! Anyway the worm bin is nice to have now in mid-winter, for the worm tea for my seedlings, since my compost pile is still frozen solid.
I bought two bins. The plan was that when I think (how do you tell?) there's enough worm castings in the bottom bin, I would drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of the second bin, put fresh bedding, food, leaves in the new one, set it right down on top of the leaves in the old one. Quit putting food in the bottom one and assume after awhile the worms will migrate into the new one.
Assuming that works and most of the worms migrate into the new bin, doesn't that leave you with a bunch of leaves and old soggy clumped up bedding in the old bin, with hopefully some worm castings mixed in?
In the meantime, I have discovered that along with onion skins and tops, my worms don't seem to like bread very much. There's a chunk of bread, now all moldy, that's been in there a long time, that I may just pull back out. But there was a post here somewhere (that I'm not going to look for right now) that listed things worms like and it included avocado shells. Since we had a big discussion here of how avocado shells don't break down in the compost pile, I tested a piece in the worm bin. As near as I can tell, it disappeared quite rapidly. So yay! My worms can have all the avocado shells they want, since my compost pile doesn't like them!
So here's a reason to have both a worm bin and a regular compost pile -- compost pile for the bread and onions, worm bin for the avocado shells! Anyway the worm bin is nice to have now in mid-winter, for the worm tea for my seedlings, since my compost pile is still frozen solid.
- applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30514
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Ah ha! Found it!
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=115588#115588
Top Dollar posted his methods in the same thread.
Also she talks about what she puts in her worm bin vs. compost pile in this post later in the same thread: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=116131#116131
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=115588#115588
Top Dollar posted his methods in the same thread.
Also she talks about what she puts in her worm bin vs. compost pile in this post later in the same thread: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=116131#116131
Thanks for all the relevant information/posts everybody! I bought two 2 dozen containers for $6.51 this past Saturday at a local bait shop (sparing a few so they can be fruitful, multiply, and I can take their descendants out trout fishing eventually.. ) . I asked for red wigglers and the guy said they had to keep them in a threaded container (old plastic foldger's bin) because they liked to escape so I was pretty sure these were the right ones (upon google image search they DEFINITELY were!).
they appear to have a peat moss/soil mix in their container which I would think should be fine as I've read soil recipes with p.m. in it. if anything I'd think it would help with moisture control.. which in all honesty is fine by me until I take the training wheels off of my gardening experience-mobile.. these guys are ACTIVE, they keep trying to crawl out of the container even in full light, it's NUTS! I got a real kick out of watching them wriggle with such zest so I think I'm officially getting the gardening bug early (YAY!).
I just added ripped up banana peels and put ripped up damp napkins (pieces no bigger than 1"x1") in for starters. after I get everything ready (12 gallon tote with holes poked in it, corn meal on hand for nutritional backup, spray bottle for moisture control) I'll transfer them over. I'm keeping them out of the sun to be on the safe side, but we had a high of 35 degrees the other day (Minnesota heatwave) so I'm pretty sure I'll be safe . I get why people garden now, it's so fun to have a control group of natural processes just to watch.
they appear to have a peat moss/soil mix in their container which I would think should be fine as I've read soil recipes with p.m. in it. if anything I'd think it would help with moisture control.. which in all honesty is fine by me until I take the training wheels off of my gardening experience-mobile.. these guys are ACTIVE, they keep trying to crawl out of the container even in full light, it's NUTS! I got a real kick out of watching them wriggle with such zest so I think I'm officially getting the gardening bug early (YAY!).
I just added ripped up banana peels and put ripped up damp napkins (pieces no bigger than 1"x1") in for starters. after I get everything ready (12 gallon tote with holes poked in it, corn meal on hand for nutritional backup, spray bottle for moisture control) I'll transfer them over. I'm keeping them out of the sun to be on the safe side, but we had a high of 35 degrees the other day (Minnesota heatwave) so I'm pretty sure I'll be safe . I get why people garden now, it's so fun to have a control group of natural processes just to watch.
-
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
Tiny white bugs that hop a mile if you go to touch them? Springtails, another sapprophyte (like the pill bugs) and a good sign things are very biologically active. We used to get tons of springtails in the commercial bin I used to tend...
Glad to see GR and everyone else having such fun with the crawly critters; makes me long fora bin of my own again...I may have to start one soon...
HG
Glad to see GR and everyone else having such fun with the crawly critters; makes me long fora bin of my own again...I may have to start one soon...
HG
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Hmmm .... I don't know if they jump, have to check next time I am inspecting. So far I've just seen them walking around, but I didn't try to touch them.
In the meantime, when you said " Springtails, another sapprophyte (like the pill bugs) " I thought gee, I would have called the pillbug a detritovore, I wonder if there's a difference, so I looked it up to try to educate myself.
I found this:
Saprophyte' (-phyte meaning 'plant') is a botanical term that is now considered obsolete. There are no real saprotrophic organisms that are embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic orchids and monotropes, are now known to be parasites on fungi. These species are now termed myco-heterotrophs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detritivore
and this:
“Detritivores are decomposers. According to the ‘real’ knowledge, decomposers consist of detritivores and saprophytes. Saprophytes are what we usually consider when talking about decomposers but technically speaking, that is not specific to them only.
Detritivores are animal that consume that detritus but unlike saprophytes, they cannot decompose cellulose (like most animals). They are forced to excrete anything they cannot digest.
Saprophytes, on the other hand, are basically microbes such as bacteria that digest detritus completely (including cellulose). They usually do this by extracellular digestion.
In the soil, both of these work hand in hand. After the detrivores excrete the waste materials, the saprophytes decompose them further. The detrivores have helped in breaking down most of the detritus into smaller pieces, increasing the surface area for the bacteria to act on.â€
In the meantime, when you said " Springtails, another sapprophyte (like the pill bugs) " I thought gee, I would have called the pillbug a detritovore, I wonder if there's a difference, so I looked it up to try to educate myself.
I found this:
Saprophyte' (-phyte meaning 'plant') is a botanical term that is now considered obsolete. There are no real saprotrophic organisms that are embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic orchids and monotropes, are now known to be parasites on fungi. These species are now termed myco-heterotrophs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detritivore
and this:
“Detritivores are decomposers. According to the ‘real’ knowledge, decomposers consist of detritivores and saprophytes. Saprophytes are what we usually consider when talking about decomposers but technically speaking, that is not specific to them only.
Detritivores are animal that consume that detritus but unlike saprophytes, they cannot decompose cellulose (like most animals). They are forced to excrete anything they cannot digest.
Saprophytes, on the other hand, are basically microbes such as bacteria that digest detritus completely (including cellulose). They usually do this by extracellular digestion.
In the soil, both of these work hand in hand. After the detrivores excrete the waste materials, the saprophytes decompose them further. The detrivores have helped in breaking down most of the detritus into smaller pieces, increasing the surface area for the bacteria to act on.â€
-
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Things worms don't like: onions, bread, apple cores. I would have thought the apple core would be a treat, but it's another thing that just sat in there until I pulled it back out. They ate grapes just fine, even with the skin still intact when they went in.
It's been a really fun experiment! Who knew that worms had taste preferences like this!? Why would worms like grapes and not apples?
It's been a really fun experiment! Who knew that worms had taste preferences like this!? Why would worms like grapes and not apples?