question about worm castings
On Jan 14, 2:00*am, Billy wrote:
In article
,
*Father Haskell wrote:
On Jan 13, 12:28*am, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 1/12/12 4:37 PM, Father Haskell wrote:
On Jan 12, 12:53 pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 1/11/12 8:35 PM, wrote:
thinking of purchasing a couple hundred pound of worm castings for
fertilizing vegetable garden........worms are fed peat.......I
understand
peat is somewhat acidic, could this be a problem?
Instead of buying castings and then the effort to work the castings into
the soil, buy worms. *Spread a thin layer of an organic mulch on your
vegetable garden over the worms. *Keep the bed moist but not wet.. *As
the mulch decomposes, add more. *The worms will aerate the soil and
leave their castings.
By "organic mulch" I mean partially composted leaves and grass
clippings, the output of an paper shredder, or wood chips generated from
a tree service's pruning efforts. *At first, you might need to add a
little nitrogen to the mulch since the composting process absorbs
nitrogen.
Compost worms and earthworms are different creatures. *Earthworms
are already present in garden soil, no need to buy. *Compost worms
won't survive freezing -- they stay near the surface, whereas
earthworms
can survive winter by tunneling deep under the frost line. *In indoor
bins, they're remarkably tough, able to survive a year or more
without
being fed. *A $2.00 carton of "trout worms" from the bait store will
last forever once introduced into a bin.
In my garden, I have earthworms under the mulch on my beds. *I was not
suggesting that "gaffer" use his vegetable garden as a compost pile. *I
was merely suggesting that he promote earthworm activity by providing a
layer of mulch.
Which is pretty much all he has to do. *It'll return him
all of the benefits of tilling, with less work.
Tilling is stupid and, destructive of your soil.
Go to a landscaping supplyer, where the prices are cheaper.
* * * Cubic Yard to Gallon Conversion
1.0 cu.ft. =7.48 gal
32.0 gal/7.48 gal/cu.ft.=4.278 cu ft
1 cu.yd.=27 cu.ft.
32 gal. = 0.159 cu.yds
3 X 32 gal. = .477 c u. yds.
32 gallons is standard size for many garbage cans.
It's even easier just to lay an inch or so of newspaper
over the rows.
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