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Worm compost
Please comment on the following musings:
Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. Franz |
Worm compost
Franz Heymann wrote:
Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. Assuming you have an unlimited supply of worms that is.. I don't think you'd be able to stop them retreating into the soil? Thus you would lose worms each night? half a pound of worms, thats.. 14 pounds a month.. in weight.. thats a lotta worms! If you are thinking of 'worm compost' as in 'worm bins' then these are not earthworms but closer to manure worms (the red ones). These are Dendrabaena species. I think you are being optimistic that a days waste will dissapear completly overenight. We have a commercial Worm bin that we found on a skip (I believe the original purchasers threw it out as they weren't managing it properly) It works fine here but the main thing is keeping the conditions OK for the worms.. Luckily we have ideal places, the shade of a mature Birch in high summer and a frost free GH in winter.. The compost is a fine rich worm manure.. I really ought to take some pictures!-) There are however a variety of plans to make your own bins froma converted plastic dustbin to a wooden insulated bin.. Take a look at the HDRA's site www.HDRA.org.uk or just search online for Worm Bin Plans Just my 2p's worth! // Jim |
Worm compost
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:42:22 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. If the object to this exercise is to build up a significant population of 'compost worms' ( Brandling worms ) then I'm not sure how successful it will be. Brandling worms thrive in a specific environment ( i.e. plenty on non-rotted organic material ). Once the rotting down process is complete they either move on or die. I currently have two worm compost bins on the go - one is active, and full of icky vegetable matter and thousands of worm, the other is full of completed compost with barely a worm in sight. I suspect the soil in the garden contains a small number of Brandling worms per square foot - and is relative to the amount of fresh compostable material available. So in theory your scheme could work, but it would mean having to maintain the level of fresh organic matter - which would perhaps render the soil unsuitable for general cropping. Surely it would be far less hassle to maintain one bin as a nursery for your worms - all you'd need to do inoculate another bin would be to grab a handful of gloop from the nursery bin and chuck it in. Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Worm compost
"Stephen Howard" wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:42:22 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. If the object to this exercise is to build up a significant population of 'compost worms' ( Brandling worms ) then I'm not sure how successful it will be. Brandling worms thrive in a specific environment ( i.e. plenty on non-rotted organic material ). Once the rotting down process is complete they either move on or die. I currently have two worm compost bins on the go - one is active, and full of icky vegetable matter and thousands of worm, the other is full of completed compost with barely a worm in sight. I suspect the soil in the garden contains a small number of Brandling worms per square foot - and is relative to the amount of fresh compostable material available. So in theory your scheme could work, but it would mean having to maintain the level of fresh organic matter - which would perhaps render the soil unsuitable for general cropping. Surely not, if I move my worm hostel by a foot or so each day, like my friend used to do with his guineapig lawn maintenance system. Surely it would be far less hassle to maintain one bin as a nursery for your worms - all you'd need to do inoculate another bin would be to grab a handful of gloop from the nursery bin and chuck it in. Being a lazy sort of bloke, it is all that bin maintenance and harvesting which I am trying to avoid. Franz |
Worm compost
"Jim W" wrote in message news:1fzs5io.bdvegm1m78xzcN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net... Franz Heymann wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. Assuming you have an unlimited supply of worms that is.. I don't think you'd be able to stop them retreating into the soil? If I were a worm, I would congregate with my pals where the food is. Thus you would lose worms each night? The worm is only lost when it dies. Until then it eats and converts raw rotting stuff into compost. half a pound of worms, thats.. 14 pounds a month.. in weight.. thats a lotta worms! Yes. I am talking about building up a very dense worm population in the soil. If you are thinking of 'worm compost' as in 'worm bins' then these are not earthworms but closer to manure worms (the red ones). These are Dendrabaena species. I am thinking of any earthworm species which will eat rotting kitchen scraps ravenously. I think you are being optimistic that a days waste will dissapear completly overenight. If the worms don't cope daily with the daily kitchen waste, there will be an ever increasing heap of rotting, unconsumed kitchen scraps building up in the compost heap as well. We have a commercial Worm bin that we found on a skip (I believe the original purchasers threw it out as they weren't managing it properly) It works fine here but the main thing is keeping the conditions OK for the worms.. Luckily we have ideal places, the shade of a mature Birch in high summer and a frost free GH in winter.. The compost is a fine rich worm manure.. I really ought to take some pictures!-) What weight of plant material can you convert per day? Do your worms cope with weeds? Do they cope with leaves? There are however a variety of plans to make your own bins froma converted plastic dustbin to a wooden insulated bin.. Take a look at the HDRA's site www.HDRA.org.uk or just search online for Worm Bin Plans Just my 2p's worth! Thanks for an interesting note. But my whole point is to try and find a way of circumventing the maintaining and harvesting of a wormery by just letting the worms do their job in the exact spot where I ultimately want the compost to be. I was told that the brandlings sold by fishing tackle skops would be just what I need. Is that correct? Franz |
Worm compost
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Stephen Howard" wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:42:22 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. If the object to this exercise is to build up a significant population of 'compost worms' ( Brandling worms ) then I'm not sure how successful it will be. Brandling worms thrive in a specific environment ( i.e. plenty on non-rotted organic material ). Once the rotting down process is complete they either move on or die. I currently have two worm compost bins on the go - one is active, and full of icky vegetable matter and thousands of worm, the other is full of completed compost with barely a worm in sight. I suspect the soil in the garden contains a small number of Brandling worms per square foot - and is relative to the amount of fresh compostable material available. So in theory your scheme could work, but it would mean having to maintain the level of fresh organic matter - which would perhaps render the soil unsuitable for general cropping. Surely not, if I move my worm hostel by a foot or so each day, like my friend used to do with his guineapig lawn maintenance system. Surely it would be far less hassle to maintain one bin as a nursery for your worms - all you'd need to do inoculate another bin would be to grab a handful of gloop from the nursery bin and chuck it in. Being a lazy sort of bloke, it is all that bin maintenance and harvesting which I am trying to avoid. Franz You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all |
Worm compost
"bnd777" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Stephen Howard" wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:42:22 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. If the object to this exercise is to build up a significant population of 'compost worms' ( Brandling worms ) then I'm not sure how successful it will be. Brandling worms thrive in a specific environment ( i.e. plenty on non-rotted organic material ). Once the rotting down process is complete they either move on or die. I currently have two worm compost bins on the go - one is active, and full of icky vegetable matter and thousands of worm, the other is full of completed compost with barely a worm in sight. I suspect the soil in the garden contains a small number of Brandling worms per square foot - and is relative to the amount of fresh compostable material available. So in theory your scheme could work, but it would mean having to maintain the level of fresh organic matter - which would perhaps render the soil unsuitable for general cropping. Surely not, if I move my worm hostel by a foot or so each day, like my friend used to do with his guineapig lawn maintenance system. Surely it would be far less hassle to maintain one bin as a nursery for your worms - all you'd need to do inoculate another bin would be to grab a handful of gloop from the nursery bin and chuck it in. Being a lazy sort of bloke, it is all that bin maintenance and harvesting which I am trying to avoid. Franz You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. I garden to the best of my meagre abilities because I have loved gardening for close on seventy years. Franz |
Worm compost
Franz Heymann wrote:
"Jim W" wrote in message news:1fzs5io.bdvegm1m78xzcN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net... Franz Heymann wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. Assuming you have an unlimited supply of worms that is.. I don't think you'd be able to stop them retreating into the soil? If I were a worm, I would congregate with my pals where the food is. Thus you would lose worms each night? The worm is only lost when it dies. Until then it eats and converts raw rotting stuff into compost. half a pound of worms, thats.. 14 pounds a month.. in weight.. thats a lotta worms! Yes. I am talking about building up a very dense worm population in the soil. If you are thinking of 'worm compost' as in 'worm bins' then these are not earthworms but closer to manure worms (the red ones). These are Dendrabaena species. I am thinking of any earthworm species which will eat rotting kitchen scraps ravenously. I think you are being optimistic that a days waste will dissapear completly overenight. If the worms don't cope daily with the daily kitchen waste, there will be an ever increasing heap of rotting, unconsumed kitchen scraps building up in the compost heap as well. We have a commercial Worm bin that we found on a skip (I believe the original purchasers threw it out as they weren't managing it properly) It works fine here but the main thing is keeping the conditions OK for the worms.. Luckily we have ideal places, the shade of a mature Birch in high summer and a frost free GH in winter.. The compost is a fine rich worm manure.. I really ought to take some pictures!-) What weight of plant material can you convert per day? Do your worms cope with weeds? Do they cope with leaves? There are however a variety of plans to make your own bins froma converted plastic dustbin to a wooden insulated bin.. Take a look at the HDRA's site www.HDRA.org.uk or just search online for Worm Bin Plans Just my 2p's worth! Thanks for an interesting note. But my whole point is to try and find a way of circumventing the maintaining and harvesting of a wormery by just letting the worms do their job in the exact spot where I ultimately want the compost to be. I was told that the brandlings sold by fishing tackle skops would be just what I need. Is that correct? Franz, I'll work through your questions/points in reverse order! Brandlings are used in worm bins, but are not earthworms. They live in manure, not in soil. Our worms cope with all the usual things that this species cope with. Most of what you mention. Leaves, annual weeds, and vegetable waste. The only things we tend to avoid are meat and cooked food as well as an excess of citrus peel. there are 3 of us (sometimes 4) producing a fair bit of waste. Not all of it goes into the worm bin, we have a conventional compost bin as well. I do see your point but its away from the norm so I think you will get a lot of people telling you about 'ordinary' worm bins. Maintaining. A wormery is not arduous, other than remembering where to put your vegetable waste and emptying the wormery every so often (about once a year in our case) Earthworms are other species all together and like a different environment from brandlings. You would not innoculate the ground with brandlings. You would need to buy earthworms for this. In which case they would live in the ground. In which case they would not necessarily be in the area of you're choice. Your thinking is correct in 2 'seperate' points in that Brandlings will break down raw waste and increasing earthworms count can be helped by improving soil structure, but whether you're idea will work as you describe it and in combinaion I am doubtful. Try it mebbe!-) However the brandling worms aren't the 'worms in the soil' so if you're brandlings don't eat quick enough the secondary stage may not be as effective either. If your compost is 'building up' that fast you either need another heap or you're not manageing the heap correctly. A correctly made 1 m3 heap uses up its oxygen approx every 7 - 10 days and if turned at that frequency it is possible to produce compost in under 10 weeks in summer. The other things I would be worried about with your idea are rats and any 'uneaten' food being left behind. Its certainly an interesting idea.. Why not give it a try and let us know the results.. Both types of worm are availble by mail order. Dendrbaena worms are available also from fishing shops (as bait) // Jim |
Worm compost
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. I garden to the best of my meagre abilities because I have loved gardening for close on seventy years. Franz -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. Sorry to have been a bore. I will do better next time. {:-)) Franz |
Worm compost
"Jim W" wrote in message news:1fzsxn3.13kfdz9s49o1uN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net... Franz Heymann wrote: "Jim W" wrote in message news:1fzs5io.bdvegm1m78xzcN%00senetnospamtodayta@m acunlimited.net... Franz Heymann wrote: Please comment on the following musings: Make a wooden frame about 18" square and cover one open side with black polythene, so that when inverted on the ground, you have a small darkroom. Lightly till a piece of soil in the garden bed with a handfork. Make it just the size of the darkroom. Put about half a pound of compost worms in this space. Tip today's kitchen waste over them. Cover with the darkroom to protect the worms from the birds and the sun. Repeat daily somewhere else. If you are lucky, you might be able to build up a dense enough worm population to enable you to cease inoculating the ground with worms after a time, and to just put out your kitchen scraps out under a dark protective cover. Or am I behind the times, as usual?. Assuming you have an unlimited supply of worms that is.. I don't think you'd be able to stop them retreating into the soil? If I were a worm, I would congregate with my pals where the food is. Thus you would lose worms each night? The worm is only lost when it dies. Until then it eats and converts raw rotting stuff into compost. half a pound of worms, thats.. 14 pounds a month.. in weight.. thats a lotta worms! Yes. I am talking about building up a very dense worm population in the soil. If you are thinking of 'worm compost' as in 'worm bins' then these are not earthworms but closer to manure worms (the red ones). These are Dendrabaena species. I am thinking of any earthworm species which will eat rotting kitchen scraps ravenously. I think you are being optimistic that a days waste will dissapear completly overenight. If the worms don't cope daily with the daily kitchen waste, there will be an ever increasing heap of rotting, unconsumed kitchen scraps building up in the compost heap as well. We have a commercial Worm bin that we found on a skip (I believe the original purchasers threw it out as they weren't managing it properly) It works fine here but the main thing is keeping the conditions OK for the worms.. Luckily we have ideal places, the shade of a mature Birch in high summer and a frost free GH in winter.. The compost is a fine rich worm manure.. I really ought to take some pictures!-) What weight of plant material can you convert per day? Do your worms cope with weeds? Do they cope with leaves? There are however a variety of plans to make your own bins froma converted plastic dustbin to a wooden insulated bin.. Take a look at the HDRA's site www.HDRA.org.uk or just search online for Worm Bin Plans Just my 2p's worth! Thanks for an interesting note. But my whole point is to try and find a way of circumventing the maintaining and harvesting of a wormery by just letting the worms do their job in the exact spot where I ultimately want the compost to be. I was told that the brandlings sold by fishing tackle skops would be just what I need. Is that correct? Franz, I'll work through your questions/points in reverse order! Brandlings are used in worm bins, but are not earthworms. They live in manure, not in soil. Our worms cope with all the usual things that this species cope with. Most of what you mention. Leaves, annual weeds, and vegetable waste. The only things we tend to avoid are meat and cooked food as well as an excess of citrus peel. there are 3 of us (sometimes 4) producing a fair bit of waste. Not all of it goes into the worm bin, we have a conventional compost bin as well. I do see your point but its away from the norm so I think you will get a lot of people telling you about 'ordinary' worm bins. Maintaining. A wormery is not arduous, other than remembering where to put your vegetable waste and emptying the wormery every so often (about once a year in our case) Earthworms are other species all together and like a different environment from brandlings. You would not innoculate the ground with brandlings. You would need to buy earthworms for this. In which case they would live in the ground. In which case they would not necessarily be in the area of you're choice. Your thinking is correct in 2 'seperate' points in that Brandlings will break down raw waste and increasing earthworms count can be helped by improving soil structure, but whether you're idea will work as you describe it and in combinaion I am doubtful. Try it mebbe!-) However the brandling worms aren't the 'worms in the soil' so if you're brandlings don't eat quick enough the secondary stage may not be as effective either. If your compost is 'building up' that fast you either need another heap or you're not manageing the heap correctly. A correctly made 1 m3 heap uses up its oxygen approx every 7 - 10 days and if turned at that frequency it is possible to produce compost in under 10 weeks in summer. The other things I would be worried about with your idea are rats and any 'uneaten' food being left behind. Its certainly an interesting idea.. Why not give it a try and let us know the results.. Both types of worm are availble by mail order. Dendrbaena worms are available also from fishing shops (as bait) Thanks for the information, Jim. If I knew where to get the earthworms, I will order some. Or maybe there are enough in my garden for starting things up. I will do a bit of investigating. Franz |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:24:29 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. Sorry to have been a bore. I will do better next time. {:-)) You are not boring :-) -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. -- Martin |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) Franz |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:10:11 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) but I'll catch up a year at the end of this month :-) I sailed with somebody, when he was in eighties. He carried on sailing until he was 95. You are as old as you feel. -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. As am I:)) |
Worm compost
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Ophelia |
Worm compost
Franz Heymann wrote:
Its certainly an interesting idea.. Why not give it a try and let us know the results.. Both types of worm are availble by mail order. Dendrbaena worms are available also from fishing shops (as bait) Thanks for the information, Jim. If I knew where to get the earthworms, I will order some. Or maybe there are enough in my garden for starting things up. I will do a bit of investigating. I will take a look around and see if I have that supplier that sells the 'earthworm' top ups.. But as you say, you should have worms in the soil already.. Feed the soil with plenty of organic matter and don;t use chems on it and you will be feeding the worms and creating a aparadise for them and they will 'multiply and be fruitful' as it were!-) // Jim |
Worm compost
"Ophelia" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Thank you so much, Ophelia. You have taken years off my life. Franz |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:10:11 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) but I'll catch up a year at the end of this month :-) I'll wish you some premature good wishes, since my memory cannot cope with a time lapse of 1 month any more. I sailed with somebody, when he was in eighties. He carried on sailing until he was 95. You are as old as you feel. Parts of me feel older than other parts, so I must have a complex feeling, but my mind is getting too close to senility for me to translate that feeling into years. Franz -- Martin |
Worm compost
"Ophelia" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. As am I:)) My 87 yr old Mother still does a large garden and she refuses to accept she is old !!!!!!!!!!! |
Worm compost
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Ophelia" wrote in message ... "Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Thank you so much, Ophelia. You have taken years off my life. I hope you had a lovely Birthday too:))) |
Worm compost
"bnd777" wrote in message ... "Ophelia" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. As am I:)) My 87 yr old Mother still does a large garden and she refuses to accept she is old !!!!!!!!!!! Good for her:)))) I am still 25 in my head:)) Grannie O:) |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) -- Martin |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:58:19 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote: "bnd777" wrote in message ... "Ophelia" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. As am I:)) My 87 yr old Mother still does a large garden and she refuses to accept she is old !!!!!!!!!!! Good for her:)))) I am still 25 in my head:)) I am still a teenager in my head. :-) -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) Thank you, Martin. I appreciate it. Franz Heymann |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) ooooerrrrrrrrrrr are you giving him a kiss on the nose too:))))))))))))))) O :)) |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:58:19 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "bnd777" wrote in message ... "Ophelia" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 09:21:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:19:26 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: You really must be lazy if the maintenance of a worm bin is too much for you ........cant imagine why you even have a garden at all Yes I am indeed lazy. My laziness is caused by the general decrepitude associated with having lived for as near as dammit eighty years. You are singularly lacking in imagination. He also has a crap memory, perhaps he is prematurely old too? :-) It's can't be more than a couple of days at the most since you mentioned that you had been gardening for 70 years. martin shame on you. Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. As am I:)) My 87 yr old Mother still does a large garden and she refuses to accept she is old !!!!!!!!!!! Good for her:)))) I am still 25 in my head:)) I am still a teenager in my head. :-) yer a wee whipersnapper :)) |
Worm compost
In article , Franz Heymann
writes Thanks for the information, Jim. If I knew where to get the earthworms, I will order some. Or maybe there are enough in my garden for starting things up. I will do a bit of investigating. There are almost certainly enough, both of brandlings and of the normal Lumbricus earthworm. They breed quite fast, so it's a matter of getting the conditions right - the brandlings like a higher humus content. If you are not getting enough worms by natural methods, its likely the conditions aren't right, so buying some and adding isn't going to help a lot. (Obviously, in a closed system like a wormery, you need to innoculate with worms, which is why people tend to buy them) -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
Worm compost
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 22:03:38 +0100, "Ophelia"
wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) ooooerrrrrrrrrrr are you giving him a kiss on the nose too:))))))))))))))) O :)) not after I found it was covered in lipstick :-) -- Martin |
Worm compost
"martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 22:03:38 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: "martin" wrote in message .. . On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) ooooerrrrrrrrrrr are you giving him a kiss on the nose too:))))))))))))))) O :)) not after I found it was covered in lipstick :-) LOL |
Worm compost
Jim W wrote:
Thanks for the information, Jim. If I knew where to get the earthworms, I will order some. Or maybe there are enough in my garden for starting things up. I will do a bit of investigating. I will take a look around and see if I have that supplier that sells the 'earthworm' top ups.. But as you say, you should have worms in the soil already.. Feed the soil with plenty of organic matter and don;t use chems on it and you will be feeding the worms and creating a aparadise for them and they will 'multiply and be fruitful' as it were!-) Found it.. www.organiccatalogue.com code WOLT about 100 for 16 quid HDRA members get 10% off. But see also http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/exper1/exper1.htm It may be easier/cheaper to breed your own? // Jim |
Worm compost
On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 17:47:30 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote: "Stephen Howard" wrote in message I suspect the soil in the garden contains a small number of Brandling worms per square foot - and is relative to the amount of fresh compostable material available. So in theory your scheme could work, but it would mean having to maintain the level of fresh organic matter - which would perhaps render the soil unsuitable for general cropping. Surely not, if I move my worm hostel by a foot or so each day, like my friend used to do with his guineapig lawn maintenance system. All that would achieve is leaving behind a trail of soil packed full od raw vegetable matter - it takes months for the worms to break the stuff down. Surely it would be far less hassle to maintain one bin as a nursery for your worms - all you'd need to do inoculate another bin would be to grab a handful of gloop from the nursery bin and chuck it in. Being a lazy sort of bloke, it is all that bin maintenance and harvesting which I am trying to avoid. Strikes me that knocking up a number of 'darkrooms', roughing up the soil beneath them, packing them with vegetable waste.. and then perhaps moving them on a daily basis adds up to a hell of a lot more work than tossing a load of kitchen scraps into a bin with a few handfuls of soil and leaving it to its own devices. Why not just trench compost? I do this through the winter months ( though there's no reason why you can't do it throughout the year ) ...all the kitchen scraps go into a trench of about a spit and half's depth and are covered with soil as I go. Come spring these trenches are ideal for sowing peas on, and later in the season the beans and courgettes take over. By the next year the raw matter will have been well and truly incorporated and the same area can be used for standard crops ( spuds etc. ). Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Worm compost
"Kay Easton" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann writes Thanks for the information, Jim. If I knew where to get the earthworms, I will order some. Or maybe there are enough in my garden for starting things up. I will do a bit of investigating. There are almost certainly enough, both of brandlings and of the normal Lumbricus earthworm. They breed quite fast, so it's a matter of getting the conditions right - the brandlings like a higher humus content. If you are not getting enough worms by natural methods, its likely the conditions aren't right, so buying some and adding isn't going to help a lot. My soil is on average ever so slightly on the acid side. ( I would call it "just about right"). Most of what I try to grow does reasonably well, except if I try something not quite hardy for our part of the world. I do have a worm population, but it is not as dense as it should be. I suspect that I have too many blackbirds and thrushes. One other problem might be that the topsoil consists of a layer of only about 4" overlying the bedrock. The only reasons why it is not waterlogged are that it is on a slope, and the rock is badly shattered. As soon as we get a bit of rain, I will put some kitchen scraps out and cover it with a piece of weighted down black polythene, just to see what I can attract by way of worms. (Obviously, in a closed system like a wormery, you need to innoculate with worms, which is why people tend to buy them) Franz Heymann |
Worm compost
"Ophelia" wrote in message ... "martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 10:53:04 +0100, "Ophelia" wrote: Mea culpa! I am not so young myself, but did remember being impressed by Franz's age. Then be impressed some more. Today is my birthday, so today I am one year more older than you than I was yesterday. {:-)) HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ:))) with a hug and a kiss on your nose:)) Yes of course HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FRANZ! :-) ooooerrrrrrrrrrr are you giving him a kiss on the nose too:))))))))))))))) O :)) Ugh {:-(( Franz |
Worm compost
"Kay Easton" wrote in message ... In article , Franz Heymann notfranz. writes Thanks for an interesting note. But my whole point is to try and find a way of circumventing the maintaining and harvesting of a wormery by just letting the worms do their job in the exact spot where I ultimately want the compost to be. About 6inches of compost seems to be a reasonable amount to add. 6 inches of mature compost equates to more like 2ft of kitchen scraps etc. So what about building 2ft high mini compost heaps across where you want the compost to be? The best compost I ever made was when I lived in a cottage with only an outdoor toilet. I dug a 2ft x 2ft x 1ft deep hole outside the back door, and used to add to this daily potato peelings and other veg scraps, about 3 pots worth of lapsang suchong tea leaves, and about half a bucket of urine. It turned into dark sweet smelling friable compost which a year later was full of beautiful clean little new potatoes. I was told that the brandlings sold by fishing tackle skops would be just what I need. Is that correct? Yes, but there's enough in the soil, and they breed fast enough, for merely adding compost ingredients to very soon get you an adequate population. No need to spend money! (see url below). I wonder if what you could do would be simply to layer the compost ingredients thickly as a mulch? It wouldn't compost as quickly as in a heap, and you wouldn't be generating the heat, but you would build up a population of brandlings. I think that you might build up a hefty population of flies if you leave it uncovered, and it would be rather unsightly. You'd have to make sure that you didn't include any roots or seeds, because they'd just take off and grow, but if it was green stuff, grass cuttings, veg peelings, it should work, though not be particularly attractive to look at. After all, it's the same process that happens naturally under thick vegetation or in woods. That's true. All I would aim to do is to concentrate a little more material per square foot per week than you would find on a woodland floor. Franz |
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