# Composting 4, Vermiculture and Various Thoughts



## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I hadn't much considered worms in the earlier composting endeavors of my teenage years, though I did regularly pluck dew worms out of the nighttime yard and sell them to local fishermen as one of my earliest entrepreneurisms.
I always knew, likely due to conversations or object lessons with my father in my earliest years, that worms were a good thing.
Not until coming across the chapter on "vermiculture" in "Rodale's Complete Book of Composting", did I really give detailed thought to the subject of worms.
I do vaguely remember reading bits and pieces about the little guys in other publications, and there is quite a contrast in opinions out there concerning the value of the earthworm and the messages that their varying degrees of presence and activity in the soil convey to the horticulturalist.
Some authors put great value in both the worm, itself, and in what the worm's very presence in your soil might mean. Others--and this is what gets me--adamantly declare that the worm is too small and their numbers grossly insufficient to effect any measurable degree of benevolence in soil, compost activity or plant life, whatsoever.
I have made my own observations, and will dedicate this writing to both what I have experienced and what I have come to believe about the little guys.
Earthworms of all kinds possess and contribute to soil structure and fertility 
immeasurable value. The excrement they leave behind as they pass through any soil type is said to be seven times more fertile than the surrounding soil.
That is noteworthy, to say the least.
The infinite and intricate maze of tunnels that they form as they pass from one place to another allow oxygen and moisture to travel freely, regularly as deeply as six or more feet in the ground. Now those worms--and the number of them that you might have working for you will determine time frames--are burrowing down into clay after having eaten a belly full of rich, organic matter. The steady exchange of such matter to the lower depths with high mineral clay brought to the surface must be one of the quickest ways that nature builds six feet of topsoil. All the worm asks for is adequate moisture and an organic bite to eat, here and there, and they will happily give their all to the soil connoisseur. Another benefit that the worm offers via his extensive borrowing is the gradual loosening of soils and breaking up of the hardpan. Some plant roots actually follow the tunnels in their deep and ambitious quest for lower lying minerals, and, during dry spells, water.
Therein lies another means by which worms greatly facilitate the introduction of organic matter far deeper than even our mechanized means care to dig. Those roots die in the tunnels and become food for worm and plant, alike, as they decompose. The whole notion of farming with worms has a positive snowballing effect that lasts for several years as the little guys get themselves thoroughly established in a new area.
The very presence of a large quantity of very active worms is assurance that the land is quite fertile and devoid of harsh chemical applications for some time previous. The absence of worm activity in what otherwise looks to be rich, black soil is a shameful testament to the harsh manner in which that soil is being treated by the steward. 
As I've mentioned before, I came out here to clay, sand and timber soil. The land had been occasionally been used as pasture, and there was the occasional evidence of worms, but certainly no notable population. Their activity was only evidenced during heavy rainy seasons and there was zero evidence of the commonly sought after _red wriggler_, which brings us to one of my key observations....
I have always been told by book and "expert" acquaintance, both, that red wrigglers must be imported. They simply aren't supposed to exist in most of the natural world. My experience coincides with the maxim, "if you build it, they will come". I recall my first few compost piles. They were simple affairs containing mostly manure and sawdust. Digging around them and in the older piles always produced ample dew worm and smaller fellows for fishing, but the wrigglers didn't show up right away. It was after I had built the concrete bays against the house and fed those bays a steady diet of manure, sawdust, grass clippings and then kitchen waste that I got my big surprise. Sure, I knew the piles were there, but I wasn't in the habit of giving them or what went on inside them a great deal of thought. Compost was, well, compost. I remember well the day. There was a fresh supply of garden waste, both fruit and vegetable, thrown out on the piles. It had been sitting, uncovered, for a week or so. I went out to the piles to scratch around for no particular reason and upon turning over that fresh fare was shocked at the large wriggling ball of voraciously dining _red wrigglers_.
They came, seemingly out of nowhere, and they came by the hundreds of thousands. 
Over the next few years, as I spread the piles on the gardens and fields, I would monitor the worm populations. At first, turning over the occasional clod or leaf would reveal a worm or two, but they would be few and seemingly far between. Just this last late summer, after the digging of the potatoes, I walked through the patch to see the few straggler spuds that the rains had turned up, and they were in the middle stages of rotting due to the excessive moisture. I kicked one of them over for no reason and was shocked again to find another surprise. If I cupped both my hands, I could not have held the number of red wrigglers that were feeding beneath just one, tennis-ball-sized, rotting potato. They are now evident in the bare, fall soil; even more so under the residual grass and wood chip mulches; but most of all under the watermelons still huddled out there in the corner of where the patch was this summer. There is a veritable wriggling explosion every time we pick up one of those grossly overripe melons to take to the chickens.
The regular worm activity in the compost piles by the house has also increased steadily, though said activity waxes and wanes with the seasons and with the level of decomposition that each pile is currently undergoing.
There is one pile that is composed of the late summer/early fall garden waste, topped with two feet of wet leaves for insulation, in which we routinely bury the contents of the sawdust toilet. That pile is warm just to hold my hand over without digging, and there are wrigglers scattered throughout it's warm and nitrogen-rich outer six inch layer. Deeper than that it is too hot for them. The pile at the opposite end of the three bay structure was completely decomposed, but rather than spreading it this fall (due to excessively muddy conditions for accessing the pile) I decided to keep adding to it. There is finished black beneath, where can be found the occasional wriggler. But, as in the garden, where there is fresh food, currently cabbage leaves, jalapeno and sweet peppers, tomatillas, egg shells, and etc. there is a wriggling ball lying just beneath.
Now, maybe some of those more skeptical authors only had a worm or two working for them. Maybe they were stingy with the groceries and the worms were on strike..... I really can't imagine why else. But by the sheer number of worms that are evident here I _KNOW_ that they are breaking down the material I give them as fast or faster than the microbes, themselves.
They are spreading their rich enzymes throughout both compost pile and garden. Their dead bodies are contributing nitrogen to the more carbon-rich piles. They are one of the happiest worm populations on the planet and they serve the organic needs here with devotedly reckless abandon. 
Now IF I were "trapped" in town with limited space and resources, I would definitely have an array of plastic tubs or barrels in my basement to feed and house as large a worm population as I could sustain, if for no other reason than to watch the kitchen waste melt into the bedding pack basically overnight, and to be able to run my hands regularly through the mess to enjoy the fellowship with all those wriggling and slimy little buddies. I really enjoy watching them, knowing what they are doing for the soil. I would regularly, and in season, facilitate the transfer of a few hands full at a time from breeding/feeding ground to garden. They are the quietest and least intrusive breed of livestock and I've yet to have a neighbor call because they are through the fence eating his corn......

See next post.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

A few thoughts that I've had since beginning these articles have come to me.
They will likely be found scattered and some may be redundant with what has already been written, but I'll share them as they come to me, all the same.

Always err in your C/N ratio in favor of carbon. 
Carbon will always draw nitrogen to itself from the land and atmosphere surrounding. Too much nitrogen will lock up decomposition and putrify.

Your compost pile should be your first consideration for homestead waste disposal. If the worms or microbes will eat it, feed it to them. It the material is offensive, cover it with carbon. The worms will appreciate the resultant privacy as you will the lack of odor. Of course, less offensive and higher grade wastes might be better given to the chickens, pigs or other suitable feeders. 

A word about chickens..... if you possess a particularly abundant supply of worms, and a particularly hard heart, and your compost piles are suitably bordered to avoid overt scattering of the contents, consider letting your chickens have the run of the pile every few days or so. The protein in the worms will make delicious and abundant eggs, and the scratching around does wonders for the pile as well as the birds' trace mineral needs.

Employ gravity efficiently. Everything on the homestead, whether it be fresh water, grey water or the slurry from a wet compost pile, flows down hill.
Locate the house below the spring, the compost pile below the house, the gardens below the compost piles. Let the rains work thereby for you, rather than against.

If the growing size of your compost operation takes on a life of its own, you will eventually witness a quantity of black liquid seeping from its downhill side. That liquid should be, at worst, seeping into the garden, and at best be contained and reintroduced to the upper layers of the compost pile. The liquid is extremely rich in nitrogen, trace minerals and enzymes and wasting it is a _sin_.
Dilute the stuff with water for a great compost tea.....

Build at least two piles in close proximity, and three if you are able.
Be constantly building the one, aging the next, and drawing off the finished latter of the three. Add a little finished compost to each layer of new. A shovel full every now and then is enough. That ensures adequate biological activity from the start.

A pile of pure carbon, i.e.sawdust, wood chips, old straw, dry leaves or grass clippings etc. can be converted to a full blown compost with the addition of animal urine, compost tea, the occasional dead animal, and immediate contact with already fertile soil. Allow it a little more time and watch the color over time. Black, nearly odorless and grainy at the finish is the key.
Finished compost consists largely of the dead accumulation of microbe bodies, hence the lack of evidence of the finished material's original components. They literally eat the raw material and die, adding, as do the worms, certain ezymic activity and trace minerals in the process.

Do not hesitate to add any of the normally taboo items to your compost pile, be they meat, pet wastes, fats, food grade oils, etc. so long as the pile is of sufficient size and balance to heat for several weeks or longer. A pile the size of two ample pickup loads would be an adequate minimum. 

For those who may believe themselves to be in too short a supply of organic matter to undertake composting, never underestimate the value of weeds.
Most of the gardeners I know have a ten to one ratio of weeds to intended crops, by weight _and_ volume. Those weeds are begging to be profitably employed in some manner or another. Before they seed, they make great on-the-spot mulch. During and after seeding, they make great chicken feed for penned up birds, as well as a great base to the best of compost piles. Use them as green as possible for their higher nitrogen content. Layer them with other dry carbons and occasional animal wastes, grass clippings and the like. Every weed brings to the table a different trace mineral package. Volumes have been written about what the presence and condition of various weeds in your soil might be trying to tell you.

The stinging nettle (urtica), for many and sometimes mysterious reasons, is an excellent addition to the compost pile, as well as highly nutritious potherb and tea, as well as most benevolent to soil and living vegetable companion plant. If it volunteers in the garden, let it grow and harvest it sparingly as you have need. It benefits everything around it except for your bare skin, and there has been much written that suggests that it may well be of high value there, as well....

If you live in drier climates, or if you are very frugal with your household water use, or if your compost piles are larger than average, you might consider employing your microbes and the carbon sponge of the compost material to soak up and filter your grey water. In wetter climates, all other criteria being equal, consider tarping the pile and using grey water exclusively for its irrigation. Reference Joseph Jenkins "Humanure Handbook" for all of the practical and bureaucratic details. You might be surprised what his research has done to pave the way for a more exploratorily permissive approach to the residential handling of grey water.
If I haven't mentioned his book, previously, I highly, highly, _highly_ recommend it now.

For the hardcore, I will conclude with two more reading recommendations.
There is a pair of researcher/authors from the late 60's/ early 70s who have individually and collectively put out some very interesting reading.
They are Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.
The two books I am recommending are "The Secret Life of Plants", and "Secrets of the Soil".

I was first introduced to the former by a very mysterious gift in late '04. 
It didn't take me long to order my own copy of the latter.
At the time, I was dubious about the content of "Plants".
I mean, how many types of books about plants could there be ?

That book more than doubled my knowledge base and awareness of the natural world around me, period. You will lose most of your remaining blissful ignorance of a great many truths upon it's thorough digestion.


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## Aohtee (Aug 26, 2003)

Thank you for these articles and your thoughts. I always find it interesting to read how theory translates into reality.

Do you know Steve Soloman's site "Soil and Health Library"?
He has several excellent books on vermiculture and composting. They are all free to download.

"Weeds: Guardians of the Soil" is much like "humanure" Once you read it you will never look at weeds in the same way.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Eisenia fetida , Lumbricus rubellus or L. terrestris properly cleaned in potable water per the procedure in FM 21-76 and then sauteed in butter or oil with dandelion greens with wild garlic chive is a very tasty high protien meal.


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## Freya (Dec 3, 2005)

Awesome again. Thank you! I look forward to the next "chapter".


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

Jenkins made his Humanure Handbook a free 23Mb +/- download in case folks did not know that, and they can also order one from him as well in hardcopy. I am a avid believer in reading something before i go purchase it if it available to do so, my e-library though has mounted up on disk while my hard copy library sits in boxes wanting for shelf space..... I may never reach my 7000 volume hard copy library if things dont get better, the buildinng alone to house them will eat holes in my pocket book.

And Thanks Forerunner, my piles grow yearly, though I dont have room for mega piles, I do appreciate the idea, and have kicked over the idea of finding a spot just for this towns fall leaf problem.... which could turn into a profitable situation if done correctly..... but i am not the visionary just yet.

William


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

top this, we got our own Tremors
http://www.xerces.org/oregon-giant-earthworm/
enjoy!


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

wyld thang said:


> top this, we got our own Tremors
> http://www.xerces.org/oregon-giant-earthworm/
> enjoy!


They are not as rare as the environmental extremists want folks to believe, in fact they want to use these and the palouse cousin to shut farming down in the inland northwest, keep more fokls hungry and cause more "enemies of the state"

William
Idaho


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## Aohtee (Aug 26, 2003)

This is an article from the Guardian about the National Trust using urine as a compost activator.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2009/nov/13/composting-urine

A second article gives more detail on use.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/nov/13/national-trust-urine-compost-pee


If you scroll down to the comments, they make very interesting reading.


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## Osiris (Jun 9, 2010)

I've been extolling the virtues of peeing around the perimeter of the garden as a repellent for years now. I've successfully repelled deer, skunks, *****, rabbits and opossum. I'm trying to think of a way to repel the darn squirrel from digging in my houseplants while outside in the summer. Guess I'll have to give it a try!

Another interesting tidbit of the value of 'liquid gold'..... Does everyone remember Murine Eye Drops? Well before they made eye drops, their first product was actually EAR drops - And guess what the main ingredient was? (Hint "MURINE" - remove the "M") Yep. Their eye drops _do not_ contain uric acid, but their ear drops did. And it worked. 

Thanks for the great articles and suggestions on composting.


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## cnichols (Jan 5, 2010)

forerunner - I always enjoy reading your compost threads. 

As a matter of fact, I have a small bin of red wigglers (purchased from Uncle Jim's) sitting in my kitchen right now. They absolutely LOVE my coffee grounds, filters, paper towels (and empty rolls), etc. I've had them for about three months and they've produced about 1.5" of deep rich worm castings. I'm actually thinking about splitting them and starting another bin. 

I love looking in there about once a week, adding another coffee filter full of moist coffee grounds, scooping up a corner and smelling it, adding a bit of water every now and then. They're very quiet, produce a wonderful product and are super easy to take care of! I love them


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

I've been vermicomposting indoors for close to 20 years now. Still get a kick out of seeing those masses of worms around a food product. Between dogs, cats, chickens and goats, no food trimmings, etc., goes to waste. MIL can't get over it when she's here and I'm appalled at the good useable stuff she throws out when I've been at her house. She doesn't garden any more so I cut her some slack. I've been tempted to take a container and freezing the scraps we generate there to bring home goodies for the worms at least.


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## Bruenor (Oct 2, 2008)

Nice resurrection of a great thread. I've been thinking of starting a worm colony in my back yard to feed my kitchen scraps to. Maybe this is a sign that I should get moving on it.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

The males around here all pee around the perimeter of the main property. They pee behind the barn, around the dog run, around the target range - basically in a circle around the main house and garden. It might seem like a waste of good pee but it is to run off coyote. We have terrible coyote problem but, thankfully - so far we have not had them right up to the house. 

We have noticed a lot of crows in our Compost bins lately. They are eating up everything. Probably we need to put wire over the top to keep the crows from eating the worms and compost. 

We use tons and tons of wood chips here. The worms like the rotting wood chips.


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

Any advice on whether to use my lawn clippings to compost or to supplement feed for the donkeys, goats and chickens? As far as other stuff, we also feed the chickens most food waste anmd their egg shells back to them, so all I have to compost is manure and straw/wasted hay. We don't have any tree leaves to speak of, but I could probably get free saw dust nearby. Would that be okay to add to the copious amount of manure?


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

cnichols said:


> As a matter of fact, I have a small bin of red wigglers (purchased from Uncle Jim's) sitting in my kitchen right now.
> 
> I love looking in there about once a week..... They're very quiet, produce a wonderful product and are super easy to take care of! I love them



Your worms are quiet ? You must not have given them their favorite version of a well constructed party tray, just yet. :thumb:




MOgal said:


> I've been vermicomposting indoors for close to 20 years now. Still get a kick out of seeing those masses of worms around a food product. Between dogs, cats, chickens and goats...............


:whistlin:

Well, not to put too fine a point on the particulars, but you should see the massive congestion of worms that congregate around _dead_ and properly buried dogs, cats, chickens and goats....... about a week into the cycle..............

...........not to mention, *****, possum and other vermin. :whistlin:

(roadkill is gettin' real close to a well constructed party tray fer the worms. :thumb: )


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

whodunit said:


> Any advice on whether to use my lawn clippings to compost or to supplement feed for the donkeys, goats and chickens? As far as other stuff, we also feed the chickens most food waste anmd their egg shells back to them, so all I have to compost is manure and straw/wasted hay. We don't have any tree leaves to speak of, but I could probably get free saw dust nearby. Would that be okay to add to the copious amount of manure?



We feed weeds from the garden and grass clippings from our own *ahem* "lawn".... such as it is.... to everything that you mentioned.
Go easy on your larger critters, such as donkeys and goats, until they get accustomed to the richer feed. Chickens can handle anything.

YES!!! Add that sawdust to copious amounts of manure and then _STAND BACK_ !!!


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## MOgal (Jul 27, 2002)

The operative word in my post, Forerunner, was INDOORS. I agree that the worms would have a major party in your surroundings but I don't cotton to the idea of such in a plastic storage container in my basement! Blech and double blech!

I use these smaller amounts of vermicompost on special plants, in potting mixes and to make vermicompost tea. For the rest, I do sheet composting because I only have a shovel, rake, pitchfork, buckets and some nice garden carts. Too old to do much turning by hand but I did my share in my younger days. This fall we're planning to rent a skid loader to thoroughly clean out the barn, dump it on the gardens and use our 1950 IH manure spreader to put some on the front field. Our hay comes from that part of the farm while a neighbor chemically fertilizes the rest for hay to feed his own cows.


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## unregistered41671 (Dec 29, 2009)

Forerunner, I do enjoy your compost posts. Thank you.


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## cnichols (Jan 5, 2010)

hahaha! Like MOgal, I must also state ... INDOORS ... erm ... don't think I want that type of "party tray" in my kitchen!



> (roadkill is gettin' real close to a well constructed party tray fer the worms. )


As far as manures ... I only have a few chickens, so they don't produce too much manure. I had been trying, at one point, to compost a large quantity of oak leaves. They sat for years and didn't break down hardly at all! Duh! I then found someone (via craigslist) about 30 miles from me giving away free horse manure straight from the barn. Loaded up as many containers & trash bags as I could fit in our little Saturn Ion, brought them home and layered it with the leaves. Within about two months (with a little watering and turning involved) we had beautiful compost.

Speaking of which....time for me to call that guy up again! Wanna get more compost before the fall plantings!


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Speaking of leaves that just sort of refuse to decay......
There is a product called leaf mould, that is the result of a partial leaf decay. The stuff breaks down to a consistency not far removed from sawdust, and works great in a sawdust toilet application, in place of sawdust.

Just sayin'.


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## cnichols (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks for that tidbit forerunner. I've been long contemplating the humanure way of life. I just can't get my DH on-board with it. He said since we have a septic system we don't need to worry about not being able to use the toilet. My point to him, however, is ... if there's no water coming from the faucet how are we gonna flush without using our stored water? 

I guess what bothers me the most is that we are letting such a rich source of nitrogen (urine) and other contributors go to waste with flushing. :shrug:


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## whodunit (Mar 29, 2004)

Forerunner said:


> We feed weeds from the garden and grass clippings from our own *ahem* "lawn".... such as it is.... to everything that you mentioned.
> Go easy on your larger critters, such as donkeys and goats, until they get accustomed to the richer feed. Chickens can handle anything.
> 
> YES!!! Add that sawdust to copious amounts of manure and then _STAND BACK_ !!!




Thanks!


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## logbuilder (Jan 31, 2006)

Blu3duk said:


> Jenkins made his Humanure Handbook a free 23Mb +/- download in case folks did not know that, and they can also order one from him as well in hardcopy. I am a avid believer in reading something before i go purchase it if it available to do so, my e-library though has mounted up on disk while my hard copy library sits in boxes wanting for shelf space..... I may never reach my 7000 volume hard copy library if things dont get better, the buildinng alone to house them will eat holes in my pocket book.
> 
> And Thanks Forerunner, my piles grow yearly, though I dont have room for mega piles, I do appreciate the idea, and have kicked over the idea of finding a spot just for this towns fall leaf problem.... which could turn into a profitable situation if done correctly..... but i am not the visionary just yet.
> 
> William


I have not been able to find the link for the free download. I did see that they are in the 3rd edition which can be downloaded for $10 and there was a reference to downloading the 2nd edition for free but I couldn't ever find the link. Could you provide the link you used?


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## Skamp (Apr 26, 2014)

My first extensive read here. 1-4, thanks for the info.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

:thumb:



Some of my life's fondest memories were made in the Appalachians.....

Enjoy the scenery and the timelessness......while you compost.

I would be....


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## TXWildcat (Mar 26, 2014)

i started a worm bin last year. it has grown exponentially. they get what the rabbits wont eat. its amazing to see how fast they convert food into fertilizer. 

thanks forerunner for your posts on the subject!


Live life in such a way that the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral.


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