Article 31745 of rec.gardens:
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: More vermicomposting ques
From: jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org (Jim Mcnelly)
Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!corpgate!news.utdallas.edu!chpc.utexas.edu!cs.utexas.edu!convex!news.duke.edu!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!umn.edu!uum1!gcbbgw!gcbb!jim.mcnelly
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <36.617.2817.0N429D25@granite.mn.org>
Date: Thu,  5 May 94 00:15:00 +0600
Organization: Granite City Connection St. Cloud MN 612-654-8372
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Subject: More vermicomposting questions

April writes in May:

T>1) I seem to have received a mixture of nightcrawlers and redworms,
 >   instead of all redworms as promised by the company.  Will this
 >   make a huge difference?  I know that they like different kinds
 >   of substrate, but what if I offered them a mixture? (I'm not in the
 >   mood to sort 500 worms now or ever)

I know the feeling April.  One of my mottos is to never count chickens,
hatched or not.

T>2) How much room do I need to provide per worm? (Say, worms/square inch)

Since redworms and nightcrawlers do not live in the same habitat, you
need to place the mixture in an environment where the nightcrawlers
(lumbricus terrestris) can burrow in the native soil below.  Most
nightcrawlers, if they are so old and large that you can tell them from
redworms, will be unable to excavate a new burrow.  They typically grow
a burrow from childhood and live in it all their life, shaving a little
off the sides periodically as they mature.  For an adult worm to create
a new tunnel network when they are fat and lazy is asking a lot.

But it can be done if your soil is soft, there is a good mulch layer
above the soil that is kept undisturbed, and you provide plenty of
moisture.  Placing your mixture into an old compost mixed with peat and
or shredded corrugated is a good mix.  Then place a two inch layer of
wet, fresh, horse manure (make sure not recently de-wormed!) and the red
worms will come up to the top and the nightcrawlers will stay below to
burrow.

T>3) How fresh should the veggies be that I feed to them?

If you are using redworms to cure compost, a process called
vermistabilization, you should compost your table scraps first and feed
the compost to the worms in thin layers when the compost is hot and
active.  If you are looking to have the worms *do it all*, a process
called vermicomposting, then you can add fresh table scraps right to the
worm beds.  You need at least two parts bedding to one part table
scraps, making sure to bury the scraps thoroughly.

You can have upwards of 3,500 worms per cubic foot with a maximum of
7,000.  The minimum is around 500.  Do not feed the worms any more than
they can eat in any given area in more than two weeks.  Stated
otherwise, it takes a pound of worms to eat a pound of daily feed.  Bear
in mind that you will also have to remove a pound per day of old worm
castings too.  This can be done either on a continuous basis from the
bottom of the worm bed or periodically using a batch technique.

I assume that you have Mary Appelhof's book, "Worms Eat My Garbage".....

Most of these answers are in her book.

Lots of luck. It sounds like you are on your way to a successful
earthworm culture.

Mr Compost~~~

Jim~ McNelly
ReSourceNet and GardenNet 612-654-8372, 656-0678 v.32bis
jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org
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 * May 4th - Let me see.... Now how does that twit filter work?



