Dear Kelly
What kind of worm would you recommend for the far north, Alaska. I
would like for them to be able to overwinter in the garden and I have
some that do. But if I was to bring some in what species would you
advise? Thanks Hi_Yield1.
--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Kelly Slocum" <kelly_at_b...> wrote:
>
> I realized after my post regarding worm castings storage (and the
emails
> that post generated) that we may not have adequately addressed the
issue
> of moisture content as it relates to storage. Plastic containers
are
> often viewed as advantageous for castings storage because they do
not
> breathe and will help to hold moisture in the material. When
castings
> have a moisture content no greater than that of potting soil from a
> freshly opened bag (approximately 15%-30% moisture) the plastic
helps to
> maintain that moisture level, preventing rapid drying and, thus, the
> potential damage to the biology. This relatively low moisture level
> also ensures that oxygen flow/diffusion through the materials is
> sufficient to maintain aerobicity. If the castings are too wet,
> however, air flow, and more importantly oxygen diffusion through and
> into the castings "pellets" can be decreased, a condition further
> exacerbated in plastic containers by the fact that plastic does not
> allow for fresh air movement into the container as well as do more
> porous materials like wood. So, in our discussions of how best to
store
> castings we need to include the topic of moisture level.
>
> When castings first come out of a worm system they tend to be rather
> wet. It is best to dry them before storing by spreading in thin
layers
> in a protected environment like a barn or garage floor. This
should be
> done out of direct sunlight as UV light can damage the beneficial
biota,
> and fans are not recommended as they can cause rapid drying of the
> surface material. If there is insufficient room to spread the
castings
> they can be piled, but the pile should be periodically turned to
prevent
> over-drying of the surface materials while the center of the pile
> remains wet and can potentially become anaerobic. Frequent turning
is
> not necessarily recommended, however, as another advantage to this
> drying phase is that it is also allowing the fungal biomass in the
> material to increase (in castings that had sufficient fungal
content and
> fungal foods to begin with). Frequent turning can inhibit this
process.
>
> While we do not want castings to be stored in an overly wet
condition,
> nor do we want them to dry completely. While 15% moisture will
actually
> feel very dry (castings will flow very much like dry sand at this
> moisture level) there is still a fair amount of water associated
with
> the stuff. Castings that are completely dry will feel gritty and
sharp,
> like sand, and become hydrophobic, meaning they will not be
re-wetted.
> You can leave completely dried out castings in a bucket of water
for a
> month and they will not adequately recover their ability to hold
water.
> So dry them down, but don't dry them out!
>
> I hope this provides a more comprehensive explanation for storing
> castings and helps to provide a base of information that helps folks
> make a better informed decision on castings storage concepts. I
> apologize if my previous post caused confusion!
>
> Kelly
>
> Kelly Slocum
> Chief Science Officer, Vice President
> Bon Terra, Inc.
> phone 360.253.5465
> fax 360.253.5466
> email kelly_at_b...
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Received on Thu Jan 01 2004 - 22:50:59 EST