Here is my new low-profile, multi-level worm ranch. I had enough worms for more than 2 habitats, but I just put some in here, and re-did my old one for y sister-in-law. She is getting a fully functioning worm farm that's already densely populated with red wigglers. I have been getting more fertilizer than I knew what to do with from the previous set-up, so I hope Sue gets as much as I did. She has a big lot with lots of plants and vegetable garden plot on which to spread it all around this summer. A few weeks ago I gave away over 4 gallons of worm tea to a couple of Free-Cyclers and I still had too much. I have given a good friend a gallon, and several gallons went to my bother and sister-in-law when they visited the last couple of times. I ended up dowsing all my plants, my hedges, and my front yard today. It may be the middle of winter, but it felt like summer today - it got up into the mid-eighties! I even got a little sun-burned while I was out there fiddling around. You know what? I spread several GALLONS of that stuff all over my front yard and you couldn't even smell it. I was worried it might smell like poop afterward, but not at all...you can't say that about SOME organic fertilizers!
When I made my first worm farm from recycled materials, I wasn't sure if I could make a go of it, so didn't want to invest any money in it. The most expensive part was the worms
themselves...the original habitat cost me less than $8 for parts, and the starter bedding (cocoanut coir & peat moss) was about $5. I have gotten at LEAST $150 worth of worm tea fertilizer (Retails for $7.95/Gallon), not counting the composted soil that I have spread around to all my plants. The worms themselves have doubled their population at least 4 times. I used 20 percent less water the last few months - I guess that is from not running the garbage disposal so much - the worms get most of the stuff that used to go down the drain in addition to the rain barrels. I am going to say those little wigglers have paid for themselves several times over since August. My plants sure like what they make - My palm tree is growing a new leaf - in January - and I have a ton of Kolanchoe flowers starting on my patio, and my Impatiens have been blooming, too.
1 comment:
Oh the HORROR! I went out to check my worms since I moved them outside last weekend and they had been invaded by ANTS! ARGH! I HATE ants, and I'll bet the worms don't like them either. I read many years ago that ants are allergic to cinnamon, so I doused the farm, inside & out, with the lovely aromatic cinnamon and then poured a couple of liters of water on the top so it would seep down carrying the spice with it. Hopefully the insects will abandon ship. I hope worms aren't allergic to cinnamon, too! I guess this precludes moving the worms back inside for the time being. Hopefully the location they are in will not get too hot for the wigglers...it's only 88 degrees F today.
Post a Comment