Today, a buddy brought over 3 wheelbarrow loads of grade A horse manure. Between our new horse and cleaning out the hen nests, there is now "chum" over about 60% of the old beds. I saw a few hot spots with some active worms. They were excited to be fed and watered. It won't be long now!

Happy wormin'

Once again I am horseless, and have been for the past 4 weeks. We will not be getting another (I don't think!).

The worm herd regenerated itself quite well. After a slow and patient start, the beds expanded from an estimated 15 lbs to well over 150 lbs of worm bio-mass. All horse manure generated was placed immediately, fresh and pure, into my 12'x19' carpet bed, 4'x15' carpet/blanket bed, 3'x5' wooden box mother bed, and 3ea. 3' diameter cylindrical worm cages.

I "raided" the manure pit at the nearby rodeo grounds last week. This pickup load should hold them for a few months. Winter is coming and the beds are slowing down.

Now the question is, what do I do with the worms long-term? I will not continue to haul in horse poo forever. I have a life-time of castings, and 10-29 lbs of worms will handle excess kitchen scraps and outdoor compost I plan to check with the local school and food forest project for interest in vermiculture. Maybe I can set up some systems and stock them. I don't want to sort worms, just use my bedrun. Ideas?

It has been a fun ride. Worms ARE a renewable resource.

Good luck and happy wormin'!

Pete

Very nice picture and posts.

Someone once said Genius is the capacity for taking pains.
This thought entertains me when I overdo .
Today's overdo, which will go to the Experiments thread when there is more:

I have a houseplant, pink spotted leaves, happily overgrowing its pot. Cut it back. Trimmed leaves from cuttings. Poked 1/8" (cylindrically() holes in soil of same pot. Stuck cuttings in.

Put 1/2 cup dry castings from July paper bag storage in kitchen sieve. So sieved dry castings are powder to fine . Sprinkled at cuttings sites. Pot already on wet side so no water -- tho fish water was handy. Also did not compress thinking dry castings will absorb moisture from surrounding soil.

And the point is ?

Reply to Pete's invitation for ideas. Save the castings dry in lunch bags or grocery bags. I think we presume they'll be good forever. The little test with the cuttings may be encouragement for usefulness.

BTW, depending on how far away from Oly WA you are, I'd be willing to help with the work.

Barabara, paper bags and cardboard boxes don't work. The leftover worms eat their way out! I have currently about 2 cubic yards of harvested castings stored in piles on the ground under tarps, in totes, garbage cans, and other worm-proof containers. I need to harvest about 3 more cubic yards.

It looks like you are 657 miles north of me. 12hrs and 46 minutes away, depending on road conditions. If you want a "tour" come on down. I will give you a coffee-bean sack full of bedrun and all the castings you want to harvest!

"It looks like you are 657 miles north of me. 12hrs and 46 minutes away, depending on road conditions."

You are not a drone pilot, are you? I wonder what a worm bin looks like through the seeker eye of a hellfire missile.

The castings in a paper bag idea sounds interesting. I would suspect that if the bag were suspended in free air, it would be constantly drying and concentrating whatever was in the moisture. It reminds me of the 'how to cook bacon and eggs on a camp fire in a paper bag' trick.

I took the worms out before I put the castings in paper bags.
I think because I was working in smaller quantities, any remaining hatchlings dehyrated past survival.

I thought you called the mix of worms and beddding bedrun:
right or wrong ?

This post was edited by barbararose21101 on Sat, Nov 1, 14 at 12:14

That many miles I take the train.

mendopete, I'm sorry you're horseless and you're planning to be wormless too :-(
Perhaps you could adopt an old retired pony ? They are less demanding than horses, and worms like their poop the same.
Or you could just release your worms in the wilderness if they're autochtons. No euros/hortensis, I think they're invasive and destroying fallen leaves too fast in your country.

Barbara, the nearest passenger train station is about a 4 hour drive south. I live in the sticks... nearest wally world is 11/2 hours. You would get here much faster taking Buckstarchasers' missile.
The bedrun is the part of the bed that worms are active in. I have been top-feeding beds with about 3-4" of manure at a time. I add when the old manure is no longer recognizable (usually 7-14 days depending on many factors). This keeps most worms in the top of the bed, or the run. Some of my beds are 24" deep, with 6-8" of bedrun and the rest mostly very well done castings. I harvest by removing the bedrun with a pitchfork and setting aside. The castings are dug out and the bedrun is then placed back. It dose not separate ALL worms and cocoons, but I would guess about 95%.

Francoise, I will not be wormless. I have chicken litter (not as good!) and regular garden compost. I will always have some worms working for me.
I do not want to feed a horse to make wormfood to make wormpoop. My worm population rapidly expanded due to having a horse. Time to downsize.
As far as releasing my herd, well they can crawl away anytime they choose, as none of my bins/beds have bottoms. Like you, I build no prisons for my worms and allow for liberty and freedom. . I try and build an exclusive worm resort so they won't leave. But the horsepoo recession will cause me to close some venues next spring.

"Perhaps you could adopt an old retired pony ?" Technically he only needs half of a pony, specifically the back half. Somebody else can feed the front half. They would probably be pretty happy with the deal.

I have no idea how many worms or lbs of worms I have. All I know is the rate of which they consume what I give them. So far they seem happy to stay where I put them as that is where they will find food.

We had 3+ inches of rain last month and most beds were cooling to below 60F. Worms were lethargic and starting to leave the surface. In an attempt to "winterize" the carpet bin 10 days back, I dumped the rest of the wet rodeo manure over the most active section of the bed ( approx. 6'x8'x6"deep). This section was then covered with 4" leaves of very damp moldy hay. This hay bale was heating up on its own before I cut the wires.
Yesterday I pulled back the corner of the carpet, and worms were thick and active. The bed temp was 80fF. Many worms were just under or in the hay.
I never worry about overheating an outdoor open-bottom bed. Top-feeding keeps the top of the bed toasty and allows an easy retreat down if needed.

Luckily I have found a few more willing donors of horse manure nearby. A headless horse so to speak. Got to keep feeding the herd for awhile.

Pete, I'd love to see pics of your worm operation! Are they in windrows?

Here is a pic of the carpet bin last month. It is just a mound of worms. Until we lost the horse, worms would be fed in a different area every few days with fresh pure horse manure.
I posted a thread with a bunch of pics awhile back. Look for "Carpet Bin".

Happy wormin'

Another bed covered with blankets, carpet, straw and tarp I cover my beds with anything that can help keep it damp, dark, and protected.

It froze here last night.
This is a test of the outdoor bin with drawers.
(Design an Outdoor Bin)
Will the worms go to ground ?
Should I open it up when the sun is out
and add a lot of food ?

The Worm Inn is in the garage @ 50 - 60ú;
the Rubbermaid bin and the shoebox bin
are in a south facing room with full wall window
& a seed heating mat . The Mat keeps the shoebox
at 70ú; the RM bin is only partly warmed.
Gaming the worms: putting the food in the chilly end.
BTW my worms seem almost uninterested in coffee grounds.
A 4 cup filter half full of used fine grounds does attract potworms.

Barbara I would stuff those drawers as full as you can get them with food and bedding, to the point that you can barely close them. Also bulk-up around the outside with straw or old blankets or something. Sunshine may help a little also. Coffee grounds take awhile for the worms to get them. But they will add beneficial heat to your bin.
In my experience, worm activity slows at 60 or lower. I have had this carpet bed get as low as 40F in past cold spells.

BTW I checked the carpet bed closer today and probed 110F in the hottest spot!! You could sleep on it and be quite toasty. Worms are everywhere and very active. I started a new thread on heating outdoor wormbeds.

Instead of a water bed.

When I was a kid in Texas, all of my friends wanted to grow up and be a cowboy. They talked of riding horses; rounding up cattle; branding and de-horning. They could talk for days and never go home; I got no work done. But time has now passed us by. Now I live in Northern Virginia and have a city lot and a garden. I lost interest in the glamerous aspects of life on a ranch or farm. Now we use the horses, cows and chickens for their poop and have become wormers. I still talk to friends about my worm ranch and maybe building another worm habitat; they cringe; interupt the conversation; and go home. I go back to work on my worm bin. Life is good!

This post was edited by CharlieBoring on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 12:56

Oh, so friends leaving when you talk about worms is an international phenomenon then ;-)

Sometimes when I have a social dinner and people talk about politics or American Idol or sports, I realise that my thought has been wandering away from the current conversation and instead focusing on imagining the innovations I could bring to the wormeries. Can be upsetting when I'm suddenly brought back to serious conversation by current boyfriend discreetly kicking my ankle under the table ;-)

Guess I've become a very boring person with my interest in worms and compost ;-) Today was perfect for boring me, no friends, no boyfriend, no one but dogs, ponies, and worms. You're right, Charlie, that is exactly how a good life is !

Disgust with our hobby is universal. I've learned to be discreet with who I discuss wormin' with. People who like to garden or fish are usually receptive. Most others are not. It is entertaining to watch one's face when you tell them about your worms.

A couple years back my "stuffy" next-door neighbor decided to start gardening. I told him about having a worm bin and castings, and offered him all he wants. He said he would discuss it with his wife. A few days later I extended the offer again, but was refused. I was informed that they were going to grow an "organic garden". I tried to explain, but.... I am sure they purchased expensive certified organic soils and fertilizers and amendments. They no longer have a garden.

This forum is the only "safe" place I converse about and discuss worms.

Life is good... Happy wormin'

FrancoiseFromAix, You know you have become an introvert when you have amazing conversations with the workers in your worm factory. The other day I had a feeling that the worms were trying to organize a labor union. I tried a discussion about the possibility of a pay raise for the workers to nip it in the bud. I offerred a squash every week during the summer months, some delicious banana peels during the fall with a good layer of chopped leaves as a bonus. The workers did not respond to my offer and I saw evidence of a possible walk out (or maybe it was a crawl out). Just as I was about to give in to their perceived demands, I noticed that the worm tea container was over full. That was when I realized that the workers were unhappy with their work environment. I added a good layer of shredded newspaper to absorb some of the excess moisture and the next thing I knew I am almost sure that I heard the workers singing that happy workers song. So in conclusion, if your worms start to organize a union, check your bin for moisture before you agree to their demands.

Or you could go the other route and leave some hens on patrol, think of them as verm pinkertons and let them handle the dissenters.