Kiwi Phil
Commander
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 2,182
Worm Pea
For all you gardeners out there, thought I would share this idea on how to make your own fertilizer with composting worms.
My youngest, Hayden, wanted a worm farm 2yrs back.
We got 2 styro boxes (waterproof) with lids.
First box, we punched holes in the lid for ventilation, then holes in bottom for drainage. Put weed mat in bottom (stop worms from escaping through holes) then 2 shovels of horse manure and $20 of composting worms (Red Tigers) (don't get very many either).
Then on top go the veg scraps etc.
Next sit this box on top of 2nd box (lid removed) so all worm pea drips into it.
When you want to use it, remove top box, and take a cup of worm pea and add to a 10L watering can of water, and use.
Here is a box:
It is a very good fertilizer, and as you produce it, it is free and you will have plenty of it for any of your plants. Use it as often as you like.
It took about a year and the box was bursting with worms, so he spied a 2nd hand bath for sale from the school bus, sent his Mum around in the truck to buy it.
That went better still, and production was massive, so we took it with us to the flea market on Sundays and sold it $1 per litre.
He refused to bottle it, so I do it, and keep all the proceeds.
He who works get paid in this household.
Developed a problem with this 'bath'. It got soggy on the bottom, so we stripped it out, separated worms from castings. Lined the bath with stones for drainage, weed mat over top, then worms on top of that again.
Production really increased, and so did sales.
Had a 1,000 litre chemical tank (in a frame) that became brittle. Out with the fibre-glass, then turned it in to another worm farm. Jeez can this produce large amounts.
Here is the tank and the bath.
Sales amount to $40-60 per week.
I get rid of all my green-leaf rubbish from the growing system.
Normally this stuff is called Worm Tea. As I understand it, you run water over the castings to produce something that looks like tea.
I don't do this.
I only use water to dampen the green matter, and I get what I call Worm Pea, and mine is as black as tar, and it is
really concentrated, to the point it can give me Industrial Dermatitis on 3 fingers is I get it over them. I have always had trouble with those fingers anyway.
We label it accordingly.
I have learnt how to slow production down if it gets away on me, or to speed it up if I need more.
To slow it down, put in dry leaves etc, remove cover off top (lets in light and worms go further down, and dries top out).
To speed it up, use green matter, spray say 40Litres of water over top. About 20 Litres will filter thru, so just tip that back over top. Do that 3 times till little drains thru, and leave it.....then they really get going.
When we have more than we can sell, we have an underground sullage tank that takes every bit of house water except from toilets, and when full, a submersible pump pumps it out thru sprinklers on the gardens. We just tip the worm pea in the sullage tank and let it go.
So there you go, have fun.
Make a small one, make a big one, and turn your scraps in to something really useful.
Cheers
Phillip
For all you gardeners out there, thought I would share this idea on how to make your own fertilizer with composting worms.
My youngest, Hayden, wanted a worm farm 2yrs back.
We got 2 styro boxes (waterproof) with lids.
First box, we punched holes in the lid for ventilation, then holes in bottom for drainage. Put weed mat in bottom (stop worms from escaping through holes) then 2 shovels of horse manure and $20 of composting worms (Red Tigers) (don't get very many either).
Then on top go the veg scraps etc.
Next sit this box on top of 2nd box (lid removed) so all worm pea drips into it.
When you want to use it, remove top box, and take a cup of worm pea and add to a 10L watering can of water, and use.
Here is a box:
It is a very good fertilizer, and as you produce it, it is free and you will have plenty of it for any of your plants. Use it as often as you like.
It took about a year and the box was bursting with worms, so he spied a 2nd hand bath for sale from the school bus, sent his Mum around in the truck to buy it.
That went better still, and production was massive, so we took it with us to the flea market on Sundays and sold it $1 per litre.
He refused to bottle it, so I do it, and keep all the proceeds.
He who works get paid in this household.
Developed a problem with this 'bath'. It got soggy on the bottom, so we stripped it out, separated worms from castings. Lined the bath with stones for drainage, weed mat over top, then worms on top of that again.
Production really increased, and so did sales.
Had a 1,000 litre chemical tank (in a frame) that became brittle. Out with the fibre-glass, then turned it in to another worm farm. Jeez can this produce large amounts.
Here is the tank and the bath.
Sales amount to $40-60 per week.
I get rid of all my green-leaf rubbish from the growing system.
Normally this stuff is called Worm Tea. As I understand it, you run water over the castings to produce something that looks like tea.
I don't do this.
I only use water to dampen the green matter, and I get what I call Worm Pea, and mine is as black as tar, and it is
really concentrated, to the point it can give me Industrial Dermatitis on 3 fingers is I get it over them. I have always had trouble with those fingers anyway.
We label it accordingly.
I have learnt how to slow production down if it gets away on me, or to speed it up if I need more.
To slow it down, put in dry leaves etc, remove cover off top (lets in light and worms go further down, and dries top out).
To speed it up, use green matter, spray say 40Litres of water over top. About 20 Litres will filter thru, so just tip that back over top. Do that 3 times till little drains thru, and leave it.....then they really get going.
When we have more than we can sell, we have an underground sullage tank that takes every bit of house water except from toilets, and when full, a submersible pump pumps it out thru sprinklers on the gardens. We just tip the worm pea in the sullage tank and let it go.
So there you go, have fun.
Make a small one, make a big one, and turn your scraps in to something really useful.
Cheers
Phillip
