vermicomposting

Were the stripes linear? (head to tail) Or banded (circled all around?) Linear is harmless garter snake, (or another harmless species) If banded and the red and yellow were touching, don't get near it.

Ceeads,
The stripes were linear. I went online today to try and identify it, but I didn't see anything that looked like it. And thanks for the tip. I memorized the warning: "Red on yellow, kill a fellow. Red on black, Friend of Jack!"

The other snake tip that I know is that if you smell cucumbers (and there aren't cucumbers around) there is a venomous snake nearby, and I can't remember which one but I THINK it was a copperhead.

I had to google the cucumber reference. It was just too cute. Apparently only agitated copperheads smell like cukes. Yikes!


Scroll down to the yellow box of "copperhead myths" at this site:

http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/1999/05/40.htm

"Copperheads smell like cucumbers. You may have heard someone say you always know when a copperhead is around because it smells like cucumbers. This is both true and misleading.

Yes, copperheads and most other kinds of snakes give off an offensive odor when molested, cornered or captured. This defensive odor, produced by glands at the base of the tail, is given off at will and may also be mixed with feces. To some individuals this musk may smell somewhat like cucumbers.

However, a snake has to have a reason to expel its musk. Thus, a copperhead at rest under a rock or alongside a log will have no reason to give off its musky defense. You could walk within a few inches of the snake and never know it's there."

Isn't it creepy to think how close you are to critters without knowing it? Another "twilight zone" moment -- I've heard you are never more than about ten feet away from a rat. Blegh.

Or a shark, ANYTIME you swim in open water. And, I do believe I had an encounter with one near me once in the Caribbean Ocean as I hung onto the drop-off buoy a ways off the shoreline, in a private cove. The hairs on my body kept standing up and I had this sense something was in the water. I kept looking into the dark water, but couldn't see anything. Then, something in my spirit said, "swim now, hurry, and do not look back!" I let go and swam toward the shoreline like my very life depended on it. And, to this day, I'm sure that it did...

In perspective, I'll take the ribbon/garter snake!

Dove in the Caribbean on a few murky days, spearfishing...I know EXACTLLY what you're talking about, gymgirl!!!

I panicked and stayed on the boat. I've been out there (snorkelling, not scuba diving, which I'm licensed to do but find too scary) and "vulnerability" takes on a whole new meaning.

Yeah, I'd prefer to take my chances with a snake.

I'm a little confused about all this discussion about snakes in a thread about vermicomposting. You have hijacked this thread.

It's very easy to start a new thread. Please do so, and leave us alone to talk about vermicomposting.

Andycdn,
The worms were in the compost.
The compost was in a pile.
The coffee was supposed to be in the compost
The snake was in the coffee.
I found the snake when I reached for the coffee to put in the compost because the worms like the coffee in the compost.

But, nobody liked the snake that was in the coffee that was supposed to be compost for the worms...

See. Vermicomposting.

andycdn, snakes may not be common in Ottawa, but in warmer climates, snakes are not uncommon around compost and worm bins. They may be attracted by other animals that are attracted to the worms. We had an outdoor worm bin that went sour when moles/voles tunneled up and ate the worms. We put a wire mesh on the bottom after that experience. I'd rather see a brief discussion on the snakes to help out a fellow composter than see Gymgirl harmed by a venomous snake because she didn't see the thread that cautioned her about them.

imapigeon - I've just built a worm bin and have been told that you can find red wigglers in manure rather than having to go out and buy them. I've also been told that regular earthworms won't live in a wormbin.

My conclusion, until I find a definitive answer, is that red wigglers do the intense breakdown where there are lots of nutrients, inboth side and outside. It sounds like they can't live in regular soil without the nutrition that decaying vegetables, coffee grounds or manure can provide. That's where the regular earthworms can live.

So I'll be heading over to my neighbors barn this week to search through the manure for red wigglers. Maybe buying them is not so bad . . .

I've been reading this and other related threads with great interest. Think I'm going to have to add a Worm bin to my Santa list. This looks like too much fun. I can relate to the snake issue, we use to have a real problem with copperheads hanging about. Since there has been a lot of changes to the side road, mainly draining a marshland, they are fewer, but I still check the compost bins with a shovel handy.
I'm curious as to the "quality" of the worm castings. Is there a difference between castings given off between the different worm species or does it matter?
Since we've gardened organically for over 25 years, keeping worms busy as never been an issue. This 3/4 of an acre that use to be nothing but filled over VA red clay is almost perfect. I have a couple of edges of the property I'm still working, but it's immensely satisfying to be able to plant veggies and flowers almost anywhere we want with a minimum of fuss. And the neighbors who thought we were total nuts are now calling for gardening advice. Too funny! LOL

Thank you ALL for your patience regarding the snake near the compost bin discussion. And particularly to Garden_mermaid for letting me know that this might be a pretty routine finding. I'll be on the lookout for real, from now on.

The best part is that, I've spent so much time with the DGer's in the garden and plant files, that I actually was NOT terrified of the snake. I've gotten over the heebie-jeebies from looking at all the wonderful new creatures in the BUG files, too. Some days I stop by just to see what new animal somebody discovered in the yard.

All in all, DG is refining my view toward all God's creatures in the yard!

HI ALL I HAVE MY WORMS IN ONE OF THOSE PORTABLE SHED THINGS WITH CLOSED DOORS. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO WINTER MY WORMS BETTER. I LIVE IN W. TN SO IT GETS COLD BUT USUALLY DOESNT STAY BELOW FREEZING FOR LONG.

My worms stay outdoors in a small bed, and I've never done a bin indoors. But, I would think that a small portable heater in there would do the trick. Also, some additional layering of material on top might provide some extra warmth...

Just a suggestion...

Here's info about worms:

http://www.wormdigest.com (no pun intended)

And here's a great video for making an off-the-shelf worm bin. It's quick to make. Took me longer to find the stuff than to build it (about an hour). The vents are in the roofing section of the hardware store. Not every hardware store employee knows they have them. LOL

http://www.king5.com/video/ciscoe-index.html?nvid=179227

The top bin, which is where the worms will live, has 20 1/4" holes in the bottom for drainage, 5 1" holes on either side and 2 2" holes in the top for ventilation.

The bottom bin will catch any fluids and the spigot is to periodically let the fluids out.

The hardest part is the spigot - the hole didn't drill cleanly because I put the spigot too close to the bottom. I'm hoping that the rubber/plastic o-rings will seal it. The instructions say 1/2" up, but you should make sure that you are drilling above the bottom rounded edge.

Do this outside - there are fumes from drilling through the plastic. Gave me a headache.

An added bonus to doing it this way is that you can pretty easily insulate the outside if you have to for colder temperatures.

Kathy

Kathy

Good info if you google "cheap and easy worm bin" as well -- and "worm man" for your worms.

fieldsems, does it freeze inside your shed? You may want put some straw bales around the worm bin for insulation in the winter.
The first year we had an indoor worm bin, we had frozen worms around the outer perimeter of the worm bedding (lived in the mountains at that time). We felt really guilty and moved the bin close to the furnace. At the next feeding we discovered we had roasted worms on the perimeter. Argggh! Thankfully the worms at the core were survivalists and gleefully reproduced when we managed to get the bin location right. As an added incentive, we built a large pile in the yard - chicken wire wrapped around stakes, filled with straw. We started burying all the kitchen scraps in the straw and by the time snow season started we had enough heat generated from the scraps in the pile to allow the worms to overwinter in the center. We'd find tons of worms when we sifted the pile out in the spring. That being said, the Sierras have "warm snow", meaning, we didn't get the sub zero temps that many other areas experience. You'd need a bigger pile or better insulation in those areas.

Garden_mermaid!

I've been trying to get the answer to "how do you get the compost out from under the worms in the Springtime!" YOU HAVE MY ANSWER...please tell me about "sifting" so I don't kill all my beautiful worms.

Thanks, in advance!

We used tools that were something like these:

http://www.gardeners.com/Compost-Sifter/default/36-000.prd

http://www.amazon.com/Soil-Sieve-Stainless-Steel-diameter/dp/B0007P4JAU/ref=pd_sbs_hi?ie=UTF8&qid=1195000023&sr=8-2

We made a sifter that fits over our wheelbarrow. It's similar to these 3 plans, but it has long handles so it's easy to shake the box. The worms pretty much stay in the sifter, and the compost pretty much goes into the wheelbarrow.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/CompSift.html
http://www.rd.com/familyhandyman/content/19434/
http://www.rco.on.ca/RCO_files/CompostSifter.pdf

We moved the worms from the sifter to a bucket, then back into the pile.
A word of caution on sifting - the robins and other worm eating birds will gather around an watch the sifting. The bolder ones will make kamikaze dives for the worm bucket.
We've accidently dumped soil/compost on more than a few birds.

does anyone heat the building their worms are in? if so how, we used a torpedo heater last night way to expensive for long term use.

HI new to this section of DG and wow so much info here I'm gonna have to re read it.
We just moved here from the Rockford Illinois area in July and of course I have to re learn some gardening since we don't have black dirt in Texas. lol

Hubby is gonna love me when he gets back from hunting up there as I want to be able to get started on a veggie garden in the spring and I knwo the compost pile we started will take time to get to the point of being usable. so I am going to have to start getting things together for composting with worms.

I did find a site called EMAmerica.com and am trying their bokashi composting to get things better here...worked out good as the manager of the branch in Texas is near by so I saved by pricing it up directly from her.

fieldsems have to ask if you are actually in Paris or outside of it my brother in law has a place just east of Paris Landing on the river. We stayed there in July until we could close on our hose here in Texas.

actually in paris about 10 miles from paris landing!

ok well I'll just have to keep an eye on ya then so when we go over there to visit I can give ya a holler and we can meet in person, since my fishing is almost limited since he complains (teases me) that I always catch the first fish the most fish and 2 summers ago the biggest fish...lol

SOUNDS GREAT...GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR COMPOSTING

dmail me the website so I can bookmark it please then I have it when I am ready to get worms as we have none here unless I go get fishing worms

please dmail me, too, with website

I'm "working" on DH, I badly want to try this. I think I can set up a small bin under my kitchen sink. I just find it fascinating.

OK I AM BLONDE SO WHAT DOES DH MEAN?

Field: DH can translate in a variety of ways:
dear husband
darling husband
da*n husband, etc.....
But usually "dear".

Well, I ordered some worms from a company not too far away. I don't expect my tumbler to get hot again this winter because I won't have a whole lot to put in, mostly kitchen scraps, so I'm going to put some worms in it. The rest will be going into my new raised bed that has lots of goodies in it. I hope they will be happy. (still can't believe I paid for worms, haha)

Hey Field being blonde does not mean anything ...:)
hair color do not make the person
not everyone knows the "slang" used in typing to shorten things so it is a learning experience for anyone new online.

http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm

Hoo Rah Maggie....Over 150 responses since Feb 07 on vermiculture and you're still going! So why don't we have a new forum? Somebody needs to slap ol Dave up the back of the head.

I just breezed through your thread and it's apparent there is sufficient interest here for your sticky...whatever that is. I will spend the weekend reviewing all of the comments your followers have posted. Some look very intriguing.

I have raised red wigglers for more than four decades and I'm always on the outlook for new suggestions and ideas. My original purpose was to provide live food for my native fish collections. Since taking up gardening several years ago I have discovered new uses for the stuff I use to throw away. At $100/lb for worm casings I'd be rich if I had marketed it instead of tossing it in the dumster.

Anyway, I see a lot of people doing some of the same things I use to do like drilling holes in the bottom of their worm/compost bins. I have ruined a good wood floor, and chased more escaped worms than you can imagine. So I developed my own method of worm farming and it works pretty well for me. I haven't yet learned the nuances of Hyperlinking, so if anyone wants a peak at the procedure, I posted a copy on my personal page.

Critics, criticisms, suggestions always welcome.

THANK YOU MAGGIE!!!

morgan

Hi Morgan,

Thank you for your kind words. I've looked at the various worm/vermicomposting threads and it does look like there is more interest than just what's on this thread. People do seem to be having a bit of trouble finding info though. I think if we could get all these people together on the same forum, we'd have critical mass and more entries. I suspect people poke around on DG, don't find what they're looking for and go to other sites which are much more active. There does seem to be a lot of confusion on the larger forum re: garden worms vs. Eisenia foetida. I think a forum would help with that.

My vision of a sticky would be similar to what is on the dahlia forum- a list of resources and best threads http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/dahlias/all/
We could have one for building worm bins, using the results, maintaining worm bins/care&feeding etc

Maggie

Excellent ideas!

Hey Maggie,

Glad to see you're staying on top of this. There are so many spin offs on this subject it's like a Buck Minister Fuller think tank.

What I like about DG Forums is the practical knowledge it brings to any subject as well as the scientific. I have been following the postings of an UBER in the vegettable gardening section that I find absolutely facinating.

Do you think we could vote in a worm UBER....or is that strictly ordained by the King!
I'm leaning towards Gymgirl for my vote...some great ideas there. But I've got one for you Gymgirl...Try blending your bannana peels in a little water and making a watery paste. I always cut the peal into about four smaller pieces first, and toss the stem which gets caught in the impeller if you leave it attached. Blended peelings are readily divoured by the worms in my indoor compost bins.

Well Maggie...good luck...I hope this takes off....Tomorrow I will spend the day catching up on this thread and I may be Dmailing some people.

morgan

I sent a note to admin re: a forum. Please post on this thread http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/532781/ if you think a separate forum would be a good idea.

Maggie