redgilnc
Visitor
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How soon is too soon to harvest? - 2006/07/10 17:55
Hi there,
I purchased 3 lbs of mixed red worms and Indian Blues in May 16th this year. I had spent a few months researching and I decided to purchase them and began my new hobby. I have been reading so much about vermicompost and what castings can do for our yards, flowers and veggetables that I just didn't want to wait any longer to get started. So, I called Redhen and she educated me on what it was to come in dealing with vermicompost. I was so excited and when I got to her house, she showed me the outdoor bins and gave me a little class to get me started. THANK YOU Susan! I should have you come over so you can see how things are going with my worms. You would be so proud of me! 
Anyways, I have a 6 feet wide X 12 inches long and 12 inches tall wooden bin with the floor leaning towards the middle from both sides where there is 1/2 an inch of space for the liquid to fall. On top of the open space I places a wire screen mesh. So far is working great and though I am not getting much "tea", my worms seem to be very happy. No scapes, no deaths, no crawling out, no shootings, etc... Conditions are stable, heart beats monitored on daily basis and supply of food on demand and in time. lol
At first I was feeding my worm on a regular basis every 7 days 1 1/2 pounds. A few weeks ago I uped it to 1 1/2 pounds every 5 days. I pass all their food thru the food processor (not to a paste like texture but instead, small chunks of food to help accelerate the discomposition process) I was only feeding the worms in the first 1 1/2 foot on the left side of the bin, having 2/3 of the bin empty but ready for the expansion. About a month ago I started feeding in the middle of the bin and left the left side alone. Last Friday (52nd day) I added new bedding in the right side of the bin but didn't feed it yet. As I notices that they were still working on the 1st part of the bin, though I can not recognize anything there and it is all black with lots of worms and I found so many worm eggs. However, I feed the middle again and I suppose I will be doing this for another month or so.
Now for my question... I took about 2 cups of the castings from the left side and did a little harvesting cuz I am too darn impatient to wait for the whole thing to get done. I learned and was able to identify the worm eggs, little worms, big worms and who was who. I thought about separating some redworms from the indian blues to start a small bin of red worms indoors, but again, was too impatient to do this. I wanted the castings more than anything else. I'll do some separation of worms later this month.
I was pretty sure that the harvest I did was castings, but because I haven't read anyone say that they were able to harvest within a couple of months, I wanted to find out. Is it possible with a healthy population of worms to be able to harvest their castings (at least some)? I would have to do the manual method of course, but, is it possible?
I'll be leaving to ride my bike to the mountains on wednesday and will appreciate any and all info you can share. I'll look forward to coming home on Sunday to read your posts.
Thank you all for the wonderful information you share in this site. I was one of them newbies who just lurked for a long while and now ready to share. I have learned so much with your inputs and look forward to reading and learning more.
Have a wonderful day!
Jo'
Raleigh, NC
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