redhen
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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Re:When it is time to Harvest castings... - 2006/05/16 09:19
Yesterday I built one just like the one in the link below. (It's the one that's animated where the guy shows you the before and the improved version).
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0414122724252.html?13
My reds appear to sterilize the stuff they eat-- seeds and all. While I will find an occasional onion or potato sprouting in my bins when these fall out of the feed bag and end up near the surface, I don't see other seeds germinate in my bins. When used as side dressing stuff doesn't grow in the worm castings.
Have I been fortunate or is this something others have seen?
Vermicomposting is not hot composting so seeds are not killed. Anything with seeds will sprout. I have some of my best tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, cantelope volunteered from my bins, but it can be a real tangled mess. I now take care not to add those seedy fruits to my indoor bins but the outdoor bins get them all. Onions and big chunks of potato will take a longer time to decompose and so have time to sprout.
Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth. |
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