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About the Author MaryT Sydney 4th December 2013 9:57am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Julie says... Mary, it's usually diluted with water, not used straight. But the dilution might vary - I've seen worm wee that was a rich, dark brown, and other stuff that was quite light and almost clear. I guess it depends on what you are feeding the worms. I can't imagine anything it wouldn't benefit, except maybe some native plants. | About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 4th December 2013 10:11pm #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MaryT Sydney 4th December 2013 10:47pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author TMary Neutral Bay NSW 13th October 2014 2:22pm #UserID: 9334 Posts: 159 View All TMary's Edible Fruit Trees |
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People who Like this Question TMary Original Post was last edited: 13th October 2014 2:21pm | |
Julie ! says... In your situation Mary, you would be unlikely to find earthworms. They usually live quite deep in the ground, and I don't know that you have that sort of space. The only time I see them is when I dig deep enough to plant a tree or shrub. If you collected them from under pots, they are compost worms, which is what you want in a worm farm. | About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 13th October 2014 8:26pm #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
About the Author TMary Neutral Bay NSW 13th October 2014 9:01pm #UserID: 9334 Posts: 159 View All TMary's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... Pic 1 looks like the 'reds' and pic 2 is prob a bluey. There is a 3 rd type called tiger, prob due to the stripes. Anyway, there are a few sites saying leachate, the liquid collected in the tray is no good, and real worm tea is only made with casting, aerated for like 8 hours. Personally, i just add some extra water to the farm and dilute the collected worm water that way. And have some great results but i suspect regular feeding is required. As I have found It works as a boost. I have read a site, where they recommend you repour the leachate collected back into the farm a few times and make it very rich. Overall, i think worm farms are awesome and would recommend everyone to give it a go. The initial set up - if you buy everything can cost a bit but it would be worth it. Or a diy option can be quiet cheap also. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 13th October 2014 9:11pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
Brendan says... Many years ago I bought 'worm farm' worms for my first farm, they were called: Red Wrigglers, Tigers & Night Crawlers. They would only survive in the farm, not in the garden! Don't know if they're still available? I think the dilution rate of 'worm tea' was 10 to 1. (10 parts water to 1 part worm tea :-) | About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 14th October 2014 8:40am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 14th October 2014 8:39am | |
MaryT1 says... Brendan, I also feed the worms to my gold fish so the cycle is complete. Thanks, Brain for worm info. Our local council sells them for $30 each but broccoli boxes would be free. I also water the farm and collect the liquid that way; my plants respond well to it. That and gold fish pond water together are all I am using this season to see if they're enough. So far so good. | About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 14th October 2014 8:59am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 14th October 2014 8:58am | |
About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 14th October 2014 10:24am #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 14th October 2014 10:39am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT1 says... Brain, after reading your comment re leachate I read the articles online and think there is a fair bit of hysteria about it and I'm glad I never read it before I started worm farming. Fact is, when diluted with water and/or mixed with pond water I have never had a problem with killing plants/yellowing leaves. So far so good. | About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 15th October 2014 8:26am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
Brain says... I read up on worm farming as i am new to it and want to ensure success. I think it comes down to leachate being somewhat anaerobic and it is unprocessed by the worms. I have not come across any scientic published stuff to say leachate is bad, but have work arounds. A working wormfarm should produce very little leachate, so dont overfeed and if there is leachate, repour over the worm farm and let the worms have a drink, lol. Or use in non-editables. After all composting produce leachate and humus without the worms and that seems to work fine. I too do what you do mary, except with rain water tank water and can report, my plants are doing well. Like all things, take precautions, wash your veggies etc throughly and dont feed for say at least a week before consumption. No different to say other types of fertiliser really. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 15th October 2014 2:01pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
About the Author Waterfall Waterfall 15th October 2014 2:35pm #UserID: 10026 Posts: 422 View All Waterfall's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 15th October 2014 8:48pm #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... funny that my instruction say the same thing, add 5L of water (lol) ... whilst it is good to get worm tea that way, I found it does compress the vemicast a bit and may leave a gap between trays, making the worms less mobile between trays. So I probably only do once a fortnight and only say 500ml to 1L of water at most. Just to keep the farm a bit wet. I don't have enough worm juice/pee/tea to go around my plants, otherwise I'd be a very rich man ... but I'm increasing my production with a 2nd and bigger farm. now if only the worms would eat faster and breed faster ... | About the Author Brain Brisbane 15th October 2014 10:56pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
About the Author Waterfall Waterfall 16th October 2014 9:30am #UserID: 10026 Posts: 422 View All Waterfall's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 16th October 2014 10:09am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author Brain Brisbane 16th October 2014 10:39pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 17th October 2014 8:54am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 17th October 2014 8:53am | |
Brain says... No wonder you have sufficient worm stuff. 3 farms, thats impressive. And all without an outright worms purchase. I have a worm cafe and just started on a wormsdownunder wh1. Here is a link to the tumbleweed worm farm manual, covers can o worms and worm cafe. http://www.vermicrobe.com/upload/Tumbleweed_WormFarm_Instruction_Manual.pdf But judging by your successful program, i wouldnt say you need be worried, lol. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 17th October 2014 9:56pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |