I live in a small town in
the Western Australian Goldfields, and I would just like to say you
would have the best, most informative videos on the web.
Regards,
Brent W.
Hi Christy,
Thank you for making the nice videos about worms I learn a lot from you.
Greetings
Tom
The Netherlands
Hi Christy,
First I want to thank you for a great site. I really enjoyed your
e-course as well. Was able to get a lot of helpful information.
Particularly the videos. I have only been vermicomposting since Sept.
And am just about ready to harvest my first batch of castings. Recently
joined vermicomposters.com Anyway just added some photos of my worm farm to
share. So thanks again. Will continue to enjoy your site.
Troy B.
Thank you so
much for posting videos about worm bins. Your videos are great and I've
learned a lot from them.
Karen
Christy,
Thanks I hope that you don't mind but I belong to The Garden Forums website
and there are folks on there that have not heard of you and your love of
worms. I told them that I decided to buy from you because of a video I seen
of you harvesting worms by hand.
Chris M.
Christy,
Did I tell you the worms arrived in good shape and seem to be happy eating
my kitchen scraps?
Jo Ann N.
Hello
Christy,
I received the Worm Factory yesterday on time and in good shape.
I am looking forward to transferring my “herd” from my single-storey bin to
the new multi-level one.
Thank you for the quick service and excellent videos on the web.
Roy R.
Factory is all set up - so once
you have a batch acclimated and ready I am ready for them. Your videos are
warm and wonderful, full of worm love.
John B
My Lanzones
(Lansium domesticum) that has been sitting on my frontyard without any signs
of fruiting for many years, all of a sudden fruited this year after just 2
or 3 months on vermitea and vermicast.
BEN
Christy,
I love your videos and I've learned a lot from watching.
Steve
Hi Christy, I wanted to tell you
how much I enjoyed your pod casts. I just found them by accident. I been
trying to figure this worm thing out for awhile. You did a good job of doing
that. Also, your pod casts were so friendly. I sort of felt like I was
sitting across the table from you.
I can't wait to get the worm tower and get started. Keep up the good
work Christy! your a special person!
Tom P
Hi Christy.
The worms arrived today! I even saw one of the babies when I was looking in
my bin. I couldn't believe how tiny it was. :)
I live in an apartment building so the manager brought the package to my air
conditioned apartment so they were just fine. Although I wonder what she
thought of this box labeled "LIVE WORMS". :)
Thanks again!
Carla
Hi Christy,
Just to let you know I received the 2 lbs. of red worms Thursday, June 5th,
2008. I received them in very good condition and am very happy with them.
I'm using horse manure and they seem to be comfortable with that. I don't
know how long it will take for the castings to appear, or when to harvest as
of yet, but I'm sure that as I keep a close eye on things I will find out.
Thank you very much for such a wonderful product.
Best Regards,
Dave
Received worms yesterday and
they’re real healthy.
Thanks,
Michael
My worms arrived today and they
are in good condition.
Thank you,
Amy
Yes, they arrived on Friday and
they're great. Moving around and eating our veggie and fruit scraps already.
Thank you!
Liz
Christy,
I did receive the worms today and did not see any that were not alive. I
have transferred them to a 10 gallon tub that I modified with holes,
according to the directions. They are all moving and seem to be "happy".
Thank you,
Cathy
The worms arrived alive and
well, and are fast finding a new home.
Jack
Hi Christy.
Worms safely arrived yesterday P.M. While I've no experience or much
knowledge about worms, I'd say they were fat and happy. They've been
enthroned in nice new digs...with much to feast on to welcome their arrival.
Thanks Again. Larry D
Hi Christy,
Just wanted to let you know that we received our worms and they all looked
fat and happy .....even the lil' babies!!
Thanks again!
Sandra G
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Benefits of Worm Castings
There are healthy, natural alternatives to
chemicals. There are fertilizers that help build a healthy soil
environment for plants to grow in, that leave a healthy environment
for our children to grow in.
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I have been worm farming for eleven years and I am
still awed by the magic of worm composting. To watch the raw
material that is manure, newspaper, leaves, grass and food waste
become the black gold that gardeners dream of is inspiring, and
every bit as exciting as a seed emerging from the earth, a flower
bursting into bloom, and that small swollen stem end developing into
a luscious fruit.
At first I thought because of the cold winters of my
northerly location I would not be able to grow worms. They like it
warm, I thought. And they do. But composting by it's very nature
produces heat. Thus, by planning the workings of my bins to match
the season I actually have better results with my worms in the
cooler months of Spring and Fall and indeed even in winter, than I
do in Summer when the temperatures are really too hot
for the worms to be happy. After a winter of layering on the raw
material mentioned above, the bed has stayed warm enough for the
inhabitants and they have left me with the rich earth filled with
castings and bacteria that a healthy soil thrives on.
CASTINGS
We all know the advantages of having earthworms in
our gardens. We are thrilled to see these little creatures doing
their thing in our soil, and even relocate them when we find them so
they will be where they will do us the most good. But did you know
that there are more than 3000 species of earthworms and of those
only 6 species are important for improving our soil?
VERMI-CAST (product name of the castings produced at
VermiCulture Northwest) is the product of the hardest workers of
them all - Eisenia fetida, also known as the "red wiggler", "manure
worm" and "compost worm". These earthworms produce castings or worm
manure, which is the best fertilizer on Earth. It is extremely
versatile as it works as a plant food, soil conditioner and
microbial activity enhancer for virtually any type of plant that
grows.
The quality of the cast produced by the worm is directly related to
what goes into the vermicomposting system. When quality goes in,
quality comes out. The worms at VermiCulture Northwest are fed a
variety of food stock and bedding material - food waste, garden
waste, worm feed, manure, newspaper, and leaves. Each material added
to the system has its own unique organism (s) that breaks down and
consumes it. Thus the finished product has a wide spectrum of
beneficial organisms in it.
What are CASTINGS used for?
Because of its nutrients, bacteria, humus, and soil building
qualities, VERMI-CAST can be used in every application imaginable in
the garden, greenhouse, and potted plants. Use it when planting
trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables. Use it as a top dressing to
feed plants already in a pot or in the ground. VERMI-CAST will never
burn, so you don't have to worry about using too much. However, you
get maximum growth improvement somewhere in the lower levels of
concentrations, 5-20%, not with 100%.
Why is it the best?
VERMI-CAST is a 100% organic fertilizer, and is completely safe to
all plants, animals, humans and our environment in any
concentration. It is the richest natural fertilizer know to humans.
Plant growth trials at Ohio State University have shown that as
little as 5% (by volume) produces "unique and remarkable plant
growth responses." The recommended rate is 10-20%. Unlike animal
dung and artificial fertilizer it is absorbed easily and immediately
by plants and will not burn. It also enhances the ability of your
soil to retain water and even inhibits bacterial and fungal
diseases. It will improve soil structure and aeration dramatically.
It consists of thousands of durable torpedo-shaped pellets that
resist compaction, creating a spongy quality to the material.
VERMI-CAST has not been sterilized and therefore contains a highly
active biological mixture of bacteria, enzymes, and microbes. This
material stays active for a long period of time. The microbial life
in the castings are much better at transforming nutrients into forms
readily available to plants than those you find in conventional
compost because the microbes in compost are thermophilic, so the
microbial spectrum is quite different and much more beneficial in
castings. This is all according to Dr. Clive Edwards, the world's
leading authority on vermi-composting.
The real value of VERMI-CAST lies in the soil structure, water
holding capacity, the retention, drainage, pathogen control and
control of damaging fungi and bacterial life in the soil. The worm
castings actually contain more bacteria than are found in the worm
gut or in the organic matter the worm consumes. Microbiological
activity is promoted in the soil, which is very beneficial for the
environment your plants are growing in.
VERMI-CAST helps replenish biological diversity in the soil.
According to George Hahn of California Vermiculture "castings
provide the biological engines of the soil". They are the best
source for a complete soil food web. A soil food web consists of
thousands of biological species. The result of this food web is a
healthy cycling of soil nutrients. With them you have a healthy
soil.
VermiCulture Northwest not only produces quality worm by products,
but we can help you get started raising your own Red worms. See
Worms & Housing for some ideas.
All of these tomato plants received an optimal nutrient supply, but
the ones on the right were grown in a mixture that included
vermicompost (VC), while those on the left were grown in the same
material, minus the VC. The VC plants were bigger and healthier and
the yield was substantially higher. University of Campeche, Mexico.
My own personal experience has proven how beneficial worm castings
are in growing tomatoes. If you like to grow tomatoes you have
to have worm castings.
Plans are in the works for a series of videos that would take you from start
to finish (so to speak) of how to have your own worm bin composting project.
Once the set-up process was complete the series will continue with the
maintenance of the bin including feeding and harvesting worms and castings.
If you would like to be notified of the release of these videos please fill
out the form below. As always your information is safe with me.
"Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web"
Sometimes scientists can talk over the layman's head and not even realize
that the message is not being conveyed. This book is written in a very
understandable language, that even a simple worm farmer like myself could
understand and relate to. A must read for anyone who wants to learn more
about the life producing your food.
Smart gardeners understand that soil is alive and what is in the
soil is what supports plant life. Healthy soil is exploding with life -
beyond the worms and insects we can see with the naked eye - there are a
multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microbial forms of life vital to the
soil food web that sustains healthy plant life. Resorting to chemicals
destroys this delicate balance and results in an unhealthy situation for the
soil, the plants, and the environment. You can't destroy this balance and
not have an affect on the people, the children, family and friends. As
gardeners, farmers, and inhabitants of the Earth we have an obligation to the
next generation to leave behind a healthy soil. Venture beyond your
current understanding that good soil grows healthy plants and understand
why...This book available now from Amazon.com by clicking on the buy link.
VermiCulture Northwest
6351 N Davenport St
Dalton Gardens, ID 83815
(541) 678-7005 (new phone number)