Webinar: Composting with Worms on a Mid to Large-Scale - What, Why, How, and Who

[@svetlanikolova7673]

I switched to permaculture on my land and start using vermicompost everywhere . As I put mulch down I stopped watering as well. I overmulched this fall to allow the soil to be fed. Worms will make a lot of tunels and water will stay put. I am also so excited to be starting my own company producing black gold in my country with a mission to eradicate chemical inputs forever.

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Excellent news how is it going?

[@JamPowe-w8c]

greetings from canada i farm worms i hope to reduce chemical inputs in my area also ! goodluck

[@svetlanikolova7673]

Get yourself a worm farm people. Reduce your waste to a bare minimum. You save the planet our water, our lands and we leave a clean earth for our children and generations to come Greetings from Bulgaria

[@Heckerfamilyhomestead]

This is great. I can't wait to start.

[@anitaanaya378]

This is my. First webinar. It was good information. Started vermicimpostings ,6 months ago. I found the webinar vis my fb, showed up and stayed with it. I had heard of her on a conference in line. Thank you. Many explanations why not allowing to get to hot was something I learned that happened to one of my plastic bins out if four. learned if the pathogens. Do hotels with red wigglers as well in my garden and veggie garden and expand with fruit trees, and and notice the size of the squash I planted this year, leaves were 18 to 19 inches in diameter and color if the zennias flowers are bright and tall. Do want to make it a business or introduce it to the small town where I live if 1,700 in population.

[@tomhill5416]

introductions end at 6:48 if you want to FF to there

[@moisinio11]

Thanks!

[@NutNayOQ]

Thank you, this was wonderful

[@JohnLee-bd6rv]

@1:20:05 OMG! LOL I love you @Rhonda Sherman You are so adorably smart and cute , great webinar! I am doing tons and tons of research on Vermicomposting and have been binge watching videos and just bought your book " The worm Farmer's Handbook" I hope this works out for me and my 2 babies lol I wanna teach them to do their part in helping the environment and Id like to make some money doing it as well, wish me luck !

[@randyhall1979ok]

Thanks to these awesome wonderful video on vericomposting... thx to you, i bought a Urban Worm bin

[@somedude5951]

Very interesting. Here is a link to her website: composting.ces.ncsu.edu/

[@aicram62]

Also I very much appreciated the explanation of the difference between vermicompost and regular compost. I wanted to raise the worms in place in the ground. Can a compost pile keep worms warm through the winter? How high does the pile have to be to produce heat?

[@robertdouglas8895]

I live in Northern Idaho, near the Canadian border, in the mountains. It gets down to -25 C/ -15 F . I started my worm beds with no cover and the worms migrated into the soil. Now I triple insulate my 6 piles with three layers of plastic sheeting and three layers of spoiled hay. My piles are 3 to 4 ft high. Mice will eat through the plastic sheeting to get to food beneath. Snow collects on top. When I start my tomatoes the beginning of February, traditionally on Groundhog Day the worms are on the top of the pile doing quite well. I thin them out into buckets, feed them, be sure not to water too much, and then sell them or give those away at farmers' market in May to help others get started with worms. The worm compost I make is with old, at least a year old, manure because if it's hot, it kills the worms. The beds are in the shade. This past summer was the first time I made my beds with coffee grounds by the bucket, from a big coffee shop. I think the worm population will increase a lot as the grounds are a worm aphrodisiac. I get veggies that a supermarket throws out. So it's not technically organic but I want my customers to trust me more than government certification. The weeds I compost I put in separate piles: late ones with weed seeds get put in trenches or tree holes under plantings to prevent weeds. Forest soil adds microorganisms.

[@sharronlee4641]

Compost heats to 140 degrees F. Kills worms.

[@sharronlee4641]

Compost gets 140 degrees F. Will kill worms. Bury food to keep them in the ground

[@robertdouglas8895]

@@sharronlee4641 that's why I use old manure, lots of veggies from the food store. This last summer was the first time I had worms die because it got extremely hot for this area, over 100 degrees F. I haven't taken the temp of my piles, but that would be a good idea.

[@clairesides3559]

I too avoid Amazon, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that comment. I have my reasons, mainly that it ultimately hurts local economy and the domino effect of a depressed local economy. What are your reasons?

[@svetlanikolova7673]

Amazon don't deliver on top of a mountain?

[@koltoncrane3099]

Well the same thing amazon has done Walmart, sams, costco, ikea, rc Willy, etc have destroyed tons of local economies. Read in the paper the other day another grocery store closed been open for 80 years. The other thing that’s killed local towns is national monuments and restricting jobs on public land that’s been used for 150 years in rural Utah. Escalante by the grand stair case national monument has been dying since Bill Clinton made the national monument. 20 years later the town is shrunk so much the high school size is about what it was back in 1890. It’s sad how policies have essentially wiped out towns and a hundred years of history for a lot of families. It’s good you guys avoid amazon. I try to shop local. And It’s pretty much why out west with 95% of the public land people vote red cause they don’t want their jobs to be shut down and destroyed. Be nice if they ever redistributed and acquired or made public lands back East. I lived in Delaware a bit and there was massive development in agriculture areas towns popping up.

[@sunnifreyer2759]

What about the small businesses expanding their geographic location and number of buyers because they sell on Amazon or EBay?

[@aicram62]

Is there a test that can be done to check for picloram, clopyralid, and aminoralid?

[@patmog]

It is very unfortunate that it's so hard to find information on usage of these herbicides on products you buy.

[@Berendo4ever]

Can you address why you said coconut coir has a large carbon footprint and that you don't recommend using it? I only found out about it recently and tried it as a replacement to peat moss which seems popular as a bedding material. Harvesting of peat moss actually is very bad for the environment

[@BrendaPlatt-ku9fz]

Agree that peat moss is environmentally worse to use than coconut coir! And actually you would not want to use peat poss for a worm bin due to its acidity anyway. Coconut coir has the benefit of having a neutral pH. For those of us in the US, coconut coir is imported. Although it is typically shipped compacted in bricks, processing coir pith involves input chemicals and a significant amount of water. Furthermore, removing this material from places where it is grown depletes the soil there of needed nutrient cycling. Rhonda mentioned its carbon footprint in that context. If you have a local source of bedding (such as fall leaves or shredded/ripped up newsprint, you could use that). One beauty of composting is that is inherently local and we support utilizing local materials as much as possible. Hope this helps! Brenda at ILSR.

[@tonysu8860]

Commenting providing what I feel are corrections and clarifications for this otherwise educational presentation a lot of aspiring worm farmers should view... 14:20 Thermophilic (hot) composting should not be short of necessary microbes but likely a lower concentrated population of microbes. Just because the process has gone through a heat process and likely killed all the microbes that ordinarily live at ambient temperatures does not mean that it's short of beneficiao microbes. When the pile is converted to compost and cools to ambient termperature, especially with the last few turns the pile will repopulate with microbes and other life that is beneficial for plant growth. It would be interesting for a study to compare the possible benefits of both composting processes but because current understanding doesn't even understand the process of growth fully and in detail, any result would still be incomplete. IMO although we have a feeling that vermicompost which is worm manure is superior for supporting the microbial biome that's necessary for plants to ingest nutrients, AFAIK any opinion is unsupported today. Suffice to say though that farmers should be happy with the results using either as a soil amendment. 22:10 It's actually possible to plant in too much vermicompost? I haven't run any studies, but that's counter-intuitive to me. What nutrients would a plant likely be short of that would stunt a plant grown only in pure vermicompost? If true, then that would also be a possible consideration planting in various types of soils but I've never heard anyone say for instance that 7:1 vermicompost to sand is OK but that ratio could be harmful in good topsoil. I would agree that excessive amounts of vermicompost would likely be wasteful but I've never heard it would be harmful. 32:30 I recently looked for any new research on herbicides (Oct 2022) and vermicompost and found no scientific studies, only that at least in the US there is a general effort to ban herbicides that don't decay within 6 weeks or so. Worms have a fantastic reputation including some anecdotal reports by authoritative sources that worms have even been successfully used to decompose sewage wast. Other reports have claimed that worms have decomposed certain chemical wastes. Although these reports are encouraging and should be kept in mind, they are not scientific studies that have proven such claims. IMO this is important enough that a university or other institution financed by the USDA or NIH if necessary should do at least one scientific study that tests these claims. In the meantime, worm farmers should follow the basic principle to not introduce anything into your worm bin that could be harmful to animals and humans... And that should include chemicals of many types including herbicides and green manure which can introduce e.coli and salmonella. The danger of biological pathogens in particular is unlikelly to survive the worm gut, but it's just beter to take no unnecessary chances. The corrected link to the composting council FAQ in the slide is www.compostingcouncil.org/page/persistent-herbicides-faq It should be noted that the FAQ is only about cold and hot compost, I don't see anything that completely applies to vermicomposting. Regarding heat, I've written that good worm farming practices need never overly worry about heat generated by an excessive amount of aerobic bacterial activity or even a bin that is too close to a heat source including the sun as long as the bin is large enough to provide refuge from whatever toxic or environmental source of discomfort. In other words, if all food is fed in a corner and not spread across the bin, there should not be any worry. A bin in direct sunlight which might increase bin termperature over 90 degrees F can be OK if there is also a place in the bin which is considerably cooler. As long as worms have some place to escape what they don't like, they'll be OK. 39:50 Some corrections and clarification needed on the pre-composting in the slide. First, keep in mind that very few people actually do thermophilic hot compsting properly and never achieve temperatures above even 100 degrees F. I categorize these as "cold composting" which also includes people who simply let a pile of landscape debris sit for many months in a corner of their lot. This will not kill seeds or pathogens but will to a certain amount allow microbes to break down leaves, grass and possibly twigs to a fine enough material that will decompose quickly in a worm bin. A proper thermophilic hot compost pile turned weekly will complete the process in only 3 months, not the many months described in the video. I consider the Johnson-Su bioreactor as something on the edge but more likely to produce an accelerated cold compost rather than a hot compost because the result is full of identifiable debris, tan in color and deficient in the microbes you'd find in a proper hot compost. That is likely why the Johnson-Su bioreactor requires a finishing step adding worms to the pile. 49:00 Choice of bedding. I do not recommend any manure of any kind because of the possibility of introducing animal/human pathogens. Because worms are a common way of decomposing horse manure and worms often are bought in manure, I recommend getting the worms off manure as soon as possible and any time I sell or use compost that was originally exposed to manure, the compost has been re-processed by the worms at least 3 months from the time I could visibly identify the manure (which is an indication the manure has not yet been consumed and processed by worms). Q&A 1:19:55 Qhestion about creating homogeneous food. There is a misunderstanding that food should or must be broken down to a paste or granules to feed worms. Not necessary and in many cases undesirable. The question the worm farmer has to answer is how often does he/she want to tend to the worm bin? If daily, then yes blend or grind down the food so that it can be decomposed by microbes which is then consumed by worms a day at a time. But, if like most worm farmers you want to tend to your bin only once a week or few weeks, then you will want to feed worms food that will decompose at different rates so that worms can consume food on a daily basis. Is no different than how humans eat, we eat enough to last to the next meal. We don't and can't consume several weeks of food in a single meal and expect to live well until the next meal in a month. 1:33:03 Question about low fungal numbers. That is to be expected. Worms eat all types of microbes including fungi. This is why I question the absoluteleness of some current pundits of fungal activity in the soil, I personally guess that fungi can be beneficial for soil health but is not critical, especially when worms are present. 1:28:30 Worms and anabolic "digesters" - Anabolic microbes cannot survive in the same environment as worms which need oxygen to breath. Still, the results of an anaebolic process like fermentation eg. bokashi breaks down food to small enough particles that worms can consume more easily. This is similar to blending food. 1:28:43 "Not enough organic matter." I assume in the native soil. this is common in many places, like sandy beaches and deserts where all the organic matter in topsoil has been blown away, denuding the soil of carbon plant matter that might have existed thousands of years ago. The simple answer is that you can re-build the soil easily and there are a number of permaculture projects around the world which is doing just this. Many crops and plants only need a couple inches of topsoil that can support the necessary microbial biome necessary for the plant to live. Those plants and crops can be grown first through the first few seasons. After a few seasons where plants have grown, died and decaysed on that land, plants with deeper roots might begin to thrive. This is very exciting, the idea that practically any patch of land anywhere in the world might be rejuvenated and support crops, even in the middle of a desert. But because the first few seasons won't have enough carbon amendments in the soil, some kind of compost has to be added to start the process. 1:29:05 Anecdote about a worm farmer that found 95 degree temperature is optimal for his worms. I assume that anecdote as described isn't being described correctly and is based on a common mistake... Assuming that ambient temperature is the same as the worm bin temperature. When a worm bin is brand new, because of its relately low bedding mass and high air flow in the bedding, yes the worm bin temperature is often nearly the same as the ambient temperature. But, as the worm bin matures and the bedding is replaced with worm casting with a high moisture content and less air flow, the worm bin will assume a more temperate temperature that doesn't respond quicky to the spikes of temperature heat in the middle of the day or the cold at night. The temperature can get very hot during the day and very cold at night but a mature worm bin will remain nearly the same termperature all the time day and night. 1:23:55 Question about using office paper because of bleaches and dioxins. AFAIK there is no danger whatsoever, all inks today particularly for newsprint should be organic unlike back in the 1950's when arsenic was sometimes used. Paper is just dead wood fiber and treating the wood fiber in any way should not leave a toxic residue. Can you imagine if office paper was toxic? There would be a heck of an outcry about offic workers working and living, always touching something that's harmful. Always open to corrections if anyone finds what I've commented is incorrect or unclear.

[@CraigMullins1]

link to book?

[@anitaberendsen2425]

Good book, nice webinar but...... Here in France I can't find several kilo's Eisenia fedita. Sellers tell they're pure but so far I have more Eisenia hortensis received. Does Rhonda (or someone else) know someone to bring me in contact with for making finally a good midscale business? Thanks!

[@carolfletcher4462]

I get my red wigglers from Uncle Jims Worm Farm and have never been disappointed, worms always arrive here (Alaska) alive and well!

[@tonysu8860]

Keep looking. Unlike most other worms, Eisenia fetida is one of the most common worms across the world so I can guarantee you that someone somewhere close to you probably can provide you with what is recommended. What you have won't be as voracious as the "Red wigglers" recommended by Rhonda (and other experts) but will do fine enough... You just might need more of them to process the same amount of detris.

[@anitaanaya378]

Flies got to one of my red wiggle worms, got infested with a white hard work which think they came from the fly laying eggs, so destroyed them completely. Have put screen on top of the bin. Will they destroy my red wigglers?

[@aicram62]

Can you use cotton for bedding?

[@tonysu8860]

The problem with something like cotton is that it compacts too easily when its wet and the fibers are pretty strong, might be a bit resistant to decomposition. But, if it's shredded into small pieces it might be possible to mix in with other more suitable material for bedding.

[@rozicabatic478]

Slovenia🖐👋

[@666bruv]

Nice

[@seek2find]

This is the link that I found content.ces.ncsu.edu/worms-can-recycle-your-garbage

[@naturnaut9093]

how elementary, and dumbed down do we need to be?

[@caroline61804]

Start 7:30

[@hajirasmiles]

Home

[@ronaldwilkey6719]

central

[@snoopylyn9065]

So many red mites in my worms bin

[@onwednesdayswewearpink2761]

I use diatomaceous earth it's a tiny dusting

[@tonysu8860]

In general, mites can be addressed by decreasing the moisture in the bin.

[@telnek]

Very deceiving 93 minutes long... Some topics were covered by one slide in less than a minute. For example, the marketing side or the different equipment... This is not a seminar for mid to large scale worm casting farms... Mor of an infomercial at best for her book and upcoming seminars... By the way, there is no such place in NY with 3 feet of snow for nine months, not even in Canada... University professor? Definetly flunked her geography classes !!!

[@barrymcdonald9868]

sounds like you could have spent your 93 minutes doing something else....I get something new from most of these videos but given the provider is doing it for very little I suggest you show some gratitude

[@telnek]

@ArmchairWarrior Lollll good one !!!

[@koltoncrane3099]

Well she showed pictures. Like I’d assume you could use compost equipment or like a hay mixture since it’s large to mix your stuff. It’s probably covered in her book or the big one. Schools are more about theory and science rather than practical application. Just read a finance or accounting research paper. Most are not for laymen.

[@rodneyatkins3258]

R

[@sunnifreyer2759]

The tax dollars from the low-income to middle income to rich pay the salaries, office space "rent," benefits, retirement, office supplies and printing costs for this faculty member and printed piece -- and then it is sold to us, nothing that they are nonprofit. Consider that. Just consider that -- as you vote on more state or federal dollars for public education or pay a second time for this book that you already financed.

[@jjime1175]

It’s funny how we as people thing we need to make it easy for animal like worms...really? Chop up food for worms? They will eventually break it all down, unless you have unlimited time make it easy on yourself, o where in nature does any wild animal have there food chopped up for them.

[@patmog]

It's about managed vermicomposting not processes in nature. Precomposting and "chopping" improves the process even if it's not what happens in "nature".

[@tonysu8860]

@@patmog Actually all that food preparation can be bad for a worm bin, causing the food to decompose in an instant. It's OK if the food is fed only a little at a time on a daily basis and in only one corner of the bin. But if you don't want to manage your bin on a daily basis or feed your worms incorrectly, the nearly instant decomposing can be deadly for a worm herd because the aerobic bacteria that does the initial breakdown will suck up all the oxygen your worms need. If this activity is isolated in a bin corner, the worms can breathe but often newbie worm farmers will mix the food in with the bedding or cover the entire surface of the bin which would trap the worms and suffocate them.

[@patmog]

@@tonysu8860 All statements about worm management will be conditional on all factors involved. So yes, there can be situations where one way is better and situations where another way is better depending on all other aspects of a given "bin" or container.

[@davidgates1887]

No

[@666bruv]

No? Please explain