Brian; I tried the burlap on my first bins before I started with the buckets but when I'd lift the burlap to feed them the worms would be tangled up with the burlap. I sprinkled the RWs lightly three times yesterday. The "swamp cooler" isn't just for the worms. When it's 107 deg.F its a little uncomfortable for me. It only uses a little water and no elec, as it is solar. I put a rush priority on it when I heard the temp was going to be a record breaker this weekend. Fortunately, I haven't had to buy lumber for my projects since retirement 5 years ago from the tree business, since any sound cedar, poplar, Hickory, cherry, Black walnut, You get the drift, that had to be taken down were turned into lumber, and the chipped up brush went either into or on top of the ground. It"s Odd that Ludi's temp was much cooler than mine and she's in central Texas which is WSW of me. Most of the above-ground chips have broken down and almost all of the buried ones have. I've had to create a berm up the slight slope from the garden to keep heavy rains from washing out the rows. Yes. Most of my garden is laid out in a fairly conventional pattern, although I spread out most of the veggies in a kind of sporadic fashion. A cuke here. A mellon there , another cuke somewhere else, etc. Its kind of difficult to change too much, as my grapes run down the middle of the plot on a large cedar arbor running East to west, parralell to my kiwis on the bottom (north) side. The Kiwis are five years old and just started bearing last year. They are loaded this year, but won't be ripe til November. Whenever I decide to learn to load attachments I have to send some pics. Oh Well. Guess I'll round up some old carpet, tho I hate to leach whatever dyes or other stuff might be in the carpet... Maybe scrub and rinse it first just to be safe. lol Ben
I find just a sheet of cardboard on the surface helps keep the worms happy. I get a lot of surface activity, probably mostly at night. One of my bins gets full sun in the morning and as far as I can tell the worms just move to the cooler side of the bin.
Ludi; I'll give it a shot. They just came in about a week ago, and they were very small, so I haven't really expected that much out of them. They're in Mich. peat with a lot of amendments so they probably have plenty to eat underneath. lol Ben
They do take awhile to get settled in and get to work. There's a ratio of organic matter to worms which I can't remember but Brian probably knows, how much material a given amount of worms can process in a day. If you put in too much for them to handle, it can heat up and kill them, so best to start with small amounts of "hot" organic material like kitchen scraps or manure. Best of luck with your worm babies!
I was going to take a nap when someone knocked on my door. A young lad was selling his wares. I wasn't in need of anything he had, but I did compliment him on his industry. He seemed a little impatient and asked rather smart-alecky like "Where you at, old man?" I came back in and thought it over a bit and started writing a reply that he'll never hear. SOME DAY WHEN YOU'RE OLDER...YOU MAY KNOW WHERE I'M AT I WAS ONCE A KID LIKE YOU....BEFORE COOL WAS PHAT TIMES WERE DIFFERENT THEN Y'KNOW...I SAW TV BREAK IN AND THE ONLY NUDITY ....WAS LASS AND RIN TIN TIN THE ONLY TRAVEL TO THE MOON ....WAS IN THE MIND OF JULES VERNE THE SIMPLE RUDIMENTS OF LIFE... WERE ALL WE HAD TO LEARN THE WORLD WAS SO MUCH SLOWER THEN....ABOUT SO MANY THINGS IF MAN WAS MEANT TO FLY, THEY SAID....GOD WOULD HAVE MADE HIM WINGS THINGS YOU TAKE FOR GRANTED NOW..WERE ONLY SPECULATION SATELITES FOR CELL PHONES... WORLD WIDE COMMUNICATION WHAT TOYS WE HAD WERE MADE BY DAD BACK IN THOSE SLOWER TIMES NO IPOD GAMES WITH FAR OUT NAMES....AND FANCY BELLS AND CHIMES BUT SOME DAY WHEN YOU'RE OLDER...IN..SAY, TWO THOUSAND SIXTY-FIVE AND YOU HAVE TROUBLE KEEPING UP..WITH THAT WORLD'S FAR-OUT JIVE WHEN EVERYTHING HAS RACED AHEAD....OF YOUR COMPREHENSION AND ALL YOU'VE LEARNED IN ALL THOSE YEARS..ISN'T WORTH THE MENTION YES.. SOME DAY WHEN YOU'RE OLDER...AND THE WORLD'S A DIFFERENT PLACE AND YOU HAVE TROUBLE KEEPING UP....WITH THE FASTER PACE REMEMBER THAT OLD MAN BACK THEN...IF YOUR MEMORY IS STILL TRUE FOR SOMEDAY WHEN YOU'RE OLDER ....THAT OLD MAN WILL BE YOU Benjy Ps. Now I'll go take my nap
If you can cook and clean I am in. I don't mind moving the maure to the back shed. Hmmm I should have asked are you Female first lol?
Ben I use old underlay and a few worms get tangled up but I just fold it over so they stay in the dark. When I am finished they go back on top as if nothing happened. Love the poem. Rusty from Rin Tin Tin went on to become Meatloaf the singer. Yes I remember that slower time. I have been a little pre occupied lately trying to catch up with this faster world. I got a new free phone. At first when it was offered to me I said no because my phone I had just suited me fine. The lady on the phone thought I was nuts. Eventually after the company rang me another ten times I finally answered again and said yes. I wanted a chance to look at one and see what it was like. Well I have had it about 5 days now and 4 were stressful. Bloody technology. I couldn't work it out as I too am from a bit slower time. Finally last night the penny dropped and the stress went away. Today I am a new man with my flash new phone. It is truly an amazing piece of technology. I suppose we have to move with the times or we would still be cave men
I've been a woman now for quite some time (don't worry I was a girl before that not a boy.) Cooking yes - cleaning hmmmm .... maybe.
Brian; You told something else I didn't know. I recall that Red Ryder's sidekick, Little Beaver, Robert Blake was later the detective with the parrot. His name slips my mind at the moment. I'll recall it when I'm feeding my "babies, which, by the way, have made appearances since I put the burlap (tripple folded) over half of the Bin and wet it down. They're quite a bit larger now. Must have had good appetites. lol
I remember "Leave it to Beaver" . Is this the show? It was only a matter of time before the Reds popped up. Damp burlap will definitely do it
Brian; It wasn't Leave it to Beaver, though that was a pretty good family show. The one I was speaking of was a western like gunsmoke, The Lone ranger, The rifleman,etc. and was titled "Red Ryder" from the old Red Ryder comics and his sidekick was an Indian boy called Little Beaver and his favorite expression was "You betchum, Red Ryder" and the show he played in after he grew up was about a detective named Baretta and he had this parrot for a pet. There was a fairly well-known case where, in real life, he was accused of killing his wife. His popularity went downhill after that. And that's all the dirt from this gossip column. lol Ben
Ben my wife remebers it. Can't say I know the show he was in later on either. Rifle Man , Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke and Rin Tin Tin I remember. If you think back to what Rusty looked like you can see his face in Meatloaf. We have just got a new Irish comedy here called Mrs Browns Boys. I am not much of a comedy buff but ths one cracked me up. There is a bit of swearing in it but it is so funny.
Geez Worm Master Brian... you are getting picky now aren't you! One day I'd really love it if everyone on the forum could down tools and get together for a cuppa. Maybe at Grahame's place because he's really cool. Wouldn't it be great to sit around table and talk permaculture for an afternoon? Swap some seeds, share some recipes for compost tea - that sort of thing.
I have to be fussy as I am only short lol. Yes I would just love it to get together with like minded people. I enjoy it when I make a worm sale and people are so interested when they come to pick them up. I have to remember not to talk too much as they cant take it all in. I suppose it is a passion as much as a hobby. Hey where is the old fella? Ben you seem to be missing. I look forward to our daily chats.
Eco; No, dearie. I've been too busy with swamp coolers, gardening, setting up new worm resorts, cleaning up storm damage and keeping track of you folks to be putting down tracks. There seems to be something strange in my aereated poop buckets. They've been running for several days now, and the PH in the horse poop buckets is still neutral, while the Rabbit poop buckets are edging up the scale. Last check was 8.7. I thought, by now, they would both be turning acidic. I added some unsulphured mole asses to both of them Saturday. The worms are really enjoying the Horse poop, but I haven't given any more of the rabbit poop to them because of the PH. Why is the worm such a wonderful thing The greatest thing under the sun until the time I do something wrong and my wife calls me one? .....ha ha..hee hee...Hooroo Ben
Brian; The book that I ordered from Oz will be in next week. The company Emailed me today that it was in the mail. Thanks again for the information. I can't wait to get my hands on it lol. Ben
Eco you can't marry me at the moment as I have the flu. I had the Fu shot too. Ben I hope you find the book very interesting. It has turned my worms around. I have been picking up a few sales lately so is good. My daughter told me tonight she has put her horse on a high protien diet. Looks like my hand will be in her feed bin when she is not looking lol. Ben put some lime or dolomite in the rabbit mix. I see your part of the world is having severe stroms and power blackouts. Stay safe my friend