Worms and Aquaponics 8/21/14

Worm bins and water tank on ground level

350 gallon tank with 9" wicking bed on top

Water height at 31",  

9.2 gal/in. water

9.2 gal/in. x 31" = 285 gallons

Drain pipes from all the different beds

Worm bins with acorn squash growing

Growing my own fish food

All sorts of plankton, rotifers, insect larvae, duckweed and water bugs growing.

Looking up

Strawberry plant recently planted in the 3" media bed

Nice roots after 5 days

Lemon Cucumber

5" media bed with 1"-1.5" river rock

Compost, worms and soil and mixed in with the rock

Looking down on the wicking bed

Soil layer of wicking bed... needs more compost or mulch on top

Cucumber and basil

Iron deficiencies in the wicking bed

Hanging pot with epazote

Outer ring with algae and duckweed growing

Cabbage

Caring for Worms

What to do when I receive my worms?
-Keep them out of temperatures over 85 degrees and out of direct sunlight
-Give them a drink of water about 1/2 cup water per pound
-Get them to their new home ASAP (Compost pile, com poster, Garden or Lawn)

How to introduce my worms to a new environment?
-Make sure the compost/ new home is moist and simply dump the worms in a single pile on top and cover them with moist burlap, a layer of compost or newspaper.  The worms will dig in to the pile and disperse themselves.

How do I care for my worms?
-Worms like temperatures to be between 40 Deg F and 85 Deg F
-Optimal temps between 68 and 77 Deg F
-Humidity between 70 and 95%, keep compost moist.
-Worms breath through their skin and need oxygen to survive.  Well aerated and drained compost insures healthy worms.
-Worms dont like light
-Pre"cook" your worms food by composting it first then feeding it to your worms.  Worms feed on bacteria, fungi and microbes and will not be able to eat food scraps until they have begun to decompose.

Worm bin materials
-Bedding is the material your worms and the microbial community will live in.  Worms will eat this as well.  Shredded cardboard, Shredded wood chips, Shredded newspaper, dead leafs

-Worm Food is material that is added to the bedding to keep the worms and the microbial community fed.   
-Red wiggler worms are surface feeders
-One pound of mature red wigglers equals 800-1200 worms
-Worms can eat their weight daily, start by feeding them 1/2 of their weight in food per day.
-If the worms do not completely eat the food wait before adding more food.

Do add: Vegetable and Fruit waste, bread, pasta, grains, starchy foods, aged animal manure, eggshells , coffee grounds, brewers mash, yard waste.  

Do not add:  Human or pet waste, non-biodegradable material, dairy or meat, oil/grease, harsh cleaners or chemicals.

Watch them Grow
One worm will make 3 cocoons per week
21 days until the cocoon hatches
42 days until hatchings mature

In 12 weeks 
100 worms will grow into
2800 Mature worms
5400 Juveniles
9000 Cocoons

Worms in Durango

I am now selling Worms and Worm castings

 Red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida)

1000 worms for $20
2000 worms for $35

3000 worms for $50 
4000 worms for $65

5000 worms for $80

Worm Castings

5 pounds for $5
10 pounds for $10
15 pounds for $15
20 pounds for $20
25 pounds for $25
30 pounds for $30

Call 330-317-5769

or visit us at

2537 Main Ave.
Durango, CO

Aquaponic wicking beds

This is the newest bed in the greenhouse.  Wicking beds are going to be the big "new thing" in aquaponics, because of their ability to grow root crops and fruiting plants not grown before in soilless  and raft systems.  Solid waste removal is less of a problem because solids are used to feed worms in the beds and are removed by this method.

Stand  pipe @ 5 inches

Bio mass generation

Sun flower sprouting, 2 lbs per tray every 7 days. 

(2 days soaking/sprouting and 5 days growing)

River rock in the tray with the media guard and bell siphon

River rock to a depth of 5 inches

Perlite and coco coir on top of the river rock 

3 inches perlite/coco coir

Water inlet pipes go down into the river rock beneath the perlite/coco coir

Moisture wicking up to the beds surface via capillary action

Compost 1" thick added to perlite/ coco coir and mixed in to top inch

Planted seedlings and seeds

Grow bed HDPE liner install

Piece of 10'x10' 20mil thick HDPE liner.

HDPE or #2 plastic is less flexable than other liners like EPDM, PVC, Butyl, LLDPE, but is more puncture resistant and resistant to hydrocarbons and chemicals.  Most Importantly HDPE the safest of the listed plastics for human and animal health.

Folding the plastic before placing in grow bed

Plastic in grow bed

Sides and ends folded up and stapled in place

1.5" Stand pipe, 1.5" ID bulkhead, 1.5" barbed fitting

Vortex

25th St. Garden and Greenhouse

Geodome and yard

River rock and perlite/coco mix

Perlite and Coco

River rock .75"-1.5" size

Top media bed

North Wall, Tank, Plumbing

Mushroom bags and worm beds

Radish and Mushroom

Thermostat for ventilation fan, temperatures often reach 110 deg at the top of the dome

Top grow bed, the bed is filled 1.5" deep with river rock and wicking compost pots on top of the rocks.  The bottom to the pots are submerged 1" when the bed floods

Top grow bed

Water tank

Drain piping