I use a 1/2" screen that fits a 5 gallon bucket for my leaf mold. It's a great particle size for my soil mix.
Wormcasting
- Thread starter Virandell
- Start date
Odjob
Well-Known Member
You do it all to scale, I use a screen on two saw horses. I like to harvest wet casting by hand also. Right now I'm starting a new compost pile that I let heat. The worms just move right in when it cools.
l keep them fed until the whole thing turns to worm muck.
l keep them fed until the whole thing turns to worm muck.
Odjob
Well-Known Member
Great time for raking up leaves. Food and winter insulation!
greenjeans
Well-Known Member
So far I have 1 and 1/2 barrels and about a 1/2 barrel of seaweed. I don't think I will haul out anymore seaweed (pondweed) as I'm not sure when the turtles etc. start to hunker down for the winter. I must be getting bored - I'm starting to dig around in the bins more often - poor little buggers get no privacy whatsoever!!! 
They got ignored for the summer!!!
They got ignored for the summer!!!
Odjob
Well-Known Member
Up early and working the fall haul. Neat thing on the go, the deep and old part of my pile is giving off these pea sized balls. They're near dry like clumps off humus!
Nice! At that stage I've taken to crushing them between my palms, grinding them into finer particles and then letting them dry. If they dry like that in the small balls they become hard as concrete and then are much more difficult to crush, and if I use them before drying them I seem to get a fresh crop of mites and thrips on my plants, so I'm trying out the fully dry approach this round.Up early and working the fall haul. Neat thing on the go, the deep and old part of my pile is giving off these pea sized balls. They're near dry like clumps off humus!
Love your sifter. What size screen do you use, 1/4"?
greenjeans
Well-Known Member
Is your sifter motorized or do you shake it or force the material thru by hand??
My cement mixer was one of my most helpful investments. sifted about 15 cu ft of compost this spring. Then turned that into about 50 cu ft of potting soil
used it to clean rock, sift sand, sift lumpy cement & mixed 40 cu. ft. of concrete, this summer (maybe twice that last year)
When sifting the finer material, I just add a piece of screen in between. When it starts to clog, I just tap it with a stick
To bust up lumps just add some rocks
It sure doesn't look as shiny as in this pic anymore
used it to clean rock, sift sand, sift lumpy cement & mixed 40 cu. ft. of concrete, this summer (maybe twice that last year)
When sifting the finer material, I just add a piece of screen in between. When it starts to clog, I just tap it with a stick
To bust up lumps just add some rocks
It sure doesn't look as shiny as in this pic anymore
Odjob
Well-Known Member
1/2 in screen. I do get some stuff passing through. Thing old as the hills, if anything I put new paint on it. You can feel the goodness of the stuff!
Did that screen come with the mixer? Pretty sweet setup for large batch production.My cement mixer was one of my most helpful investments. sifted about 15 cu ft of compost this spring. Then turned that into about 50 cu ft of potting soil
used it to clean rock, sift sand, sift lumpy cement & mixed 40 cu. ft. of concrete, this summer (maybe twice that last year)
When sifting the finer material, I just add a piece of screen in between. When it starts to clog, I just tap it with a stick
To bust up lumps just add some rocks
It sure doesn't look as shiny as in this pic anymore
No, it came of off my pedestal fan, I was thinking about how I could make a screen for it. One day I turned around, saw the fan & theDid that screen come with the mixer? Pretty sweet setup for large batch production.
hit me. 4 screw holes & doneI have screen box that I used to use but was a lot of hard work
Clever. I like it!
It's like the perfect size. Weird how things work out sometimes.
It's like the perfect size. Weird how things work out sometimes.
greenjeans
Well-Known Member
A man after my own heart - There is a solution here somewhere!!!! Just keep looking!!!No, it came of off my pedestal fan, I was thinking about how I could make a screen for it. One day I turned around, saw the fan & the
Odjob
Well-Known Member
-6 c here this morning and my worms are still eating away. I give them a good meal before i cover the pile to keep them going well into the winter. I've been busy collecting stuff for making charcoal and want to mix that in and maybe take away the density. Luckily I can make big smoke without bothering anyone. Surprises me how poor the commercial supply of worms is here locally, ambition could make lots of dough at the farmers market!
greenjeans
Well-Known Member
Hopefully they will all snuggle up with full bellies!!!! Mine are spoiled and stay indoors - but - they have to put up with me checking in on them everyday!!!! I think I can run a bunch of bins thru the trommel soon - I wanted to wait until all the gals were harvested and the last two stalks of Blue Cheese are not as full of amber as I'd like. I wanted to have some as a sleep aid.
I think I can run a bunch of bins thru the trommel soon - I wanted to wait until all the gals were harvested and the last two stalks of Blue Cheese are not as full of amber as I'd like. I wanted to have some as a sleep aid.
You can make char without much smoke with a burn barrel. Set it up at an angle and put some brush in it and get it lit. Then, once that layer begins to ash over, add another layer and repeat. The new layers will keep the heat in but much of the oxygen out leading to a much larger harvest as a percentage of your inputs. Once the barrel is full, stand it back upright and put a cover on it to smother the fire. It'll cool overnight and give you some great char in the morning.
Plus, if you do it right, not much smoke,
Odjob
Well-Known Member
All kinds of neat ovens for biochar! Hurricane Nicole left lots of downed trees so lots of wood. I'm just going to light brush piles, smother them and collect the charcoal in the spring. Makes for a streaming mess.