worm bin and insects

so I got all kinds of bugs living in the vermicompost

maybe to much fruits going into to it or maybe im over feeding

but at this point what do I do to rid the compst of the bugs before I add it to my soil

I understand maybe some are helpful, but im sure theres many there that I don't want to infect my indoor garden room

I few weeks back I added some neem cake and gnatrol but it didn't do much

Sounds like you got too many scraps in your bin friend!

If the castings are screened and free of any scraps just set it aside and the bugs will abandon ship as the vermicompost dries out. You'll lose a little bit of the microherd but it won't be worthless by a long shot!

Rasta Roy said:

Sounds like you got too many scraps in your bin friend!

If the castings are screened and free of any scraps just set it aside and the bugs will abandon ship as the vermicompost dries out. You'll lose a little bit of the microherd but it won't be worthless by a long shot!

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thank you

If I use it to brew tea is there a chance insect larvae or eggs could transfer thru the tea?

im4satori said:

thank you

If I use it to brew tea is there a chance insect larvae or eggs could transfer thru the tea?

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Unfortunately friend that I do not know. Considering most soil bugs thrive in wet soil, I don't know that you can drown out their eggs or the adults. I would say the adults maybe, but I would bet probably not the eggs. If you're using a thick mulch layer for your soil though it would help prevent the rise of most of the soil pests you would need to be concerned with.

Mixing 1/2 teaspoon of plain dish soap (no antibacterial) per gallon of water will drive out pests from your soil as well as act like a wetting agent for your soil, making better use of your water.

And no it won't hurt your plants or soil biology as long as you stick to the plain stuff.

Rasta Roy said:

And no it won't hurt your plants or soil biology as long as you stick to the plain stuff.

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read my mind

im seriously considering going no till and adding the castings and worms both to the pots and covering with straw

im4satori said:

read my mind

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That's most people's follow up lol. Dish soap end up in the ground water a lot (as you can imagine), so with the exception of the stuff they developed for germaphobes, it was made to not damage soil. Using it as a wetting agent to help dry potting soil hold water (peat moss can repel water when dry) is an old home gardener trick. It's the same thing people use Yucca extract in their gardening for, but much cheaper.

im4satori said:

im seriously considering going no till and adding the castings and worms both to the pots and covering with straw

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What size containers do you grow in?

#20 smart

I was thinking I might plug in 4 plants/clones per container and shorten the veg time to keep them more manageable

just plug in the 4 plants into one container and veg them 2 weeks +/- until 12/12

I have enough containers and soil to allow one to sit while the other is in process so with 2 weeks veg and 9 weeks bloom I can let the containers cook for 9 weeks before each use

just dump the amendments on top scratch them in and cover it with straw and keep it damp and let the worms do the work

is that about right?

I don't have the space in my grow room at the moment to grow alfalfa or something on tops of the sitting pots but maybe one day I will have more space

1 light 1150 watt DE gravita

four pots #20 (4 in each pot)

5ft x 5 ft finished canopy

I just completed my first two successful organic grows using amendments, after 12 years in hydro

so im looking thru the bins

im seeing a few types of bugs

gnats..but im not overly concerned about them

theres these tiny orange bugs that look like some type of mite and theres hundreds of them

tiny little orange suckers look almost like chiggers

and I seen some large black bug that was living below the surface that kinda shined a reflective green color when the light hit it

im4satori said:

so im looking thru the bins

im seeing a few types of bugs

gnats..but im not overly concerned about them

theres these tiny orange bugs that look like some type of mite and theres hundreds of them

tiny little orange suckers look almost like chiggers

and I seen some large black bug that was living below the surface that kinda shined a reflective green color when the light hit it

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The tiny guys are prolly just the mites that show up when you have too many scraps in your bin. They'll disappear as the scraps do, add them in smaller amounts in the future. It can take time to get it right but you'll get to know your worms and get it down eventually,

Rasta Roy said:

The tiny guys are prolly just the mites that show up when you have too many scraps in your bin. They'll disappear as the scraps do, add them in smaller amounts in the future. It can take time to get it right but you'll get to know your worms and get it down eventually,

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thanks man

if the bugs weren't present I think id just put them all (the worms) directly in the pots

I might go out and pic the solid scrap out of the bin

should I add a good portion of neem cake to clear out the bugs?

another thought

what if I put some predatory insect in there?