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  • From: Rachel Airmet <rachel AT sunshinefarmmarket.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] bugs in worm compost/soil mix for potting up
  • Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2010 08:42:34 -0700



Thanks, that's pretty much what I was thinking.  


--
Rachel Evans
Sunshine Organics
181 Highway 97A
Chelan, WA 98816

509-670-8958




On Mar 19, 2010, at 9:12 PM, Bill Scheffler wrote:

Hi Rachel,

Congratulations on your compost.  Mix 2/3 peat and 1/3 compost
and see how that feels to you.  You can add sand or a little soil
if you like.

Not sure about the "bugs".

Bone meal is always a good fertilizer (small amounts).  Young plants
don't need a lot of food to start out.  Plants consume 50% or more of their
food after they set flower and fruit so that is the time to really pour it on.

How about feeding some minerals to the worms so it is predigested in the
castings?  Bone meal, lime and gypsum are good but in small amounts.
I think lime and gypsum in large amounts are dessicants to worms and they will
avoid it so it needs to be mixed.  I am sure others here know more.

Hope that helps,

Bill
Chicago, z5, soon to get 2" of snow.

On Fri, Mar 19, 2010 at 12:46 PM, Rachel Evans <rachel AT sunshinefarmmarket.com> wrote:


We just harvested our first big batch of homemade worm compost.  Our plan is to use it in our potting mix when we pot up tomatoes into 3" pots.  We haven't used any of it yet, and I was just looking at it and see that there's a ton of these tiny white bugs in it--they're curled up on themselves like little shrimp, may have little legs but couldn't really tell.  Any idea if these are good or bad or neutral?

Also, what proportions of compost/peat/perlite/etc are people using in their potting-up mix?  I'm also going back and forth about whether to put fertilizer directly in the mix or foliar feed.

Thanks!


--
Rachel Evans
The Sunshine Farm
37 Highway 97A
Chelan, WA 98816

509-670-8958
rachel AT sunshinefarmmarket.com




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