SpicySativa's Organic Garden

CEC is good to know. Thanks again for the info. So some scrap foods you feed worms will be better broken down into hummus?

All the scraps end up as worm castings, just some are eaten quicker than others. When I harvest the bins, I run the material through a 1/8" wire screen. Anything that doesn't pass through the screen (including the worms) gets tossed back into the bin to keep processing. I don't purposely select some food sources over others; I give them anything that isn't meaty, oily/greasy, or dairy.

DAMN SPICY!!! LOOKING GOOD MAN!!! I am building a cupple worm bins this weekend, I had a great compost pile going but we got some realy hard frosts about a month ago and it was literaly frozen rock hard atleast 2.5 feet from the top, does that negatively affect the compost pile? do ya think I should just start over in the spring time ?

Thanks, man!

I think your pile will be just fine once it warms up. You may want to add some more green material and turn it, just to give it a little kickstart once the weather is a little warmer.

man that's great news, I doubt we are going to have another hard freeze like that one this year so I am getting ready to harvest a few organic girls (critical sensi star, white widow x big bud, and C99 ) so ima dump all the fans and stems and turn it like you say, thanks for the help spicy !!!

medichronic said:

man that's great news, I doubt we are going to have another hard freeze like that one this year so I am getting ready to harvest a few organic girls (critical sensi star, white widow x big bud, and C99 ) so ima dump all the fans and stems and turn it like you say, thanks for the help spicy !!!

Click to expand...

No problemo. Glad to help.

Things are cruisin' along smoothly in the indoor cannabis and outdoor veggie gardens.

One of my four XJ's is looking a little funky with some yellowing if the new growth, but I've been so busy lately I haven't really had a chance to look closely for a good diagnosis. In the meantime, I top dressed them all with some kelp meal and a 50/50 mix of my homemade worm castings and Bu's Blend Biodynamic Compost. Watered it in with dilute fish hydrolysate. I usually steer clear of bagged composts, but I got this for free and Malibu Compost had a good reputation. So what the heck, why not give it a try.

On the veggie/herb/botanical front, the lettuce, carrots, kale, Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic, chives, peas, beans, cilantro, chamomile, aloe, borage, basil, comfrey, and arugula are all looking as happy as can be.

With the help of 6 rockfish carcasses from Saturday's fishing trip, the compost pile is steaming nicely.

All's well.

Happy Monday, folks!

What's up, RIU?

Just a quick update on my outdoor compost, for now. Nothing toooo exciting, but it never ceases to amaze me how much heat energy a hungry pack out microbes can create... I went ahead and turned the pile again yesterday evening, because the core temp had dropped from about 135*F to 120. After turning, the core temp was about 70 (ambient). Just checked a minute ago, and it's right back up to 130 or so. Should be a pretty quick pile.

I'll try to get some pictures of the "Medicine Cabinet" this evening right before the lights come on. The XJ's are coming along nicely. They still aren't 100% stoked in this soil mix, but they'll be OK. I'll probably send the soil they are growing in "out to pasture" after this grow rather than recycling it for the indoor garden. With the help of a little extra compost from the pile, it'll nicely fill up two 25-gal smart pots, which I'll use for more tomatoes or peppers this summer.

Thats about all for now. Here are a couple pics of the pile, and one of my worms mounging on some food scraps. Stay tuned for some garden pics...

Cheers,

~SpicySativa

How much stink do your worm bins put off? Would love to get some going but only place I have enough heat in the winter is inside my house. Not sure the wife will go for it anyway, but definitely would help if smell isn't terrible! Keep up the good work, I'm enjoying the peeks into your grow!

They generate zero odor. Well, maybe a little waft of sweat/earthy smell (which I actually enjoy) but definitely no foul smells. Lots of people keep small worm bins under their sinks. The way to avoid stink is to not over feed, and always bury the good scraps under a thick layer of bedding.

They don't really need to be kept warm, but they will work faster at temps between, say, 60 and 80*F. How cold are we talking?

There are certain foods that WILL get stinky in the bin. Cole crops in particular get stinky, so avoid stuff like cauliflower. The worms like it just fine, but it'll smell a little ripe until they're done eating it. Mine are in the basement, so no worries there.

Uh, 10 below zero is not uncommon from time to time. Had a 7 day stretch of it in late November.

Thanks! My wife likes the organic bud so I just have sell her on how much better it can be with our own fresh castings. She's no fan of worms or snakes...no chance it can go under the sink!

Ah yes, that's pretty chilly... Probably have to bring the bin in during the winter... It's interesting though... When the worms sense that it's getting to cold for them to survive, they mate frantically and produce lots of cocoons. The cocoons can sit in a kind of half-frozen suspended animation until it warms up, then hatch out. This obviously won't pruduce much compost in the winter, but it should be able to restart itself when the weather warms.

Quick update on the XJ's. All's well.

That xj has that jack herer smell/taste right? Or do i have my strains mixed up

It does indeed. Lemon pine goodness.

For some reason, this round of XJ's have more of a fruity/tropical smell along with the lemon/pine smell they had last time I ran them. Being club clones, I really can't be 100% sure of what I'm working with... I'll have a better idea of how it compares with my previous XJ once I'm a bit further into the bloom cycle.

Whatever it is, it smells great, and has a pretty decent amount of frostiness going on.

Looking REALLY nice. I too have a worm farm. And Thanks for your help.

No prob, man! Glad to help.

Since none of my "goods" end up competing on the "open market", I really have no need to be secretive about my methods, tips, tricks, or general knowledge. If I could teach the whole world to grow their own tasty, organic, toxic chemical-free cannabis instead of purchasing it, I would...

That XJ is looking good! Brings back memories for me. It was one of the first strains I grew indoors. My friend and I grew XJ, Purple Urkel, Querkle, and Chem's Sister. In Ebb n Flow Buckets, connected to the same reservoir haha. It was my first and last time growing hydro