Do sheep pellets make good worm food?

[Phillybonker]

Sheep pellets are a mix of sheep manure and sheep wool if you don't know, and I want to start building a good soil in my new grow area for next season (which is 8 months away) by attracting local worms to my grow spots.

So does sheep pellets make good worm food?

 

[Stunger]

Sheep pellets are a mix of sheep manure and sheep wool if you don't know, and I want to start building a good soil in my new grow area for next season (which is 8 months away) by attracting local worms to my grow spots.

So does sheep pellets make good worm food?

I'm taking a guess that they would make good worm food, I don't see why not. I haven't personally used them in my own worm farm but I have a compost tumbler that is still a quarter full of super soil from several years ago which probably had sheep pellets in it originally, and that has worms living in it.

 

[Phillybonker]

I'm taking a guess that they would make good worm food, I don't see why not. I haven't personally used them in my own worm farm but I have a compost tumbler that is still a quarter full of super soil from several years ago which probably had sheep pellets in it originally, and that has worms living in it.

Compost tumbler? First time I've heard of that. I'm just currently looking at a 180L tumbler on the Bunnings site. It claims it can make compost in 4 weeks?. What do you put in your tumbler and how long does it take to make compost?

 

[SmokingWings]

What do you put in your tumbler and how long does it take to make compost?

Just about any plant material in the area.

I have approached getting compost in about 4-5 weeks but it is a lot of work. That was in a typical pile and not a tumbler. The plant stuff has to be cut down to size if it is to large, can't be waterlogged but the stuff has to be damp; there is a lot to it and it is lot of work to pull off. The material has to be tossed or turned over so it mixes up nicely which gets tiresome after several times.

The tumbler cuts down on some of the work because it can eliminate a lot of the back-breaking chore of having to turn the pile every couple of days. At the same time it is very important that the pieces be an even size. The size does does not matter as much when going with piles but if some of the vegetation material is to large in a tumbler it will clump up. I can't think of the right word to describe what happens.

Look up the carbon nitrogen ratio for compost which is also called the brown green ratio using your favorite search engine. Sorry, but I have not clue how it will work if trying to use a cell phone 'cause researching with one of those is slow.

To get started a suggested line of keyword (search words) is:

compost carbon nitrogen ratio

Composting is just another interesting part of growing.

 

[Stunger]

Compost tumbler? First time I've heard of that. I'm just currently looking at a 180L tumbler on the Bunnings site. It claims it can make compost in 4 weeks?. What do you put in your tumbler and how long does it take to make compost?

Yes, it's a compost tumbler bin can be turned to 'tumble' and mix the contents. I bought it solely as a container that I could mix up super soil in, and since doing that I haven't really used it since because I keep reusing the soil in my containers, altho from time to time I drop in some banana skin or fruit waste to feed the small resident worm population that even though I aren't really using it I like to keep them alive as I think they're great in the soil.

I also have a stand alone compost bin, I think 240L, that I got from Bunnings. I put all the grass clippings and autumn leaves in and after a few months it is a truly lovely dark rich compost full of worms.

Compost in 4 weeks? Hmmm... well, yes and no, if its grass clippings and leaves, then after 4 weeks, if you have watered and turned it regularly, it will look pretty good and can certainly be useable as a compost mulch. But to really make compost quickly I think one needs lots of regular watering and turning, and heat, without heat the process will be slow, some compost tumbler bins are insulated which really helps to speed up the process, especially in cool climates.

@SmokingWings's post above sums it up well.

 

[SmokingWings]

But to really make compost quickly I think one needs lots of regular watering and turning, and heat, without heat the process will be slow, some compost tumbler bins are insulated which really helps to speed up the process, especially in cool climates.

And we already know that the heat comes from the rapid decomposing or breaking down of the material which is why we have that two to 4 week "cooking" period after mixing up super-soil.

The fastest way to get the heat in a tumbler or compost pile is the right ratio of green which has the nitrogen to feed the micro-organisms which will break all the brown down.

 

[Stunger]

For cold climates or just to hasten the process, the Jora range of compost tumblers have a 2 inch thick polyethylene insulation layer to assist this. But the right combo of brown and green optimises the heating process.

 

[Phytoplankton]

For optimum decompostion you want to try to get a Carbon to Nitrogen ratio of about 30 to 1 (by weight). There are charts to let you know the approximate C to N ratio of many different soil amendments, as an example, lawn clippings are between 12 and 25 to 1, sawdust/wood chips are about 350 to 1, shredded bark is about 120 to 1. The smaller the "pieces" the quicker it will break down (more surface area). If you are above 30 to 1 it will take a long time to decompose. You can add nitrogen fertilizer (organic or non organic) to help speed the process. Say for instance you had 100 lbs of sawdust to compost (at 300 to 1), it would take about 10 lbs of nitrogen fertilizer to get the 30 to 1 ratio. I do remember something from soil science.

Sheep dung is a good soil amendment, it known as a "cold manure" because of it's lower Nitrogen level. I live in a wine growing region and many of the vineyards graze sheep this time of year (before the vines leaf out) they clear the weeds and actually pull the root out, the vineyards save on herbicides and get free fertilizer from the sheep!

Here's a trivia question: Why do you often see roses planted at the end of the rows of grapes?

 

[greenjeans]

I would think that the worms would love that stuff and the wool as well. I wish I had some for my Reg Wigglers!!!

 

[Phytoplankton]

Red Wigglers!!!

"Red Wigglers, the Cadillac of worms." More trivia, where is that saying from?

 

[greenjeans]

WKRP - They were their main sponsor!!!i

 

[greenjeans]

Why do you often see roses planted at the end of the rows of grapes?

So the pickers know when to stop???

 

[Phytoplankton]

WKRP - They were their main sponsor!!!i

We have a winner! Don't know if you heard, but Howard Hessman (Johnny Fever) passed away last week at age 81.

 

[Phytoplankton]

So the pickers know when to stop???

Nope.

 

[Phillybonker]

Just about any plant material in the area.

I have approached getting compost in about 4-5 weeks but it is a lot of work. That was in a typical pile and not a tumbler. The plant stuff has to be cut down to size if it is to large, can't be waterlogged but the stuff has to be damp; there is a lot to it and it is lot of work to pull off. The material has to be tossed or turned over so it mixes up nicely which gets tiresome after several times.

The tumbler cuts down on some of the work because it can eliminate a lot of the back-breaking chore of having to turn the pile every couple of days. At the same time it is very important that the pieces be an even size. The size does does not matter as much when going with piles but if some of the vegetation material is to large in a tumbler it will clump up. I can't think of the right word to describe what happens.

Look up the carbon nitrogen ratio for compost which is also called the brown green ratio using your favorite search engine. Sorry, but I have not clue how it will work if trying to use a cell phone 'cause researching with one of those is slow.

To get started a suggested line of keyword (search words) is:

compost carbon nitrogen ratio

Composting is just another interesting part of growing.

Thanks for the input and I'll research into carbon nitrogen ratio's.

 

[Phillybonker]

Yes, it's a compost tumbler bin can be turned to 'tumble' and mix the contents. I bought it solely as a container that I could mix up super soil in, and since doing that I haven't really used it since because I keep reusing the soil in my containers, altho from time to time I drop in some banana skin or fruit waste to feed the small resident worm population that even though I aren't really using it I like to keep them alive as I think they're great in the soil.

I also have a stand alone compost bin, I think 240L, that I got from Bunnings. I put all the grass clippings and autumn leaves in and after a few months it is a truly lovely dark rich compost full of worms.

Compost in 4 weeks? Hmmm... well, yes and no, if its grass clippings and leaves, then after 4 weeks, if you have watered and turned it regularly, it will look pretty good and can certainly be useable as a compost mulch. But to really make compost quickly I think one needs lots of regular watering and turning, and heat, without heat the process will be slow, some compost tumbler bins are insulated which really helps to speed up the process, especially in cool climates.

@SmokingWings's post above sums it up well.

I didn't realize how much work went into making compost. Dalton's Organic compost is what I currently use but it doesn't say what ingredients it has in it so I don't know what the quality is like.

 

[Phillybonker]

Here's a trivia question: Why do you often see roses planted at the end of the rows of grapes?

Something to do with attracting predatory insects?

 

[Phytoplankton]

Something to do with attracting predatory insects?

No, but slightly warmer.

 

[Stunger]

I didn't realize how much work went into making compost. Dalton's Organic compost is what I currently use but it doesn't say what ingredients it has in it so I don't know what the quality is like.

I am not sure if it applies to Daltons (probably), as it seems to me that a lot of commercial bagged compost has sawdust as one of it's main ingredients, it is probably there as a 'filler' as I can't see sawdust as being a great cannabis growing component, it just takes up space from better ingredients.

 

[SmokingWings]

Wood, whether chips, sawdust or chunks, brings a lot to the party.

Wood is the most abundant 'brown' to add to all the green that is available during the growing season. Adding only 'green' tends to produce a compost pile that easily becomes waterlogged and slow to dry out. Wood will absorb the water and slowly dry out as it releases water back to the other materials during dry periods. As the wood gets moist it will decompose a bit faster.

Wood does not mat down like 'green' ingredients usually do so it helps by adding air pockets which can provide the oxygen needed by the micro-organisms. These air pockets get rebuilt and the air exchanged every time a compost pile is turned over and remixed. Pieces of wood, as it decomposes, develops air pockets inside the piece. Once this starts it attracts and holds micro-organisms. These organisms can repopulate a compost pile that has dried out within hours of the pile getting wet again.

Wood does need more nitrogen to feed the micro-organisms but once they are done with those sticks, chunks and sawdust it is all returned many times over. Plus the very small pieces that might take several more months or years to break down because of the density of their carbon help maintain the tilth or fluff of the soil.

Peat Moss is made up of centuries of what is left over of all the 'wood' that piled up in the peat bogs. Some of those small pieces that we find in our bales of Peat Moss were larger when they originally fell to the ground. We tend to call it inert and not of nutritional value but that would change under the right conditions.

... can't see sawdust as being a great cannabis growing component, ...

The same can be said of sheep manure, bat guano, Kelp meal and all the other components we use in either our 'organic' or 'natural' soils or growing media. It is what comes from each of the components that makes any and all of them great for growing cannabis.

A couple of observations about wood. Wood sitting at the bottom of a lake can take centuries to decompose. A piece of wood buried under the soil can take just as long. A piece of wood, like a standing dead tree or a pole decomposes the fastest in the area touching the soil.