• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

Vermiculture is acidic soil?

 
Posts: 40
2
2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I'm putting in new gardens for a new homestead.  The soil is acidic, 4.5 - 5.0.  I was planning on doing vermiculture in place - putting the worm bin in the ground in the gardens, and feeding the worms plant trimmings as well as kitchen scraps.  Are there any composting worms that can handle soil this acidic?
 
gardener
Posts: 367
Location: Where ohio kentucky and west virginia meet
197
2
hugelkultur forest garden trees hunting books wofati composting toilet rocket stoves woodworking homestead
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My bins always lean acidic. I read 6-7 is ideal but usually adding some crushed eggshells and more leaves gets it closer to ideal parameters. It always confuses me because ammonia is created when organic matter decomposes ammonia being alkaline but when ammonia breaks down it causes acidic results.

I cant tell you definitively that it will be fine but if you dig your feeding container in and give them a small area of neutralish bedding and some form of calcium then I believe from my own experience that they will adjust and thrive.

This has worked with redwrigglers from uncle Jim's worm farm as well as big European night crawlers in controlled environments like a warm tower when the bin is over fed or too damp.
 
Until you dig a hole, plant a tree, water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing - Wangari Maathai
permaculture and gardener gifts (stocking stuffers?)
https://permies.com/wiki/permaculture-gifts-stocking-stuffers
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic