Vermicomposting Trench - All Natural Fertilizer Factory for Your Garden!

http://www.RedWormComposting.com Presents..."The Vermicomposting Trench" - This is a system I came up with back in the summer of 2008, when I was attempting to process hundreds of pounds of food waste provided by a local restaurant. Let me first point out the fact that I in NO way am claiming to have "invented" trench composting - this is just my twist on it. My trenches have worked really well thus far - and the '08 summer food waste extravaganza was particularly impressive (the next summer I used manure as my main material). It's a great way to grow plants and put your composting worms to good use in the garden - and avoid the hassle of trying to separate out the worm compost!

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• worm composting
• vermicomposting
• vermiculture
• composting
• compost
• worm castings
• worm compost
• vermicompost
• red worms
• gardening
• gardens
• trench composting
• organic gardening

[lumpofloight]

sorry. one more thing ---- just to be sure... you didn't use any fertilizer besides the trenches to grow these plants??

[TheCompostGuy]

@lumpofloight - You got it, Pontiac! ;-)

Not fertilizers whatsoever. Manure could be considered a fertilizer, but whats funny is I had more success with the food wastes than I did with the manure.

[lumpofloight]

Urban agriculture will see a new era of gleaming enlightenment!The world's populations will be healthier and more intelligent than ever!Outdoor space will overflow with an abundance of nutritious produce, nurturing generations to come with only minimal efforts on our behalf! You will be considered a legend, your name celebrated by the masses with glorious festivals of colorful home-grown products of all shapes, sizes, flavors. The planet will writhe with unimaginably expansive worm populations!

[lumpofloight]

@lumpofloight all hail the almighty food trench!

say, i find that aged horse manure does hold onto water, like a sponge -- better if it's well-aged....

also, grass clippings are a little bit N-heavy when green (depending on type of grass, no doubt), and probably serve more as "food" than "bedding". . .

"rinse and repeat" -- awesome.

[TheCompostGuy]

@lumpofloight - yep, the manure I've been using has been quite good at holding moisture, but with the plants sucking out the water and the heat of summer drying it up, it was amazing how quickly things became dry. With lots of food waste this wasn't the case. The grass clippings tend to dry out a lot up top so I think they do end up losing some of their N-punch by the time they end up down where the worms are. I love em though - great all around material for trenches!

[TheCompostGuy]

@lumpofloight LOL - wow, I can't wait! haha

I have no grand expectations here. I'm also not the first person to think of using a composting trench.

[horselove2011]

@TheCompostGuy: The pumpkins were trying to grow up the corn at 7:20.

horselove2011

[jimmie200]

WOW! Those plants are happy! Great idea. I am definitely doing it this way. Thanks.

[jonno453]

Can/do you walk on the trench when training and harvesting your plants? I'd like to apply this system to the spaces between my raised beds. Perhaps I will lay down bricks and build walkways on top of them and keep the trench beneath them.

[lumpofloight]

@Metqa 2 weeks would be my estimate. they say to feed your worms at least once every 2 weeks anyway. though i feed my "worm windrow" (like an upside-down worm trench) every 3 days or so, adding chicken bedding with poops in it. yep, it's dirty. and it smells gooood.

[Metqa]

How often did you have to reset the trench from it sinking down? once a week? once a month?

[SF10DANK]

@TheCompostGuy do u have any probs with gophers or rodents? if so how do u deal with them?

[akooshla]

I do an easier version - dig a six-foot pit two feet wide and two feet deep, fill the first one-third with vegetable waste, kitchen paper, cardboard, etc (covered with spadefuls of earth) for 10 days, then the next one-third for the next 10 days, then the third one-third for the last 10 days.

After this six weeks of composting, the first one-third is composted, rich and black and friable and full of worms and ready to be used on your beds, and you dig it out and use it and start again.

[jbooker1990]

so do you sort through this food as well like how you would do for a worm bin or in a trench do you throw everything in? how much worms did you put in it? and how should i do the bedding. should I shredd it and let it soak like i did for my indoor bin or do I just throw them in whole and just rinse them down with a hose? I plan to do this next year so I just want some tips

[lumpofloight]

@TheCompostGuy oh... well... I think this technique has grand potential. I am a horticulture student, and this seems to be the most effective, efficient, streamlined method of composting AND fertilizing that I have ever encountered. It's right up there with T-tape in my book of goodnesses.

[lumpofloight]

@TheCompostGuy thanks for the details...