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Re: TH: Perennials & Annuals around Trees ...

 Post-To: Tree-House@Majordomo.Flora.Com (Community Forestry) ----------
 -------
In message <1.5.4.32.19970606004119.00689a40@pop.mindspring.com>, Shaub
Dunkley <sdunkley@mindspring.com> writes

>>Worms, worms, worms.  Well, some worms can burrow through just about
>>anything.  But not the red wiggler type that most people use in worm
>>boxes.  Worms also want to be eating something that is dead.  So, if you
>>are trying to keep the worms alive you'll need to give them some food like
>>leaf mulch.
>>
>>Lisa
>>New York City

>Earthworms and other soil burrowing critters do a lot of good to soil
>structure through the aeration and decomposition functions they provide. If
>they are absent from the area, introducing them is a great idea! Lisa's
>right though, they need food! Coffee grounds are excellent earthworm food
>and I would think the grounds would blend right in with mulch and not be
>unsightly.
> 
>Shaub Dunkley
>2608 University Dr.
>Durham NC 27707

Greetings

The following is a schematic for a soil worm bin designed to attract
worms that are aleady in the area and as a starting point for
introduction.


              Top up hole
              |   
              |  Cover/mud cap
              |  |
    --=======  =======-- <----- Soil level
    s |++++++++++++++|   <----- Organic matter (i.e. leaves, manure, 
    u |              |   <---\  compost etc.)                    
    b |              |        \ 
      |              |         \
    s |              |          Marmite[1] soaked shredded newspaper
    u |              |         /
    r |              |        /
    f |              |   <---/
    a |++++++++++++++|   <----- Organic matter (i.e. leaves, manure, 
    c ----------------          compost etc.)   
    e /    |    |    \
     /     |    |     \
    /      |    |      \ <----- Resonably deep spike holes into soil

[1] Marmite. A trade name for spreadable yeast extract in the UK.
Similar to (but nicer than ;-)) Vegamite(sp?) in AUS. I don't known what
an analagous product would be for the US but I'm sure theres something
similar. I can't find the refs but experiments and Permaculturalist have
found that diluted Marmite when used in the above system sends worms
into a reproductive frenzy!

.The hole for the bin is generally about a spades width square and a
spits deep (18*28cm)(@8*11.5") but there are no rules as such.

.The base and the sides of the hole should be spiked quite deeply to
assit drainage and aeration.

.A base of organic matter several cm's deep should be laid on the base
of the hole

.Shredded newspaper (waterbased ink, no colour pictures) soaked in a
dilution of Marmite should then be used to fill the whole to within
several cm's of the top of the hole.

.Top up the hole with more organic matter and finally cap with soil
leaving a top up hole for further additions of Marmite or introduction
of worms. Over time the contents of the bin settle and should be topped
up. I would imagine that in the urban environment the hole should be
capped with a cover suitable to prevent the bin being a foot trip!

Other materials can be used in the bin in addition to or instead of the
Marmite i.e. the water from: boiled vegetables, rice or pasta. Basically
anything that has a high organic contect in a form accessible to worms.
There are many variations that can be experimented with including just
creating the bin and capping it of completly. Try different methods and
materials, record what you did and how you did it and if it works repeat
it, if it doesn't try something else.

I seem to remember that there are +800 chemical compounds in coffee
including base analogues!

Good luck

Back to Work

PS Hello Richard
-- 
Myk Rushton: myk@rockbase.demon.co.uk
Middlesex University-Ecology & Ecotechnology: mr107@mdx.ac.uk

'Do not adjust your mind, there is a fault with reality'
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