Worm Farmer Chat

[Lee and Kirsty]

Welcome! What do you hope to get out of this course?

• This topic was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by Lee and Kirsty.
• This topic was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by Lee and Kirsty.

[Martin Pell]

Hey everyone,

I live on a small block with my family in Jamberoo on the NSW South Coast.
My wife Claire grew up on farm in WA’s wheatbelt. I grew up on the Northern Beaches, Sydney. We’re both landscape architect’s.

I’m interested in understanding what what worms bring to the system and how to work with worms so I can set up our own system.
Last year I did an aerobic composting & compost tea brewing workshop with Chris from the soil food web institute so this is an extension of that.
Looking forward to it and to meeting everyone!

Thanks

[Victoria Holder]

Hiya,
I am a restaurant manager and permaculture designer and currently run the Wellington Point farmhouse in QLD, bringing my permaculture background to the last working farm in the Redlands has had many challenges, but I feel our food waste from the restaurant is an important resource in the face of the increased cost and availability of inputs.
I have built small worm farms for clients, I have worked with the team at Northey Street city farm who have a fabulous worm farm for their market garden but I need to know how to scale it up.

The owners of this farm have been doing things the same way for 32 years, I won’t change their mind over night but with this course I hope to show them another way.

Im a bit behind with the reading with a massive weekend in the restaurant but im settled in for the afternoon now, looking forward to tonight.

[Tom]

Hi All,

Amy and I run a small family farm, La’Connor Ridge here in the Hunter Valley. We raise Pasture Pork, chemical free and 100% outdoors on Pasture. We are building a large Perma-Garden to bring fresh produce to market and a small Grass Finished Beef herd. Our farm will depend on diversity and having multiple mixed uses. So soil fertility is everything – we are at the start of the journey (2 years in) and want to explore how to scale up the use of worm castings and brew across our pastures and growing zones. We have a home made CFT bed up and running and learning on the go. Excited for the course and keen to learn how to scale things up a bit 🙂

[Peter Bolitho]

Hi All

I live on a 100acre farm – cattle on Kikuyu pasture, in the mountains of SE QLD (1000m elevation, warm temperate rainforest). The pasture needs rejuvenation and I am considering all types of regenerative amendments and especially what I can generate myself such as compost and worm teas. I say teas because I dont think I can scale to generate the compost and castings needed for 100 acres?? I am also wondering if worm teas can be delivered by drone since I have a lot of steep slopes.

[Rob Borthwick]

Hi All

I live on a 60-acre farm on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria.
We have 3 horses of our own (with another 3 on the property) and produce pasture hay.

Historically (30-40 years ago), the farm was used for potato farming, then sheep. The soil is hard & lifeless. I moved away from using any chemical fertilisers 7-8 years ago, but I still use minimal amounts of herbicides to manage weeds for the Hay production.

I am trying to move towards regenerative farming, and have produced some bio fertilisers (post a course with David Hardwick). I would like to extend on this and introduce Castings & worm teas to the mix.
Very interested in the course to see how I can scale vermiculture to support my 60-acre property, and ultimately return life to the soil.

[Sophie Wilson]

Hello! Lee – can you please link to that article written by John King about worms and their nutrient provisioning and how we couldn’t afford the services they give? Or if anyone else is able to send the link, please do! Thanks!

— Greer Manderson (part of the Eastbrook Farm team, UK)

[Lee and Kirsty]

Hi Peter, do a bit at a time and you never know! And yes, we have been advised by a drone company that the liquids are well suited to drone application
-Kirsty

[Lee and Kirsty]

Hi Greer, this article was in an Acres Magazine (hard copy). Lee read it lots of times and had it on the floor if his car where there was a coconut oil incident (my fault) and sadly it is no longer. I can’t find it online so will have to approach John King to see if he can send either a copy of the original or updated figures. Sorry about that.
Also, let me know if you’d like your own login!
-Kirsty

[Lee and Kirsty]

Greer – good news! John King has kindly provided a copy of the article. It’s been uploaded to the bonuses section.
Kirsty

[Sophie Wilson]

Thanks so much!

[Ben Still]

Hi everyone,
happy to have finally made it on the call – I’ve been a bit bummed having missed the others (totally 100% my fault).
We’re a 550ha beef cattle & goats in the Lower Hunter just outside Cessnock. We already do some bioferts as foliars, but have totally sucked at making worms work (UNTIL NOW!)

My question to Lee is whether you could walk through (again) the measurements for making a 1000L IBC of ready to spray? I realise there is no right or wrong, but just trying to get a gauge on what a “normal” ratio might be
As I understand it:
1. Brew 5L of worm cast with 45L water to make 50L of biocast (10%)
2. Mix the 50L into 950L water to fill IBC (5%)

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