Of Worm Poop And Clay And Osomocote
Tom Barr: Huh?
jarthel: What we have taken the “They should be diluted with washed sand in a 50-50 ratio[/I]” as the rich end of the mix range and have taken the “(for example, in an aquarium of 100 liters I recommend to use between 2 and 4 kg of earthworm castings) as meaning between two and four kilograms of the mix. Depending on how thick (deep) a layer you want.
We usually use clay (cheap kitty litter) or silt (we have had a hard time finding the silt we used to get at Home Depot); we have also used play sand, Akadama clay (fired) and top soil (bagged from Wal-Mart or Home Depot).
In general we prefer the silt or cheap kitty litter, we have two substrates using Akadama that at first we didn’t think much of but as time goes on (it has only been a month or so) they are gaining our favor. The price is obviously steep compared to the others.
We really recommend using layers most of the time we start with sphagnum peat moss, then the enriched material to which we add bone meal, B-1 vitamin mixture and Alaska fish oil, stinky stuff. We are also adding a light sprinkling of Osmocote these days. Then in most cases, we cap that with gravel or sand.
As far as using loamy soil, if anything we would use that to mix in the worm castings. Remember what you are doing is creating a loam soil from the sand or clay and worm castings.
The other concern we would have is the tendency for soil to not stay in place and potentially cloud the water, though really no reason you could not do that.
bgangler: We have never used dolomite so we will not comment beyond this, it seems it would raise pH, not necessarily a bad thing.
We now use Osmocote quite a bit and can see no reason not to use it in place of enriching substrates by other means or in addition.
Montmorillonite, (Na,Ca)0,3(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2•n(H2O) sold as SMS or Pro Choice Select among other brands and names, is something we have used in the past, we did not care for it and apparently neither did Tom Barr.
If you want it, ask around at landscape suppliers that sell bulk dirt and rocks, particularly those that supply or service athletic fields and such, the stuff is dirt-cheap. Some places will sell it bulk and even screen it for you (if you are buying it bulk make sure it has been fired). Screening montmorillonite is controversial and drive some to distraction, but it is important and certainly, SMS, Turface, and Pro Choice Select proudly state that they screen their products.
A word of warning though bradac56 becomes really angry if it turns out you prefer something else.
LC & B
Tom Barr: Huh?
jarthel: What we have taken the “They should be diluted with washed sand in a 50-50 ratio[/I]” as the rich end of the mix range and have taken the “(for example, in an aquarium of 100 liters I recommend to use between 2 and 4 kg of earthworm castings) as meaning between two and four kilograms of the mix. Depending on how thick (deep) a layer you want.
We usually use clay (cheap kitty litter) or silt (we have had a hard time finding the silt we used to get at Home Depot); we have also used play sand, Akadama clay (fired) and top soil (bagged from Wal-Mart or Home Depot).
In general we prefer the silt or cheap kitty litter, we have two substrates using Akadama that at first we didn’t think much of but as time goes on (it has only been a month or so) they are gaining our favor. The price is obviously steep compared to the others.
We really recommend using layers most of the time we start with sphagnum peat moss, then the enriched material to which we add bone meal, B-1 vitamin mixture and Alaska fish oil, stinky stuff. We are also adding a light sprinkling of Osmocote these days. Then in most cases, we cap that with gravel or sand.
As far as using loamy soil, if anything we would use that to mix in the worm castings. Remember what you are doing is creating a loam soil from the sand or clay and worm castings.
The other concern we would have is the tendency for soil to not stay in place and potentially cloud the water, though really no reason you could not do that.
bgangler: We have never used dolomite so we will not comment beyond this, it seems it would raise pH, not necessarily a bad thing.
We now use Osmocote quite a bit and can see no reason not to use it in place of enriching substrates by other means or in addition.
Montmorillonite, (Na,Ca)0,3(Al,Mg)2Si4O10(OH)2•n(H2O) sold as SMS or Pro Choice Select among other brands and names, is something we have used in the past, we did not care for it and apparently neither did Tom Barr.
If you want it, ask around at landscape suppliers that sell bulk dirt and rocks, particularly those that supply or service athletic fields and such, the stuff is dirt-cheap. Some places will sell it bulk and even screen it for you (if you are buying it bulk make sure it has been fired). Screening montmorillonite is controversial and drive some to distraction, but it is important and certainly, SMS, Turface, and Pro Choice Select proudly state that they screen their products.
A word of warning though bradac56 becomes really angry if it turns out you prefer something else.
LC & B
