Worm tubes for the garden

[zigs]

How often is someone attacked by a fox over there? I've only ever seen one in person, and only a glimpse at that. Was driving onto a military base in the northern part of the state a while back.

There was one that tried to drag a baby away last year, but apart from that i've not heard of any attacks. They'll stop and watch you if you talk to them but otherwise they keep out of the way.

Came face to face with one on a riverbank a while back, don't know who was more surprised

Oh, and they'll nick your bait when you're night fishing on the beach

 

[claudine]

@claudine, there is one green worm you'd like, it's a butterfly caterpillar and it doesn't look real!

Those are fake eyes on the spicebush swallowtail caterpillar. Looks like it's from a cartoon!


@zigs, what kind of growl? Mean dog or big jungle cat?

Haha, I like it! I've never seen a caterpillar like this in person. It looks so funny But I wish it was fluffier and didn't have so many legs

 

[ChanellG]

Oh, and they'll nick your bait when you're night fishing on the beach

Suppose that's where the expression "crafty like a fox comes from."

Haha, I like it! I've never seen a caterpillar like this in person. It looks so funny But I wish it was fluffier and didn't have so many legs

Oh, well. Can't win them all. Maybe if you saw one transform into a butterfly you wouldn't mind so much. Swallowtails are gorgeous!

 

[claudine]

I've just googled Swallowtails. They really are gorgeous! I believe they live in my area too, but they're very rare here. So far, I saw them maybe once or twice.

 

[kevinkimers]

This is so awesome, thank you so much for posting this. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I have been trying to find a way to incorporate worms into my gardening plans. I think they are an awesome way to enrich soil and keep it perfect for great plant growth.

 

[ChanellG]

I've just googled Swallowtails. They really are gorgeous! I believe they live in my area too, but they're very rare here. So far, I saw them maybe once or twice.

If you grow parsley, dill, or fennel outdoors, they will find you! The giant one likes citrus. I get a few caterpillars on my Meyer lemon every year.

This is so awesome, thank you so much for posting this. This is exactly what I have been looking for. I have been trying to find a way to incorporate worms into my gardening plans. I think they are an awesome way to enrich soil and keep it perfect for great plant growth.

You're welcome! The tubes are for composting, the worms should already be in the soil, so you don't really have to do anything to incorporate them. This is really about recycling scraps, though there's the combined benefit of it being directly in the garden bed. Because of the amount of space you have, you should consider trench composting your first year.

 

[kevinkimers]

That is an idea I did not think about. I am going to go and contemplate this. It is a bit time consuming but may be better for the soil and future planting in the end.

 

[ChanellG]

That is an idea I did not think about. I am going to go and contemplate this. It is a bit time consuming but may be better for the soil and future planting in the end.

Gardening is time consuming. This kind of compost is a do it now, reap the benefits later sort of thing. You would use this approach to prepare beds for spring planting. It's no more time consuming than constantly turning compost in a bed or bin. In fact, it's probably less involved.

 

[kevinkimers]

My friends want to do aquaponics with their garden because they are foreseeing a very harsh dry summer and they feel that it would be the best bet. I want to try the worms and mulch method. Guess we will see who is right.

 

[ChanellG]

My friends want to do aquaponics with their garden because they are foreseeing a very harsh dry summer and they feel that it would be the best bet. I want to try the worms and mulch method. Guess we will see who is right.

I think the two systems are completely different. Aquaponics is a way to grow food without the need for soil. It's not a simple thing and it requires a lot of preparation and equipment. I think the use of the towers allows you to grow more in less space, and there may be some truth to another advantage in that you don't have the same pathogens as soil, but it's not as if water automatically inhibits unwanted growth like bacteria. and since some plants don't like their roots wet, it would seem limited.

 

[kevinkimers]

Oh I know they are different. I am saying that is what they have chosen to do to offset for the possible major drought. They are setting up a aquaponics system with water filtration and cycling. I think I will just stick with mulch and worms. The aquaponics system seems to much to work with for me right now. Maybe in the future I will try it, but having to maintain that right now is not very feasible with my busy scheduled.

 

[ChanellG]

Oh I know they are different. I am saying that is what they have chosen to do to offset for the possible major drought....

My point was that it's like comparing apples and oranges. I should have said aeroponics before when referencing the vertical planters. Good for your friends, but I believe aquaponics would limit you in ways you don't need. There are other ways to deal drought, including rainwater catch systems to store water for dry the dry period.

 

[kevinkimers]

Unfortunately, it does not rain enough here for a rainwater catch system to be any help. It is very dry here.... desert. I want to get the money to get a atmosphere water generator, it wont be able to draw much out of the air, but enough to help. Maybe about 2 possibly 3 gallons a day would be a great benefit.

 

[ChanellG]

Unfortunately, it does not rain enough here for a rainwater catch system to be any help. It is very dry here.... desert. I want to get the money to get a atmosphere water generator, it wont be able to draw much out of the air, but enough to help. Maybe about 2 possibly 3 gallons a day would be a great benefit.

That's a thought! Two to three gallons a day will definitely add up by the end of the week. Of course it depends on how many plants and what kind of area you need to water. However, if you get even one inch of rain in a storm even a few times a year, you could collect a lot of rain using the right collection system.

Depending on land elevation where you are, you may want to look into the idea of a dew pond. You could also look into methods that don't use a lot of water like hugelkulture. What is the average annual rainfall for your area?

 

[kevinkimers]

Well the plan is to create a green house approximately 1 acre in size (yes I know that is big) and high enough (approximate 25 to 30 feet, just high enough for the fruit trees) with a atmosphere water generator and heating system connected directly to my kitchen as part of it. I know this is a major project, but it is what we have always wanted. That way when I am cooking, if I need a tomato I just walk into the green house and pick one and not have to cross a yard to get to it. LOL Basically the backside of our home will be the greenhouse. One day when we finally get this, I will send pictures.