Jump to content
Chapala.com Webboard

composting worms?


Recommended Posts

13 minutes ago, Go Solar said:

Here's the map coordinates;  these local old roads are in tough shape, so plan to take an SUV or something rugged with some ground clearance....it is easier to go in through the pueblo of Tlachichilco, and continue to follow 16 de Sept east, than to turn south off of the carraterra directly above it.

20.335515, -103.078470

Coming from Chapala, 16 de Sept appears to be the first street going into Tlachichilco?  The worm farm appears to be just over  km from the carretera?  Any idea of their "hours", particularly if they`re open on Saturdays? Or is this a "it`s open when it`s open" kinda place?

Thanks so much, GoSolar!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Daylight hours.....10 to 4 should be OK, Sat AM likely also.    Pretty informal place, just holler HOLA when you get to the gate.....there is a small house on the property.    The finished black earth (and worms) is under the shade canopy on the west edge of the property.    Yes, about 1.5 km from the turn off onto 16 de Sept from the carraterra.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Go Solar said:

Daylight hours.....10 to 4 should be OK, Sat AM likely also.    Pretty informal place, just holler HOLA when you get to the gate.....there is a small house on the property.    The finished black earth (and worms) is under the shade canopy on the west edge of the property.    Yes, about 1.5 km from the turn off onto 16 de Sept from the carraterra.

The gate is on 16th de Sept.?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Go Solar said:

Daylight hours.....10 to 4 should be OK, Sat AM likely also.    Pretty informal place, just holler HOLA when you get to the gate.....there is a small house on the property.    The finished black earth (and worms) is under the shade canopy on the west edge of the property.    Yes, about 1.5 km from the turn off onto 16 de Sept from the carraterra.

Finished black earth as in worm castings?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Go Solar said:

Take a drive out there, bd - I'm a solar guy, not a worm poop or compost expert!   😉

Yes, will do.  Have you been there yourself or heard about it from someone else?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

7 hours ago, Go Solar said:

Take a drive out there, bd - I'm a solar guy, not a worm poop or compost expert!   😉

Yes, will do.  Have you been there yourself or heard about it from someone else?

Thanks for all your help, GS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For those considering going to the worm guy outside of Tlachichilco: we tried getting to him today, confirming in a tienda in town that there is indeed a worm guy just outside of Tlachichilco on 16th of Septiembre.  We drove down 16th de Septiembre going out of Tlachichilco.  However, our van had to stop about halfway there due to the road becoming slowly but surely impassable.  The rest of the "road", actually a rude pathway, would only be traversed by foot, horse or someone taking a chance with their small 4 wheel drive vehicle.  We could not find the road that is shown on Google going from the carretera to this person`s house.  If anyone finds a local supplier for red composting worms or worm castings, please let me know!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are looking for worm castings, I purchased several bags of it at Walmart last week to mix in my little organic vegetable garden.  I have know idea how good of a deal it was, but they were 25 pesos for a 2 kilo bag.  By the way, for those that don't know, in Spanish worm castings are humus de lombriz or worm humus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 11:47 AM, bdmowers said:

Here's the map coordinates;  these local old roads are in tough shape, so plan to take an SUV or something rugged with some ground clearance....it is easier to go in through the pueblo of Tlachichilco, and continue to follow 16 de Sept east, than to turn south off of the carraterra directly above it.

My quote above......I did mention about the road ruggedness......and FYI, small 2 wheel drive pickups  and SUV's go down there all the time, just takes some getting used to.    If you didn't want to go that way, you definitely wouldn't want to go the other route....however, you could park in the square and walk it from the pueblo, in 10 minutes, and the folks there would probably load their truck and drive a couple of sacks back out to where you parked.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Go Solar said:

My quote above......I did mention about the road ruggedness......and FYI, small 2 wheel drive pickups  and SUV's go down there all the time, just takes some getting used to.    If you didn't want to go that way, you definitely wouldn't want to go the other route....however, you could park in the square and walk it from the pueblo, in 10 minutes, and the folks there would probably load their truck and drive a couple of sacks back out to where you parked.....

Don`t know how long it`s been since your SUV passed that way but it was simply not possible for our van to pass down that road after the first half of a kilometer. My experience, maybe yours has been different.  Yes, I think if we want worms that badly from the guy, we would walk from town. As you say, it wouldn`t be that far and it is a rather bucolic scene - old abandoned adobe houses, animals everywhere, quiet.  For now, we`ll be ordering worms from Mercado Libre.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/26/2019 at 10:17 AM, Cronopio said:

Good idea!  I'll pm you.

I replied to your message, look in your message box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/25/2019 at 7:57 PM, dichosalocura said:

For a free remedy, if you have plant pots on the ground, water the area real good around the pots (because this is the dry season) and check early the next morning before it gets hot.  And check what you find.  With just a few they will lay eggs and reproduce rather quickly in the right conditions.  Or try laying card board down in a shady area and keep it moist, within a few days they will come.  Make sure the cardboard is laying over plenty of wet leaves or mulch to attract them.

Those should be earthworms, not red wigglers.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Hola. I'm Chris and I raise chickens in Ajijic. I've got 3 well established collinies of red wiggler worms going. Red wigglers are top feeders and the preferred vermiculture specialists. Hit me up if you need some free(ish) worms. Let's trade/barter for something. @gringofarmer on FB (El Granjero Urbano)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

I went by this location yesterday.  To be clear, if driving, you'd need to come from the east side, and still, the road will certainly challenge many cars/drivers.  All that's needed is a vehicle with some road clearance, and a driver with some patience.

Had a nice talk with a young man there, and he explained the following...  (he doesn't speak English)

The owners (from Guadalajara) of the property set up the worm business with the young man and his father working there a couple of years ago.  As things went, they added fresh grown foods and enjoyed some success.  Then there were fewer and fewer customers, finally, the land owners put an end to it.  

The boy got permission to stay on, and he's now living there on his own, with a cat, dog, some chickens and a pig.  He had perhaps a single large bag of castings that could have been scraped off the ground.  He's hoping to rebuild the worm castings but says it will take a long time.  

Since he has no capital and few other apparent resources, if he succeeds, it will likely require at least a couple of years.  There are perhaps, two dozen long rows enclosed by cinder bricks, a watering system of hoses which may or may not need full or partial replacement.  He's there hoping to get something going.  He could certainly use a angel's help.

Anyone looking for castings might try some of the other options as mentioned above and check with a few of the local nurseries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/5/2020 at 9:10 AM, AlongTheWay said:

I went by this location yesterday.  To be clear, if driving, you'd need to come from the east side, and still, the road will certainly challenge many cars/drivers.  All that's needed is a vehicle with some road clearance, and a driver with some patience.

Had a nice talk with a young man there, and he explained the following...  (he doesn't speak English)

The owners (from Guadalajara) of the property set up the worm business with the young man and his father working there a couple of years ago.  As things went, they added fresh grown foods and enjoyed some success.  Then there were fewer and fewer customers, finally, the land owners put an end to it.  

The boy got permission to stay on, and he's now living there on his own, with a cat, dog, some chickens and a pig.  He had perhaps a single large bag of castings that could have been scraped off the ground.  He's hoping to rebuild the worm castings but says it will take a long time.  

Since he has no capital and few other apparent resources, if he succeeds, it will likely require at least a couple of years.  There are perhaps, two dozen long rows enclosed by cinder bricks, a watering system of hoses which may or may not need full or partial replacement.  He's there hoping to get something going.  He could certainly use a angel's help.

Anyone looking for castings might try some of the other options as mentioned above and check with a few of the local nurseries.

Great reporting!  Thanks.  It would be great to have a working worm farm in the area.   If he has some worms it would take finding a hundred kilos or so of cardboard, as many leaves as could be found and maybe a hundred kilos of newspapers. The worms would reproduce quickly with the food and the farm could be producing a small amount of castings in 6 months or so. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am working on raising enough red wrigglers for selling worms and castings. I have 8 bins now at various stages. Might have product by later in 2020. Will be located about 6 doors west of Yves Restaurant. We will put up a sign when we are ready to sell.

microbeorganics.com  info about microbial based growing

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This worm casting stuff is new to me. Some say red wrigglers are the best but others say they are a pest and you want real earthworms. They can't both be right can they? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, cedros said:

This worm casting stuff is new to me. Some say red wrigglers are the best but others say they are a pest and you want real earthworms. They can't both be right can they? 

Both types will make worm castings. Red wigglers eat faster than earthworms (and thus make more worm castings) but they must be contained or they will escape.  I`ve never heard of red wigglers referred to as "pests" and don`t understand the reasoning.  You want reds for making compost and earthworms for your gardens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, timjwilson said:

I am working on raising enough red wrigglers for selling worms and castings. I have 8 bins now at various stages. Might have product by later in 2020. Will be located about 6 doors west of Yves Restaurant. We will put up a sign when we are ready to sell.

microbeorganics.com  info about microbial based growing

Your work on this is brilliant Tim. Can't wait to support this worthy endeavour.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, cedros said:

What happens if the red wigglers escape? Do the red wigglers displace the earthworms in the garden? 

No, they`ll coexist.  So, don`t let the reds escape.  Put them into a completely enclosed, except for the top of course, container, like a 20-liter water container.  Give them soggy newspaper and cardboard and decomposing leaves and food scraps for food, and sand, for their gizzards. And make sure their environment has some moisture in it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/8/2020 at 12:51 PM, timjwilson said:

I am working on raising enough red wrigglers for selling worms and castings. I have 8 bins now at various stages. Might have product by later in 2020. Will be located about 6 doors west of Yves Restaurant. We will put up a sign when we are ready to sell.

microbeorganics.com  info about microbial based growing

Bravo for your work, Tim. The (small) organics and permaculture community supports you.  We`ll definitely be coming to you for your products.

Brad Mowers, for:

The Grower`s Group

Poco A Poco

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...