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- #831
I’ve got a question for this topic, especially since it ties in to chickens.
We have a large BTE Garden in year two also. However, the way we run it is like this; we have a 50X112 Garden covered in 8” of mulch. It’s divided in half to 25X112. On one half we grow food. On the other half we run layer chickens. We switch the chicken/garden areas out once a year in spring with fresh mulch application.
I want to add manure worms (either Red wigglers or super reds) to the BTE garden beds. I know that they love leaf chips and mulch as well as compostable items and composted manure. I also know that chickens love to eat them. We’re also in zone 7B with long hot humid spring, summer, fall.
My question is three fold:
Will the Red worms reproduce fast enough to keep up with the eating rate of 16 chickens, and if so, will they migrate away from the chickens towards the garden area every year, or will they migrate towards the chicken manure and compost / treats?
Also, will the super reds (deeper tunneling, cooler climate) or the red wigglers (shallower tunneling, hot climate) be best for our use?
Is anyone out there experienced in this avenue, and will it work or will we have to buy new worms every year after winter?
I like your thought process, and am envious that you have enough room to do the garden split. As for adding the worms:
My birds are in a 500 s.f. run that has been DL managed. The DL is loaded with red worms. I do not believe they are the typical worms sold for vermiposting. B/C, when I've harvested them in the past for my worm bin, they immediately migrated out of the bin. Made a mess on the garage floor. I'm just thankful I did not have them "upstairs". IMO, a healthy system will have a never ending supply of worms. They will migrate up and down to find their comfort level re: temp and moisture.
I have harvested worms from my yard which have populated my vermipost bin and stayed put. They were harvested from layers of damp cardboard that were placed in the garden one year.
Have you dug down through the BTE mulch in your garden to do a worm count? You might be very pleasantly surprised. I suggest that you concentrate on making the area hospitable for the native worms. No doubt you already have red worms there or in your compost pile (if you have one.) You might also lay a bale of hay in direct contact with the soil. A good bunny trail to follow regarding hay: "Hay bale gardening", and any of the quirky writings by Ruth Stout. She was the inspiration to get me started on gardening under mulch 40 years ago.
Save your money. Instead of spending it on worms which may or may not thrive in your set up, work with your native species. Keep an area of the garden nice and moist, lay down some cardboard, or a bale of hay, mix some compostables into the BTE mulch in an unused portion of the garden. Grass clippings are a winner for addition to BTE mulch. If you feed them, they will come.
It sounds to me like you are doing everything right.
How is the growth in your garden this year, compared to your first year with BTE?