I would recommend being careful about adding too much food. The biggest mistake to make is rushing it with food.

But a separate suggestion: you don't say what your problem is with your garden - I wouldn't expect miracles from vermicompost, you need to figure out what the issue is there. Start regular composting outside too.

If you have sawdust, you can use that as a mulch in your garden - an inch or two at a time direclty on the soil should be fine. It'll break down over time. Any excess sawdust you have, well, you can just pile that up to make a compost pile (add all the other stuff you have, too). Turn it with a shovel once in a while, keep it slightly damp, and give it time. If it's mostly sawdust, you can add to your garden whenever you want. Over the long term this will help the soil too. (One note: don't dig the sawdust in, unless it's already composted enough that it already smells like dirt).

Grass clippings can also be mixed with your sawdust and put directly on your garden. Note that grass might have weed seeds in it - which I wouldn't worry about much in a veggie garden that you're mulching heavily, but up to you what you want to worry about.

If you have too much kitchen scraps, you can just bury some in the garden. Look up trench composting. Or just dig a small hole, put your scraps in, cover it, repeat as much as necessary. Obviously you don't want to hurt your existing plants but you can put them 'near' - less near for edible roots, obviously.

I'm very much a novice gardener, so I can't really say what's wrong except that I've tried a few things that didn't work out too well. Cucumbers were the biggest failure. I must admit: I don't buy any fertilisers at all... I've just been planting in the native soil of my garden, and not amending it in the slightest. Weeds grow like crazy if I just leave a patch alone for a while, so I thought it would be fertile.

Adding vermicompost might be the kickstarter my soil needs. Soil microbiologist Elaine Ingham talks much about putting the life back into "dirt" so that it can become soil again. I really like this idea, and vermicompost fits very neatly into that ideology... From my basic reading, it sounds like the ultimate kickstarter to return life to the soil.

I also want the vermicompost for seed starting. Again, I don't wanna have to pay for seed starter mix so (until now) I used my garden soil and some cheap compost... it works, but let's just say the results are uninspiring.

Then, I'd also like to grow plants in grow bags (walmart-style fabric bags). The "root pruning" effect is supposed to be amazing. I've tried growing Jalapenos in those bags and the results are, again, uninspiring. But here is where feeding the soil is even more important cos a grow-bag is isolated... the soil needs to be fed. Again, I'm totally against paying for fertilisers (organic or synthetic), so it looks to me like vermicompost would be the right fit here.

I do have a pile or two in the garden busy composting. It's mostly grass clippings and sawdust, with a sprinkling of autumn leaves and a pinch of coffee grounds. I even have a small section (maybe 3sqm) which I totally covered with about 2 to 3 inches of sawdust a couple of weeks ago, and I sprinkle coffee grounds over it. But I did turn over the soil a little bit.

This post is getting very long, but the main point I'm trying to make is that if I can succeed with vermicomposting, all the rest of my gardening "endeavours" will definitely benefit.

The biggest thing for me is that I don't want to spend money on fertilisers, or any soil amendment products... I'd rather spend some money on a bunch of worms, and let them make compost for me using freely available resources.

I'd really appreciate any comments on the right ratio of the materials I have available.

And I get your point about adding too much food... I'm gonna draft out a feeding plan to make sure I don't overdo it, and I've seen the posts on this forum about how to observe the worm bin carefully to see if the previous food looks like it's been consumed before adding more food.

Thanks for your comments.

i also have sawdust available but the wrong type so i will not be collecting that for my worm ventur. it's a shame but hay ho. i wish you well Wiggle but like you i am a newbie so can only offer you 2 bits of advice. read as many of the post new and old on here. and youtube. good luck.

Vermicompost is good stuff, but (at the risk of offending the Cult of Worm) it's not magic - decent compost has lots of life in it, and you want to get to the point where the soil has its own life, too. Adding good mulch and organic matter will also let the soil create its own life - that's food for the soil life. Also, it will take a while to get your worm operation producing a lot of volume, and it can't really be rushed.

So if you dont' want to spend money, you can start by putting lots of organic matter on/in your garden. As a mulch it will also help keep your weeds down (and you can compost most of your weeds). Burying kitchen waste as I suggested will get some more nitrogen in the ground where the soil life can move it around. There may be some other stuff that it's good to dig or till in - I'd just warn that burying sawdust will 'tie up' some nitrogen for a while, which may worsen your veggie-grwing capacity (putting it on top of the ground as a mulch won't have that effect). Grass and other green waste will help enrich the soil too.

You may want to spend some time in the soil and veggie-growing forums here. They'll have suggestions, and will ask you for information on what kind of soil you have now (and how to tell). Keep in mind that many will say that growing veggies takes a lot of nutrients out of the ground and some sort of fertlizer may be needed - but that's your choice. There are ways to help like planting cover crops, will depend on your location and soil.

As for the worm bins: like I said, don't try to rush it. My two general rules are that you can't have too much bedding, you can easily have too much food; and you want the bedding and the bin damp but not wet. Since you have a garden, any excess worm food can be buried in your garden where it'll break down in place and help your soil life.

I am probably the high priestess of the Cult of Worm, but I agree with armoured: vermicompost is not a magic bullet and it's not a substitute for learning all-around soil management. In addition to that, it takes a long time to gear up a home operation to the point where you're producing enough vermicompost to even dole out a little bit around the garden to supplement other compost supplies.

If you are committed to putting enough fertility in your soil to grow vegetables without chemical fertilizer, it has to come from somewhere, and it takes a substantial amount of time, attention, care, and inputs to achieve that. What you say tells me you have quite a lot to learn, which is fine, but I also notice that you're not slowing down enough to listen to the answers you've already received. Is there a reason you changed your username and reposted your question?

theparsley: I must say, you are a very patient, and tolerant/diplomatic person. Best attitude for a worm farmer/rancher/herder.

I'd add to parsley: don't know the reasons you don't want to add fertilizer, but personally I think it's a mistake to rule them out. Some basic chemical fertilizers, used in modest amounts, are most likely the 'kick' that is needed. They're not expensive for home gardens, they're not crazy super chemicals but basic building blocks of life, and (used as instructed) not dangerous. There are also organic fertilizers (manures, blood meal etc) but they also cost money. Some say their concern is sustainability, but frankly it's not sustainable if you try a bunch of stuff and give up. The process of building up the soil using organics only will (as we wrote above) take a while to show results - and for vegetables some rich source of nitrogen will probably be needed anyway. Vermicompost, coffee grounds, regular compost are great stuff but - I know I'm repeating myself - they're not magic.

First, an apology: I didn't realise it, but it looks like I've come across as a know-it-all. But I'm the opposite, cos I am brand new to all of this. So I apologise sincerely. I really was only trying to explain myself.

Then, a heartfelt thanks to you all who take your personal time to respond to my posts. I appreciate it to no end, and I really really do listen to your comments. I may want to make counterpoints, and I hope that's ok (for me, this is how I learn)... but I'll try to make my points in a way that's more respectful to the effort and time you put in to replying, cos i truly value your knowledge, experience and opinions.

theparsley : My previous post was deleted, so I reposted. And 'Wiggal C.Rawl' sounds so much more appropriate than Inevitability (which is my username on other tech-related forums).

armoured / theparsley : This is my very personal opinion so it's really just an explanation of my choice... I don't wanna use fertiliser cos it's too expensive. If I have $30 extra cash, I feel it's more well spent on a treat for the kids than a bag of fertiliser. We don't get too many treats, so we take them whenever we can get them :)

Update on the worms: I ran some of the dry leaves I have through my leaf blower, which has a setting that turns it into a vacuum and shredder. First time I've done this. Then I spread a tiny little bit (probably 3 leaves worth of shreddings) over the worm bed. I'm gonna leave it alone for a while now, cos I have such a small number of worms that they are gonna take some time to get through it.

So I started burying some of the kitchen waste since yesterday. Such a simple, 'neat' idea that I hadn't come across before. Thanks for that armoured. I dedicated a small patch of the area in my garden that I'd covered with sawdust.

I have 2 experimental compost piles that have been running for about 3 months:

- 1 with mostly sawdust and grass, and then a little bit of coffee grounds. This pile remains open-air and I keep adding grass clippings as the lawn gets mowed and turning over the pile.

- the 2nd has the same as above but with added dry leaves, but this one gets covered with a clear plastic sheet to let in the sunlight but also trap the moisture.

...can anyone give their opinions of which of the above would make better bedding for the day I buy more worms, and why? And, should I be modifying this mix to prepare it better for the say I buy more worms?

@wiggal: no worries from my end - it's up to you to decide how to proceed. You might find that good vegetables from a garden worth a bit of extra cash - or you may not. I admit I was sort of assuming that it was a philosophical objection - there are lots of people just opposed to fertilizer outright. It just might take a while to get the soil to the point that it produces much. If I might make a suggestion: since you seem pretty interested in getting vegetables, it's worth considering an experiment - a controlled amount of fertilizer on a portion of your garden. Won't cost much, and will help you figure out what the limitation is - if that part of the garden grows much better, you'll know what's going on and can come up with a strategy to deal with it over time. Others might suggest what kinds of fertilizers are most cost-effective - also depends how big your garden is.

I can recommend the Youtube videos on the "One Yard Revolution" channel by Patrick Dolan in the Chicago area. He has a small, highly productive garden fertilized entirely by compost, vermicompost and wood chip mulch. He is all about using only free, abundant, locally available materials. In earlier years he also made comfrey tea and compost tea and also trialled rock dust and biochar soil treatments, but eventually concluded that none of these things were worth the expense and/or hassle, and that they did nothing that his own on-site composting and mulching didn't already provide. After a number of years of composting he actually reduced the amount of compost he was making and adding to the soil because a test showed the nutrient levels in the soil were quite high.

Building Garden Soil with Free, Local and Abundant Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhFWoqak4uI&list=PLApXYvbprElwCOe5gdtcOMiEMGRpUBb4e

Soil Test Results! Are Compost, Worm Castings, & Mulch Enough?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSxa9GVwGns

theparsley , again thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I'm so happy you mentioned OneYardRevolution! I have watched so many of his videos... he's probably the single biggest inspiration for me to take the "completely free" approach with some level of confidence that it can be done. And because of his methods being so successful, I am willing to put in the time (and sacrifice short-term results) in order to get to my end goal without having to spend at all, or spend a bare minimum.

Out here in the 3rd world, it's a bit difficult to find some of the resources you mention. So community gardens and community composting doesn't really exist here as far as I know. But this does have one advantage: since there's no stringent recycling protocols, it gives me free access to some of the raw materials that could work well in composting and vermicomposting.

I will definitely look into your idea of a nitrogen-fixing cover crop. Quick question: will it not be a bit late cos we are now in 2/3rds into Autumn here (southern hemisphere). My area is the equivalent of USDA Zone 9, so we don't get snow, but the morning frosts will start to kill everything quite soon. I have 4 or 5 months of cold weather coming my way now, so there's not gonna be much that will flourish until mid-September unless it's tolerant to our minimum temps... we occasionally go as low as -5C, but most mornings will hover around -2C. Midday temps are usually near 10C.

I hate to sound like I am rejecting your advice on buying fertiliser / compost, but I really can't afford it if it has to applied on a larger scale. I could maybe get a small amount and test it out on 1sqm like it was suggested earlier.

I hear you loud and clear that my method will take a long time to yield results, but I am ok with that... I think if I follow the model the OneYardRevolution adopted, I only need to get 1% the success that he has to consider the whole exercise to be worth it.

I mean... I'm enjoying the whole experience of tinkering, failing, small successes, struggling, posting, reading, testing, failing, repeating... It's good fun.

Also, my worms were still alive this morning :)

@Wiggal, you might want to search for winter cover crops (but you'll need to supplement and find out what is available and used in your location). I'm putting a link below here. Note that several things are going on: you plant in fall, there is some growth and stuff going on underground - may be significant in a location where the ground doesn't freeze - if days are above zero maybe aboveground too. Also the 'winter' cover crops start to grow again and fairly fast in spring, earlier than you would plant. And they'll be good compost for the soil later anyway. I don't know your location and climate but if the ground never freezes and most days are above zero, you might get good benefits for your soil from winter cover crops.

https://www.growveg.com/guides/winter-cover-crops-for-your-vegetable-garden/

I forgot all about your being in the Southern Hemisphere - I was thinking it was spring for you, not autumn. That was one of the pieces of information that you deleted in your original post.

I'm not so knowledgeable about cover crops but I would certainly think that if you are close to a frost date by now, it will be more difficult to benefit from a cover crop. People in the Soil, Compost and Mulch forum may know more. Beware, they are not nearly as nice as worm people and will lecture anyone on any subject, including subjects that have no relation to the question being asked. :-)

Whoops, I see armoured slipped in with a more knowledgeable response while I was typing.

By the way... It wasn't me that deleted my original post :(

I'm guessing that it was removed cos the questions I asked were more about the worms than the compost. Which also leads me to ask: Anyone know a vermiculture-specific forum/discussion group?

armoured: I will definitely do some research on the right winter cover crop. That article you linked was a fascinating read!

There is so much to learn... I only wish I had already started gardening years ago!

There really isn't much moderator presence on these boards. In fact I haven't been aware of any. I could wish, at times, that there was someone putting a lid on pointless bickering... I don't know of anyone going through and deleting "off-topic" posts, and there certainly isn't anybody passing judgement on which posts are about vermiculture vs. vermicomposting! We haven't had a lot of people over the years posting about vermiculture per se, but I suppose that's because these are gardening boards.

I didn't see your original post, don't think it would've been removed because of questions about worms. Maybe it was lost when you changed your login name.

I've no idea what cover crops can still be planted in your climate, I hadn't realised you were in south. You'll probably have to ask around to see what locals do, or just give it a try and hope it works. Obviously you might have seed expense. Or concentrate on burying scraps and amending the soil that way. Some people swear by other ways of getting organic matter into the soil, like burying wood (longer term process though). One advantage you have is sawdust you put on the garden now will have started its process of decomposing by your spring; if the sawdust is in contact with soil (by lightly scratching in) it will decompose a bit more and be more soil-like.

We don't know much about your soil - you might try and read the other forum here - things like drainage and the feel and smell of the soil and presence of earthworms tell you a lot. Is your soil sandy or have clay or silt, things like that.