Predatory Nematodes and Composting Redworms
by Enraged Poet
(NY)
Will predatory nematodes have a negative or harmful effect on redworms used for composting? I figure on adding them, as long as they're not harmful. Could I possibly breed them in my organic soil and cut on costs?
Answer: Poet- predatory nematodes attack and feed on many pathogens and microscopic harmful insects in the soil. The key is "microscopic"....these little guys won't hurt anything as big as a redworm. In fact, by eliminating mite eggs, fungus gnat larvae, thrips, and other harmful insects from the soil, they actually benefit the redworms.
Properly made compost works so well in part because the manufacturing process tips the living conditions in the soil in favor of beneficial insects and micro-organisms....and out of favor of harmful insects and pathogens. In other words, healthy compost should already contain a population of predatory nematodes. If you have a source of good compost, I suggest making fresh brewed compost tea.
Adding some healthy compost to a few gallons of water inoculates it with a whole host of beneficials....cellulose decomposers, chitosan decomposers, humic acid producers, predatory nematodes, and others. Now here is what you do to turn a hundred thousand micro-organisms into millions and millions....
All of the beneficial micro-organisms you want are aerobic, so you will want to add an aquarium air pump and air stone to the compost tea. Add some source of seaweed....either a couple shots of liquid seaweed like Maxicrop or else some kelp meal (1/4 cup should work for a couple gallons of water). If you really want to supercharge the process, add a little rock dust and/or a quarter cup of un-sulfured molasses.
The micro-organisms use the carbohydrates from the seaweed as food, providing building blocks for cell division and multiplication. The sugar source provides extra energy and speeds up the process further. It only takes one or two days of brewing for the population of beneficial micro-organisms to explode....you will see a "froth" around the sides of the brewing container.
Really, you only need a cup of this stuff added to the water when you water or fertilize your plants, although giving them more will not do any harm. Just like compost, adding all these beneficials to your soil stacks the deck against harmful insects and pathogens. I have had friends- indoor gardeners using soil- who purchased beneficial nematodes, but they saw no added benefit above and beyond what they were already getting from using fresh compost tea.
So I would recommend using a little compost, and especially fresh brewed compost tea, wherever you feel you need the predatory nematodes....no sense in spending the money if you really don't need to. Happy Growing!
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AffordableGarden Design&Setup
Hi everyone, Jason from Jason's Indoor Guide here. When I got started with hydroponic gardening more than 24 years ago, my first garden used rockwool cubes and B.C. Nutrients....and I remember thinking to myself yeah, sure, there may be a lot of advantages to gardening with hydroponics, for example there are very few pest problems, therefore very little pest control, no weeding, no plowing or tilling the soil, no soil testing or having to add things into the garden soil, no watering the garden....but for someone who just wants to grow their own vegetables and have more control over their food supply and the quality of the food that they eat, the cost of constantly having to buy grow media and hydroponic nutrients makes this an expensive hobby for most people...
Epic Nutrient Change
I suppose when you take into consideration how much money you save NOT
having to buy food at the grocery store, it is surely cheaper to grow
your own food hydroponically even with the cost of high quality
nutrients. Nevertheless, I didn't have a whole lot of money to work with
and I needed to make my efforts as affordable and effective as
possible....and in the last 24 years I HAVE learned a thing or two!
As you browse through Jason's Indoor Guide, you will notice all of the
systems that I use personally are homemade systems. As I got 3 or 4
years of experience under my belt, I quickly adopted a preference to
standing water systems and systems that use expanded clay pellets or
lava rock, because the media is re-usable and it eliminates a huge
operating expense. So once a hydroponic system is built, garden
maintenance is minimal- check and adjust the nutrient solution daily,
and to change it completely every 2 weeks....and the biggest operating
cost is the hydroponic nutrients. (and the electric bill, lol)...
Homemade Cloner
And, regarding the cost of the nutrients....I experimented for about 3 years with making different compost teas and nutrient teas, but there is still a lot of expense $$$ associated with making high quality nutrient teas....like kelp meal, liquid seaweed, rock dust, bat guano, un-Sulfured molasses, worm castings. You can eliminate a lot of this expense by becoming an expert at making high-quality colloidal humus compost, and use your properly made compost as the basis of your hydroponic nutrient solution.
Unfortunately, I have been gardening for over 24 years and I have only
just recently mastered this difficult skill....and even then, only
because I happened to find a very easy to follow, high quality technique
and decided to follow the instructions to the letter. I produced more
high quality compost in just one week than I was able to use in a whole
year! If you can master the technique, I highly recommend it. It is one of the top 3 things you can do to
increase the productivity of your food production efforts, while at the
same time decreasing the amount of effort required to grow all of your
own food, and decreasing the total cost of operating your food
production system.
And when I say decrease operating costs, I mean decrease them to almost
ZERO, especially if you are producing your own nutrients...
High Efficiency
Hydroponics
The ultimate solution to eliminate the cost of your hydroponic nutrients: Imagine a hydroponic system that does not require you to buy any nutrients, does not require you to make your own compost, and does not require you to brew your own nutrient tea. Seriously! No cost and no effort as far as providing nutrients to your plants! Plus, at the end of the gardening cycle you harvest all of your garden vegetables, PLUS YOU HARVEST FISH from the system--->
Aquaponics
This solution is aquaponics. If you are serious about producing all of your own food and being self-sufficient, this is the ultimate solution for reducing expenses (as much as possible), reducing the total amount of work required, and maximizing the productivity of your gardening efforts. I have been gardening for over 24 years, and it is the perfect food production solution in my opinion.
Besides mastering how to make high quality compost, learning aquaponics is one of the top 3 things you can do to increase your garden productivity, reduce your total costs, and reduce your total work. The product that I learned from is called Aquaponics4you. With all of my hydroponic gardening experience, the first time I came across the Aquaponics4you product I knew immediately that it was something very special! Place an aquaponics system outdoors and use the sun instead of grow lights, and you have reduced every garden expense to nearly ZERO!
The Same System/ 10 Weeks Later!
