Worm Farming usa
Cocoon Production Holds Promise
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Cocoon Production Holds Promise
Figure Environmental Recycling Systems' entrance Environmental Recycling Systems (ERS) of Alpine, California is located on a five-acre parcel of land east of San Diego. Founder Sherrel Hall has been an active proponent of vermiculture for over twenty years and claims to have developed an intensive, mass production breeding system whereby earthworm cocoons may be harvested and shipped in significant quantities for inoculation of earthworm beds to produce a substantial number of hatchlings.
Figure Sherrel Hall demonstrates trommel screen earthworm harvester Hall claims that his earthworm breeding facility can produce 50 million baby earthworms every 30 days. After 75 days, the approximate weight of young earthworms would total 25 tons (22.68 metric tons). He says his building space allows for an earthworm population of up to 400 million young hatchlings (200 tons) per month (White, 1996). Most of the earthworm production from ERS as of Spring 1996 was going to a ten-acre site in East San Diego County that received 40 tons (36.3 metric tons) per day of municipal green waste along with dairy and horse manure. ERS also reported that it would “provide earthworms of a different species” to be inoculated into soil of a planting area in a land reclamation project in San Diego (Riggle, 1996a).
Figure Oregon Soil's Contiuous Flow Reactor Daily applications of thin layers of organics allow earthworms to work in the upper level of the reactor as earthworm-worked material descends toward the mesh floor. Total time from feedstock application to harvesting vermicompost can take from three to four weeks. Vermicompost is packaged in 1 lb. cardboard boxes and 1 cu. ft. (.0283 m3) bags and labeled as Oregon Soil “Earthworm Castings.” The one-pound product is sold as plant food with directions recommending that one-teaspoon of castings should be added to a quart of water and used with every watering. One tablespoon of castings may also be mixed in for each quart of other potting media. The one cubic food bag is described as an all-purpose planting mix. It contains the admonition, “Use no concentrated plant food in conjunction. Our castings are a complete and balanced plant food. The pH balance of this product is 6.8.”
Figure Earthworm Castings are packaged in drums and 40-lb bags In 1991, Oregon Soil Corporation received a grant for $93,300 from Portland Metro’s “1% for Recycling” program which allowed Holcombe to put up a greenhouse-type structure and procure some equipment to build a pilot reactor. In February 1993, Oregon Soil began doing business with the Fred Meyer chain of “one-stop shopping” stores in the greater Portland area. Of the 20 stores with food departments, Fred Meyer’s estimates that each store produces an average of 45 tons (40.8 metric tons) of garbage per month. OSC’s staff continues to make daily pick-ups of organics and delivers them to the vermicomposting site. In 1997, Holcombe disassembled his unit from a farm in Clackamas County and moved it to an existing compost facility within Portland’s city limits. The current plan is to continue to work in conjunction with Metro on vermicomposting food residuals while also taking advantage of the pre-composted yard trimmings available from the compost facility (Bogdanov, 1997e). From Mushroom Farm to Earthworm FarmThe Yelm Earthworm & Casting Farm, formerly the site of a mushroom-producing operation, was converted to an earthworm farm in 1991 under the ownership of Resource Conversion Corporation (RCC) of San Diego, California. RCC used the Yelm farm for R&D experiments with the hope of stocking other vermicomposting projects it had planned to start in addition to its Canyon Recycling project. Earthworms bred in Yelm were sold in quantities of up to 5,000 pounds (2.26 metric tons) and were shipped as far as Texas. In 1997 the farm came under the ownership of Sound Resource Management, an environmental consulting firm based in Seattle, Washington (Bogdanov, 1997f). 
Figure Yelm Earthworm & Castings Farm's stackable bins under cover Nestled in Smith prairie southwest of Mt. Rainier, the far is located approximately 20 miles (33.86 km) east of Olympia, Washington. Jim Jensen, a principal and consultant with SRM, oversees the Yelm project. No stranger to vermicomposting, Jensen provided planning, development and implementation for the Food Lifeline Waste Reduction Demonstration Project in Washington’s King County from the end of 1991 to the beginning of 1994. During the 18-month active vermicomposting phase, Food Lifeline diverted nearly 50 tons (45.37 metric tons) of food scraps and yard debris by utilizing earthworms in pallet-box bins. Unsalvageable food collected by Food Lifeline that could not be vermicomposted was distributed to pig farms (Sound Resource Management Group, 1992). The Yelm operation uses two systems to grow earthworms and convert treated dairy manure to vermicompost. The Yelm farm pays for delivery of manure that has been separated after sitting in a lagoon. The solids are removed and the manure passes through a heating process. The farm’s vermiculture system utilizes 4’x6’ (1.2 m by 1.8 m) wooden trays formerly used for mushroom production. The fairly shallow trays (6 inches—15.24 cm—deep) are stackable and maximize floor space in the covered portion of the facility estimated to be 33,000 square feet. Periodically, perhaps every two months, half the contents of the trays (earthworms, castings and manure) are removed and used to start a new tray or bin. The second system uses sprinkler-irrigated windrows, located both indoors and outdoors. Typically, rows are fed until about 30 cubic yards of material is ready to be harvested. Jensen estimates each row contains about 1,500 pounds (.68 metric tons) of earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Overall, he figures his operation currently has about 38,000 pounds (17.24 metric tons) of earthworms (Bogdanov, 1997f). Managing one of the largest vermiculture operations of the West Coast, Jensen says the Yelm farm is adequately prepared to make large, bulk sales of earthworms and vermicompost (Jensen, 1998). Smaller quantities of products are also packaged and sold. Earthworms are packaged for shipment in wax-coated cardboard boxes, but Jensen has also experimented with shipping small quantities of earthworms in breathable plastic bags. Vermicompost is sold in 8-quart and 1 cubic foot (.0283 m3 ) labeled “Earthworm All Purpose Potting Soil; Natural Castings and Bedding.” With some ten acres available, Jensen anticipates using the extra land for processing leaves and wood chips. By combining these materials with dairy manure, a darker-looking vermicompost may be produced. Adding more windrows outdoors and using “floating” row covers will help create additional indoor space for product development, packaging and warehousing. The potential also exists, says Jensen, for establishing in-vessel systems and becoming a testing ground demonstration center where people can come to see different technologies in operation. Directory: wp-content -> uploads uploads -> 587 Return function, r i(X) r i(0) r i(1) r i(2) r i(3) 1 0 2 4 6 Thermal Station, I 2 0 1 5 6 3 0 3 5 6 10 uploads -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? uploads -> For want of a nail uploads -> Police Militarization uploads -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 uploads -> 2017 afoCo Landmark Scholarship Program uploads -> Instructions for the Preparation of Camera-Ready Contributions to the Conference Proceedings uploads -> Medical Radiography Program uploads -> Ihbb asian Championships 2014 middle school bowl Round 4 First Quarter uploads -> Ihbb european Championships 2014 Bowl Round 4 First Quarter Download 114.5 Kb. Share with your friends:
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