Vermiponics - Fish, Plants, and Worms

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Awesome thread! Red wrigglers are the worms that I hear used most in such a setup. As they are smaller and more active than earthworms.There is also a bunch of
other benefits to incorporating worms into your system. It is alleged that worms produce antibodies that are beneficial to the health of plants. I have intentions of adding worms to my aquarium/setup as well as it well benefit the plants and fish.

Rivermud, hope you don't mind if I also post my design/findings in the coming months. I will start with this:


https://attra.ncat.org/calendar/br_...ows-vermicompost-helps-suppress-plant-disease
 
aquaponicpaw said:
Awesome thread! Red wrigglers are the worms that I hear used most in such a setup. As they are smaller and more active than earthworms.There is also a bunch of
other benefits to incorporating worms into your system. It is alleged that worms produce antibodies that are beneficial to the health of plants. I have intentions of adding worms to my aquarium/setup as well as it well benefit the plants and fish.

Rivermud, hope you don't mind if I also post my design/findings in the coming months. I will start with this:


https://attra.ncat.org/calendar/br_...ows-vermicompost-helps-suppress-plant-disease
Click to expand...

Thank you for linking that awesome article. You are more than welcome to post your setup in this thread as thing go along. I only started the thread to let MFK'ers in on the benefits of vermiponics. Since a lot of people don't follow the links i am just going to paste what was written in the article.

Organic growers could soon have another weapon in their arsenal, courtesy of the humble worm.

Cornell researchers have found that vermicompost -- the product if composting using various species of worms -- is not only an excellent fertilizer, but could also help prevent a pathogen that has been a scourge to greenhouse growers. By teaming up with a New York composting business, they believe they have found an organic way to raise healthier plants with less environmental impact.

Building on previous research conducted by Professor Eric Nelson's research group in the Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Ph.D. student Allison Jack has shown that beneficial microbes in vermicompost can colonize a seed's surface and protect it from infection by releasing a substance that interferes with the chemical signaling between the host and the pathogen.

"We know the microbes are actually adding something the zoospores don't like," Jack said. "Now we just have to find out what it is.

"Eric Carr, a master's student in Nelson's lab, is focusing on the suppressive qualities of vermicompost on a different stage of the life cycle of Pythium aphanidermatum, a pathogen whose mobile spores infect seedlings, causing them to "damp off," or wither, shortly after germination. The research, he said, helps contribute to opportunities to turn waste products like manure into important disease-suppressive soil amendments.

"At some point in our lives, we're going to have to start using these types of natural resources and use them more efficiently; when that times comes, we'll have a better idea of how it works," Carr said.

Certain composts can suppress diseases, research has shown, but what is still unknown is which of the thousands of undescribed microbes in healthy compost are responsible for suppressing which diseases.

Another challenge in identifying suppressors and harnessing them is the variability of different composts.

To overcome this issue, Jack has teamed up with Tom Herlihy, who produces 2.5 million pounds of vermicompost a year through his Avon, N.Y., company, Worm Power. Because his dairy manure feedstock is regular and the process controlled, Herlihy's end product is highly consistent, a quality that's good for growers and for scientists like Jack.

Most seeds are treated in this country with chemicals," Herlihy said. "If we know our vermicompost can suppress Pythium, wouldn't it be nice if we could come up with a vermicompost-based solution, rather than a chemical one?"

There could also be economic benefit if the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, allows Herlihy to market his product as a biopesticide.

A related project at Cornell focuses on vermicompost's organic fertilizing capability. Horticulture assistant professor Neil Mattson was recently awarded a $203,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how organic growers can incorporate vermicompost into their potting mixes for better nutrient management. The three-year research project will begin this spring.

"What a lot of these growers tell us is fertility issues are the hardest to solve organically," Mattson said. "This is a community that is doing a lot of great things. We want to make their production systems even more profitable. We want to promote production systems that promote healthy environments."​
Click to expand...

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Dec11/Vermicompost.html
 
I gotta say I love the concept. I may actually try this for my sole filter on my turtle pond, think an 8'x2'x1'-1.5' high one would be good for an 8'x4'x2' pond?
Also would the gravel from Home Depot be good for this, or is there something wrong with it?
 
Zari said:
I gotta say I love the concept. I may actually try this for my sole filter on my turtle pond, think an 8'x2'x1'-1.5' high one would be good for an 8'x4'x2' pond?
Also would the gravel from Home Depot be good for this, or is there something wrong with it?
Click to expand...
Just a note, if you are going to grow food plants with a setup like this you need to be mindful of salmonella when raising turtles. You can actually make an even larger grow bed or add another grow bed of similar size. The gravel at home depot should be fine, just make sure to get gravel larger than pea gravel as pea gravel can compact and reduce flow.
 
Don't plan to grow food for me =), Plan to grow lettuce for the turtles. Also how many GPH do you think I should aim for in the grow bed. I plan to use in an inline pump and have it suck off a bottom drain and bring it up to the grow bed
 
most of the people in AP seem to do a 100 to 150% turnover of their tank per hour. I am guessing this is setup indoors since it looks like you are in colorado. Can you draw up something in paint or sketch to let me know what you are thinking about so I can give some better advice?
 
Already working on a Sketchup drawing =). Yes it will be indoors but not just because in in CO, I'll actually be in South Carolina when I finally make this, Or possibly somewhere else, may not get my first choice base pick when I get out of Basic Military Training.

Edit. Added Sketchup Drawings
turt1.pngturt2.png

turt1.png

turt2.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom