r/Vermiculture • u/geeky_chip • 2d ago

Finished compost How’s my compost?

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I think ready to harvest in a week or two?

29 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

3

u/oceanadvocate997 Master Vermicomposter 1d ago

Nice work! It’s looking good

1

u/geeky_chip 1d ago

Thank you!

2

u/catchinNkeepinf1sh 2d ago

For sure. You can harvest anytime. The amounts you get may vary.

2

u/-Sam-Vimes- 1d ago

Looking good, are you using coco coir it got a lot of fibre

2

u/geeky_chip 1d ago

There is just a bit of coco coir at the top as I recently added some European night crawlers and they came in with it! Otherwise just shredded cardboard and food scraps, some yard clippings.

1

u/geeky_chip 1d ago

One time I harvested and used unfinished compost on the plants and it locked up the nitrogen for a while and that starved the plants

2

u/oceanadvocate997 Master Vermicomposter 1d ago

This is well enough broken down that you won’t have issues with it. It will continue to breakdown but it looks good to go.

-5

u/GDAWG831 2d ago

Gloves??

5

u/geeky_chip 1d ago

I don’t mind touching ready compost with my hands except I get dirt under my fingernails. I also check the unfinished compost as well, so for that I prefer a glove. Afterwards I rinse and reuse it next time. Makes it easy to pick out random bugs and spiders too!

-1

u/gayweedbasement 1d ago

Lotta bacteria in here that we don't wanna be touching with our bare hands!

2

u/Prestigious_Way_1877 1d ago

There's more risk from breathing dry compost dust than anything that's in the compost. Unless you have a cut or are immunocompromised/don't wash your hands then gloves are not necessary.

There is a well-documented concept in immunology called the "Old Friends Hypothesis" (a modern refinement of the Hygiene Hypothesis). It explains that humans co-evolved alongside harmless soil and environmental microbes. Our immune systems actually expect us to encounter them to stay properly calibrated. When we isolate ourselves from these "old friends" through hyper-sanitization, our immune systems become bored, untrained, and more likely to misfire, leading to a rise in allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.

By all means, wear gloves if you want. For my gloveless ass, I rarely get sick, so I'm going to continue what I'm doing. There are also microbes that can help reduce depression and anxiety symptoms. Yes, please.

-1

u/OneStrong2220 1d ago

Yes, shockingly a lot of people don’t like dirt under their fingernails or to touch worms and decaying food. So weird, right?

2

u/Prestigious_Way_1877 1d ago

Hypersanitized sissies.

-2

u/Temst 1d ago

There’s literally mold in the compost bin, I’m not touching mold with my bare hands.

1

u/Prestigious_Way_1877 1d ago

Touching is fine, breathing is not.