Alabama / Georgia Jumpers + African Nightcrawlers earthworms + Millipedes

Description

This item is a colony starter mix of 2 best composters Millipedes and Earthworms.
To the best of my abilities I unidentified 3 types of millipedes: Bumblebee (Anadenobolus Monilicornis), Scarlet (Trigoniulus Corralinus) There will be at least
2 types of millipedes
present in the mix.
There will also be at least
2 types of Earthworms
present in the mix: Alabama Jumpers (Asian Jumpers / Georgia Jumpers / clay worms) and African Nightcrawlers (Eudrilus Eugeniae).
Millipedes are underrated in composting culture
Studies has shown that
he quality of millicompost is superior to that of vermicompost.
The nitrogen and phosphorus content is higher in millicompost than vermicompost. Additionally, millicompost brings down the pH of the soil thus promoting fungi dominated soil environment.
Other advantages of millipede compost
Millipedes can consume wastes 5 times their body weight.
Millipedes are able to lock away the nutrients in their fecal matter and then release them periodically.
As research showed millipedes have truly unprecedented microorganism diversity in their gut that will charge your compost pile with bunch of beneficial fungi and bacteria.
In addition to the above mentioned arthropods and worms I inoculate my bins with a special home-brewed blend of
microorganisms
to speed up the composting process also known under commercial names EM1 and EM-Bokashi, itcontain 3 types of bacteria: Lactobacilus casei (Lactic acid Bacteria), Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Saccharomyces cerevisae (Yeast). Studies by professor Teruo Higa showed significant benefits of these microorganisms in composting and are applied in organic farming worldwide in “Bokashi composting”
The worms and millipedes are shipped in a medium that includes cocoons of earth worms, baby worms baby millipedes and their natural habitat consisting of castings, peat moss and all the symbiotic organisms that help the worms and millipedes settle in your new environment.
When you receive the package you should have already a bin with medium prepared for them. I mainly use coco coir and peat moss however it can be shredded paper, shredded cardboard, cheap top soil or cow manure from Home depot. I recommend to take the whole content of the bag and placing it as is in your bin/compost pile. When I just started I spread the newly bought batch of worms out in my bin and the next morning I had a riot on my hands, they were all over the floor and walls.
After getting used to their newly found home they will not escape your bin/compost pile, they normally stay where the food is.
Red wigglers will eat anything you throw at them. They can easily survive a high acidic environment if you feed them lemons, limes or other acidic fruit. Night crawlers are more demanding to soil Ph and require more carbon such as corrugated cardboard, paper, wood chips; In fact shredded cardboard makes a perfect bedding for earth worms. After food scraps this is their second preferred choice of food as I noticed.
Don’t forget to remove any plastic from the boxes before you shred them
You can feed your worms and millipedes pretty much anything that comes from your kitchen table. Opposite to the widespread opinion the will eat, meat, milk, eggs and other proteins as long as you don’t mind flies and occasional visits from your neighborhood opossums. I recommend getting EM1 or cheaper version of the same microorganisms that can be brewed at home or bought on Etsy or Ebay.
When I started using my home-brewed version of EM1 it eliminated any smell coming from the bins no matter how moist they were.
How to make your own microbial inoculant otherwise known as EM1.
The easiest way is to use the
sauerkraut juice (pickled sour cabbage)
it contains both lactic acid bacteria and yeast. There is also a multitude of recipes on youtube, some of them being so precise in ingredients and preparation process that they make me wonder. The most well know way is to mix rice with milk and let it stand for 2-3 weeks then filter out the curd on top and use the liquid. From my experience any type of grain can be used and in warm environment it is ready after 48 hours.
The use of the bacterial mix ranges from treating human fecal matter to organic fertilizer to unclogging drains to healing cold sores.
Order process
To ensure survival of the species any order placed after Tuesday will be shipped the next Monday.
I will send the package using USPS mail. To ensure that you receive the worms and millipedes alive make sure to track the package using the tracking number provided and not to leave them for a long time in your mail box. Left in extreme heat or cold they will not survive for long. If that happens or there is a problem with the batch let me know and I will send you another batch, simply help with the cost of shipping.
The mix will have roughly 30 millipedes, 40 of Nightcrawlers and 10 Alabama Jumpers. Total weight is 11-16 oz.