What 10 Months Of Worm Farming Has Taught Us

[@tahirehsan2180]

I am in commercial worm and casting farming, we all learn from our set backs and by sharing practical knowledge with each other. Thank you for sharing your experiences precisely and without wasting time in stories. Very helpful, good work and good luck, keep it up.

[@bloomandgray]

Thank you Tahir 😊

[@arfaabbas]

bRotheR Ur Country name ?

[@יורםביטרספלד]

Looking forward to harvesting the castings accumulated from the bin, through ceasing feeding the wiglers in the present place, and starting to feed them upon a new bedding beside the previous one (horizontally) - I just wonder, how long does it take all worms, cocoons and yet unhetched eggs, to evecuate the previous bedding and populate the new one? Thanks for a kind informative answer

[@chriskimmer2869]

Respect

[@southsidemikevlogs]

Yeah I just started farm worming a few months ago still trying to find the right bins to use

[@tonysu8860]

Very interesting and thanks for sharing. Only thing I found odd is your experience with protein poisoning, aka "string of pearls" disease. I did a bit of an Internet search to see what people are saying about this because in my over 15 years of vermicomposting, I've never experienced the problem. This is my personal conclusion based on my experiences and practice... 1. Possibly a main reason why I don't ever experience "protein poisoning" is because I don't feed my worms anything with protein... At least intentionally. Because I use my vermicompost for crops intended for human consumption or sell/give my compost to others, I don't put any meat, meat by-products or green manure in my bins to ensure 0% chance of e.coli or salmonella. I don't give my worms anything with vegetable protein in great amounts, either. You could say my worms are 99% vegetarians. 2. Sometimes I do feed my worms enormous quantities of food at a time. When I feed them kelp hand-picked from the ocean, I'll give them an entire month's worth of food at a time. Maybe others have seen worms over eat but I haven't... I don't know that worms are like goldfish and burst because they don't know when to stop eating. 3. Judging from the pictures posted of worms that are dying supposedly from protein poisoning, I wonder how many of them are actually dying from asphyxiation instead of poisoning. I see all the time in KZbin videos people feeding their worms in ways that can kill them. When any food is given to worms that will decompose rapidly by aerobic bacteria, the bacteria will consume all the oxygen in that area if the bacterial population is high enough and granulated, powdered and blended foods have a very high surface area to mass ratio which will create an enormous bacterial population explosion. Well, guess what... worms need oxygen, too so if all the air is consumed by bacteria, the worms will die... and in mass numbers. This is why all food should never be sprinkled across the surface of the worm bin or mixed into the bedding. Food should be buried in a hole dug in a bin corner or edge (or carefully in the middle) to allow the worms to approach the food you're giving them or retreat to the safety of uncontaminated bedding to avoid anything toxic. 4. Unless and until someone actually does a necropsy on a worm and determines it actually died from indigestion(of protein), I suspect the whole thing is a myth. I instead highly suspect they died from respiration or more exactly suffocation because of the toxic chemicals in that part of the bin. Such things as the smells of ammonia and alcohol are typical of anaerobic conditions that would occur when there is lack of oxygen... When the aerobic bacteria die because of lack of oxygen, then anaerobic bacteria can take over for as long as suitable conditions exist. I find it a bit incredible that as hardy worms have proven to be ingesting and even mitigating toxic chemicals as well as every malignant virus or bacterium known so far that worms might somehow die from protein causing toxic gasses in their digestive tract faster than those gases can be excreted. There is only one major rule to always observe to be a successful worm farmer... Give your worms choice. That's all it takes. Give your worms choice to move towards what you offer and away if they don't want it. Warm half your bin and keep the other side cool. Make one side of your bin wet and the other drier. Use your imagination to envision how to give your worms choices for everything and your worms can decide for themselves what makes them happiest.

[@sherrywebster1675]

Great info and tips thank you , from a fledgling worm farmer .

[@KBorham]

Protein poisoning (sour crop) is not a myth, it’s a known, and it’s caused by fermentation within the worm as Sara pointed out. Thank you for the “choices” concept, it is very sound.

[@rizziequeen5253]

I love the idea of giving them choice! 😍

[@monicacruz4407]

My first thought was that you have to mimic nature, not give them powders, I’ve always seen how worms pull leaves into the soil, so mu instinct would be to use leaf litter and other green/brown plant material. Thank you for this information 🙏

[@mananddog9884]

What’s the best type of wormery to get if your just starting?

[@carolynoconnor8567]

I did many experiments when I had my warm business almost 20 years ago and the results were amazing your veggies are bigger and sweeter your flowers are larger and more colorful. I also started all my seeds in straight warm compost it retains moisture much better and gives the plant more aggressive root growth. It's really amazing stuff.

[@Th4thWiseman]

Yes👍

[@cheersmeme]

I've had my red wigglers for 6 years now. I blend egg shells for their grit in a little coffee blender . And I bought crushed oyster shells from Amazon . My little coffee blender was taking a beating. Lol Then a few months ago while going to order more oyster shells I found Powdered oyster shells. Made from the same company 100% oyster shells. Made my life easier, my blender life longer .. 😊 Cheers from Toronto 🇨🇦

[@jafquist27]

Thank you for this video. Your presentation is great; just enough of being human, without all kinds of time-wasting chatter. I am preparing to start a commercial worm, casting, and casting tea operation, and your video has provided much inspiration. I plant a fairly large garden every year. Aside from tomatoes and peppers, everything goes from seed. I raised European night crawlers for a while, and had quite a bit of pure castings. For two years, I covered every seed with a handful of castings, at planting, and the production literally doubled, both times, in comparison to adding nothing to the soil. Just sharing an experience.

[@perennial-garden]

This video is a game changer. We are huge fans of eco gardening here... worms is our next step. Thanks for sharing.

[@qzmpwxno]

This is an extremely good synthesis of what way more than 10 months of “passive” learning have taught me. A must watch for anybody into vermiculture and great inspiration to get hands on again!

[@katarinavidovic9787]

You've created one of my 5 favorite youtube videos on worm farming. Great job! Highly informative and very helpful. Wish you the best in your vermicomposting and flower farming.

[@itsmewende]

10 months.!!!! That is some operation you have there. I bet people will want to buy the castings too.

[@shhitsquiettime.2513]

Alpaca poo too…

[@burropoco]

Well done lass, nice setup. Quick tip. One of the biggest improvements I've had (I've been keeping worms since 2016) was when I started grinding up a small amount of oyster shell into their feed, it's cheap and lasts ages. The fine grit helps the food pass through their gizzard, they eat more and grow faster.

[@christinaoliveryoung6019]

How do you grind up the oyster shells? They're so hard. It would destroy my blender so I'm looking for alternate ideas

[@brandonmccain5983]

@@christinaoliveryoung6019 on a small scale a file works well. They even make a file that attaches to a sawsall/reciprocating saw. On a bigger scale grind it against itself, plastic 55gal drum and a little macgyverism and you have Mega Mac Tumbler!! Search around people have crazy ideas that do wonders.

[@privatecaller1418]

Bake low heat oven,egg shells, grind in coffee grinder. Every neighborhood has egg shells.

[@scottpardoe6349]

@@christinaoliveryoung6019 coffee grinder or a grain mill with a ceramic burr.

[@ontherocksinthesoilmichael6739]

I breed worms and I find that if you put a couple adults in the bin the cocoons seem to hatch better because the biological life of castings or bedding stays active.

[@bloomandgray]

I did wonder if this was the case.

[@patricklee8360]

I sift once per month sifting the cocoons and babies out, and put them back into the original bedding. The breeders go into a new bin. Seems to work well.

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Worms naturally self regulate their populations so will breed to the maximum they can for given real estate/food available etc. I’m not sure as to why your cocoons are slow to hatch but would think a combination of moisture/temp/microbial activity etc. In nature cocoons can remain viable for more than a year and survive deep freezing events etc so they are ‘attuned’ to survival. In my case (only having limited space) I don’t sieve out the cocoons/transfer to a ‘hatchery/nursery’ bin but rather wait until I see the babies ‘chilling’ on some wet surface(I have lids on my system) and pick them out and place then into another system where numbers are maybe smaller to boost that population. I don’t think there is a ‘right way’ or ‘better’ was it’s just what I do. Keeping your cocoons in with the adults may save you a bit of elbow work etc. My only caveat would be that as worm self regulate you may experience a ‘die off’ or ‘exodus’ in some of your bins when the Cocoons do hatch. I think your systems would maybe negate the chance of ‘baby recovery’ to transfer into another bin as you would more than likely waste more time looking for the babies etc. You are doing great as far as I can see and one thing is totally true regards worms/farming/Vermicomposting is that everyday is a school day. As you are a comercial entity it maybe worth checking out Rhonda Sherman’s ‘The Worm Farmers Handbook’ it’s a pretty good read. Also one channel I routinely follow on KZbin is this one: m.youtube.com/@UrbanWormCompany They have regular podcast/vlogs regards the basics etc but also more advanced information regards soil/fungi/bio/microbial interactions and knowledge/advice. Steve Churchill ‘owns’ the company but also has a gentleman called Troy Hinke who specialises in the soul side of things. All very interesting stuff. I’ve been Vermicomposting for about the same time as yourself but not on a commercial scale and strangely love it! BTW now a ‘sub’ to your channel. Keep going.

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Forgot to mention crushed/powdered eggshell is a great medium to help regulate PH levels in systems it also provides the worms with grit as they process their food(microbes) in their gullets(like chickens) it seems that this is best added after each feeding(if using vegetable/fruit matter especially). Another possible reason why you cocoon bins take a long time to work is that those bins may just be a little too dry.. ?

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Doh! Just watched another video where you mention the very things I mentioned in my last comment.😵‍💫

[@TheJoshuaFrey]

I really appreciated this video. I've kept worms for years now, but recently moved out to a farm and decided I need to up my game a bit as far as vermicompost goes. Really great seeing the lessons gained from your experience.

[@jimfitzgibbon5492]

Yes I have been raising worms a home for my garden as for my fishing. I love your channel & subscribed. You are doing a great job of explaining your process.

[@tjeanvlogs9894]

In many municipalities, the chlorine is formulated to *not* off gas anymore. Use rain water or untreated well water. Some filters will help too. I found my tap water suddenly started inhibiting my sour dough starter, and my veg ferments started to fail. Called my water utility to find out what changed.

[@Kyle-sr6jm]

Yep. I have wondered what watering with city water is doing to my soil micro biome. I have not had the ability (enough untreated water) to run an experiment with compost piles watered with city water vs untreated water.

[@TrickleCreekFarm]

I believe it is now chloramine rather than the former chlorine… some have found ascorbic acid to help.

[@happydays2190]

So that means the chlorine stays on forever? How is that done

[@tjeanvlogs9894]

@@happydays2190 it means the evaporation trick won't work. You must filter or chemical bind the chloramines to deactivate them.

[@happydays2190]

@@tjeanvlogs9894 thank you! Why would they do that to us

[@abigailfraser6788]

My worms absolutely love teabags😂 I never used to give the teabags to them because I read that the bags had micro plastics, but pj tips now has compostable bags and the worms cannot get enough of them. I find that I don’t need to water them since adding teabags in

[@bloomandgray]

Haha I would have never thought of this!! I will have to check whether my Yorkshire tea bags are compostable 🤔

[@3Sphere]

Hey Sarah, just discovered your channel and I love it! Your open mindedness, experimental nature, honesty, plain speaking and delightful little talks are a pleasure And your orientation to regenerative farming is exciting for without that changed focus, we're all doomed as a species, yet with it, the future is very bright indeed! I'm more focused on fruits & vegetables but what's good for the goose is good for the gander, eh? Heh. Good luck with your channel. It's going to be a rousing success and looks to be getting there already! Anyway, I wanted to share an amazing little thing I recently discovered relating to vermicomposting. I've been keeping a worm bin for a couple of years now but still consider myself a beginner because I haven't brought a huge focus to it... yet. So many new things to learn and master! My wife and I started juicing a few months ago which is an excellent way to get all of those bulky, fresh, organic veggies into one without having to eat the whole cornucopia. (just got a new Nama J2 too and it's a game changer and very exciting!!!) I juice in bulk to last a week and so produce a lot of pulp. I usually just compost it because the chickens don't really like it so much but I decided to try it on the worms. Most of the pulp they liked ok and ate. (no citrus!) But when I fed the carrot pulp to the little Wiggles, I thought my worm bin was going to EXPLODE! I didn't really know that I had THAT many worms! They all ERUPTED up to the surface like a mountain or volcano and simply devoured the carrot pulp! So, that's really useful for a few reasons: If you want to gather ALL your worms to the surface, feed 'em carrot pulp! Then just scoop 'em all up off the top. Of course that won't bring up the eggs but it is one less step. Then of course it is great nutrition and makes for very healthy worms and it makes them extremely HAPPY! You do get emotionally attached to the little squirmers too, doncha? So it makes YOU happy also. It's really hard to over feed carrot pulp too. They just eat it too fast for it to spoil! And if you have a juicing store nearby maybe you can make a deal with them to get their pulp. That would be an incredible and free source of excellent worm food! Turn free juice pulp into great big healthy flowers! Cheers Sarah & Hubby!

[@northeastworms]

It's a learning process, every day!

[@Ahmedvolks]

I am happy with the time I spent on the video .... From heart to heart talk... Keep going ma'am

[@NanasWorms]

Thank you for such a clear and thorough update on your worm farming side of your business. We’ve all learned from our early mistakes, so I really appreciate you sharing what works and what doesn’t. Wishing you all the best from Vancouver Island, Canada! ~ Sandra

[@bloomandgray]

I love learning from mistakes, it makes us better at what we do!!

[@R1chiesART]

Pack with wire wool first then expanded foam. Rodents hate it. [ Maintenance operative on the railways in the U.K. but branching out into allotments just before I retire!] Lol

[@kimberleywormerama1501]

The way I do my breeding bins is to add breeding age adults, let them breed for 3-4 weeks and then move them, rather than the eggs, to a new bin to start again, leaving the cocoons to hatch where they were laid. I'm not sure why the babies aren't doing so well when the cocoons are moved, but when the worms lay the cocoons it's often in a food and castings rich area (I find loads in banana skins!) and covered in worm mucus so maybe that's removed when they are relocated? I'll have to read up on it, interesting question! Looking forward to the next worm update!

[@bloomandgray]

How do you move the adults Kimberly? There must be something biological going on that encourages the worms to hatch. I have been transferring them into fairly fresh bedding that probably isn’t very biologically active so maybe they don’t receive the signals to hatch.

[@kimberleywormerama1501]

@@bloomandgray I just pull them out and put them in a fresh bin with a handful of castings from my main bin. I have seperate breeding specific bins rather than save cocoons from my main bin, each starts with 50 adults in a 5 litre tub. It does sound like moving them in to a fresh environment could potentially be the issue. Maybe start them off with a mix of bedding & castings to see if that helps?

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

@@kimberleywormerama1501 when you say, “pull them out” do you just pick them one by one by hand ?

[@kimberleywormerama1501]

@@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 Only in the breeder bins which are small and not filled with lots of material because I cycle them regularly so it's easy to get them out

[@MAllen67]

Thank you for the update! Love you are heavily into regenerative farming and creating related content.

[@fergalosullivan2620]

Brilliant video. Very interesting and well spoken by you Sarah. I'm just starting to make little worm bins so Thank you as I learned alot. Keep up the fantastic work

[@mikereid2865]

A really confident, comprehensive and knowledgeable report. I learnt more from your one video than I have from watching dozens from other people. I lived in Yorkshire for 16 years so it was great to hear the Yorkshire accent once again. I look forward to your future videos.

[@gunnshomestead6255]

Thank you for sharing. The ‘positive & perfect’ stories are great… But we learn a lot from our mistakes too. Happy worm farming!

[@stephenedelhuber8590]

We are new flower farmers in Searcy, Arkansas USA we’re wanting to do the same thing that you’re doing with worms castings thank you for your information. Very good job… very clear. Pretty excited to get started in worm raising.

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I decreased the number of worms bins I have, but back when I had a lot, I had my neighbors keep their fruit & veggies scraps for me, & I had a couple gas stations & donut shops saving their coffee grounds for me! Really helped to save money on feed!

[@tripleaaakollektiv870]

we also feed the with lots of fruit & veggies scraps - what do you do about the myriads of fruit flies?

[@fishmut]

@@tripleaaakollektiv870…I would cover your scraps with WET cardboard then the fruit flies shouldn’t be attracted to it , the worms can still access there food under the cardboard cover , also cut the scraps down to small pieces the worms can eat them better to .

[@beebee5807]

I love your concern about "warm's happiness"! Well done in showing appreciation and care for even small creatures.

[@HomesteadersDiscovery]

Great information and glad to see your worm farm and system. We had a very successful indoor worm farm, but had to move our worms outdoors when the pandemic hit and we lost all of our worms due to neglect and other homestead priorities. We had 150,000 + worms at one time. We are starting over and have learned a great deal from out past experience and your video. Thank you for sharing!

[@cs7717]

Where and how did you source your polystyrene bins? Why did you choose them versus any other type of bin? Is it because you're using that to help regulate the temperature or just because they were the cheapest option?

[@headbangingzuluuk5058]

what size are the poly boxes plz and where did you get them from. Great vid all the best,

[@gaijinguide9017]

Congratulations on your successes I’m sure you’ve had much more since releasing this video. I’m about 1 month in on my first system and found this very helpful, thank you!

[@hqprivat]

I just stumbled over your channel when I was looking for more info on wormcastings. I want to start my own wormcasting opreation for my veggie garden. The information you provide in this video should be enough to get me going :-D Thank you very much for all the usefull information!

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

I bought my first worms when uncle Jim's was a 3 line add in organic gardener. I bought them for koi food and a 40' × 100' garden on sandy meridian soil..very sandy and needed compost etc. I faithfully followed instructions and continued that for almost 10 years. Then I decided it was a pain...after that I started testing out different ways to handle them. I soon landed on a system that was much less mess and work. The channel on you tube that is most like what I settled on is A V wormery. Good luck to all newbies.

[@benjaminp6924]

Mine do well in tubs about 14in deep 8-10 in of soil, I feed them banana oatmeal mix most often and not much, I burry it a few inches, also throw some used tea and coffee grinds on top of soil, keep tops open so they can breath and don't try climbing out been doing it as a garden and fishing hobby three yrs now plus the fish are great for the garden, the worms do much better with old leafs in the soil and they love melons n mangos also sand helps them reproduce if soil is to much clay or muck

[@mikewalters4994]

Very good presentation, thank you.

[@gregoryminor6943]

When we lived in Southern California we had a worm farm course fishing is pretty much year around out there this was probably 1968 to 1972 my dad was in the Navy at that time and then we moved to Alabama I don't know why we didn't start another worm farm but we didn't and like I said we used tires for packing for fishing but we didn't do any sifting or anything like that we packed out of a bed and usually we would take 50% of what was in that bed and put it in a new bed we use peat moss as a fiddler in there for the worms but the other thing that we did cuz my dad was in the Navy no shortage of coffee grounds he had metal cans all over the base like 5 gallon buckets and he would bring that home in my brother and I that's what we would put in the worm beds they love coffee grounds I guess we had some kind of meal that we fed him I don't remember what that was but the other thing we had was my dad would have and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this ground up walnut shells and he would get those from a feed store there and Otay outside of Chula Vista California I don't know about the watering thing with chlorine cuz I'm sure our water was terrible out there where we lived but we watered them just with a regular hose pipe so there was no kind of doing anything with the water our beds were probably I guess I'd say 6 foot by 8 foot and we had plywood on top like an A-frame with with the light inside we kept burning all the time and we just raised the piece of plywood up when we packed out of the beds we also had another place in San Ysidro but we packed out of both places what was in our backyard and what was down there interesting what you're doing

[@thomasgrady9292]

Very nice thank you for sharing your challenging experience

[@evelynwoolston7]

For UK viewers B&M are currently selling a great grey tote 33x60xm ht 40cm for just £9. I got it for my eiseniae who have outgrown their washing up bowl. It has a lid but I've found the worms are more settled if I leave the lid off. I put a piece of card over the bedding so that they can crawl back under if they go exploring. Worms had no trouble squeezing under the lid on my other bin but then couldn't get back and made for the bottom of my fridge!

[@bloomandgray]

Great tip Evelyn!

[@beesandseeds]

This is great. I’ve never seen string of pearls in my worms or was aware of it before. Very informative

[@jeffbee6090]

I really enjoyed hearing about the things that are going well and the bad things that have happened.

[@tonyg5692]

Greetings from San Jose California GREAT! information on worm farming we were looking into starting a farm next year I'll keep watching your videos for the up-to-date info and We will post comments after we begin ours to hopefully get schooled from this page of well-informed wormers :) Cheers

[@ericmanning1112]

Hi Sarah, very good video. I have found if I mix the chicken feed with warm water the worms love it and it makes it easier for them to eat

[@AJsGreenTopics]

Thank you for sharing your worm knowledge. 🪱

[@bobt471]

EXCELLENT VIDEO! Very informative and to the point! And edited nicely to keep our attention! 🙏🏻 ❤. Hello from Morgan Hill California

[@chaisiangu9581]

Really love your video, Sarah - on'e of the most informative about vermicomposting; thanks for doing it.

[@garymckenzie7342]

Thank you for sharing your experiences concisely. Very informative and very helpful. You've gained a new follower.

[@briangraham367]

I'm new to all of this. The advise given will be priceless. Thank you. Stay safe everyone.

[@lukelucy1980]

Thank You for sharing so much of your time.

[@hosseinheidari4950]

Many thanks for sharing your fruitful information. How do you keep worms in winter and protect them from the frost

[@gioknows]

I learned so much from this video! Many thanks. Cheers from Tulua, Colombia 🇨🇴

[@northeastworms]

Very nice set up

[@nicolettetheunisz9155]

i always thought the worms created the compost. When ever i put a layer of fresh horse manure on my compost pile the worms are all over it in a frenzy.

[@DeborahElliott-mh5ru]

They LOVE coffee grinds and watermelon! I know it makes them have some relations and make more eggs which are yellow. Yes, their bedding will come to need changing at every 3 weeks for me, is that the same for you? I do have rabbit poo that they are good with along with egg shells, watermelon, carrot peelings, banana peel, and strawberry tops.

[@onLYbyM]

Very informative. Thanks very much, woman.

[@AlvinMcManus]

You sure did heavily invest is shelving for your bins. You could have built your own racks (see Meme's Worms) and saved a ton of money. Nice operation on the whole. Great job, good video.

[@bella123439]

Hi Sarah just found your posts like you i have been vermi composting for just over a year now but not on the scale you are doing, i have a compost bin in my back garden i purchased worms from yorkshire worms and feeding them my kitchen /garden waste along with crushed/powdered egg shells that i steralize and dry they are doing well this next year will be the first time i use my castings in my veg beds no chemicals or plastics going to soil block using wool seed compost and coir with some casting in the mix going to back track now on your posts stay safe ATB 👍

[@benjamindejonge3624]

What a lovely accent 😊

[@thedealer799]

Ascorbic acid works for chlorine as well

[@moestuinmams]

I started keeping worms inside in bins a few months ago to have castings next year for the kitchen garden. I got my worms from my outside compostpile. To multiply the worms I sift once a month with the 1/4 inch mech so I have the biggest adults worms ready for breeding. I put them in new bin with new bedding and the big sifted pieces. That way there's more space again for them to breed and they multiply easier. What's left over from the sifting are the cocoons, tiny worms and youngsters in there original bedding so they feel good in their known environment. The youngsters grow easier and cocoons hatch easier. For now it's most of all multiplying so I have enough bins to get enough castings in springtime. Then in spring, when it's warm enough outside, all bins are sifted and all adult worms will go to my outside bin. Curious to know if it will work...

[@SpineChillingChronicles]

Nice idea!, one thing I did not hear or maybe skipped it..was the juices or fluid coming out of the bedding, You could use that flower bed box thing to collect the juices from the worms, That is a highly rich organic fertilizer as well. Just tilt the bed to one side and let the juices flow down. I think it is fluids from worms besides castings. Also instead of grains maybe all of your left overs from food might be a better choice for food as well as kind of recycling and not wasting. worms can eat just about anything you give them, I wish I had the space for this and some farming, Aquaponics, you already have the food for fish, the fish have nutrients for anything farming, all you need is water!! and some extra nutrients but not much!!

[@cynthiahargrove1723]

How long can you save the worm casting before you have to use it and how do you store it

[@carolynoconnor8567]

When I had my business in California starting in 2010 I found that you just have to keep the moisture about 12% and we kept ours in big garbage cans with the lid on and it stays just fine. Periodically you have to add a spritz of water just enough because there are going to be eggs that will be hatching in that but because we sold it it was never in there longer than probably 3 to 4 months and it's still fine as long as you keep it moist, cool..

[@TheEmbrio]

Interesting ! Microbe do go dormant for a while but i wonder if fresh is not even better. The microscope experiments should be great to compare fresh and stores castings, right ?! :)

[@karenmay2375]

Great video. Can you expand on what temperature environment they like? Would an outdoor screen porch where the temps fluctuate with natural weather patterns work?

[@fpaullee9988]

really good tutorial and well explained

[@debm-g6300]

Great video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@pilkyish]

Great update. I’m following what you’re doing with interest. I’ve got 5 bins in my garage (the same Wham Bam boxes as you guys), but stacked vertically, and running independently of each other. It’s been a learning curve, but lots of fun, and so much rich fertilizer for my plants! Keep up the great work👍🏻

[@ronaldshields1942]

Where could I buy these foam boxes? having difficulties finding them online, at that size anyways?

[@tripleaaakollektiv870]

we also feed the with lots of fruit & veggies scraps - what do you do about the myriads of fruit flies?

[@AboveAverageAngler]

I had a few bins on the go and asked someone for rotted horse manure, I hadn't realised that this would contain brandlings, eggs, and baby worms. So my Dendros were mixed up, and I wasn't sure if different worms would interbreed. The larger worms always seems to be the banded native worms. I lost a bit of interest after that. Your video might have convinced me to have another go. I noticed when you were sieving it, the compost seemed quiet dry. Do you reduce wetting prior to this process. How long does it take for a Derdro to reach maturity, and does it then stop growing.

[@vagusripple4819]

Will worms neutralize any medications from the horses and alpacas?

[@fatkorn]

I'm starting to learn bout worms so ignore me if this is wrong or whatever... soooooo I've noticed in worm chow recipes that rock dust is added, like basalt, helps them [digest], an its only a small amount added. Thanks for the video. :)

[@parccarreg]

Awesome. We have been experimenting with worms for our duck manure on a large scale. Duck bedding is generally quite wet, so we've found the worms love it. Plus we are giving the ducks layers pellets, grits and oyster shell which the works apparently also love

[@bloomandgray]

That sounds like a great way to recycle your duck manure! Where are you keeping your worms?

[@parccarreg]

@@bloomandgray We're using large outdoor windrows that we cover with silage tarp. And then we have piles / wedges in our brooder house where we raise our ducklings. Because of our scale I'm trying to keep things quite simple. The worms do seem to be loving it though!

[@bloomandgray]

That’s great! Really interesting. I’ll be interested to see your journey with it!

[@parccarreg]

@@bloomandgray Thanks, the farm is having a bit of a tough time at the moment with feed prices rising so quickly. It's one day at a time right now!

[@WubbaLub]

I could listen to you talk about anything almost as much as Morgan Freeman. Thanks for the info! You definitely seem incredibly knowledgeable about these little guys!

[@sarahc270]

Thank you for a great video. I tried to find your video you mention on the worm tea. Did you end up making that video?

[@Casey6996]

To transfer the worms from one bin to another we use to give then watermelon it was the fastest way for us and just left the capsules to develop in the old ones for a week or two

[@balancedviewpoint7418]

You are a great teacher with simple and direct honesty. Kudos from 🇰🇪 as I subscribe to your channel too to promote you👏🙌

[@7munkee]

I have always wondered why you Brits use the short form of 'O' when you say compost, but the long form when you say post, as in signpost. Edit 2 add: I run my compost through my worm bin. I make compost faster than the worms can process it, so I always have extra for top dressing my garden. Also, I like to add a few cups of Neem-seed meal, kelp meal, and alfalfa meal to my worm bin for a more nutritionally rounded casting.

[@johnknowles6520]

If you want to try Red Wiggler worms they are the ones that live in the dung pile on farms they are great at eating food scraps and reproduce quickly. I am just starting my worm farming adventure. I live in Canada and most of the worms we use hear are the Red Wigglers. Best of luck with your plan.

[@WD-41469]

Excellent, thank you!

[@benkermen8360]

Great video. You are obviously not afraid of work but you may consider building / buying a trommel to save some time sifting.

[@bloomandgray]

I think we will end up building one at some point when we are doing things on a larger scale

[@foamformbeats]

I wonder if the seive might be damaging the worm eggs. I have no idea how tough they are but it might be something to consider.

[@TheEmbrio]

I learned a lot, thanks

[@michaelomalley6726]

Great video... that sifting process is way too much work...I would like to know if that passive system you came up with would work well...time is precious

[@bellgrowsak]

Very cool - I'm excited to see what you'll be doing/learning with the microscope! This is super interesting. I have a bunch of worms in my garden and compost - wondering if I should start a small vermi-compost system in the garage for a more controlled use of worm castings (e.g. for seed starting mix as you mentioned). A friend of mine had a small thing going with a couple of 5 gallon buckets which might be a good size for me to start with.

[@bloomandgray]

If you were to do this I would recommend buying composting worms so that they are doing the job you intend them to do. Garden worms are a little different. Your garden will definitely thank you for those worm castings though!

[@bellgrowsak]

@@bloomandgray Great to know, thank you!!

[@virgiliolumibao7503]

I love you my dear I learned a lot from you

[@michaelradford6894]

I have been feeding my worms Bokashi compost with ground up eggshells to balance the Ph.Bokashi is acidic.The worms seem to love it and break it down quickly quickly

[@WubbaLub]

I wonder if feeding the egg beds would help with hatching? Maybe the microbes or the PH level breaks down the egg sack to hatch them? I wonder if manually breaking them after a month or two would work?

[@jjbjjbh]

Looks like a lot of work. I was under the 8mpression Worm bins are practically “ set it and forget it” kind of setups except for feeding them once a week with food scraps and ensuring they don’t dry up. This way seems too time consuming. I do like the styrofoam boxes. Where do you get those?

[@MistressOP]

Just a question, if you moved away from plastics in the garden and used say compost wouldn't you be producting the same thing with less effort? Mind you it's the UK I imagine the slugs would be nuts and a shift away from seeding in some places but a thick compost/leafmold layer and no dig might be the play here? Oh kept watching your doing fishing stuff as well. Got cha

Thanks for sharing

[@bijanshadnia3620]

1:50 Correction The European nightcrawler = Dendrobaena hortensis. You had "eisena hortensis" which does not exist.

[@hollyorleski7536]

Hello! Excellent video. Are you able to share where you purchased your polystyrene containers from?

[@angusmacduff3471]

I got mine from the super market - the fish department has them. Check with your store to see when they get their fish order. If I need some my store will save them if I tell them that I'll pick them up on delivery day. A little "Thank you" helps - I usually drop off a loaf of home made bread.

[@johnmckeag1048]

Where did you source the styrofoam bins? Why do you use these particular containers rather than another (what is it about the styrofoam that you think fits well into your system? Are they a better size/dimension? Does the styrofoam act as an insulation? Are they cheap/recycled? I’m interested in the internal dialogue) what’s the temp of the room and how do you heat/regulate temp?

[@TheEmbrio]

The boxes look like the ones they give away at fishmongers because for them it’s single-use

[@johnmckeag1048]

@@TheEmbrio thank you- the videos are exceptionally well put together. You have many talents…keep up the good work

[@АлексейМихайлов-р8б]

Интересное видео! Я изучаю разведение червей. И пока остановился на том что кормить их надо так - с левой (или правой без разницы- где то с четверть коробки) стороны контейнера надо убрать полностью весь грунт затем расстелить кусочки картона на них листья с деревьев, на них остатки еды (кожура от моркови свеклы или другие овощи) свежие рубленые листья, затем измельченная яичная скорлупа, можно песок, потом сухие листья и сверху бумагой газетой и конечно картоном. Вот как то так. Спасибо за опыт!

[@woolleycodwanderers4833]

I was really looking forward to this and it didn't disapoint 😉👍 totally fascinating 👍 looking forward to the next one and how you make the tea 🙂👍 ... 🤗❤👵🐾🐾🐾🤠 xxxx

[@I.am.Mumma.Bear.1]

How are your worms going 😊💕🪱👍🏽🇦🇺 Can we have an update please 😊

[@FLlife]

❤i was wondering how the worms were doing! Fantastic!

[@janagresham6485]

I'm wondering if feeding them a more diverse diet would lead to a better quality end product? Would adding food scraps increase different nutrients etc?

[@bloomandgray]

Yes it definitely would, it just takes longer for the worms to break it down. Adding forest floor leaves/ carbon materials might also increase fungi which is beneficial

[@tripleaaakollektiv870]

we also feed the with lots of fruit & veggies scraps - what do you do about the myriads of fruit flies?

[@christinaAmell]

Is this room one where you will have to monitor the temperature in the winter and possibly supplement with a heat source? Is there an optimal temperature to keep the room at and how do you achieve that?

[@bloomandgray]

Hi Christina, in winter I was keeping the beds warmer with a heat cable that we set into some insulation board. I don’t think it was necessary but I wanted to get the worms breeding more quickly

[@Th4thWiseman]

The best way to warm your worm boxes is use an electric blanket that you yourself would have on your own bed, you get alot more surface area and you also have multiple temperature settings on the switch ,furthermore they are very easy sourced and it is alot cheaper than buying small heat mats! I use this method and on the 2nd lowest setting I get a constant temperature of 68° Fahrenheit during the coolest months, I put a soft carpet underlay on benchtops then electric blanket then another carpet underlay with boxes on top👍

[@evelynwoolston7]

The differerence I've noticed between dendrobaena and eisenia Foetida in my 2 bins, one of each, is that the dendrobaena bury themselves a bit deeper in the bin. Dendrobaena are more prone to protein poisoning as you've seen than the eisenia so I give them a higher ratio of card. I pocket feed them, putting the food and a bit of casting into small cardboard boxes or toilet rolls with one end stuffed with newspaper. I use scissors to poke holes in them but the worms often congregate under the boxes. That way, if food starts to ferment I can easily pull it out. I found that just using the indirect lighting of my undercupboard LED lights that was enough to keep the worms inside. After only 3 nights the dendrobaena no longer tried to escape even with the light off. The eiseniae took 7 days but they are still prone to climb up the sides when I fluff the bin

[@evelynwoolston7]

And another difference. Dendrobaena cocoons are easier to spot, they are a brighter yellow and slightly larger than the Eisenia cocoons which are more olive than yellow. On that subject, how do cocoons remain gleaming and relatively clean in the middle of even moist castings? Any ideas?

[@zachrawlings6523]

I wanna see your microscope observations!