Breeder Bins Managing for Success - Module 5: The Cost of Dry Breeder Bins

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Hi Jayne, I think you're right at the end. Moisture is a good thing. More Cocoons from Breeders playing the Funky Monkry 👍🤣👍

[@rickjay4639]

I have always found that worms reproduce more when the moisture is on the wetter side. Thanks for all your hard work

[@RockinWorms]

Hi! This accidental experiment certainly agrees with you! ❤️🪱🪱

[@WasatchWorms]

Thank you for posting this. I have a breeder bin that is on the dryer side and I was torn on what to do. I'll be rehydrating it first thing tomorrow

[@RockinWorms]

Hi! Welcome! That’s what I did with the several other ‘too much on the dry side’ bins I found in addition to these 3 breeder bins. I have them all a good solid spray to rehydrate them back into decent moisture. Not soaking them, just adding back the needed amount. It makes me very happy to know that worm wranglers are benefiting from my content 👍. Thanks for sharing your experience too! ❤️🪱👍😎

[@leobaltz2057]

Good info to know! We gotta watch all factors! I’m definitely more focused on castles No than worm production but more worms equals more casting as well! Thanks Jayne!!

[@RockinWorms]

Hi Leo! Yep, there’s a few moving parts 😊. I just swing the pendulum too far to the dry side but it’s an easy fix and I learned some valuable lessons 👍. Good thing I literally have thousands of young worms coming up so a few less cocoons from this round of breeder bins isn’t a disaster. It’s all about making assessments and being willing to change tactics as needed. Makes it kinda fun and not boring! 😊👍❤️🪱😎. Thanks for watching 🤗

[@etruedus]

Hi Jane. Would you ever consider selling cocoons to folks? I was thinking about the shipment of worms and the fact that there is sometimes a loss associated with it. But cocoons are meant to withstand major temperature swings and such. I would be interested in buying some from you to start my own bin, but I really want to start at the cocoon stage I think and just document the whole journey. Perhaps even make my own channel too! Thanks as always! -- BeardedFlannelMan

[@RockinWorms]

Hi! Actually yes I would be happy to sell you some cocoons! I’ve just started selling worms as well ❤️. Please email me at [e-mail] and we’ll talk 🪱🪱🪱

[@ginkat1318]

Excellent information

[@RockinWorms]

I’m glad my mistake can give all of us some valuable information. We’ve all been told that the worms breed better in a moisture laden environment and this result supports that for sure! Thanks for watching! ❤️🪱🪱

[@cherylhowker1792]

This is interesting coz it shows in my mind that they are not eating as much…

[@RockinWorms]

I honk that may be true this time around. Too much shred was in touched and that’s not normally the case at all. I think the lack of proper moisture slowed the whole bin down 😡.

[@cherylhowker1792]

@@RockinWorms I’m sorry hun Not your plan…. I think wet is better and then get the caccons out of the wet bed and then let it dry Or let them grow in it for 3 weeks as they like it wet too and then once they that bit bigger in 3 weeks sift them out…. Durning them 3 weeks maybe just have newspaper on top and let it dry down a bit as they won’t be bothered if it is a bit dryer…

[@RockinWorms]

@@cherylhowker1792 That’s exactly a way to handle the change over between a breeder bin to a cocoon bin onto a nursery bin. Works a charm! My issue is space. I don’t have the space to keep adding full cocoon bins and let them mature for 3 weeks or longer. So sifting out castings to reduce volume so I can combine bins is necessary. I wish it wasn’t but there is it. Moving to musing the fans to speed up drying has been a real improvement and time saver in drying down the cocoon bin (the breeders are removed and reset into a new breeder bin) to facilitate getting as much castings out as possible. I’m trying new things. I’m bound to have failures. I’m ok with that ❤️🪱🪱

[@evelynknight5627]

Oh no! That's really disappointing! It really does seem like you can't have your cake and eat it too in this area either, huh... But an educational opporunity, and an easy fix! At least this mistake didn't decimate your worm population! That's one thing I've noticed in watching others and even in my own bins... Dry stuff lingers, whether it's just an edge of material that didn't get covered or more intentional drying. And then the same observation about their breeding habits in dry material. And OMG you're starting your worm sales?! Going on my wishlist!

[@RockinWorms]

Hi Evelyn! We can absolutely have our cake (lots of cocoons) and eat it too (lots of castings) but there’s a limit. And I found it 🤣. I simply went too dry. As you said, easy fix and no harm done to the worms themselves. Yep! I’ve started selling! A few people have reached out to me via email at [e-mail]. I’m selling premium adult esenia worms (red wigglers, NO blue worms) in batches of 100 and 250 right now as my sell stock is limited. Plus cocoons I guess 😊. We hope to get the website up and running this week 🤞. It’s exciting!! ❤️🪱🪱

[@johnny0253]

if worms live naturally in soil cant i just take a shovel full of soil out the garden and sift that for castings????? ..... i had a pile of garden waste piled up that was broken down in the corner of the garden and noticed lots of worms in it......cant i scoop all that up and sift it??........

[@RockinWorms]

Hi Johnny! Welcome! Yes, you could. However there are many species of worms and only 3 of the composting species do well in captivity. Many earthworms are quite territorial or require larger living conditions or deeper habitats in order to survive and thrive. The worm species used for vermicomposting are surface dwellers as well as more congenial to other worms and the rather limited space in typical worm bins. Also some worms do not like to be disturbed and will continually try to escape, making them difficult to manage. You can certainly try to capture and raise wild worms - red wigglers do exist in the wild and you may find that’s what you have! I’d you give it a go, I’d love to hear about your experience trying it! ❤️🪱❤️

[@johnny0253]

im not talking about capturing worms to build a worm bed/hotel........ im just saying why cant be sift out garden soil and collect the castings straight out the ground??? worms live inground and are constantly eating whatever is there and pooping constantly inground....... @@RockinWorms

[@johnny0253]

kind of like when everyone tells you to bury your scraps inground let the worms eat it up .....if you go back to them scraps a week later and dig up that hole you'll find a bunch of worms munching away, .... wouldnt there be tons of castings left behind??@@RockinWorms

[@RockinWorms]

@@johnny0253 Oh sorry! I misunderstood your comment. Yes you certainly can sift outdoor areas where you’ve seen a lot of work action and collect the castings and related compost for use in other parts of your garden/land/wherever. In fact, there’s a thing called a garden tower where it’s a 5 gallon bucket ((usually) set up 99% in the ground with holes drilled in the bottom (and sometimes the sides). You put food scraps/worm food into the bucket and worms will come eat inside the bucket, leaving easily harvested castings behind. If you have worms elsewhere, including in a traditional worm bin, you can seed the bucket with some worms in the beginning. Additionally, setting up windrows is another way to get castings from designated worm areas outside. So you have a couple of options to get castings from outside worms 👍❤️🪱

[@RockinWorms]

@@johnny0253 Yea! Absolutely there will be castings left behind. I expanded on a few other options in your previous post. Thanks you for the chance to correct my misunderstanding of your question/comment 🤗

[@kylebeasley4029]

What is the best soil to add to peat moss...I have a sand loomy soil but wild ga wigglers love it I have a bin hatching and a ass of little worm. The leaves and twigs that didn't break down all the way ..do I dry the big stuff leaves twigs ect and put back in the other breeder bin. I can read but I like to talk to a person that knows I don't like computers much..I'll send you sauce to try I make killer BBQ sauces healthy sauces I cook smoke BBQ make old hash bake seafood and I do cast and Dutch ovens on open fire and in my smokers . . give me a follow I'll order worms from you if you sell them .. sauces I use fruit in some. They are crazy good I had to stop after my two business partners took the jab in 21 I had three surgeries since 21 but I'm 446 pounds lighter in shape and started my worm farm I have the land ponds bug shed two stories so I have the place I'm playing with several natural nitrogens. Also I test everything before I sell I feed half my bait worms a fruit or two before I go fishing. I buy a cup of reds if I don't use them all I dump in my bait bin but they do big now a 4 perch hook can't hook out twice and the hook is full and worm wiggling a bout 2 in on each side but the fruit draw fish. I'm gonna no for sure tomorrow all week I'll test it against store bought bait .it works with crickets so why not. The big night crawlers how long before the have cocoon s the st soil and pest ok for them card board and paper towels mail ect I keep all 11 bins wet I don't have any smell I have peas and grass growing in five bins it seems to help the otygen and the worms. Thank you I ll send you some of my famous BBQ too.kylebeasley736 on tik tok KZbin @kylebeasley4029 cooking with Kyle b I cook I love to cook a d amaze folks 😊 Canadian night crawlers wigglers

[@RockinWorms]

@@kylebeasley4029 Hi Kyle! Welcome! I don’t use peat moss in my worm bins (never have) so am limited in what I can recommend. You may want to talk to worm wranglers that use it to get better advice. I will say that if your worms are loving what you’re doing then just keep doing it! 👍 I find my best breeding happens in bins that do not have large chunky pieces in them. This way the adult worms can live easily thru the bedding to find a mate. If you’re taking more about grow out bins then chunky is fine and acts as slow food for the worms. 🤩. You can certainly put unprocessed bedding from one bin to another. I do that as needed too. I also move worms around between bins as well. It’s all good 😎. I found your comments about feeding fishing worms fruit before using very interesting 🧐. Cameraman said he’s heard of fishermen keeping worms in coffee cans for the same reason - the smell gets into the worm’s skin and can act as a fish attractant. I’m sure worm wranglers that fish would like to hear more about this. Bigger worms like euros tend to breed slower than their smaller close cousins the red wigglers. Your bedding sounds within the normal range - lots of carbon. You need to be sure there’s biota in there too as the worms eat the biota and the biota also helps break the bedding into tiny pieces that the worms can fit into their mouths. If you have tried making either pre/compost or prepared bedding you might want to give them a try 👍😊. Several experienced worm wranglers give their worms pads of green - wheat grass is the most common. It also common for seeds from veggie food scraps to start growing too. Mostly these plants get pulled out and returned to the bedding to decompose. I wasn’t clear of your growing the peas and grass as a crop vs the accidental plant here and there…? 🤷‍♂️ I appreciate your offer to partner for BBQ related products 🤗. I’m am however already time crunched and simply can’t take on extra projects right now no matter how tempting 😩. I wish the best of luck with your endeavors though! 🤩. Thanks Kyle for being here 💕👍🪱

[@LarryWileyWormFarm-ey8lp]

They look light colored to me.

[@RockinWorms]

Hi Larry! I didn’t particularly notice that but you could be right. The bedding wasn’t dangerously dry by any means but certainly not what they’ve become accustomed to! Cheryl Castings Crew said she thought they probably were eating less overall as well. It’s likely 1 and that would make them paler too. Sigh. It was a failure in so many ways. Ah well. Live and learn! 😆❤️🪱

[@thenodiggardener]

Hi Jayne. I think you make a great point with this in that whatever the actual goal is with each individual section of having worms, we should concentrate on that, and take the rest as a bonus. In The Veggie Boys latest video, Grandpa said about farming that if you do too much, you get nothing right. If you do less, you do better. I think many of us can relate to this though, and apply it to improve what we're doing. It's my constant 'Dr heal thyself' lol Suzanne 🪱

[@RockinWorms]

Hi Suzanne! Yes! Exactly! There’s everything great with trying to maximize processes and results to get the most out of our time, effort and money. BUT there is a limit to what can be accomplished. I found that limit with breeders on cocoon production and readily siftable castings. I made really super strides in having fantastic results in both categories simultaneously- which hasn’t been done before, at least in a public information forum that I found. I’m really quite proud to have achieved this breakthrough due primarily to the pre-compost/basic bedding mix I developed. Then I took it one step too far! No worries, no worms were harmed in the making of this video (🤣) and it’s easy to take the step back and be back on track! I’m sorta glad this happened. I learned a lot from it! Grandpa and you are right! Another way to phrase it is ‘if you don’t shoot, you won’t score!’ So trying new things is necessary, at least for me, but being aware and reflective of results is just as important to overall success. Thanks so much for watching Suzanne! ❤️🪱🪱

[@cherylhowker1792]

@@RockinWorms the thing is like you say, you don’t try you don’t get…. Basically. Never trying new things we don’t learn if something is better or worse. And that’s the seesaw affect… we want level but that’s rare, it’s usually up or down, positive or negative effect.

[@RockinWorms]

@@cherylhowker1792 Exactly. The nice thing is that we the content makers are the ones experimenting and the watchers get the knowledge benefit. If you kindly out up with watching the annoying ads then I get a few Pennie’s each time. It helps offset the costs of making the content. I wish it wasn’t that way but again, there it is ❤️😎🪱