Building Better Worm Castings

[@jannafolsom1069]

This popped up in my feed. And I watched it because this fella reminds me of Arthur Fonzarelli. Turns out it's actually valid info that I can use.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Heyyyy👍 Thanks for the comment. We have heard that before, so funny. 😃. Hope we are helpful and thanks for watching.

[@Eco-Hustle]

Thank you for the recipe! We are going to make some soon. WORM CHOW RECIPE [For overall health of the bin] [Use face covering for protection] - 4 Parts fine egg shells: Lifts PH levels, supplies calcium & grit (wash & roast in oven 1st) - 1 Part Basalt Rock Dust: For extra grit & minerals - 2 Parts ground biochar: Absorbs moisture and provides a house for microbes

[@kingtool5799]

nice video Fonzi! another benefit of the biochar is it keeps odors at bay absorbing VOC's generated in the worm bins.

[@jenniferjuniper9118]

A note for new aspiring worm composters : don’t worry !!!!! Worms are a hardy bunch of little workers. They do love some ground up eggshells but they manage just fine without. Not just me but others have experimented with no grit worm bins and after 18 months still producing beautiful black gold 👍

[@jenniferjuniper9118]

I’m sorry being so rude. It’s a great video , just dont want to scare away beginners

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Jennifer Juniper Our apologies to you an others who may have inferred that our method was a requirement for success with worms. We recognize that there are many paths to the same destination and that getting started now is better than waiting until things are perfect. We know of many folks too who have made good vermicompost by not using grit supplements. A lot of these Folks have used feed-stocks like horse manures or other ruminant manures from their barns when mixed with food wastes it works well. Makes sense I guess because many ruminant foods like grasses/alfalfa/hays etc all of which are high in silica(grit). The fascinating thing about nature is the many different ways it allows us to accomplish the same goals. Thanks for watching and taking the time for your thoughtful comment!

[@jenniferjuniper9118]

@@BareMtnFarm I really do apologise ! A lot of work and thought goes into making this kind of content. Will grind up some egg shells and spoil my little workers 😄

[@erbliving6741]

@@BareMtnFarm I appreciated this information very much because after raising them for years, and seeing they didnt exactly break down the eggshells, I decided I wasnt going to put them into the new worms I just restarted with. Now, I'll grind them and put them in! Along with using the eggshells in my extracted mineral amendments and the fermentations, I can hardly wait to see the flowers and plants grow!!

[@Tillettforct]

Thank you

[@erbliving6741]

I just want to thank you for all the information and content you so wonderfully share!!! I have had worms composting in the house for years, but even with the books I have read and sites I have visited, I watched your videos from 2 years ago and up to the most recent, and learned a wealth of knowledge! What I really have been growing and learning about is the JADAM and regenerative techniques and fertilizers that we can make ourselves. And, I am loving your content in these areas also! Thanks so very much!!!

[@roywarriner8441]

I mix the food waste and carbon in a starter bin to pre compost before I give it to the worms, and I roast and grind bones as an amendment as well as the ones you add. Other than that, I'm using pretty much the same system as you are. The worms are happy. I have European Nightcrawlers. Cheers.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Sounds great. Recycling pretty much everything. Thanks for watching and your comment.

[@dandan8333]

Thanks for the supplemental information... no matter, everything around us will survive better for the long term if adjusted properly. The cost is minimal as a good stewardship for the land will multiply it productions/ results. Humans learned the last year, to reduce junk food intakes and to enjoy foods from their local farmers... enabling them a healthier lifestyle of long-term happiness 😊. Have a great day!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Well said! @dan dan

[@AJsGreenTopics]

This was packed with great information. 👍

[@katipohl2431]

Hi, new subscriber from Germany here. Thanks to you I will focus more on the calcium nutrition of my worms.

[@عمرالصالح-خ8و]

Yes

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you

[@sino1449]

I like the way you lay down information

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hope our info is helpful and clear. Thank you for watching.

[@alfreddurbyn642]

Good info, might want to look into using a gypsum in place of egg shells the gypsum has calcium that is readily available for your plants to where egg shells takes several months to break down. Doesn't take much but no worries it won't affect the PH balance either.

[@Waltzonthemoon]

Never new this

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Tracie Daugherty We have used this for several years with good success. However, you can still raise worms in bins without it as long as you maintain a fairly high C/N ratio and a balance of foods not too high in proteins. Adding a little good soil once in awhile for grit and your good to go too.

[@Outlander929]

I add crushed oyster shell. It has loads of calcium, trace elements and works as a 'grit' to help the worms digest their food. It's a waste product that seafood processing plants produce and is dirt cheap. It goes in hot compost piles and any liquid ferts I ferment as well.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Yep! That stuff is great.

[@RaymondMartin-w3l]

Yes, we'll worth the effort to grind the shells, also chick starter is highly beneficial.

[@TheRedhawke]

Would love to of seen your actual worm bins. We are considering adding vermicomposting to our new place and bin design seems to be a topic that has been given a back seat.

[@your_local_reptile6700]

get a bin, like literally a plastic bin you throw rubbish in take the lid off put some bedding in and some organic matter put worms in and off you go. Don't listen to this supplement bs, it will likely do more harm than good vermicomposting is as easy as I've just made it out to be. Put your waste in ignore it for the next 60 days or so then feed more in and you get worm manure its that easy (make sure your worms are composting worms)

[@BareMtnFarm]

@Timmeh Thanks for watching though surprised a bit about your terse reponse here. Your right about worms, they are very forgiving and easy and there is more than one way to do things. Our video was meant to show only our process and not to infer that this was a required method and that by not doing things "our way" one will not have success with worms. If there is a next time, we hope our content doesn't waste your time. Best wishes on your endeavors

[@wrongfootmcgee]

@@BareMtnFarm THAT is how you handle things +1000 internets to Bare Mountain Farm

[@erbliving6741]

Hey there! Setting up worm bins is especially fun for kiddos! tho I am a big kid at heart when it comes to this. If you go back to their content page, (in case you are uncertain and learning to navigate YT like I am, : ), click on their name and it takes you to their content page and hit the lower search button, in other words, not the large one at top of You Tube, you will be able to pull up all their content on WORM BIN. When I did so, there are at least 9 videos you may watch. I just did that, even tho I have had worms, lol, for years, inside composting away. But be sure to check out the dates going back to the 2 years ago, first videos, and working your way forward. 2 years ago they show making a new set up, and next video checks in on them and further on they add to the bin layers. Newer videos show harvesting and they continue with update videos that show making tea and up to this one. He walks us thru and clearly explains the entire process start to finish in their clips. These are perfect for someone starting out new! but also for those of us experienced somewhat and just wanting to refresh and learn more. Best wishes on setting yours up!

[@TheRedhawke]

@@erbliving6741 thank you so much.

[@johnthomas5806]

as an addition is to put in pulverized biochar...this adds to the castings ability to absorb nutrients from (activation) the ground area of the garden...

[@alarasvoboda8962]

What do you think about adding meal worm castings for the worms to munch on? We just made 1200lbs of bio char here in Northern California. Keeping our property fire safe🌟. I greatly appreciate your passing on of this valuable knowledge🙏🏾🙏🏿🙏🏽🙏🏼

[@gardenhighlightsworm]

Great video

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hey, thanks for watching.

[@northeastworms]

Very nice informations

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you so much for your nice comment and for watching.

[@michelbisson6645]

what should be purcentage of biochar in a bin?

[@victorialg1270]

1 part Azomite or Basalt rock dust. Concentrates Portland Oregon 4 parts ground up roasted eggshells. 2 parts ground bio char 1/4 cup worm feeding every two weeks

[@paullampru3591]

Where role can diatomaceous earth play?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Yup! That's the formula!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Paul Lampru I'm guessing diatomaceous earth as an additive would be a grit similar to the function of eggshell or rock dust. The only thing is that a fine grind would be important. I have no experience with this and since Diatoms are sharp and are used to scar the exoskeletons of insects as an insecticide I would be careful and test the use of it on a small worm bin to see how the worms react before adding it to my main bins.

[@jenniferfisher1743]

Can activate charcoal be used if I can’t find bio char/

[@karensabolcik2511]

Ty for this! I ordered all but the egg shells. I am getting a worm farm on the way. I am building so far just 600 gallons of a container garden total. The worm farm am going to use is the Fred’s. I was hoping on that scale you could tell me what amount Should use for my worm farm to be. I also have Guinea pigs and can switch to shavings for them if it helps the worms and plants vs only using the hay and poop (I currently use washable bedding for them. Please advise

[@yes350yes]

I agree and do a lot of what is said here, but there is no real wrong way as long as your worms are happy and producing castings [black gold]. The worst thing is if you let your bins get too wet. Besides normal kitchen scraps I also add a dry mix,, which can be a mix of ground egg shells, corn meal , and whole wheat flour, lately have also started adding chicken crumbles ground down and it also has fiber , and protein and fat. This will cause the worms to healthier, fatter , and tend to eat more,, or so the theory goes. Enjoy your worming. Not sure if I will continue with crumbles since It has corn in it and even ground down seems to have sprouts in my bins.

[@BareMtnFarm]

I also use shredded cardboard to control moisture the worms love it.

[@yes350yes]

@@BareMtnFarm Yes I do too along with strips of newsprint. The worms are loving the dry mix as put a layer across the surface and wet it lightly and the worms are constantly up there and the worms are happy moist looking. The bag of egg layer crumbles also has quite a mix of nutrients in it as you might imagine also calcium as was mentioned in vid. Im only worming on small scale but like this feed style than the years of feeding food scraps which attracted more gnats , fruit flies. Also the crumbles will last me a long time as Im only feeding a factory 360. Not only the crumbles but the other dry mix mentioned in my above post. I might add to anyone use coir as part of your bedding to be sure and squeeze the excess water out as your worms rebel if you forget as I did once.

[@brianseybert192]

I started using chicken crumble in my bins this winter, really fattened up my red wigglers. Stay Well!!!

[@curtunderwood8039]

can you use leaves or shredded leaves for bedding/carbon ?

[@BareMtnFarm]

I have used both as long as they are completely dried out to avoid matting I mix some shredded cardboard with it.

[@אושראברהם-ע7מ]

היי אנחנו כמה חברים שמתחילים לגדל תוךעים אדומות נשמח מאוד ללמוד ממך מה צריך ואיך לעשות את זה. אבל לא כולם מבינים אנגלית נשמח מאוד מאוד אם תוכל להוסיף תרגום בעברית😊

[@BareMtnFarm]

I'm so sorry. I thought Google handled translating English into whatever native language people were listening automatically in captions. I will try to make certain the captioning includes Hebrew. Thank you so much for watching and commenting.

[@Donnie_M.]

Worms are made to live in dirt. Why not just sterilize some local dirt and add it in? It would probably naturally cause the worms to produce the type of castings they would in their native environment. I see a lot of worm castings on YT videos that are very gray and fibrous and not that rich black that people expect. Great video here.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Yeah, the quality of what goes into the bin determines the quality that comes out. We use high carbon, about 60% cardboard, with low 40% food waste. This seems to keep the bin moisture balanced and we always have consistent castings. Thanks for watching.

[@dddev641]

How much of that do you add to your worm bin and how often ?

[@wrongfootmcgee]

Most of the people posting here don't know how to listen

[@RaymondMartin-w3l]

Yikes, biochar.

[@your_local_reptile6700]

Most people use vermicomposting to remove home waste and it not just go to a landfill I have never used suppliments and have never had any of these issues. I purely feed kitchen and garden waste paper and cardboard and have done for long time now without any suppliments. Personally I strongly advice against it unless you can actually show or provide evidence for the use of them I recommend people stay fully organic waste egg shells can help with the calcium and grit issue don't feed toxic materials such as onions and you will not run into these issues also don't have the worms living in there own fecal matter. Worm manure Will not harm your plants even if you over do it, if you start adding excess supplements in to it you will likely burn your plants and if your plants do need a extra quick hit of nutrients make worm tea it is very easy.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Timmeh I just wanted to let you know that the "Supplement" you refer to in our video as possibly harmful to our worms is only quarry rock dust(basalt), ground eggshells from home food waste, and ground biochar from local wood/brush waste (OMRI listed). None of this is toxic and most of it is grit that provides the bin's microorganisms and worms with extra micro-nutrients, calcium, and carbon. We feed our worms cardboard/egg cartons 50% the other 50 is home food waste. We also don't feed citrus, alliums, dairy, meat scraps or any very acidic foods to the worms. We run those other items through our bokashi process. Although we appreciate your input to this discussion this is the second comment you have made in which it appears that you are inferring that the grit mixture you call a "Supplement" we are feeding our worms is not from natural materials and could possibly be harmful or toxic to the worms. I can assure you it is not harmful we have been using this for years and our worms are thriving. The grit materials we use are low to no cost and are only natural materials, again; carbon, ground rock mineral, and ground eggshell(calcium carbonate). We recognize that many folks have successfully raised worms without using grit mixtures but we have found that this mixture has helped us be more successful.