Captain Matt's Worm Farm Tour

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[@WhatDadIsUpTo]

I have raised worms for probably 20 years, but I learned a few new tricks today. I keep my worms in stacked vertical tiers and the only difference is I don't have a Shaker table, but the worms seem to be happy. That's not to say I've ever seen one smile, but I just know somehow they are enjoying life. 🤣

[@fullcircle4723]

Yes that table the trick alright! Great video Matt.

[@driftwood5504]

“Be still, and know that I am God! even the worms know about that fact ... and they are quite silent" thank you Captain Matt

[@pedromq7807]

I just noticed that plate now

[@heyitsagoodlife]

This tour was amazing!! I teach people to worm farm using plastic totes or whatever they have on hand... but it's my life goal to have a worm farm this cool one day!! Thanks for the tour

[@02Huntet]

It’s my very first day at researching if I can make a profit with worms. I’m a cow/ calf rancher now and that bus is sucking money down a black hole

[@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

This is the reason I nose around in the comments, to find wonderful new channels to hoard information☺😍💚🌶🌱🍓🌿☀🏵

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks, Hey! All the education matters big and small. Thank you for teaching!

[@markwilliams903]

I also started with the plastic totes, My problem is they multiply fast, I’ve had to add another box. I’m feeding them good but now they are thousands & thousand of them. They are not getting any size to them.

[@johnsheetz6639]

We used an old bathtub lol. They are very popular in Florida because the fishing is so good. I don't think anybody thought about saving the castings at that time. But I've used on my plants and they are wonderful for fertilizing. the compost of the gods!

[@dannyhamby6334]

I just started a very small little “farm” started with 60 worms in a 18 quart container with some organic soil and I’ve got some cricket dust food and some old orange peels and wet cardboard I’ve added. My intent is to have sustainable worms for fishing. I get so tired of running to Walmart all the time for them and spending $6 every time. So we shall see how it goes. I’d like to be able to use about 8-10 worms a week for fishing and keep that amount sustainable after a few months or so.

[@dylanholmes1985]

Thank you Captain, the most jacked up worm operation I've seen so far. Good job, sir.

[@orrfamily641]

When you turned on your shifter it reminded me of the same process used in grain combines, nicely done.

[@Vermicompost]

Great tour and explanations of your worm farm Captain Matt!! That CFT had sooooo many worms and the sifter really did a great job of harvesting some fine castings!! Awesome video!! I look forward to watching more videos!!🪱🪱🪱

[@gmunkey2146]

what an amazing tour....thoroughly enjoyed that

[@NicoTheCavapoo]

Very nice of you to let us inside and have a look at the set up.

[@shannon8054]

That was great! Thanks for teaching me something VERY cool today. Your down to earth approach and set up was inspiring.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You're welcome, Shannon!

[@papablueshirt]

Very nice operation, thank you for taking us through the process. I have some worm bins, but I also have worms in my grow room in my plant pots. Works very well. I notice that after a while, the worms will process all the soil and it ends up being all worm castings. The plants begin to slow down when it is all worm castings. So I pull up the plants and shake them. All the castings just fall off, then I process out the worms and castings and start again. Works well making my own fertilizer : )

[@thepreston1021]

Fascinating! This has sparked my interest, thank You!

[@vernonwest7983]

Thanks for the very entertaining and informative video.

[@lisagypsycarolissen7037]

This was very interesting Captain Matt. Thank you for the tour 🐛

[@pedromq7807]

Epic.. thank you, im about to build a CFT bin again, its been a while, I kinda forgot a lot but you condensed everything in. Short video, very well covered

[@ElSmiley1000]

Great video! I learned quite a bit from this small video maybe even something I can start fpr my home garden on a much smaller scale lol

[@lorinolen4253]

Captain Matt....YOU ARE THE MAN!!!! love Love LOVED the tour!!!!! You are cool--I just know that we would have been great friends if only we had met in our lifetimes LOL .

[@amwartwork]

i was given a wormery 2 yearsago and used it and found the casting tea made my veg flowers herbs thrive like mad. i just recently cleaned it n the amount of castings i there was ridiculous. i spread it all over the garden. then I went on etsy n saw one litre bottles go for 20 quid. i think i used up 500 pounds worth on my own garden. lol

[@DominikaDC1]

Thank you so much for sharing. You have a great worm operation going on.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You're welcome, Maria! Thanks!

[@BirdseyeVu]

Great tour, Matt! I love seeing all of your ingenuity!

[@crochetingaroundnewzealand]

Thank you. Very interesting

[@kriss1769]

Great video awrsome set up you have there.

[@palehorse5275]

1 MILLION WORMS! How often do you do inventory? :) Love the video & tour!

[@FunnyFarmHomestead]

I'm new to the idea of worm compost as I have a farm with a manure pile I'd like to compost. Great info thx

[@paullynds3]

Great video captain

[@BlackBeltTrollMaster]

Very educational. Thanks for the video😊

[@tvc1587]

Just subscribed from Newfoundland, Canada 🇨🇦. I dabbled in vermicomposting a couple years back. I'm going to get a small worm farm going for myself. I was just searching and found your channel.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Darrell! Greetings! You can do it!

[@manzanita333]

awesome video with so much information thank you so much! What type of sifter do you have ?

[@heathercollins8609]

Would love to see a video on building the worm sifter. Great video, thanks.

[@iamGrowing]

Great video

[@jfbreese]

So cool!

[@tims9527]

Thank you for sharing all of the steps of your operation. Do you have plans on how you made upon your sifter?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Tim We did a in depth video about the sifter, there’s a link in the video description to the manufacturer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-aiYNtZbqWhtk The sifter was not cheap, but for me the decision was all about calculating time (and ache) saving into my investment/startup costs.

[@bmzaron713]

You're really down to earth.. Thanks for sharing and big thanks for biodegradeable packaging!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Brian! You're welcome!

[@shannonkutzke5642]

Be still and know that I am God...love your sign! I am trying to start up a worm farm for homeschooling project with my 5 year old. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge😊

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You can do it, Shannon! You're welcome!

[@threeminutes1705]

Very nice and orginised job sir

[@Kryynism]

I have a worm farm for fishing bait. Natural florida worms. They are very heat tolerant so no need for refrigeration. Just small time for personal use. I want to increase production for small sale of worms. I have a huge leaf pile that I also harvest worms from when I deplete my supply too much for my liking.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Kryyn! Are they doing well (and breeding) in captivity? Very interesting... Thanks for sharing!

[@Kryynism]

@@CaptainMattsWorms yes breeding great. I keep them in a large outdoor black bin. They usually reach their peak numbers in a month or two after I use a bunch or give a bunch away. Feed them veggies and scraps from the kitchen.

[@happydays2190]

Thanks for the video mate, do you have many problems with weeds in the castings by using horse compost? How do you get around this?

[@ImperiosReciclare]

Hello Captain Matt! I really liked this thought: "The compost of our failures is the fertilizer for our future success" All the best! Stefan

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

That’s what keeps me going, Stefan… no matter what has happened, redemption and transformation is possible.

[@WDWormsnGarden]

I like this set up. It's hard to find 1/16th screens.

[@enemyofmyenemy6713]

Black Gold, Texas Tea no wait that's oil.. Still Black Gold i always have bags of worm casting i have & compost to bring them above ground and will add some to certain huge pots i use. i'll be looking into the suppliers i've heard of uncle jimz

[@leostile8857]

I enjoyed your podcast interview with Macky and the lads @highonhomegrown. So I thought I'd subscribe and come and say hi Captain👍

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Leo! Thanks for stopping by and subscribing!

[@reelgoodfishing]

This was a phenomenal video. Out of curiosity, you said the bulk bin has a grate on the bottom. What type of grating material is it that the soil doesn’t fall through until you rake it? How often do you collect castings form the bulk bin? Are you adding more mulch to the top each time you collect castings from the bottom?

[@RiverGeek662]

I’m curious about the grate as well!

[@Wildwesttrailblazer]

What do you feed them for chow? Do you ever add dry organic nutrients or minerals like basalt? Last question would spent brewery malted barley grains be safe as chow?

[@christinewhitmore6905]

thank you for sharing your videio where did you get the shifter from?

[@kolebronson24]

Awesome tour Cpt. Matt!! Hey quick question: what position would you say is most used during the worm breeding?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Ha! You might have to investigate that one yourself 😁

[@theredneckgewru9544]

Great Video. Thanks for sharing. Where do you purchase your bags for retail sales?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Great question. Uline

[@MaxIQ77]

You had one job... We want to see the grate underneath!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Check out my video “Harvesting a Big Red Worm Bin” to see bottom

[@fnsfabrications6844]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i56lkoiXaNR8prssi=Phy1EOLDT-WDCOkr

[@cherylhobbs1091]

Thank you Matt for sharing your passion of worm farming🙏 Would it be possible to see a picture of underneath your big with bin - to get an idea of what you're scraping at? Are there slats that you're pulling between? 🤔💁

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

I am working on a video that will give you a step by step plan to build the units I have. To answer your question for now, 3/4” pvc pipes spaced 1/2” apart

[@cherylhobbs1091]

@@CaptainMattsWorms Thank you so much for your reply. I priced out some conduit today and the sturdiest ones I think were gold plated at $83. per 10 ft linear. 😳 So I think PVC would definitely be more economical!!👍

[@hoot1572]

I thoroughly enjoy your videos! my question is: Can I use Black Kow compost, which I can get down here in Texas, for worm bedding until my homemade compost is ready? Thanks

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Scott… as long as it has aged enough. Test out a small batch and see.

[@RogerSimmons-bw4ix]

if castings dry out after you separate, are they still any good to use in the garden or lawn. If they aren't is there anyway to recharge like adding biochar or something similar. Very novice and just getting started so need all the help I can get. Also, I live in the north were things get pretty cold so if casting freeze does that kill the good stuff? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[@salmanfaruqui6071]

Hi, thanks for the video, what is the recommended size of the screen hole, for capturing the cocoon?

[@fnsfabrications6844]

Imagine a world where your biodegradable bottle is really worm food.

[@richardmajor2749]

Im curious how many of those bags of castings you bag each month? Does it get slower in the winter?

[@francismorrison8470]

im thinking im alot like you something to do after 65 im getting ready to retire and i watch a lot of worm videos but once i seen you and i have the same ideas but like to know if i could buy 10 lbs of worms from you becaz you have the best looking worms here on youtube

[@okieking8503]

You know you're getting old when you're considering building a shop in your back yard to make worm shit

[@imike964]

Anything to make a bit on the side lol

[@okieking8503]

@@imike964 I get 5 gallons of tea every 2 weeks. I was giving it away lol

[@loven2grow189]

Hello sir thank you for the tour, where would one might get a shifter like that , Thank you.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

My shifter video has a link in the description. bit.ly/3M7Zjjd

[@waterloobear9124]

Captain Matt, could you decrease the angle of your sifter, so the table shifts slower and more completely?

[@andywilliams121]

Hey Captain Matt! Thanks for the awesome video! Do you typically sell out of all of your castings? I live in Canada and am curious about the return on investment for a big worm bin. I currently use tote bins and mostly produce just for my own gardens, but am considering expanding .

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

I sold out last year

[@downundervlogs]

Love the sifter and it does work a treat however I would find my castings to be too moist to really go through it as yours looks a lot drier. I recently had to manually do mine separating them and just relying on the sun. Did you build that sifter yourself?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Cher... We did a in depth video about the sifter, there’s a link in the video description to the manufacturer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-aiYNtZbqWhtk The sifter was not cheap, but for me the decision was all about calculating time (and ache) saving into my investment/startup costs.

[@ericcarver7465]

This was a great video, Captain! I always run out of worms for my chickens, so your breeder bins idea caught my attention. Will you be making a vid on the composition of those optimal conditions? or do you use the same bedding mix you use with your continuous flow device? No extra food other than what the manure and hay and leaves provide? How moist would you say?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Most of my bedding is decomposing leaves and wood chips. I continuously feed my worm chow on top as needed. Bedding is kept moist but not wet

[@ericcarver7465]

@@CaptainMattsWorms Got it. Do you freeze the leaves and wood chips to kill off any bugs or negatives that could come to your worms? and how small are your wood chips? is it essentially saw dust?

[@colormeprettybyaubrey8782]

What is the rake your using? We are building our bin now, and want to make sure we have the right size of rake .

[@thedeerhunter4407]

good stuff but i wish you had shown what the cocoons and eggs look like.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

I wish my old eyes could see them too! Googling should yield some informative photos.

[@raapanui9931]

I've just found your channel and lp ing your videos! Question. I noticed the material you poured out of the buckets is not wet at all. How do you get it like that? I always have liquid coming out the bottom of my farm

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Rā ... sometimes I have to let the material dry out on the floor before sifting.

[@gregshaw1417]

Are you able to put the horse manure or other manures in right away or should you allow it to age a bit?

[@110americalovingpatriot2]

I live in eastern Kansas on a little bit of acreage and I got worms that I thought they were snakes at first, at night time the ground looks alive if your walking with a flashlight.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

They are an invasive species that are recking havoc good farm land. Call your Coopertive extention to get help

[@110americalovingpatriot2]

@@CaptainMattsWorms I don't ever remember seeing worms as big as the ones here, I mostly see night crawlers compared to the giant ones.

[@110americalovingpatriot2]

I've never seen worms that big anywhere else either.

[@otitgalvez634]

Thank you, can I visit your store and teach me how to take care worms. Thank you. Tito from New York

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Tito... stay tuned and I'll be sharing details of my mentoring program soon. Be sure to subscribe to the “Worm People’ newsletter wormpeople.com/subscribe/ (if not already) to make sure we can keep you posted. Worm Regards!

[@pedromq7807]

Did you insulate the bulk bin? How lond that wood last? Here in hawaii is so hot at times, Im wondering if insulation would help, but tring to figure how they would not eat it

[@off-gridsimplyhappyrodriguez]

May I use worms I dig up around the creek? Or must I buy worms? Thank you 💚🌱🌿🌶

[@recyclingnik]

thank you for the informational video! where did you buy that sifter?

[@jamesschuchardt9509]

Look up worm shifter. Make sure it isn’t sifter

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey recyclingnik We did a in depth video about the sifter, there’s a link in the video description to the manufacturer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-aiYNtZbqWhtk The sifter was not cheap, but for me the decision was all about calculating time (and ache) saving into my investment/startup costs.

[@carlashaner5231]

How do you keep the compost from falling out the bottom all the time?

[@timmoore7038]

Are any fertilizers deadly for worms? In the worm I often pour my vermicompost extract (rain water and worm dirt particulate ) on my potato beds, at the end of the season I find a tons of worms in the potato beds. I was planning on using a 5-10-5 from Espoma call Garden Food.

[@sandielemke1405]

I have watched all of your videos. In the video where you were setting up the CFT you said the worms stop breeding at some point and then you go to your breeding bins. Could you either explain this or point me in the direction to read about this. Why would the stop breeding. And what is significant about the breeding bins. Thanks Sandie

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Sandie... We just did a video about Production Buckets that covers your question kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXvFgJ2bjcRmg6s

[@jan1451]

hi Captain Matt! I have been thinking of my own worm farm for profit for over a year now. Could you make a video on the way you sell your castings , the production, bagging and shipping. Or is that too forward of me. If you have another suggestion I would like to hear it. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I do like what you feed them and going to emulate you.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Jan, If you watch all my videos you will find the answers you are looking for. Thanks Jan

[@Homesteading.with.Shelby]

Hello, where do you get the worm sifter that separates the worms and eggs from the castings?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Shelby… we did a in depth video about the sifter, there’s a link in the video description to the manufacturer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-aiYNtZbqWhtk The sifter was not cheap, but for me the calculation was all about calculating time (and ache) saving into my investment/startup costs.

[@kkrollingskkrollings3173]

What kind of motor do u use in the sepearator that separates the cocoons castings and worms. Very neat set up I'm a small scale worm farmer that just has a half dozen bins and a few half barrels of compost worms, I use the castings in my own gardens and I sometimes will sell a scattered pound of worms to someone. It's a fun hobby to supply my own needs and to make a few extra dollars from time to time.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

I will be making a video on Thursday this week focused on my sifter and will answer any questions in that video

[@kkrollingskkrollings3173]

@@CaptainMattsWorms looking forward in watching, thanks.

[@jon101538]

where do you get the black bins

[@ohammed1]

Why don't u have more than 3 or 4 bulk bins instead of small countries, I think this would be easy to breed, I am just curious, I am learning from you, hope u have a wonderful day

[@harrywiegmann4492]

🔥🔥🔥

[@sic-n-tiredtired4273]

Great video sir, any chance you could show us the grate you used under the Big Bin that you were raking off of. And the worms do not crawl out of that ?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

More details are in the playlist about worm bin construction kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZqrgoqjmqlma5o

[@sic-n-tiredtired4273]

@@CaptainMattsWorms once again another great video very informative. What types of worms are you using ? those are way too big to be red wigglers. I've had red wigglers for almost a year now and they're all small definitely nothing more than maybe trout fishing worms if that. And thank you in advance for any more info

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

@@sic-n-tiredtired4273 European Nightcrawlers mixed in with Red Wigglers

[@sic-n-tiredtired4273]

@@CaptainMattsWorms ok just wanted to make sure. Do you happen to ship your nightcrawlers to New Hampshire ? I tried looking online but couldn't find anything

[@WormWorldLive]

I was worried that the Canadian Nightcrawlers in my worm terrarium might get overcrowded as I cannot make a second enclosure for them. I'm glad that they will naturally control their own population.

[@cherylhobbs1091]

I also see that you have a couple really bright lights over some of the breeding bins (pails). What would the purpose of that be?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hi Cheryl, without the lights, I found that some of the worms were escaping from the bins. The lights keep the worms in the bedding since they are nocturnal animals. Since I have put up the lights, there have been practically no worms that have been escaping.

[@cherylhobbs1091]

@@CaptainMattsWorms That makes perfect sense - those sneaky little guys!!

[@Irfanulqurantran]

Have any pdf book related to their rearing.

[@jon101538]

how do get the little babies off the lids,

[@mgoh1984]

Nice setup. What kind of worms do you have?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Red wigglers

[@recordplayerz]

Is that redguard on the exterior of the master bulk bin?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Just regular paint - the liner keeps out the moistures.

[@davidthompson7485]

What do you do with the cocoons exactly? Put them in the big bin?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Yes… back in the top of the big bin to build the population.

[@callyscraftycorner2463]

Which worm would be better for making worm castings? Red wrigglers, European night crawlers, African night crawlers or Canadian night crawlers?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

We will be talking about this soon in a future video. Thanks for the question!

[@angelmadera2263]

How often they double

[@olgarebman2538]

There to buying sifter as yours , mr Matt ?!

[@benoitolivo]

Hi Matt and thanks for your useful video. I want to breed eisenia fetida to feed my chicken, not only for casting. How many worms (g/m²) do you think is possible to harvest each week in such a worm bin ? Thank you in advance for your reply. Best regards, Benoît from FRANCE.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Depends on quite a few factors - here’s a good reproduction simulator that might help with estimates mattgadient.com/red-wiggler-reproduction-calculator-and-more-vermicomposting/ key would likely be to get your population to a level where it is self perpetuating even with harvesting

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You could likely use the “weekly death rate” to model harvesting.

[@benoitolivo]

@@CaptainMattsWorms Thanks a lot for your reply.

[@rodneyparramore7370]

Is ground up dry dog food ok to feed worms.

[@philmets2967]

Hi Captain Matt, I'm a subscriber to your site, if I understand well, as per your big red bin, the way you have builded it, you have saved all the reciprocating system, so without the motor, the pully, and the cables, less working parts, so less possibility that it jams, so you are doing it manually when ever you need castings. What is the space between each metal cross bar? with the great quantity of worms that you are producing don't you feel to sell any worms which is more profitable then only casting. Thanks for your advise, Philippe

[@ericcarver7465]

I think his other vids show his construction specifications of the bin.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Philippe! My son Mark recently made schematics for the worm bin - you can find it in the description of the worm bin construction videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZqrgoqjmqlma5o

[@scottparrish2422]

Subscriber 969 🎉🎉

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks Scott

[@user-rq4zg1te1g]

Where do I get a worm sifter

[@timmooney2460]

what are you feeding to your breeding buckets?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

I am working on a new video that answers that question, stay tunned

[@MikeTouesnard]

What’s the size of the bin

[@Three2Won]

Where did you get your sifter machine?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

We did a in depth video about the sifter, there’s a link in the video description to the manufacturer kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX-aiYNtZbqWhtk The sifter was not cheap, but for me the decision was all about calculating time (and ache) saving into my investment/startup costs.

[@rico99586]

What is your brand name if I wish to purchase the products. Are they sold in Florida?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Richard... which products are you interested in?

[@sungsuplee9079]

How many bags of worm castings do you make a month?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

About 10 tons last year

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

I'm watching your channel with great interest 👍 You are a great speaker and I hope you do promotion for Vermiculture. If we could get more people interested in aiming towards organic. Thanks for sharing 👍

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Working on it. Thanks for your kind wods