COMPOSTING WORMS - UPDATE!!!

[@ilDreadmakermichele]

My worm juice doesn't smells Anyways in winter I use to save it in bottles so that I have enough of it during the growing season I don't know if the anaerobic environment of a close bottle can save all the nutrient and bacteria but I think is better than nothing

[@crazykenz4203]

I've had a lot of mixed comments on my worm videos about the liquid in the bottom of my composter - some say it's safe to use, others have said not to use it at all. If I had a house with decorative plants outside, I would probably use it there, but since I'm in an apartment, I don't want to use it (because the liquid in the bottom of my composter STINKS and I don't want to smell that on my houseplants).

[@ilDreadmakermichele]

@@crazykenz4203 i compost almost in the same way but my worm juice doesn't stink I don't understand why I'm doing something wrong?

[@crt9082]

What you can do is to put your finished try on top of the working tray and leave the lid off with lots of light the worms should go down into your working try.

[@crazykenz4203]

Ooooh good idea! Maybe I'll move it into a room where I can close the door and keep out the cats - if I leave the lid off where the cats can get at it, a disaster is bound to happen! Thanks so much for the tip!

[@A-V]

Lookin good! Placing those kitchen scraps into your worm bin, rather than into the trash, is the most rewarding feeling.. isn't it? Keep it up

[@crazykenz4203]

It totally is - and then seeing the beautiful compost a few weeks later, heaven! I wish that more cities would develop composting programs - this sort of thing is the future and is so important. I live near Madison, WI and there actually used to be a city-wide composting program here - but apparently people didn't know how to separate their compostables from trash and recycling and it ended up being this huge mess and cost the city too much money...so that's over now. I rented plots at two different community gardens last summer and one of the gardens did have a compost bin, so I usually went over a couple times a week with scraps. I'm not gardening at that garden this summer, but still may sneak over with scraps!

[@A-V]

Its hard to imagine a recycling program that gathers compostable stuff; the closest thing to that around here is autumn leaf collection. In a densely populated place like this (central NJ) it would deviate a huge amount of stuff from our landfills. Its a shame programs like that aren't more common. Too bad they axed it where you are...

[@crazykenz4203]

I know there is something around here that gathers up leaves and branches in the fall, but think that's about it. Even if there was just a composting center where individuals could take their compostables themselves would be so great! Also, there is this new product called the Zera Food Recycler - I have no idea if it's good, saw it on Instagram - it looks like a trash can and they say it can compost a week's worth of food in 24 hours (but it's over 1,000 bucks!). Hopefully in a few years, products like this will be more mainstream and affordable!

[@liliakogan3043]

Like your video. Quick correction. The liquid at the bottom of the bin is not worm tea, it's called leachate, and is just the liquid that is produced in the natural breaking down process of any fruits or veggie matter. If you do have that amount of liquid, it could indicate your bin is running too wet. Worm tea is a process of taking finished worm castings and placing them in water, then mixing by hand or an air pump to keep the oxygen level up. Nice video.

[@crazykenz4203]

Ah thanks so much for the correction! I just started saving it in a five gallon bucket to use in my future garden. I generally get that amount in about ten days. I know that the reviews I read before buying my composter said that moisture loss was not at all an issue, so I guess it just really keeps in the moisture! Still haven't made the splurge to order extra trays (it's like 50 bucks for two!), but think I may have to cuz I have worms out the wazoo!

[@jasonharrold6686]

People call it worm tea if you take that liquid and dilute it in water. Looks like the bin is way too wet. probably because its mostly from pulp and i dont really see a lot of dry bedding

[@crystalcrookshanks2712]

This will be a very dumb question to a lot of people. What do you do with all the worms, just add them to your garden? When do you remove a tray of dirt/compost and add it to your garden?

[@kathille6622]

You need to grind up your eggshells in a food processor or blender. The worms cannot digest big pieces. They use the grit of the eggshell to digest food. Some people add a little sand or powdered shell.

[@cienamari7774]

Another update?! I love these videos!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Not too much else to update - the worms are just doing their thing, the cats still are curious, I feed them about once a week, and they keep eating it and pooping it out! I am gonna either have to get more trays or dump a bunch of worms and compost before it gets too cold - my trays are pretty full right now and it definitely won't be enough space to get me through the winter!

[@crt9082]

You probably need to add more paper. Veggi pulp has a good amount of moisture. Your finished compost should be dryer.

[@crazykenz4203]

Ok, so good to know, thanks for telling me that. I feed them again tomorrow, so will add a lot more paper. I also just bought a brick of coconut coir and was thinking of putting some of that in there.

[@mfdugas]

Put your oldest tray on the top and your newest tray on the bottom once your oldest tray dries out the warms will crawl down. You will never get all the worms out of the dirt but 90% of them will travel down. Warms travel up when the ground is wet and travel down when it's dry. The reason their crawling out of the dirt and on the sides and the lid is because it's too wet.

[@crazykenz4203]

Michael, thank you soooo much for your advice! I actually put the composter in our laundry room (the only place I can really banish the cats from - no way I could leave it out in the open with the lid off with these naughty kitties) with the lid off and a light on for about 48 hours - worked like a charm. The compost dried out a bit and the worms went down. I eventually was able to scoop off most of the finished compost and started a new bed. I had read that this composter is really good (almost too good) at retaining moisture and I definitely have to agree with that. Thanks so much for your help!!!

[@alfonsotamez7200]

Have you tried blending your fruits and veg scraps and then u can continue to freeze ir blend in old ice trays

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh I have not tried that, never even gave it a thought! I mainly have been feeding the worms coffee grounds, tea leaves, and pulp I have from when I make green juice (and of course, newspaper now and then). I like your idea, though!

[@ronyerke9250]

Another way to deal with seeds is to damage them. A blender, pliers, or a garlic press works well for that. They won't sprout after that. Have you found anyone that also composts so what you don't use doesn't go to waste? Homeowners with outdoor piles might be glad to receive your surplus compostables. Worms won't eat big pieces of egg shells. I dry mine then put the shells inside a plastic bag to crush them thouroghly. I'm pretty sure the worms don't actually digest the shells (much), but they work inside their gizzards to help masticate their food. They need the grit for grinding purposes. The shells will fortify the castings with calcium carbonate which will help any plant you put your castings on.

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Ron, thanks so much for the excellent tips! I haven't given them egg shells recently because there were still shells floating around months after I gave them to them, but I will have to try your suggestion - makes sense that it would be helpful for plants! I have community garden plots reserved in two different gardens for this summer - I will ask around and see if anyone has an outdoor pile that I could add to!

[@ronyerke9250]

If you don't mind re-assigning the space, you could make a compost pile on your community garden plot unless it's some kind of bylaws violation. Then you could use your scraps on your own plants, and maybe even accept scraps from friends. I keep citrus scraps an open bucket for a couple of weeks until it gets moldy and loses its citrus scent, then add that to the compost. Worms don't seem to have a problem with that, but if you're a little leery, just put it in the outdoor pile.

[@crazykenz4203]

One of the community gardens actually has a big compost pile that's divided into three stages! I volunteered over there today and one of the guys went to a local coffee shop to pick up coffee grounds and veggie scraps to add to the pile. So guess that's where my stuff will be going. :D Good to know about the worms and citrus - will try that!

[@ronyerke9250]

I don't know if your community garden will welcome citrus even if it's "processed by mold", but you could ask. People tend to get set in their ways and don't approve of citrus. I think you had better start off with a small test spot before you dive in. I don't seem to have a problem, but who knows, maybe your worms are a different breed and might not appreciate it. Good luck with your citrus trial. Stinky leechate at the bottom happens because liquid holds far less oxygen than air. The anerobic bacteria are better suited for that. There are a few things you can do to to prevent the smell, but the fastest and easiest thing to do is just pour it off more frequently. Got house plants? Adding airstones, pumps or fountains aren't very practical or cheap, but they also do the job. I've started a new (to me) experiment. I'm going to dry orange and banana peels and blend them into powder. I'll be trying that as a top dressing on some flowers later. I may even add powdered egg shells, we'll see. I've been saving some egg shells to use when I plant out some tomato plants. You could save your leachate outdoors if you have a balcony. It WILL stink when you open it however.

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks for all the info, Ron! Definitely let me know about your dried orange and banana peels - sounds like a neat idea! I asked the community garden coordinator and she said it was ok to add stuff to the compost pile, but just not meat, so we're good there! I've just been dumping the leachate once a week when I feed the worms - I'm always shocked by how bad it smells when the trays just smell a bit earthy!

[@Polopollo75]

These kittens are sooo cute and lovely! The worms as well I guess : P Very inspiring!

[@crazykenz4203]

Merci! Yes, the kitties are soooooo cute and lovely and sweet!

[@ronyerke9250]

Seeds sprouting in your composter is not a problem. When the seeds run out of stored energy, they die without sunlight. After that, they're easier for the worms to eat.

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh that's perfect, more food for the worms! Thanks for the tip!

[@jimtucker1631]

what do you do with the castings since you don't have a yard?

[@crazykenz4203]

I use them in my community garden plots.

[@skyym3629]

I don't really know anything about worms but I'm trying to educate myself on different ideas and thoughts from as many people I can. I just had a question and it was regarding the digging around and moving the soil around as you and many others do with there worm bins. Wouldn't that like crush or impact some of the worms? Thanks for the videos and info. Thumbs up and God bless

[@crazykenz4203]

Hello and thanks so much for watching! I've had a lot of people comment regarding this and saying how much I must be injuring the worms. I don't dig around on a daily basis (I actually never really dig around in there, it was just for filming purposes because I wanted to show what was going on). I will randomly do it to check on the worms and see how the population is coming along. If you start doing worms, no, I would not recommend digging around in there all that often, but I've had worms for nearly two years now and they just keep on reproducing and eating what I give them, so I can't be totally screwing it up, right?! I was up to four trays for awhile, but just completely emptied three of my finished trays of compost and worms into a five gallon bucket and took it all to my garden. I gave those three trays a good scrub down and only have one tray going now - and these will be the worms that I keep throughout the upcoming year and they will reproduce and I'll eventually be back up to four trays, then will dump them again in the garden next summer! I hope you do worms! I think it's such a good way to reduce food waste, especially if you live somewhere that doesn't have a composting program (or if you can't have a proper compost pile, like me cuz I live in an apartment!).

[@skyym3629]

@@crazykenz4203 ... Ya, that makes sense. Thank you so much for replying to my comment. I didn't know you put the worms in your garden? I always thought that it would be so beneficial to put the worms with the casting in the garden when the worms population starts to get really thick. I want to start a worm bin but until then, I have just been going into my garden and burying all of my fruit and vegetable scraps. It has been working great because I will dig up the area where I put the scraps about 4 weeks prior and they are completely gone and the soil has the consistency of cotton candy. I also now have quite a few of the native worms when I didn't have a one prior to me doing this. Thanks again, God bless

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh wow that's super interesting about the cotton candy soil - how neat! I'm going to have to give that a whirl because my single worm tray is mighty full these days and I just hate throwing away food scraps and tea leaves from brewing kombucha and jun. Oh yes, I absolutely put the worms into the garden - usually once a year. If I get the population down to one single tray now, I can usually make it through most of the year without too crazy of a population - having four trays definitely helps. If we lived in a proper house, I'd probably make myself a couple big worm bins out of plastic tote boxes and keep them in a garage - I'm definitely tired of them living inside (they are actually outside at the moment because I did develop a bit of a fruit fly problem and just couldn't handle it any longer inside). Thanks again for the info about burying scraps!

[@jessieallen1894]

They are the best...we sound like cat lady's 😂 but that's ok! Anytime I catch him messing with things he starts meowing like crazy as if he is say sorry sorry sorry. It's the cutest.

[@crazykenz4203]

Cat ladies rule!!! Kitties totally know when they've been caught and feel guilty and try to make up for it by rubbing up on us and being all sweetsy sweetsy innocent. Naughty little tigers. :D

[@AGREENERLIFE]

Just watched your other composting video! SO AWESOME!

[@crazykenz4203]

Thank you so much for watching!!!!

[@jmarshero]

I love your cats and how you give them a voice! LOL

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh you bet! I don't have children, but whenever I am with friends who have kids, I talk to their kids the same way I talk to my cats...and I only realize it in that moment that I really treat my kitties like human babies. :D

[@tysohlman7907]

Your videos are so helpful! We are thinking of putting ours in the garage. In your experience.... will this draw fruit flies and/ or ants?? We live in Pacific NW and we battle these things in the spring and summer.

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Ty! Ok, so for ants, I can't really say because my composter is in our apartment. Fruit flies can be an issue (but they seem to stick to fruit I have on the counter). BUT the biggest issue I have had is with these tiny little black flies (not fruit flies), I believe they are called fungus gnats. Now, this was entirely my fault. I had a couple beautiful thyme and oregano plants in my garden last summer and I had the brilliant idea of transplanting them out of the ground and into pots to keep all winter long. Well, apparently fungus gnats lay eggs in soil and then when I transplanted the herbs, I had this massive outbreak of these bugs. They got into my houseplants, into the worms, they lingered in the cracks and trim around the windows and doors - it was a hot mess and really frustrating. I was killing bugs left and right. I would see them on the ceiling mating, so I would jump up on a chair and squish them with paper towel. The thing that did the trick, though, was diatomaceous earth. Apparently this type of insect is very common with worms and worm farmers, and I guess the worm farmers sprinkle DE to kill the gnats, but it doesn't harm the worms. I was pretty diligent with the DE - sprinkled it on the worm trays, got a little device to spray it into the cracks, put it everywhere (my windows were covered with it - it was legit like my windows suddenly starting doing cocaine and were covered in white powder). And after a few weeks of doing this, it worked. I also vacuumed a lot and put some of the DE powder into the vacuum, too. So yeah, long story short, ants might be an issue, can't really comment there, fruit flies might be a problem, but the biggest issue for me was the fungus gnats. But it was definitely fixable. Let me know if you end up getting worms and if the ants are an issue!

[@mariahcolby2053]

@@crazykenz4203 the same thing happened to me!!! disaster! I am thinking about getting this composter, and would like to use the soil I make for my houseplants...but do not want more gnats! Have you had any trouble since with gnats or did DE clear it all up? Love your video!

[@yolagurl02]

How did you get all that liquid? I got in early April my bottom tray is dry compost, do I mist water?

[@crazykenz4203]

I think it just depends on what you are feeding them. I give my worms a lot of pulp from when I make juice, which is very moist. I suppose you could mist it if it is very dry. Are there worms in that dry part? I think they probably prefer a somewhat moist environment. What are you feeding them?

[@HLR40]

So we are going to try worm composting this year. I will most likely do it in a heated outbuilding we have. But I may have a bin in the house if the wife will let me lol. What i was looking for in your videos, that haven't heard you talk about yet is - Does it stink ? and how bad ?

[@crazykenz4203]

Hello and sorry for the delay! Ok, it usually doesn't stink. The only times I've had an issue with smell is if I start a new tray, put food in, but the worms don't migrate to the new food (and then the food rots and stinks). When I start a new tray now, I usually take a big scoop and put in a few scoops of finished compost and worms to get them started in the new tray. I don't know how it would smell for a container that's different from what I have, but I think it would be ok. The worm castings don't really smell - just kind earthy. It's not like having a container of cow poop or something!!!

[@miltonzambrana4838]

You don't need to have a drain in the tote...this is because in a well working system you really should not be producing leachate and therefore no holes needed on bottom of any tote. Don't overfeed, fluff bedding prior to feeding and get your hands in there to learn how the bedding is supposed to feel. Feeding should be covered up by fresh bedding to avoid attracting other insects (mites and other pesky critters). if possible your food scraps should be frozen and thawed the day before a feeding. The freezing processes help break down cell walls and begins the decomposition process. Don't forget to sprinkle some grit over the feeding. Grit can be very fine crushed eggshells, sand, or crushed oyster shells. Other than that love the video.

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks for all of the info. I read something about this particular model being very good at trapping in moisture, thus why there is that reservoir for liquid. Once I'm no longer in an apartment, I'll upgrade to something bigger, but for now, I'm doing the best I can with my worms!

[@miltonzambrana4838]

@@crazykenz4203 you are welcome! I also find that a 14 gallon rubbermade tote is the bes worm bin. Cheap and efficient.

[@crazykenz4203]

Good to know - I definitely plan on making my own in the future and then I'll be like a proper worm lady!

[@richardlwellington]

For the egg shells, you need to nuke or dry out the eggs then grind them up to a powder. The grit is really good for the worms. Love you personally!

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks for the info on the egg shells and for your sweet words!

[@richardlwellington]

Kendra Lee please let me know how that works for you...

[@stuartteichner4094]

Kendra...thanks for your fresh personality and great info regarding the Hotfrog Living Composter.. My question is regarding the Milleniumsoils Coir you broke in half when you started. What/when did you need the other half for? Did you use it or are your feedings continuing to be used to make the worms produce more worms? Thanks...looking forward to your (or others) replies.

[@stuartteichner4094]

Oh, and one more thing. I started with just 48 worms. Won't they multiply anyway? Lastly I'm keeping the composter in the shade but soon the shade will still be plenty hot here in Tucson. Problems with that?

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Stuart! Thanks so much for watching! Regarding the coir - when I first set up the composter, I used half of the block of coir for bedding for the worms and then used the second half of it when I started the second tray (probably two months after I started the first tray). One of the trays was recently really full of compost, so I cleared out most of the finished compost and then re-started the tray by using another half brick of coir, some newspaper, and also added in juice pulp. Yes, the worms reproduce - 48 might not seem like many now, but man can those suckers reproduce!!!! HOLY CATS!!!!! Or should I say, HOLY WORMS! I started with 1000 and my gosh, I can't even imagine how many I have now. When I recently cleared out the one tray, I looked in the other tray and it was almost like there was no compost, but just a tray completely full of worms. I believe they say that red wigglers will double their population in three months. Each time I feed them, I see tons of tiny eggs throughout the compost and on the sides and lid of the composter. I'd recommend being careful with the worms getting too hot in Tucson. I just googled it and it says the ideal temp is between 55 and 77 degrees and that bed temp or higher than 84 is harmful to the worms. I've had my composter inside since I got it (in October in Wisconsin...it's been awhile since we've had 55 degrees at night!!!) and will probably only leave it outside for May and June (but we do have a small storage area on our balcony that the furnace is in - the temp doesn't seem to fluctuate much in there, so I may actually put the composter in there, we'll see! I'd definitely say to be careful with hot Arizona weather, though - you might end up with 48 roasted worms. :P Happy composting!!! Let me know how it goes!

[@litahsr.8226]

what do you do when the worms triple ?

[@crazykenz4203]

You either get more trays for them to move into (and reproduce more) or you can put them into your garden/yard. I probably put at least half of my worms into my garden last summer and will do the same this year. They reproduce very quickly, so no harm in removing a lot of them. I've also heard that they will stop reproducing if they don't have enough space (but not sure if this is true).

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

Oh my gosh, I was so freaking out when you had those worms in your apartment. xD I can't...

[@crazykenz4203]

Haha, yup, unfortunately we are still renting...can't wait for the day I have a house and my own garden and a different space for my worms. :D

[@sarahkalnajs5810]

This is SO interesting! Thanks for sharing! We must get together for a farmer’s market this season. 😊

[@crazykenz4203]

Sounds good!!!

[@mboscardin]

I love this video! Any updates? I've been trying to convince my husband to do the same and he's really concerned about the smell and attracting flies and bugs. If the trays are closed can't you smell anything at all? Have you bought a new tray yet? Than you for sharing this!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Hi Mariana! I am going to have to film a worm update - I've had several people ask about it (I am so surprised at the interest in the worms, so cool!). I have not had an issue at all with bugs or flies, and as for smell, I've only recently noticed a smell...but I believe this is because I was feeding them too much for a couple weeks and am pretty sure the food was just sitting there rotting before the worms could get to it. (I sometimes make my own almond milk and have been feeding the leftover pulp to the worms. That stuff is pretty thick and dense, so think that may be where the smell originated). However, I do not smell anything when the trays are closed (I only open the trays like once a week to throw in some food). Worm composting is way less stinky than normal composting! I have not yet gotten new trays, but I think I have to. Both trays are very full right now and obviously it's too cold now for them to go outside! I'm gonna keep an eye out for extra trays during the Black Friday sales, maybe I can find a deal!

[@yonglycheng212]

how much for ur bin ?

[@crazykenz4203]

I think I paid around $90 for the original kit, then another $50 for two extra trays. I ordered the initial composter with two trays from Costco, then got the extra trays from Amazon.

[@kleineroteHex]

Revisiting your video. My 3 year old granddaughter is in love with worms and I'm contemplating making her a worm farm..... but not with 1000 worms 😁😁😁 I want to make a clear plastic container where she can see them and place it inside a dark one. Still checking out infos! Time for another update? 😊

[@crazykenz4203]

So cool! Keep me posted with what you end up making for her! No major update to report with my worms, except that they keep reproducing like crazy! Can't wait for it to warm up here so I can release some of them into the garden. :D

[@kleineroteHex]

Kendra Lee , you could send me 25 to 50 HAHAHA I actually checked on the ones we found, today. 3 were looking good, the other 2 ??? I rearranged our haphazardly put together container. Since they are regular earthworms I have a feeling they would benefit from regular dirt.

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh gosh, I could send you a couple hundred...or a couple thousand haha! My cats wouldn't know the difference!

[@kleineroteHex]

Kendra Lee oh so you got worms for a cat pet 😁😁 and compost your scraps at the same time, win win!!!!

[@crazykenz4203]

Hahaha, you know, I had no idea how the cats would react to the worms! They definitely weren't interested in them at first, but now Kobe is obsessed. We also got fish about a year ago and those were specifically bought to entertain our cats...but it took them about six months to even realize they were there. And now Kimchi is obsessed with them (she loves to sit on top of the fish tank...but she's kind of a little chubbo, so I'm really hoping that she doesn't eventually break the lid and fall in!).

[@jenallen5202]

That much liquid you need more paper when you feed . To wet in there.

[@crazykenz4203]

Thanks for the tip! I'm slowly getting this worm situation figured out.

[@paisleyplaid4074]

Girrrrrrl! You're braver than me!!! I know this is sooo great to do but..... Is this in your garage or inside house. I'm impressed with how healthy everything is. You're going to have an amazing garden this spring!!! 😎

[@crazykenz4203]

Hahaha, yes this is in my apartment!!!! I was definitely hesitant about doing it inside (I originally thought I could put them in this little closet we have on our balcony, but they definitely would have frozen in the winter), but it seems to be fine (fingers crossed it doesn't leak on the carpet, eek!). So excited for my garden!!!

[@natureboy6410]

You know Kendra, according to what all the so called experts say, by seeing your worm farm, they would bring up that it needs much more carbon(peat, shredded papper or cardboard, dried leaves or garden stuff, etc) to lower the moisture content, better ventilation for same reason, but, if they would just look, I don't see any balls of slimy dead or dying worms. In fact, all I see is a CRAZY amount of worms and cocoons, EVERYWHERE! How can you possibly argue with that? ;-) You should try your hand at raising African Night Crawlers. They are supposed to eat three times more food then the red wigglers, breed 3 to 5 times faster, and, keeping them inside like you do, its much easier to regulate their temperature. Its cute, watching your kitties play with a "live toy". ;-) Please don't throw away the liquid that you get off your worm beds. It only smells because it needs more oxygen added to it and it hasn't completed its cycle yet is all. Treat it like you where making your own compost tea from dead garden stuff, weeds, leaves, etc. Just dump it in a large bucket, that has a lid, with equal part water. Add a half cup blackstrap molasses or sugar to feed the bacteria. The key is to add oxygen by giving it a good stir every day or so. If you want, speed things up by adding a air bubbler. if you add new stuff, add a little more food for the bacteria. Once the stink is gone and it smells earthy or like nothing, (normally 7 to 10 days, sometimes less, sometimes more), its ready to safely use on all plants. Some folks use a strong mix of compost or casting tea to feed their plants. Myself, I use just enough, mixed with water, to turn the water to a very light tea color, so its not wasted. However, I do it more often, a couple of times a week, as opposed to a couple of times a month with a stronger solution, because the desert soil here doesn't hold onto nutrients very well. I always grow way more then me and my boys could ever eat, or store for that matter. And I still can't give it away fast enough. ;-)

[@crazykenz4203]

Thank you so much for your kind words (I'm used to getting a lot of hate regarding my worm videos, so I do appreciate the encouragement - I'm still new at this!). Now, with this stinky liquid situation - how much space does this process require? Is it just one five gallon bucket? Or do I need multiple buckets? Does it need light? We have a small storage area off of our balcony where the HVAC unit is, but there is some space that I have just been storing extra garden stuff. I wonder if I could do this process in that... What kind of things do you grow?! Do you preserve any of it?

[@natureboy6410]

@@crazykenz4203 Hey Kendra. A 5 gallon bucket will work just fine. Just keep a lid on it, cause it will give off an odor until it finishes cycling. The balcony storage area, out of direct light where it's warm, will help speed up the process. Just remember to feed it, don't fill it more then 2/3rd's of the way so it will have some air and the more that you stir it and/or run air bubbles into it, the faster it will finish. Me and the boys just moved into a new home. I'm having a hard time finding someone that is willing to dump a large load of local mulch way out here in the sticks. I have most of the amendments and seed that I will need, but without the mulch, the summer heat and high, dry winds will make it very difficult to grow anything. We're in the Mohave desert, in a valley, at 2,500 ft elevation. The soil is mostly sand and silt, almost no rock but is packed pretty tight just 3 or 4 inches down. It's fairly neutral, so once I can get the mulch to help it retain the amendments, it's going to be some pretty awesome stuff. ;-) Our growing season is fairly long, so I've got a few new plants that I want to tryout that are ment for a more desert like environment. I use all heirloom or heritage seeds. The kiwano cucumber, the bolivian cucumber, and the Mexican mini cucumber, atomic grape tomatoes, Inca berries, goji berries, moringa trees(over a thousand seeds, nitrogen fixer), so called "weeds", dandelion, purslane, borage, comfrey, mullein, kangkong, and of course a lot of the basic staples, broad beans, giant chard, couple types of beets, turnips, giant radish, collard, couple types of regular and green tomatoes, couple types of peppers, sweet and hot both. I know there is some other stuff, I just don't have them in front of me at the moment. I used to can, and salt cure, quite a bit, cause thats how my grandparents taught me, but I discovered, here in the desert, that dehydration is such an easier process, weighs so much less, last just as long, if not longer and takes up way less room for storage. I still salt cure meats but then dehydrate it or make pemmecin, one of my ancestors way of preserving meat which can last 10+ years. ;-) Its so easy to just slap some produce, even store bought, between a couple of nylon screens to keep out the bugs, put them outside, on the north side of the house or someplace where the sun isn't shining, and in hardly any time at all, the dry desert air and heat will just suck the moisture right out of it. It's amazing how much dehydrated food will fit into half gallon and gallon mason jars. Ever tried fish jerky? I know, gross, fish jerky, right? But when I was a boy, a native local family showed me how, it was so simple and GOOD. They just took some fresh water fish that they had caught, it was some carp, bluegill and bass. Sliced the filles thin, rolled them in sea salt, put them between some screens and then up on the roof. In just a day or two they were near crisp and ready to store. Good as is or washed off and used in soups or chowder.

[@machalespencer8813]

Kendra Lee that makes me sad that people send hate. I am subscribing just to support you doing what you do. It is helpful to have people who are “regular” people make videos because you have the same problems and success 99% of would have and so the video and the comments and tip are VERY helpful. THANK YOU.

[@jessieallen1894]

Could be too many works in the bin might have to take some.out that way they will move up and ur red cat looks like mine so much they r legit twins

[@crazykenz4203]

Awwww Kobe has a twin! What's your kitty's name?

[@jessieallen1894]

His name is Nugget, wish I could insert a photo, I have never seen a cat duplicate! Got him as a stray but I feel he is more of an actual breed instead of a mutt kitty haha

[@jessieallen1894]

s.amsu.ng/qUeFOQDC3UjN

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh baby Nugget, what a purrrrrfect name for an orange kitty! How big is he? Kobe is about 7.5 pounds (and she eats a lot, but stays pretty small...except she is so fluffy so she looks much bigger). We are pretty sure Kobe was out on the street for awhile before we got her - she's very timid around new people and gets spooked easily by loud noises (but she's a little ball of love with us, such a flirty girl and loves snuggles). You sound like an excellent cat parent!

[@jessieallen1894]

He is probably around the same weight and he is always hungry himself it's like I can never give him enough food. Nugget is not scared of people one bit, he is a wild kitty but he is still young I think he is almost a year or a tiny bit over. His favorite thing to do is knock things off counters sometimes I think he does that to annoy me but I love him to death and his cuddles r the best. Check out my Instagram I have 2 cats actually and a wild dog literally so hyper half the time haha I get the craziest animals but they all r so pretty I was lucky to find them :) Insta: @jessiemoss98 instagram.com/p/Bn9J81Sny3Y/?igshid=1xtuvacykhk0b

[@kleineroteHex]

Ha, how cute, the cats probably hear the worms munching away 😁 DON'T DUMP THAT JUICE!😐 just fill empty milk or vinegar jugs, so what if it freezes outside in a bucket? Just make sure there is room for the freezing or the container will spring a leak😉 put some of the liquid in your plant water , weekly.... monthly depending how much you dilute it.

[@crazykenz4203]

Ok, I will start to save it and let it freeze! I just got another five gallon bucket from my dad, will start to dump it in there. I'm thinking that once I have my garden plot, I will dilute the compost tea before I plant anything and just water the whole garden with that to give it a boost of nutrition. Thanks for the tip!!!

[@kleineroteHex]

Kendra Lee 👍👍👍

[@mybusiness1500]

That is not compost tea that is actually toxic you should.not out on plants

[@crazykenz4203]

Yeah, I just keep dumping it - it's stinky and I don't want to have to smell it when I go near my houseplants!

[@laneyloo5087]

Hi just watched your worm videos loved them keep making them! You can feed citrus to your worm bins I promise I've done it a few weeks ago I added 3 lemons I had juiced they weren't pulped then I added a ton of egg shell finely crushed on top of it the worms loved it and the compost smells gorgeous and lemony. I've been keeping worms for about a year now and started with a diy bin and now I have three bins. I also home brew and am going to try them on the leftover yeast. You should bury the food because come spring/summer the fruit will attract flies and pests which can become a problem and takeover the bin. Happy composting :)

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh gosh I hadn't thought about flies and other critters getting into the compost bin once it warms up (I started this whole endeavor in fall after it was already pretty cold outside). So interesting about the lemons and the eggshells. I did give the worms a bunch of eggshells a few months ago - that's the only thing that they didn't completely go through (but still went through a lot of them). I wonder if the lemons would help to keep out bugs - I feel like flies wouldn't love the scent of lemons. Maybe I'll have to throw a couple chunks of lemon in there and see if my spoiled worms like it!

[@laneyloo5087]

Kendra Lee that's a great thought about the bugs and the lemon I hadn't thought of that. I saw that you had given the worms egg shells but it needs to be ground to a fine powder or it takes ages to break down and its easier for the worms to swallow quickly they need egg shell (or similar) to help with digestion. I think the egg shells help neutralize the acidity of the lemons I'm not sure. I'd alway heard avoid citrus but someone I follow on KZbin did it with eggshells so I tried it the same way he did. I usually bury the food and cover compost with shredded newspaper or cardboard which the will break down and the worms will munch on that too! Hope my advice helps you xx

[@crazykenz4203]

Yes, that helps so much, thank you! Good to know about the eggshells - totally makes sense! I had only just kind of crushed them, but will have to give them a whiz in the blender or food processor next time. I just ordered all of my seeds for the garden this summer - they arrive on Tuesday, so shall be using some of my compost very soon!!!

[@janiceb4679]

NO SEEDS!? NO SEEDS? Do you remove cucumber seeds, orange seeds, strawberry seeds, tomato seeds, kiwi seeds? The more I think about that extra step, the more I find it, um... totally illogical. Don't want to get hung up on that nugget. I enjoyed watching your worm routine.

[@crazykenz4203]

When I feed the worms the juice pulp, the only thing I use that has seeds would be the apples and the seeds are easy enough to cut out. I don't feed my worms citrus, so wouldn't have to worry about orange seeds with that (apparently citrus is too acidic for them), and don't generally juice tomatoes, kiwis, or strawberries, so don't really think about that stuff. You could always just put all that stuff in the composting bin and see what happens, but from what I saw during my research was that people would accidentally put things like leftover melon with seeds in and then they had lots of things sprouting in their composter, which is what I'm trying to avoid. I don't think I would necessarily sprout an apple tree in my composter, but would rather just avoid having that happen.

[@tifaniepage2957]

Um... Youre amazing.

[@crazykenz4203]

Aw thanks!

[@teramartindale432]

You are so brave doing that overweight carpet they look good

[@crazykenz4203]

Oh gosh I so wish I had a garage or somewhere else to store the worms! I hate having it on carpet, but luckily, no leaks so far!

[@jimtucker1631]

oops, you have a husband. BTW, don't red wigglers eat the microscopic bugs and things that actually eat the "food" we put in the bins? Not the "food" itself? i'm still trying to find the answer to this pressing question.

[@crazykenz4203]

From what I understand, the worms are eating the food and pooping it out and those are the castings that make for great compost. (But I am by no means an expert on the worm situation!)

[@alaskansourdoughwormsgarde4392]

They literally suck the food in through that pointy part of the head and have a mouth. They do eat the food not just the molds and bacteria.