Discover the key to a frustration-free worm bin

55 Gallon Worm Compost Bin- Look at the wormery
/ @plantobsessed
This bin was made from cutting a 55 gallon food grade barrel in half long ways and screwing the open ends together to make a 6 foot long bin.
To see the previous video click here • 55 Gallon Compost Worm...
The bin lives in the cellar of my 200-year-old house. In the winter the furnace dries it out, and in the wet season the moisture leaching through the bricks makes the basement very humid. The current set up was started near the first of the year 2021 after the wormpocolypse. A rat was in the basement and all the bins had to be moved to totes and buckets with lids on to protect them. When the rat was ended, I added 4 or more of the in-progress bins/ buckets with the compost mix of red, blue and European nightcrawlers in them to fill the big blue bin. I continued to add ground leaves and food. Currently the bin is undergoing a refresh. I am harvesting the castings as the top of the bin dries and adding new bedding and food. Keeping the moisture even in the bin is difficult in the wet summer. I flip or fluff the bin to keep the air in the bedding. Back to the wedge method starting now.
I am an Amazon affiliate. The items below are the Amazon affiliate links for the items I use in my wormery. I have read and recommend these books. The cost is the same to you, but the channel will get a small commission if purchases are made using the links.
Computer Microscope
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pH meter TDS meter compo pack
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Mesh bags to make worm tea
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[@PlantObsessed]

Amazon Link to the sifting screens I use. SE 13 1/4 Inch Stackable Classifier Gold Prospecting Pan Set - Includes 1/2" 1/4" 1/8" 1/12" and 1/20" Stainless Steel Mesh Sifting Pans, Green, 5 Pack amzn.to/3RDP0Im

[@cesarapmx]

👍🏽

[@hartsheart]

I am an elementary STEM teacher and Worm Club sponsor at my school. We just started work farming together in October. We started with a small cup of bait and a Rubbermaid container. Last month we weighed our worms and found no increase. That's how I found your channel! In researching trouble shooting, I tried a few different ideas and found that it was a temperature issue. We now have tons of newborn and juvenile worms so I think we will have a more successful weigh-in next time. We were also sponsored on donors choose so we will be expanding in January!!

[@PlantObsessed]

If you want to pick up weight they will need some worm chow. Cheap and easy is corn meal wheat flour alfalfa meal. 3 way split. Top feed a few tablespoons every few days. 🪱👍🏼😃

[@Vermicompost]

Worm Club!?!! I wish I had that at my school growing up!! That is sooooo cool!!!!!🪱🪱🪱

[@valeriekushner5003]

My Granddaughter grade 4 is excited to hear I will be starting a worm bin. I am doing a lot of research first. It is winter here and gets down to 20 degrees so I am figuring out how to deal with the cold weather. I only want worm compost for my garden.

[@karischmoyer7276]

Love this one. Your videos are so concise

[@PlantObsessed]

Thank you for the kind words.😁👍🏼🪱

[@brianseybert192]

A lot of good info for new worm farmers. I think moisture control and protecting from anaerobic conditions, are the two biggies. My biggest issue starting out was the dam lids on my plastic tote bins, worms would always be up around the lid. Even with holes covered with window screen, took me a while to figure out to completely eliminate the lids, and go with either no cover, or paper and plastic as a cover directly on the bedding. I had a 55 gallon food grade plastic drum laying around for a couple years, I was going to cut it in half and have 2 bins like you have. Since the 50 gal grow bags are working out so well, I have decided to copy Captains Matt's idea of making a continuous flow bin out of it. Captain Matt had a video how he turned a garbage dumpster into a cfb, going to give it a try. Enjoy your videos! Merry Christmas!!!!

[@PlantObsessed]

I will have to check it out. Thank you for the ideas. 😃🪱👍🏼

[@forthosewhoHUNGER]

I’m new but I REALLY like your channel! Thank you so much for your content. 🙏🏼

[@PlantObsessed]

Thank you.🪱👍🏼😃

[@theresarothenberger2264]

Globule worm ball 😂. Love it.

[@PlantObsessed]

They are the best. 👍🏼🪱😃

[@A-V]

Houston! Hahaha!! Nice "global worm ball"... enjoying the yummy grains they got previously. Good worms! 👍🏻 End-to-end check-ins on Blue are always a great video :)

[@PlantObsessed]

Thank you. I love it when I see the under castings roll. It's the small things in life.🪱🪱👍🏼😃

[@GardeningwithBarchuckin]

Awesome worm ball Ann! The worms are doing their thing. You loaded them up with bedding on this feeding. It will be interesting to see how they did with the mid section of the bin for the next check in.

[@PlantObsessed]

I bet those wheat berries will still be there for a few months since it's the cold season. We will see though. 👍🏼🪱😃

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

I'm a bad worm farmer according to this lol !! Need to pay a little more attention to them. Great info, as usual Ann. Worms are tough and fluffing has to benifit them and the bin as a whole!! Cheers J&C 🌱🤞👍👍👍👍🎄

[@PlantObsessed]

You have Illinois worms they are not so fussy they will be fine. Just tell them to walk it off. 🪱👍🏼😃

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

@@PlantObsessed 🤣👍👍👍🤣

[@Vermicompost]

"Houston we have a worm ball!"😂🤣😂 What a fantastic video Ann!! Lots of great info, explanations, and squirmy worm sightings!!! 🪱🪱🪱

[@PlantObsessed]

Welcome back. 👍🏼🪱😃

[@cesarapmx]

I follow your channel from Guanajuato Mexico

[@PlantObsessed]

Gracias por mirar a mi amigo 😃👍🏼🪱

[@AJsGreenTopics]

Patience is definitely on my list also. 🙂

[@PlantObsessed]

Of you get a 2 for 1 deal let me know lol. 👍🏼🪱😃

[@laurelpickens3364]

Apparently, I copied you and added siaked wheat berries to my bin, i sprout them for my chickens and worms, and WOW, they do love them. The thing that really amazes me is, if I'd put that much flour in there, they'd most likely all be dead.

[@PlantObsessed]

Good worms

[@shawndoe2834]

Hi Ann, when you spoke of 'fast food' for the worms I wandered if you have ever tried blending up food scraps to see if the worms were able to process the blended food faster?

[@PlantObsessed]

Yep, back in the day when I first started I did puree the food. I rarely do it anymore. They will eat it eventually.🪱😊👍🏼

[@shawndoe2834]

@@PlantObsessed Thanks for your quick reply, appreciated.

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Good morning, Ann,from Windermere Florida zone 9b 🪱 These 5 lessons are really important, especially #5❤ We all love Blue 💙 Merry Christmas Ann🎅🎄🤶

[@PlantObsessed]

Merry Christmas Peggy. I hope all is well with you and your family. 🎅🤶👍🏼🪱😃

[@cesarapmx]

Congrats for your work. 🎉

[@PlantObsessed]

You are most welcome. 👍🏼🪱😃

[@dennisfrench8225]

Perfection video ty

[@PlantObsessed]

Thank you 👍🏼😊🪱

[@thisnthatwithYaya]

Hello Ann!! Can I use your wedge method on a smaller scale, such as in a bus tub? Same principle, just smaller.

[@PlantObsessed]

It is harder in smaller bins but it is still worth trying!!

[@memprime]

Can copy paper, cardstock, and manila folders be used in worm bins? Thank you.

[@PlantObsessed]

Yes you can! I do it all the time.

[@JM-ym8mm]

Don't forget the facultative anaerobes! Those get too bad a rap :p

[@PlantObsessed]

For sure. 🪱👍🏼😊

[@the_green_anna]

💙

[@PlantObsessed]

💙❤️🪱👍🏼😃

[@the_green_anna]

​@@PlantObsessedI could watch you sift those castings for hours... It's so satisfying! Strange, isn't it? 😁 Wish you a Merry Christmas! ❤️

[@Laurie_in_Maine]

I have the smaller surface of Vermihut trays and I don't want to go up to my elbows in worms and goo! Is tipping the tray out into a concrete mixing tub and fluffing it more... gingerly ...like a sissy baby... for now going to rock their world worse than the way you do it? (I don't have a problem poking around to take a peek at things or even creating a ditch to bury food in...BUT I may be more squeemish than I thought!)

[@PlantObsessed]

You're probably a normal amount of squeamish. I just probably don't have the normal amount of squeamishness. Lol 😃🪱👍🏼

[@ClickinChicken]

I think if I did it again, I'd prescribe the worm food from feed store. Not this business of getting toss away veg from my work. Unless on occasions.. I can't think of anything I want to grow. I like tomatoes, I'm not a pot head. lol, always the comedian. ANd focus more on bedding, not just dump and go.

[@PlantObsessed]

Bedding is where it's at for sure. 😁🪱👍🏼

[@ClickinChicken]

@@PlantObsessed thanks Ann, you're one of the pros. I was probably a little too "uninvolved" last time i did worms.

[@laurelpickens3364]

Apparently, I copied you and added siaked wheat berries to my bin, i sprout them for my chickens and worms, and WOW, they do love them. The thing that really amazes me is, if I'd put that much flour in there, they'd most likely all be dead.

[@PlantObsessed]

Yeah flour is hard to feed in large amounts. It's cool the wheat berries sprouted. Win win. 🪱😃👍🏼