Examining worm castings that've been in storage for months - vermicomposting

[@braddavis2519]

I watched all the videos I can and I like how you explain everything in detail about vermicompost. Very educational, keep up the good work.

[@aliehsgeeagev9906]

Thanks for this. I am a newbie worm momma and how glad I am to Know that baits are a great way to make sure there are no worms in the harvested casting 😊

[@brettwhiteMusicFan]

You have the best videos about vermicomposting! You make it seem so easy and you explain everything very well. Thank you for all your time and effort, and thank you for sharing.

[@A-V]

Thank you for watching!

[@barryjeeves6177]

Interesting vid once again, thanks :). I harvested a tray from a tower system in early October. I have been through the castings several times and pulled out around 450 cocoons which I've put in a small tub to try and get them to hatch. I have had 70 baby worms so far and still getting a few more every week. For the last couple of weeks I've had them on a thermostatically controlled seed mat to see if that helps as there are still a lot of cocoons in there. It has surprised me how long it is taking them to hatch, particularly before I warmed it a little.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

My cellar is cold enough now to also be using a seed mat .what we do for worms!.

[@A-V]

I wish I would see cocoons in my bins - but some reason I very rarely ever do.. perhaps the poor lighting - or perhaps my inferior vision is to blame.

[@barryjeeves6177]

@@A-V I never see them when tending my bins, I have to be looking for them. I tend to spread the castings out quite thinly and sift though gently with my fingers. I have to do it in good light, bright sunlight seems best. The cocoons have a bit of a shine, and under good lights it is often that you notice. It's a complete waste of time of course, but I find it quite relaxing 😁

[@jamee6]

Help me understand the reasoning for working so hard to make sure there isn't a worm in the bin? What would happen if there was?

[@A-V]

From the sound of it, the most likely explanation is summed up in three letters... O.C.D. :) :) Haha! Thanks for watching!

[@brandonmunden1541]

You could sell the product on eBay in maybe using a ziplock in usps boxes. People might want some

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Try laying banana peel on top with a damp paper on top...i am Still getting Tiny worms and tiny white wisps after worms removed by I think,..september 15....you can do this on top of the 5 gallon buckets...although I am now leaving them in bus trays..because I have the shelving area..got about a dozen in the last week. I am just wondering how long this will keep up...there hasn't been an even partially half grown worm in the drying out tub.

[@ambersamusements5257]

Looks like beautiful compost to me!

[@cowboyblacksmith]

I'm deep down the hole, got excited watching you dig through worm poop, lol. I made life easier on me and now just sift finished castings through 1/4" hardware cloth, and don't go to the extra 1/8" screening. My thinking is that it all goes in the ground anyway. If I was selling it I'd go to 1/8" but for its intended usage I don't see the point. Plus I have so many worms now any cocoons or tiny babies, meh. I'm going to experiment with sprinkling a little bit of Quaker Oats in my stored finished castings just to give the microbial life something to snack on. It's just a theory but kind of makes sense to me.

[@A-V]

I'm usually very happy with the fineness of my castings after I screen them with my 1/4" sifter. Like you said, the stuff is basically going into the ground 👍🏻 And besides, it is the only sifter that I have :)

[@pyropan]

Checked my bate in my finished castings, I had exactly one worm 🤣

[@A-V]

That's one more than I had. Haha! Thanks for watching!

[@demetrashelton1688]

Looks like great compost to me

[@jamestboehm6450]

How do you get the cocoons out of your compost? Hate to lose the wonderful critters.

[@A-V]

I have never tried collecting cocoons. In most cases I don't even see them. What I try to do is leave newly harvested batched of vermicompost to sit for a few weeks to allow for the emergence of all the newborn worms from any cocoons in the material. I then bait those baby worms out of the material and return them into my active bins.. reuniting them with their parents. Thanks for watching!

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

P.s. I don't know if it holds true for worm castings but a biologist told me almost 60 years ago to never completely dry out my compost from the compost pile. Maybe you should get rid of the milipedes.....and wisps are not much larger than the thickness of my not so fine hair..and about 1/2 inch..for red wigglers...

[@ricks2907]

Thanks for sharing you rock

[@lloydedmonds8775]

Beautiful

[@XaYaZaZa]

🪱🪱Thanks for your informative wormie videos! My wormies thank you too hahaha 🪱

[@A-V]

And I thank all of you for watching!

[@serenityblu1765]

Question does it smell like fresh plowed dirt or a little gross smelling

[@A-V]

More like fresh plowed dirt - and pleasant earthy odor. Thanks for watching!

[@selinasilvergardeninginmid1453]

Can almond milk and like sugar cereal in bins.

[@A-V]

I'm not sure if this was meant to ask a question. If so, could you please restate? Thanks for watching!

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

12/15 found 4 more small worms.

[@joinmeinthedirt5186]

Very impressive

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Found on 12/14 5 more small red wigglers under banana skin.

[@esava2874]

Nice informative video, but the castings you stored look like they were sifted through a chain link fence..lol

[@A-V]

Well... if you have ever seen any of my videos in which I use my nifty homemade screen, then you'd understand why - assuming I screened the material. Whether or not there's still materials in there, sometimes I just migrate the worms out of the stuff & consider it as finished without ever trying to screen out debris. The stuff is just for personal use - so the quality doesn't need to be grade-A. Thanks for watching!

[@uchibauki2515]

I just got my African night crawlers but they don’t look happy and trying to get out , I gave them cornmeal and some frozen banana 🍌 and mango peels🥭

[@A-V]

Sounds good. Be sure to also include ample bedding and moisture too. Hopefully they'll be in a better mood soon. Good luck! And thank you for watching!

[@stewartholzwortb31]

What about Fruit Flies!

[@A-V]

They sometimes show up in my wormery - most recently in my VermiBag Mini. Less than a week ago I decided to leave the container open.. rather than zipping its lid shut... and now it looks like there are no flying insects in there any more. Makes me wonder if their infestation was caused by there being a dark enclosed space for them to live and thrive in. I sure hope it's the end of the fruit flies (or gnats.. or whatever they were). Thanks for watching!

[@菜花农农在北欧]

19:52 there seems to crawls a worm, in front of your moving hand

[@A-V]

That actually looks like a millipede. Thanks for watching!

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Didn't wait long enough in tape to hear about your banana peel attempt...interesting.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

I Should have said-- just a piece of banana so that the wisps don't have to work into skin side... you might even need a microscope..the wisps hide in the flesh . my castings get the Lila Kogan fluff method all of the time I am feeding but have definitely followed your use of bins, how you cover them and your varied feeds....your scrap sources are more like mine though I think you have a lower carbon ratio than I..for some reason I think that might be a higher nutrient percent in your castings...perhaps more nitrogen....i need to find my test kits....and more,usable tree leaves on my property..nut trees are not good worm food I have been told. I use mostly cardboard , egg cartons and some peat &coir,

[@A-V]

I was thinking the same thing. The fleshy parts of the bananas seemed like there may have been something in it. Those peels ended up in my European nightcrawler VermiBag - so it there were in fact any tiny worms in there, then those tiny red wigglers are going to be mixed in with nightcrawlers now. I might go and remove those peels so that I can keep the population in that bag ENCs only. Thanks!

[@A-V]

Come to think of it, I also placed the remnants of the bait box into the ANC bag. There too now I am kinda hoping that no baby worms were present - otherwise that nightcrawler bin will also have red wigglers mixed in. Such sloppy work - what was I thinking?!

[@MrMotionmac]

Man, I enjoy watching your videos but they are so long and I notice a lot of the information is repetitive. Just a suggestion here, but focus on getting to the end results and skip most of the explanations of how a certain bin might or might not have worms left in it and how you fed them.

[@samking1930]

Worm castings get better when aged...there is a company that makes worm castings that store them for years.

[@A-V]

That is good to know. I worried that after so much time they would degrade in quality. It's a relief to know that they will keep in storage for a long time. Thanks - and thank you for watching!

[@samking1930]

@@A-V Many people are not aware of this...just retain the moisture and do not expose to direct sunlight..as time passes by the castings will be more refined and this will provide more nutrients to your plants.

[@brandonmunden1541]

hatching eggs

[@headbanger1967]

4 ADS for 22 minute video? Not a happy viewer...

[@A-V]

What can I say??.. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sorry for making you unhappy - it was not my intention

[@john-smith.]

When a hobby becomes a business.....sigh

[@AJsGreenTopics]

What does ADS mean?

[@headbanger1967]

@@AJsGreenTopics really? Advertisements I just put all in caps as frustrating.

[@headbanger1967]

@@A-V your videos, your decision but our option to subscription or like. Truly hope not a struggle and as another viewer wrote more hobby than business.