Vermicomposting Complete Course - Everything you need to know.

[@hortihorteae]

From what I read your writing from blogging and books, I thought you hate vermicomposting. Yet I found it interesting you able to elaborate this so well that I learn more about vermicomposting fundamentals. Thanks!

[@TerpyTen]

I have a vermihut bin for my vermicomposting. Best decision ever. All my plants are thanking me.

[@enricoquintavalla1278]

Love your work but my empirical experience is that both the casting and the juice give fast results on plants. The juice particularly can have almost immediate results on garden plants, so something good is indeed happening here. I personally consider it quite magical, given the empirical results I see.

[@hkandm4s23]

.... anecdotal, not empirical. Nothing wrong with relying on experience.

[@hkandm4s23]

@@Freeland-Farm as someone who worked in a research lab for several years, I'm fully aware. But here's the 2 second google : "What is the difference between anecdotal and empirical evidence? Anecdotal evidence generally is the experience or observations of one person. Empirical evidence consists of observations collected systematically by researchers as part of a research study."

[@LezBob]

@@hkandm4s23 One example that comes to mind is the concept of love. While we can measure certain aspects of relationships, the deep emotional experience of love itself is subjective and often lacks empirical evidence. Yet, it's universally recognized and felt by people across cultures. We all know love can profoundly impact our lives, even if it can't be quantified in a lab. Similarly, many gardeners might have observed the benefits of using castings and juice, even if those results aren't backed by extensive scientific studies.

[@hkandm4s23]

@LezBob ..... yes, and? It doesn't matter the topic. If you are referring to published works in research that systematically measure people documenting observations over time, it's empirical evidence. If you are looking at observations of a single person's experience - even if that is corroborated by many other people - it's anecdotal evidence. It's just the definition of the word, and there's nothing 'wrong' with anecdotal evidence, it's just a different kind of evidence. I feel like you're assuming a value judgment when there isn't one here. It's literally just the definitions of the words empirical or anecdotal. And I've worked in a clinical psychological research lab and am a counselor. We absolutely do research on love and have many different ways to measure it. That's why it's empirical - we find ways to measure and specify outcomes while controlling conditions or excluding confounding variables. Anyone can read the methods of a study and replicate the conditions and design or point out flaws and design another study they think might measure more accurately what we are looking for. It's reviewed by experts, published and shared within the field. If information is gained through systematic research.... it is empirical, and if it's individual observation, it is anecdotal. I don't know how I can be more clear about the definition.

[@hkandm4s23]

@LezBob I guess you have deleted the other reply, but yeah I used to work in a clinical psych research lab. We absolutely have many studies that attempt measure and quantify love. There is no value judgment here, I'm just saying that common knowledge, colloquial advice, old wisdom, personal experience - those are anecdotal by definition. The benefit of empirical evidence is that it is systematic, defines all the variables, controls for confounding variables and is shared among experts for critique, redesign and reproduction. People often prefer empirical evidence because you can't know exactly what is responsible for any outcomes unless you control the situation and record the results and can reproduce the procedure.

[@brianseybert192]

I have red wigglers survive quite nicely outside in zone 5a, not just cocoons, granted they are just surviving. You give out a lot of great info, but sometimes you speak of things you are not familiar with, for example, harvesting castings. I will dump a worm bin into another bin with holes on the bottom, I place this bin on top of another bin with fresh bedding, food along with spacers to prevent compaction in the lower bin. Set and forget for a couple weeks, top bin with the holes have few, if any worms, just vermicompost. Stay Well!!!

[@ichifish]

I use a roller-composter for my worm bin. Works great, and I dump in literally everything, including dead birds I find around the yard, fish guts, dog poop, egg shells, veg scraps, cardboard boxes, whatever. Lots of life in there along with the worms and everyone gets along fine (no one has complained to me, at least). I know the worms don't like it when I rotate the bin every couple of days, but the aeration does wonders for the other critters in there.

[@Tillettforct]

I've started worm farming 🚜 and I use a combination of junk mail cardboard and the potting soils from my old hanging planters and any leaves that have fallen on them... This will help revitalize the soils with castings and the scrap foods reduces what we're bringing to the dump Will be using the sifted soils castings mixture to fill my hanging planters this year and see how it does with the azomite and blood meal added to the soils with the worms working on everything from this winter

[@kevinbisneau3704]

How has it been going?

[@GARDENER42]

I breed _dendrobaena hortensis_ worms in one of my compost bays, as they're almost £20/kg to buy& I can get through ½kg in a five hour fishing match. I reckon to harvest at least 10kg a year from a 0.75m³ bay & by that time, the worms are by that time migrated into the material in the next bay once it's cooled. Oddly enough, I've found dense concentrations of these worms in decomposing material that is still at around 32°C/90°F but never juvenile worms, which appear to prefer significantly cooler conditions. On those occasions when I have a particularly well worked worm bay, I reserve, then riddle (10mm²) the material & use the result mixed 50/50 with my garden soil as seed & potting compost which invariably performs better than commercial offerings.

[@DavidMFChapman]

My small backyard composter functions as an outdoor vermicomposter-I put fresh kitchen scraps (mixed with dried leaves) in the top, the worms are very active somewhere in the middle (it never gets hot) and I harvest the product through the door in the bottom. There are very few worms in the product. I remove the product mostly in the spring. The worms survive in winter as the temperature in the centre stays at 10°C (Zone 6).

[@lorrainedurgee1761]

I just love your ideas & scientific ways of gardening - looking for different ground covers for zone 5 in Colorado …box .. stores don’t seem to carry different flowers - they don’t change the types of perrentials … I do go to nurseries also. I use alfalfa pellets in my compost which bring worms ….to help decompose .

[@edsantana2868]

Good information. I just started vermicomposting a few weeks back and I like learning all I can.

[@AlyTennyson]

I just love Worms!! They are very sweet little creatures. When working in my garden, i will always pick them up and put them in a safe spot, where I won't be shovelling. Explaining Worms 13:00

[@LezBob]

Coir can be pricey, but after working in a store, I started buying as much as I can afford in the fall. I’ve found that medium-sized hardware stores are the best option. Here’s why: Coir is usually only stocked during spring and summer. Smaller stores have limited stock that sells out quickly, while larger stores can keep it on hand year-round. However, medium-sized stores often discount coir to about one-fifth of the price to clear out their inventory, as they want to maximize their storage space.

[@sarahjrurka]

Hardware store owner, can confirm.

[@AnnieDog-arfarf1]

Fantastic video. Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge and experience.

[@TheSedevacantist]

Solid Rewatch o/ Worms are the secret ingredient to my successful garden.

[@vicroberts9876]

Thanks for your excellent in-depth analysis of vermicomposting. I have a 140 sq yard vegetable patch here in Oxfordshire UK and have been researching whether vermicultture would be useful to me. .I was interested in starting a wormery but your piece has made me think again! I have 2 compost bays on my plot made from pallets. They hold (A) 1 cubic meter of current season raw materials and all the kitchen green waste and paper, cardboard and grass cuttings. And (B) 1 of maturing compost from the previous eason. This shrniks down by half and enables me to compost half the plot each season.. I am happy with the quality and get good results. Once mature compost is spread in the Auutmn (A) get turned into (B) Do you think my decision not to bother with a wormery is the correct one give my circumstances? Thankyou and Best Regards

[@joniboulware1436]

I feel the simplest way to raise worms is right in the natural soil where they already exist. Just trench compost and let the worms find the food. They will. Trench in kitchen scraps where you later want to plant. In a month plant in that spot. It will be rich with worm activity.

[@tamardevane6635]

@@joniboulware1436 I like that idea.

[@PaulZeeX]

Though it's important to recognise that common garden "earthworms" are not the same species as are ideal for composting. Both have their roles to play and have different needs. There are in-ground vermiculture designs, however these make it harder to keep the conditions ideal for composting worms and may tend to dissuade regular earthworms. Likewise "tumbler" bin designs are OK for soil mixing and for regular composting (though not great) yet significant disadvantages for vermiculture. A system that is tiered or based on layers (ideally moveable) with light, moisture and temperature control offers significant advantages for worm management and productivity.

[@cliveburgess4128]

Great info as always, Thank you!!!

[@patkonelectric]

Could be a good winter project. In spring dump the whole thing in your garden beds. Then in fall collect the worms and put them in your basement bin. Rinse and repeat.

[@dougbas3980]

Great info and some new to me. Thank you.

[@macwest1001]

The wife has to be in the video, even if it is just a cough. Good man, you are well-trained. We love our wives. They should be part of every aspect of our lives. Thanks for your very informative video.

[@brianseybert192]

Been raising worms going on 5 years now, one question. Over this past winter I stopped giving my worms peals we do not commonly eat, like citrus, pineapples and bananas, mainly for potential pesticides in those peals, am I being over protective? I do use these materials in my hot compost, figure the heating process stands a better chance of degrading any pesticides that may be present. Stay Well!!!

[@Prince-fr2lr]

Curious why you do both vermicompost and hot compost if they more or less make the same thing

[@brianseybert192]

@@Prince-fr2lr Actually, there are differences in the end product of a hot compost, cold compost and vermiculture. In all 3 methods, a lot of different things are going on. A few of the biggest differences between conventional composting and vermicompost are the enzymes produced within the gut of the worms, the breakdown of plant available minerals and the biology. I can only anecdotally attest to the differences in the biology between the two, as I use a microscope to see what is actually going on in the materials I am producing and using in my garden. The other reason I do both has to do with the sheer volume of materials, no way do I have the space to have my worms turn all my garden waste into something useful. Hot composting takes a lot of different materials to produce a quality product. I can no longer do cold composting due to the presence of the Asian jumping worms. Hope this explains why I do both, plus make a lot of leaf mold. Stay Well !!!

[@Prince-fr2lr]

@@brianseybert192 do you have a preference between the two? Is it more or less you add waste to you worm bins and then left over you add to you hot compost bins?

[@Power_Prawnstar]

So here in Oz, we have phosphorus poor soil, probaby explains why my tomato stems were purple, then I added my worm castings and about 3 days later its definitely on the improve.

[@michelemarble6799]

What is the best times to harvest your casts for the microbes in the garden? I live in Maine and don’t know if it is ok to harvest in the winter months.

[@Professorkek]

Is there a practical risk of excessive phosphorus in your garden from using vermicompost? Are there any ways to manage the high phosphorus levels in your garden to avoid toxicity or run off?

[@johnkehoe8368]

i have a question for you sir i have outdoor gardens i have a few worms now after a couple years should i add red wigglers to my outdoor garden or let the worms in my garden just do there things i use topsoil and manure sheep or cow which ever they have at the time should i just keep doing this ?

[@nejcmeister]

thank you for making this videos. What is your opinion on fermenting compost material like one would do with Bokashi method. Is it worth it?

[@littlebrookreader949]

How would you age it without drying it out?

[@PaulZeeX]

Simply harvest and store in a container, though I haven't explored the relative pros and cons of sealed vs. breathable containers.

[@zulaikhasyazwanicomel9090]

Hello just wanna ask..why some of my earthworms mutated to shorter size..and have a bit hard skin..

[@corriannehoekstra5950]

I’ve started a dogpoop digester in mijn garden. I found a flowerpot with earth and lots of red wriggly worms and put them in my poop composter. Now there’s loads of them in there Could I now use this compost on say my fruit trees? Will the pathogens be gone?

[@DaraRich]

Great think, thanks for reporting!

[@dnawormcastings]

Great video 🇳🇿🪱

[@tamardevane6635]

Will worms survive a hot climate, such as zone 10.

[@richardmeyer4406]

I cover my worm farm with a shade cloth or two against the hot Australian Sun . It works well

[@tamardevane6635]

@@richardmeyer4406 ok. Ta. Good to know.

[@DaraRich]

Some do them in an flipped old refrigerator, that’s great insulation, but you have to open it every day to keep them well ventilated

[@melindawilcox9404]

I live in Phoenix Az which is 9b or 10a but the zone goes by the minimum which will not be the prob lem since the inside of the bin will be warmer. To survive the heat I let them live underground with a protective top and well fed and watered. Enough make it through. Above ground in a bin will be tough though and if you ever see worms crawling out of the container, first check the temp. Also PLEASE think twice before bedding them in peat moss. It is not renewable. I think it needs to stay in the ground as much as possible. I keep a bin with bedding that you are aging out and use it as it matures...shredded paper, straw etc....

[@tamardevane6635]

@ many thanks for all that advice. Yes, it is the long hot, dry summer that I worried about. We are 9a. In ground is something I hadn’t considered; brilliant!

[@jdawg1835]

"Pet care" describes it perfectly. I consider them employees that I pay in room and board.

[@piotrjasielski]

You don't have to get rid of your worms. The population adjusts itself as long as the conditions are right. Don't overfeed, keep the space low by extracting content periodically. Use a temporary bin for the castings, leave a bit of food in that bin in the very center to later extract newborns that will hatch from the eggs in those castings.

[@colbykinney5633]

Not all vermicompost is created equally. High quality vermicompost from someone like Colorado worm company is vastly different than what you get a the hardware store. Not to mention something like a Johnson Su bioreactor which is basically a year old vermicompost has a bunch more diverse microbe community. I think if they compared regular compost to some quality vermicompost the outcome would be different.

[@johnharvey5412]

What would distinguish good from bad? Is there enough research to know?

[@colbykinney5633]

@@johnharvey5412 didn't say bad I said there's a difference. Microbial count and diversity is the main difference .most store bought castings are just worm turd colored peat or Coco. It needs time to cycle everything into fine castings

[@KentBordelon-s5n]

Well I walk my worms and my neighbors love it when they poop on their lawn.

[@NanasWorms]

🤣🤣

[@DaraRich]

😂

[@iqtidarbaig8532]

P is an element, so what is the sourse of this extra P.

[@miguel5785]

It depends on what you feed them, I guess, basically? Compost and vermicompost results there were averages of very different inputs and practices.

[@DrRamakrishn]

Is there any objective way to measure the percentage of compost in the castings - in other words, is there any objective test to asses the quality of compost!

[@markr.2781]

Is it okay to mix walnut leaves into compost?

[@dontknowdontcare2531]

i think the problematic chemical juglone gets decomposed by time, so probably yes

[@markr.2781]

@@dontknowdontcare2531 Thank you. I will start mixing more into the compost.

[@DaraRich]

It is, but it can last longer to decompose sometimes. I keep mixing them nicely with kitchen scraps or manure and it works quite well

[@jerryclark5725]

You debunk commonly held ideas. Have you heard, and what do you think about: Mixing some fresh cow manure in water to use as liquid fertilizer?

[@rwally3able]

I am probably skipping ahead but can you use night crawlers.?

[@patkonelectric]

In my opinion only. Any worms will work. He is just focusing on the best one to use.

[@jeil5676]

Not really. They are not as effective as red wigglers and the types used for composting. I heard night crawlers like to go deep and cool and eat secondary waste. If you want them for fishing, theres probably a great way to culture them but it may not be as effective at making compost as wigglers and such would, or so I've heard.

[@cynthiamilbradt9943]

Night crawlers eat dirt, not decaying vegetable matter. There are many kinds of composting worms that work well, but not all worms are in the composting category. ☺️

[@juliepoolie5494]

I bought some red wigglers from fleet farm before I knew there were different varieties of red wigglers. I put three cups of Eisenia Hortensis in a shallow tub one year ago and now I have so many worms I’m splitting it into another tub. This variety tends to get a bit agitated when I fluff for feeding and some want to explore the sides of the bin. A light on them when you are disturbing them helps . I also have a bin of eisenia fetida (true red wigglers) I bought online and they have had a great population growth as well. They don’t seem to explore the sides of the bin when I fluff. Both varieties compost well. My bins are “meat tubs” I bought from Bass Pro.

[@gsdggasgs1799]

Finally a gardening youtuber who is actually scientific and not producing clickbait crap about how "you need to do xyz abc look at me growing bananas in zone 4 guys!!"

[@dougbas3980]

I am zone 5a and waiting for global warming to grow bananas 🤣

[@killabeez321]

I never see those people.....maybe you click the wrong links.

[@Versbreizh]

A Co2 idiot ??😂

[@Changing_the_game]

What episode is this one?

[@macardona5]

Is it not true that worms dont eat the organic waste but the microorganisms that are eating that material?

[@NanasWorms]

Yes, that's true. Different forms of organic material grow different microbes, too. ~ Sandra

[@urbanjardineria]

What does it mean if it smells like pee?

[@XCrystalXMoonX]

It's it true that nutrients in worm castings are more accessible to plants? Because that would change the interpretation of the npk. Also people don't use as much castings as they would for other compost, because the nutrients are presumably more water soluble. Is it true that it's effective in small amounts?

[@ericburge9198]

My worms do eat hot peppers, and most things people say don't feed them. I will add don't give too many hot peppers to them.

[@paulouful]

My indoor bins attracting rats which dig out all the soil and eat all the worms I end up sweeping up the debris and putting it back in the bin and when I run my hands through the bin there are no worms

[@zulaikhasyazwanicomel9090]

Agreed with no need to make compost tea..better put the worm casting to the tree rather than foliar with it with compost tea

[@patkonelectric]

I heard that worms like coffee grounds.

[@NLF123]

They thrive in coffee grounds! Although I don't recommend it, for a few yrs I raised worms entirely in coffee grounds... Only trouble I had is that the casts all lumped together, and it wasn't a crumbly vermicompost. But the worms certainly survived and reproduced in that environment.

[@patkonelectric]

@@NLF123 Why would you entirely only feed them one thing and expert them to survive. Can you entirely eat one thing and survive?

[@MysterChaser]

They do love grounds, but mine also love cardboard! They seem to love the nooks and crannies.

[@NLF123]

@@patkonelectric I disposed of loads of coffee grounds, lots of worms, and I was experimenting with "lazy vermicomposting" - That was back in the day, before all this talk about worms also having a soul.

[@TerpyTen]

amazon gives you free worm food with every purchase

[@DaraRich]

That’s funny and true, but consider there’s cardboard that are pretty laden with toxic stuff also. I don’t mind to use some in my compost, but not as much for this reason. There‘s research out there, but when shipped you don’t really know what you get🤔

[@TerpyTen]

@@DaraRich You're absolutely right. You have to be careful what cardboard you use for your compost and bins. The plainer the better.

[@gsdggasgs1799]

As to getting worms, why not just go to a bait shop though

[@johnharvey5412]

You sure can, as long as they have the right kind.

[@ftoftheX]

If all the worm "myths" are truly bunk, and If they don't do much compost, then what benifits do the really have?

[@Hapotecario]

Yes. This is my question as well...

[@MiklosTapai-pz4sf]

These “Compost Worms “ not much, other than they are really efficiently bioaccumulate heavy metals in their body and castings. The regular garden worms are a different story. Have you noticed how all the fallen leaves disappear by spring time? Where did they go? The worms pulled them down into their tunnels. The walls of the tunnels are covered with their slime full with fungi and bacteria. In winter these microorganisms breaks down the leaves, and the worms eat this later. Then the worms mix this food with soil bacterias in their stomach and deposit this rich, slow, organic compost in the early spring on the surface. Now, that is real fertile stuff. On an undisturbed piece of land you can count 75 of casting deposits per 3 square feet, early spring. That could be a few Tons per hectare of high value of organic, slow release fertiliser for free…if we didn’t destroy their tunnels by digging or ploughing. But, we liked to steal even their food in the fall and collect all the leaves in bags like we were told. Garden earthworms are the true soil creater heroes….not the red wrigglers..

[@eleanoraddy4683]

Use it in your seed mix and you won't get damping off. 20%

[@johnharvey5412]

Sounds like the nutrients in the casts are pretty similar to compost, and they can quickly break down some things that take a long time to compost, such as cardboard. You can also do it in a fairly small space, without having to worry about having a big bin that will get hot enough. Both systems have their place, IMO.

[@666bruv]

This guy is a bit of a muppet, just reads a script, notice he didn't say how he does it, look at the urban worm comany, Wormgear/michigan soilworks, and nutrisoil, and join a vermicompost forum or two

[@projectoldman1971]

There is good info here but it is fairly obvious you don't have extensive personal experience and the notion that vermicompost extract isn't beneficial for plants is plainly wrong. There is science showing benefit, maybe your sources aren't definitive. While it is true phosphorus levels increase relative to input levels your NPK example is the highest phosphorus level I've ever seen and to assert therefore vermicast contain excessive P for plants when you said its a "rough" example and dependent on inputs seems hasty. I've found multiple scientific sources stating vermiwash and extracts contain " enormous amounts of nutrients, vitamins, plant growth hormones" Gudeta et al., 2021. I've not heard that nutrients cannot , at least partially, be extracted from vermicompost using water, could you give me a source for that.. I understand you appreciate science but to state vermicompost extract has no value has not been scientifically validated in any way, in fact there is evidence to the contrary.

[@moamsterdam]

a worm is not a insect it is a boneless animal. mealworms frass has chitin because theyre insects,,,

[@GARDENER42]

Worms love cold, cooked mashed potato.

[@DaraRich]

I also do😄

[@ghidfg]

wormycomposting

[@iowaviking]

I would look at a sample of composting and worm castings You will see a major difference in the biology. Wormcastings has far more microbes. Saying we have no evidence. Is ignorant.

[@russrussellruss]

Where is your proof that worm tea doesn’t result in higher microbes in the soil? You make a whole lot of claims without peer reviewed studies.

[@davidguenzel1441]

cast is politically correct….. HA!!! how dumb.

[@gubbleguy]

Well if you want to learn a bunch of garbage about vermicomposting watch this video