How to Harvest Worm Castings from a Simple Worm Compost Bin

If you've already started a worm bin, good for you! Now it is time to harvest the worm castings, so you can put them to good use in your garden. Let me show you how we easily harvest and screen worm castings from our simple tote-style worm bin.
If you need help getting a basic worm bin set up first, see this video:
• Vermicomposting 101: H...
This harvest video was made to accompany a blog post on Homestead and Chill. Check it out here!
homesteadandchill.com/how-to-...
And here is how we turn worm castings into actively aerated compost tea to water the garden with!
• How to Make Actively A...
Thanks for tuning in!

[@bjb0808]

This is just what I was looking for. Everyone talks about making worm bins but they rarely show how you actually get out what you want. I live in a cold area and need to have something right in my apartment, so I need to know just how messy the job will be. Thank you!

[@HomesteadandChill]

Definitely not too messy, you could always get a small tarp, drop cloth or use those potting mats that people use indoors for houseplants to keep everything contained.

[@bjb0808]

Thank you so much for replying. 💕

[@hurricaneholley]

Thank you so much for the tutorial! I have been gardening for a very long time but had yet to try my hand at "farming" worms for the castings. With the price of castings (and everything else) going up astronomically I decided to give it a try. I used a plastic Rubbermaid bin similar to the one in the video and it has worked well. After watching your video I used some old 2 by 4's to make a frame that fit another plastic bin and attached a piece of construction cloth. I looks just like yours except it sits on the bin instead of on a table. Thanks again, good gardening!

[@HomesteadandChill]

That's great to hear you have started vermicomposting, there is nothing like freshly harvest worm castings either added directly to garden soil or through compost tea, your garden will thank you. Have fun growing!

[@nanetteorchid6680]

Thank you thank you thank you! I have a small piece of property and no place for hot composting, so I've been dreaming about finding a way to make some beautiful compost, when I stumbled across your channel! How wonderful and beautiful your worm castings are! I'm getting all my supplies ready to put my worm bed together! thank you for such a great video and all of your experienced information.

[@HomesteadandChill]

Thank you for the kind words and it's great to hear you will be diving into vermicomposting! It really is a great way to compost and is one of the better things you can do for your garden as well.

[@gardentours]

Black gold 👍🏼 I watched this video some years ago. Those days I didn't have a worm bin yet. Thanks for sharing 💛

[@someutubchannel69]

Looking forward to do it in a few weeks!! 😊 Thanks for the video!

[@RootingForSunshine]

I'm so glad I found your videos/channel! I'm looking forward to making a worm bin like this.

[@HomesteadandChill]

Good luck setting up your worm bin and have fun vermicomposting!

[@Vixenaustin]

I made my own worm bin last month. I followed your worm bin tutorial and my worms are looking great. Thank you for your videos. 😊

[@meriphiusfelamorr779]

Your channel has made its way into my top 3 favorites. The content here is always superb 👌

[@HomesteadandChill]

Thank you so much and we appreciate you watching.

[@13thDiscipleU]

I love that U are straight to the point because we all have families to attend to and enjoy the little things in life thank u.

[@him050]

Your smile and enthusiasm is overly contagious! 😁

[@galactickim]

Great tutorial, thank you. I started my first worm bin July 25, almost 2 months ago. Another couple of weeks and I think I will harvest some of the castings! I love the worms so much I started a second one September 15. Love your simple method. :)

[@HomesteadandChill]

That's great to hear, they can be quite fun and their castings are amazing in the garden.

[@ThomasBuellJr]

Best worm bin videos I've found. Thanks!

[@taylorbuckner777]

Thank you for this! Of the worm composting setups I’ve seen, this is the simplest and seems to make it easy to harvest small amounts at a time. I don’t have a huge need to for castings but want to get started. Thank you for this!

[@campdavidsonfunctionaltrai8583]

love your shirt. what a cutie pie :) Another worm guy uses a 1/8 screen for a second pass to screen out the eggs. seems like a good idea.

[@pppsvetik]

Thank you for your videos. Straight to the point and very informative. I was going to give worm composting a try in a spring but your video make me wonder now if I should start earlier 🤔

[@GeauxGrow]

Thanks so much for the vid. I have a composter and worms on the way. So excited!

[@GeauxGrow]

@Beaf Supreme They are finally settled in. I had quite a few casualties in the beginning. I'm still trying to learn how moist to keep the bedding. Thanks for asking!

[@AJsGreenTopics]

I like your casting sifter. Thanks for sharing.

[@simplegrower5838]

Thanks. Love the simple technique. Something I can definately do.

[@weroiuty]

I love your tutorials! Very informative, concise and to the point. Good tempo and camera work too!

[@HomesteadandChill]

Thank you so much for the kind words, glad you enjoy the tutorials!

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

This video, and your previous one showing how to set up your bin, are very detailed! I'll most certainly be doing this. The one thing I DO want to try, however, is attracting my own worms and not buying them. Let's see how that goes!

[@BroadwayGardener]

Great video! I just started composting this last year and I’m still struggling a little, but you made the worm casting bin look very doable

[@kf1683]

Awesome video. Can’t wait to start composting now that you explained it all so well.

[@hmck9988]

Thanks so much for the simple tutorial on how to harvest.

[@dignit1620]

Awesome ! You make it look so easy!

[@topemeister3000]

Thank you for the video. It was a great help to a noob like myself!

[@waydwnbama-way3089]

Awesome job , just getting started and this was very helpful, your husband is a blessed Man.

[@Gumby1978]

Excellent ideas and advice. Thank you

[@hooperelectronics2055]

Nice video, got my first pound of worms 2 weeks ago :-) I'm a little bit obsessed hence finding your video. Have subscribed :-)

[@HomesteadandChill]

That's great to hear, have fun composting with worms!

[@JohnThomas-nn6qt]

using a small compost tumbler to raise worms in, feeding them food scrapes when I have them but mostly grass clippings (that I let dry out/ turn brown first, then wet again as I add them in.), worms love it, they break it down quickly, makes wonderful soil for the veggie garden..if you want more nitrogen added to the soil use wood chips, ground (lawnmowered) leaves,. You will get more nitrogen from woody plants, more (good) bacteria from grassy compost. Remember tree/ bush's, root crops love lots of nitrogen, other plants like a bit more good bacteria....

[@alton791]

Lightning is also excellent for nitrogen fixation.

[@mandiegarrett1706]

Love FREE stuff so don't have to buy coco coir like some people use. Thank you.

[@deadmolecule3236]

Thanks for sharing! There's a 3rd hand in the video!!!

[@LushFoliage]

Very informative thanks for sharing ☺️

[@f.e.industries3016]

Thank you! Very informative.

[@RADCOMJ1]

wow I work for a global broadcaster and your presenting skills are excleent. thanks for sharing. funnily enough i just had some worm castings delivered to day , I was also clearing some slabs form the front garden and underneath were thre very large lob worms ( I think) and nice small pot or two of castings :-)

[@HomesteadandChill]

Thank you for the kind words! Using worm castings really helps boost soil life, have fun in the garden!

[@OregonChuck]

How long can you store worm castings and how best to store them? Excellent videos! I subscribed.

[@mmusichamburg8758]

Really great video!!!! I have a bucket exactly like yours and gave an idea how to remove the worms!! Thanks and please dont take it in a wrong way but you are amazingly beautiful! Keep these videos coming!

[@wasabiy817]

Great video, thanks! Lots of video I watched are with very wet casting, seems your worms are happy in this condition, I just starting, will try :)

[@PlantGuild]

When the filter is pulled back and the “black gold” is shown and described: 🤤

[@johnswarthout1962]

Oh you guys are awesome, thanks for sharing. I am a follower of yours.

[@HomesteadandChill]

Thanks for following along and we appreciate the support!

[@JohnThomas-nn6qt]

adding your bio-char to the worm bin is fast way to add this nutrient to your soil and to get the benefits of activating the bio-char at the same time.

[@fromcomposttotable4368]

Love love love!!🌱

[@Tcarnes41]

Place several, cut in half avocados onto the surface of the castings. After a day you will notice worms gathering under the avocado halves.everyday after you will be able to scoop up with your hand a big handful of worms. Do this once a day for as many days as you would like. I got 16 hand fulls of worm in four days. And it's still giving.

[@HomesteadandChill]

Worms do like avocados!

[@SillyRichard]

Ty. I will try to build this as I haven't harvest in 5 months. Lol. I'm just throwing foods

[@thebrodabode73]

Thanks Deanna! WANT that shirt.

[@DavidTron63]

Want that shirt off - fixed

[@tinaraebeck1306]

Excellent

[@anilkapur1584]

Another excellent video, your explanations and visuals are just what is needed. One question, the peat as well as the paper will also be broken down into castings over time, so they will have to be replenished from time to time?

[@64marine]

Add a crank on the side to slide it back and fourth or make a vibrating screen such as is used in Dry Panning for gold.

[@64marine]

An Eccentric cam where the shaft is way off to one side and egg shaped will work wonders; can get motorized so a lot more or far faster speed.

[@maximilliantarmidi6323]

Thank you!

[@jocelynbergeron4803]

This video is so great! What do you do with the chunks you screened out?

[@HomesteadAlabama]

Wow. Hmmm time to start

[@HomesteadandChill]

There is no time like the present! Good luck!

[@HomesteadAlabama]

@@HomesteadandChill my soils is terrible

[@HomesteadandChill]

@@HomesteadAlabama Well it may take a bit before you can harvest some castings but making compost tea once you do will help incredibly with your soil health. If you want to get things going sooner, acquiring some good compost locally and adding it to your soil or by using it to make compost tea will get things going in the right direction.

[@tanyacanam6258]

I got my worms about two weeks ago. They seem happy and healthy. In worm videos on youtube only perfect castings are shown for the harvest. How do you achieve that if you are feeding them every week and have to keep adding bedding? Thanks!

[@joeshmoe7789]

I'm new this month, but I believe you stop feeding them for a couple of weeks so they finish the food and eat more bedding. If you're feeding them large pieces of food, it might take a little longer. After most of the food is gone, I plan on pushing everything to one side of the bin and making a new bed on the other side and adding food to that far end and any larger pieces of food still on the castings side. A whole banana cut in half will attract all the worms to leave the castings side. I think it's just a matter of timing and patience as to when to set up the migration end.

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Those " fancy" worm towers/ vermaculture bins are not all cracked up to be. I have used many ways over the last more than 30 years of worm farming. Wound up doing it much like A V and his wormery. Which means shallow bins. But you are doing just fine.

[@rjk2646]

AV is the best. This guy is extremely Knowledgeable and there’s always experimenting. The shallow bins have worked the best for me.

[@Vixenaustin]

My worm bin's also shallow and my worms are doing great.

[@TheNakidGardeners]

Nice informative video. Can't wait to see how you do your compost tea. Always interested in making that so I do not have to buy it from the big box stores.

[@HomesteadandChill]

We already showed a video on compost tea too!

[@bsferguson1]

Exactly! What an awesome place to learn right??

[@orkeryam]

Great video & also the earlier one on starting the worm bin. When you harvest the castings, you would have collected part of the coco coir. The balance bedding would be reduce in quantity. Do you need to top up new bedding?

[@zachadams5111]

I also really want an answer for this

[@mrgreenjeansgenetics]

Do you use any soil in your worm bin? If so how do you separate soil from the castings?

[@HH-zb8yx]

Thanks for the video. How can we separate the cocoons as well?

[@ezyjack826]

enjoyed the video. like how simple your process is. since I have time I was thinking that I'd do the 1/4 screening and then put my harvest in to a bin for a few weeks. then since it's fine I'd screen it again with 1/8 inch screen to get more of the worms and eggs out. primarily I'll be using it for potting soil and to feed my veg plants this spring. later in the season I'll use it for compost tea. do you think it's a waste of time to do the second screening? ty

[@randomthings92497]

What do you do to the half empty bin? Do you add more coir or food or paper or everything new bed?

[@candaceholley5142]

I have recently started my own worm farm and every time I open the container they are under the lid. Is there something I’m missing or should be doing so they stop climbing and hiding under the lid? I almost squish them when opening the lid.

[@ImGinaMarie]

Thank you for this series ❤️ you do a great job explaining the how's and why's. Would I be able to tell where the bedding stops and the castings start? Hard to tell in the video, or does it matter since they have been there awhile and everything is castings except the food..

[@KenshinMasataka]

Im wondering the same thing.

[@debraedgar179]

Hi, thanks for the great info.! How would I store extra worm castings I’ve made in the winter to use in my summer garden? Debra

[@alton791]

I’ve seen videos where people would use what I think is called feed bags. They’d take a trash can with the bottom removed & put it in the bag to hold the bag open. When you’re done filling up the bag, you can take out the container & close the bag up.

[@keeneye6407]

then post this do you add more soil to the bin since you have removed it in harvesting? Confused on that part. Thank you.

[@zachadams5111]

Would also like to know this

[@helliebellielove373]

I would too x

[@randomthings92497]

Yeah me too

[@rjk2646]

Stress

[@MRYEMAN]

How long can you store your excess worm castings and what happens if you don't harvest the worm castings? Will the worms be harmed if they're in too much worm castings? love your vids!

[@JohnThomas-nn6qt]

stored in cool dry place, castings will last long time, just be sure to wet it again when you apply to garden, still great for a compost tea....

[@korinnahuddleston2474]

Work casting is poisonous to worms but they will start to eat it if that’s all they have

[@irmasanchez5274]

That was my question as well. What happens if the casings are not harvested?

[@vista39]

Thanks

[@hossamhassan1310]

v nice ❤

[@lancerudy9934]

Can you tell when the casting are ready for screening

[@peterturner1582]

Once you harvest your worm castings do you need to place another layer of coco coir and paper shreds where you have removed the castings or do you just even out the layer you have left?

[@mynamesnotdave695]

Any fresh Coco Coir or Irish Moss Peat, simply move to the opposite end of the farm/container... and repeat the cycle. Once the worms have migrated across (36 hrs or so).. No riddling needed. Fresh worm castings without pissing off the egg layers.

[@CutBackTvChannel]

nice

[@bbsharr86]

Do you replace the bedding you've removed?

[@MathsPD]

Awesome, thanks for this. So it's no issue to have a lot of castings inside the bin as long as a) it doesn't get too wet and b) the worms have food? Also, cheers for the tip re feeding only on one side for a few weeks b4 removing some castings. That's kind of obvious now that you mentioned it but I assumed you'd have to get rid of all castings in one hit and start again. Am relieved this isn't the case! Awesome tutorials. Thanks.

[@HomesteadandChill]

You just don't want your entire bin to turn into castings as the worms will then resort to eating their own castings which are toxic and will poison them. However, I would think you would have to leave them alone for quite some time for this to happen as we have never had an issue after 15 plus years. Hope that helps and good luck!

[@brettdman2908]

Do you have a temperature range these worms need to be kept at? I live in Central Florida and it gets super hot even in the shade.

[@vista39]

What’s the size of the clear plastic bucket that you were sifting the castings into? Thank you for this great video.

[@HomesteadandChill]

I am not exactly sure of the size but I believe it was a Sterilite 40 quart container, a container that is more shallow is usually easiest. Glad you found the video helpful and good luck!

[@user-hg2kk3wg2o]

thanks ，i find soooo many bulb mite in my bin ，what should i do ？

[@Carlos-kn5uo]

Hello Let me start by saying thank you for your videos and tips. After seeing your video how to start a worm bin and i have started one on my own. I think has been going well no worms trying to escape 😊 i started in April/May and for a couple of weeks have been feeding only on side of the bin. Despite that still have quit a bit of worms of side where i am not feeding. Anotner issue is that the castings r quit gooey and muddy despite adding new bedding lile cardboard/paper /straw. What can i do to have fluffy and loose worm castings like u do in this video? Thank you

[@Aj-ng6vm]

Question. How does the sifter seperate the castings from the actual bedding that you used in the last video? wouldnt that sift into the tub along with the castings?

[@lw5957]

Urban Viking Homesteading the worms should have broken that down by the time you harvest so you wouldn’t have much of that left. That’s my understanding at least.

[@vagabonddeesadventures8491]

Great videos. Have any of you starting selling your castings too? I am worried it gets so hot here in FL zone 9b. My coworker said she lost an entire bin during the horrible summer heat last year.

[@HomesteadandChill]

We don't make nearly enough castings to actually sell them, we would need a much larger set up than what we have. Since Florida does get so hot, it may be best to keep the worm bin inside an insulated garage. If you do have to keep the bin outside, I would try and place it in the coolest, shadiest spot you have in your yard to help protect it from the extreme heat.

[@tongakid77]

I started this without much thought. Now I have a trash can 1/4 way full. it's impossible to get the casting without going thru the food and worms above. Do you suggest I scrap the trash can for a smaller tote and go side to side? I also do lose some works from the drain holes I made in the bottom of the trash can. Any help will be appreciated. I am currently thinking of abandoning the trash can at this point.

[@patriciourrutia2297]

Hi, nice video. I have a compost bin like that, but mine is like mud and sometimes don't smells good. How do you do the maintenance of the system? You turn the compost from time to time?

[@HomesteadandChill]

Your worm bin is likely too wet, you need to add shredded newspaper, shredded paper bags, or shredded cardboard into the castings to soak up some of the moisture. There is a balance between food (usually wet) and bedding (usually dry) to make your worm bin more hospitable. It is also a good idea to turn the compost over on occasion to increase oxygen and air within the system. It may also be time for you to harvest some of those castings as well.

[@ritabaker7847]

Great video! After harvesting do you replenish with more coco coir and paper? Thanks

[@HomesteadandChill]

Hi Rita, we usually don't harvest all of the compost at once and still leave some behind. You can always add more coco coir if you want (especially so if they don't have enough bedding) but we typically just keep adding more shredded paper and/or shredded cardboard.

[@ritabaker7847]

@@HomesteadandChill Thank you!

[@marjoriejohnson6535]

Ps I sift with big screen like this then do a check on a large pan for eggs.and wisps..just because I have the time.

[@HeLivzInMe]

How good is this for breaking down heavy clay soil?

[@EddyV9]

This may be a dumb question but when you take the castings out and there’s obviously less bedding do you add more paper and dirt like you do in the beginning of the worm bin process??

[@HomesteadandChill]

You typically add more paper each time you feed the worms to balance the moisture of the castings. We never fully empty the worm bin of compost but we don't often add much more coco coir after we initially set up the bin. Yet it's a good practice to add more coco coir or even aged compost to the bin afterwards until you get the feel of the worm bin down.

[@shermansmith6946]

my worm bin is ready to be harvested, its completely black but its clumping together and im having a hard time separating the worms from the soil.

[@shane6313]

really thinking about this. we have chickens that eat most of the scraps. now this can take all the stuff the chickens dont like

[@TheCheah87]

At 7:45 what's the stuff on top of the screen? And thanks for all the videos they're very informational :)

[@HomesteadandChill]

Just some woody bits or larger pieces of food that haven't broken down full yet, so we put them back in the bin to further decompose. Thanks for tuning in!

[@TheCheah87]

@@HomesteadandChill Thanks for the response. I was getting what I thought were castings that looks the same as that and I was 100% wrong and was just wondering what it was, makes sense tho. But thanks again for the information and the response. Keep up the good videos I'm sure they help alot of people :)

[@justagirlsd3000]

How do you collect the cocoons? Thanks for the video.

[@HomesteadandChill]

We don't try and separate the cocoons but we do pick out the worms to add back to the bin. You would have to look through your harvested castings and pick out the cocoons one by one. There may be another way but we have never tried to keep the cocoons separate from the castings as we usually leave a certain amount of castings behind which contain cocoons along with the worms themselves.

[@jonathanmurphy2400]

How do the castings increase moisture retention AND drainage? Seems like opposing results.

[@HomesteadandChill]

Good question! They bring a perfect balance of both. For example too sandy of soil may drain or dry out too quickly (or have water run right off the top and down the sides, if dry and in a container). Hard compact soil, clay, otherwise poor-draining soil may keep things too wet and soggy, and usually don't have enough aeration. Worm castings do a great job at helping soil stay moist longer and absorb water better as needed, but also provide fluff - allowing for EXCESS water to move though and also keeps the soil more aerated = happy breathing roots 👌🏼

[@kaybegley9566]

I live in a cold climate. How do you store worm casting so the worms can continue doing their wonderful work during winter? And I can easily use a lot once spring comes.

[@HomesteadandChill]

I would try and bring the worm bin indoors or even into a basement or garage. We lived in Providence RI for a couple years and kept our worm bin in the stairwell to our apartment which was not very insulated at all. Wrapping the bin in blankets will also help insulate it.

[@yuriy3732]

Hello :) Quick question here... So let's say after you harvested a decent amount of worm casting (like in this video), would you do anything to replenish the substance in the bin so to speak? Like add more coco coir/shredded newspaper or maybe from time to time? Or Is it okay to add dried leaves or pruned plant parts in there for the worms or not ideal? Anything else/tips you'd recommend long term wise to keep a bin going at it's optimal? Like maybe even yearly cleaning or as I said adding more material in etc...? I heard someone else mention that the worms don't ideally want to be living in their own casting, so that is why I am asking also... Sorry I am a newbie here, so just gathering all the information in at the moment, hehe :) And thank you for the wonderful videos and I love your smile along with your bright and cherry attitude! Contagious in the loveliest of ways! :)

[@HomesteadandChill]

You can add in more coco coir, peat moss, or even compost but we typically find just adding more shredding newspaper as bedding along with some food scraps is typically enough for the worms. You can add dried leaves as well and possibly pruned plant parts but it really depends on the plants. We have found they like comfrey and borage but would steer clear of any plants that have hard stems or twigs which they won't break down.

[@sawnyeinchan3990]

Have also included coco coir and newspapers in the worm castings?

[@HomesteadandChill]

If you are asking about what happens when you harvest the worm castings, by that point, most of the bedding as been turned into worm castings so you don't end up with too much of anything else. We also make it a point to only feed the bin on one side for a couple weeks before we want to harvest the castings so most of the worms and bedding/food material should be out of the way for the most part. Although we still pick through the castings to take out any large pieces of bedding/food. Check out our video on how we harvest worm castings: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIXEfmWwrqeHj6s

[@miriammile930]

Serious question. Do the new baby worms eat what's growing in your garden or will they only eat dead organic matter?

[@Jamajalama]

Hey there, thank you for the video! Quick question: Would you plant for example a tomato in 100% worm castings or should the “worm earth” rather be used in smaller doses as fertiliser? How do you maintain a worm compost? Do you only add food/kitchen waste or also paper and that coco material every now and then? Thank you!

[@HomesteadandChill]

Worm castings should be added as a supplement to your garden soil, we like making worm tea to use throughout our garden beds or we add a small handful to transplant holes when we are planting out new seedlings. Check out our article on how to vermicompost as it will provide you with all the pertinent information. Thanks for watching. homesteadandchill.com/vermicomposting-101-worm-bin/?swcfpc=1

[@trusttheflow]

If you set up without drainage holes at the bottom, what do you do about excess fluid at the bottom? Thanks.

[@HomesteadandChill]

If the worm bin is maintained properly, you shouldn't have any excess moisture at the bottom. In 15 years of vermicomposting, we have never had a need for holes on the bottom, if your worm bin is that wet, your worms are not going to be happy. Those conditions are anaerobic and not optimal for living things.

[@trusttheflow]

@@HomesteadandChill so no need to drain the leachate? Does that get taken care of when you harvest the castings? Or just add more dry material?

[@HomesteadandChill]

@@trusttheflow We don't have leachate because we don't overfeed the worms. If your worm bin is too wet, add more browns to the bin to absorb some of the moisture.

[@trusttheflow]

@@HomesteadandChill Thanks very much!

[@TheWakerLion]

💚💚

[@dovinhgarden05]

Tuyệt vời

[@johnb9886]

After harvesting do you just keep adding food scraps or do you need to replenish the coco and paper? Or do you start a new bin and add the worms there? Thanks for the informative video.

[@HomesteadandChill]

You typically don't need to add more coco coir but you should add more paper or other browns when you add food to the bin. It helps keep the worm bin at a good moisture level, too much browns will lead to too dry of worm bedding, too much greens (food) will lead to too wet of bedding.

[@dooleysmichiganhomestead8339]

The Dooley's Of Michigan

[@brucegarrison4999]

I like your shirt

[@johnswarthout1962]

Help, I have 2 totes of red wiggers that I have put holes all around the totes to collect the liquid ( I now know that is wrong) so I bought 2 more totes to replace them. My question if you have time to answer is how do I get my beds from wet to fluffy without hurting my worms.

[@HomesteadandChill]

It is fine to just mix in more bedding with your worms in the new container after you transfer them. Mixing everything up on occasion is beneficial as it introduces oxygen and helps break down clumps in the tote.

[@kmalnasef1512]

👍

[@deannabondhus9214]

Holy smokes we have the same name.