Update: Flow Through Worm Farm

In response to all the questions I have got from my DIY Flow Through Worm Farm video here is an update where I share when and how to harvest the castings and a slight modification I have made to the design.
Please watch the original video first so you can understand this:
kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3eWdGV_hZJ6r7M
Loganberry Forest is our family permaculture homestead and we have a micro-seed business sharing our homegrown heirloom vegetable, herb and flower seeds to other Australian gardeners.
If you'd like to support us and Australian grown chemical-free growing practices you can get seeds from our online store at:
www.loganberryforest.com.au
Our website also has many gardening, foraging and homesteading tips on our blog.
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[@janus878]

Ich beschäftige mich seit einiger Zeit mit Wurmfarmen; am besten fand ich allerdings die Badewannen Wurmfarm (Jeff Lawton) Allerdings habe ich dazu nicht genug Abfälle, dennnoch zu viele , um eine kleine Inhouse-Anlage zu betreiben. Ihr System gefällt mir deshalb am besten, es ist einfach, selbst zu bauen, preiswert und kann meine ganzen Küchenabfälle aufnehmen❤

[@kylesnyder3757]

For faster scrap conversion, blend the scraps in a cheap dedicated blender, for a worm smoothie!

[@YouTube_can_ESAD]

Smart!! Thank you!!

[@James-mv9qx]

That's awesome. Glad to find someone local to me (I'm in Greendale). It's good to finally get advice from some local rather than from different zones like Queensland or the US.

[@screenname8267]

if you elongate your nylon rope and place an eye hook above the upper can's handles, you can loop the rope around the hook so the sieve comes up with the trash can when you pull it out. Set them on the ground, rotate the hooks and the nylon drops free (or just make it a centimeter too long and they have enough slack to be removed by pulling up and over). Might be easier (might not) -might work better with 4 ropes/hooks to keep it balanced better.

[@petermac6221]

Just finished the bin 5 mins ago.Now I'm waiting patiently.Thankyou.

[@8Arachne8]

Been watching videos on this all day. Your first and this follow up are by far the best I’ve seen. I really appreciate the follow up, been wondering how and what the harvesting looks like. Will be making this next weekend. (Hopefully)

[@mariclee5134]

Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to make this for my very first vegestable garden next spring

[@ratio4astaroth]

This and the first video are solid! Subbed! 😀

[@WDWormsnGarden]

Very informative.

[@dominicnolan8380]

Just discovered you well done, very practical, thanks

[@tomsachs3749]

Thanks for the inspiration I made my bin today with my kids

[@chetnolte6317]

And...?

[@AJsGreenTopics]

Great video. Worm castings are the best fertilizer. 🪱

[@SavouryWhale]

Would love to see the mushroom hunting footage! Thanks for the informative video

[@michaelougarezos8963]

very good, thank you

[@articmars1]

Cutting your food down to a 1 inch size will make the process go faster. It creates more surface area for the microbes to get started.

[@aaronbasset6411]

Very cool

[@chetnolte6317]

Tomorrow's project! Thank you. My wigglers showed up faster than expected. How many do you start with?

[@btcethavaxbttqi1535]

Nice i will try

[@saffronmelody87]

I’d love a worm farm update! Do you even get worms drowning in the bottom with this design?

[@brocknspectre1221]

Making my shopping list now…..

[@irishcoffee6894]

If you use a break knife and warm it with a blowtorch, you can very easily cut out or away the plastic you do not want

[@cynthiaerskine4882]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I watched the previous video, but haven't made my worm farm yet. Some great tips here on your observations 👌

[@LoganberryForest]

Thank you!

[@jeremyjjet4909]

I just bought some small garbage cans last night

[@jeremyjjet4909]

Thanks loganberry forest

[@kellygalloway6322]

Hi, congratulations on a effective and inexpensive design! 🙂What size are the holes in the garden sieve? Would a sieve with slightly bigger holes still work and prevent the finished castings (and worms) from working their way through into the worm tea reservoir below? I can't find a large enough diameter plastic one like yours on Amazon. My local hardware store has a nice large 368mm (14.5") diameter galvanized steel one, but the holes look like they are around 12 to 14mm wide (approx. 1/2 inch). Do you think that would still work? If the mature castings will stay up in the bottom of the container with the entire bottom cut out, then surely a mesh size 14mm wide in the collection tray would be small enough to contain them! I suppose I could also place an initial layer of newspaper or cardboard across the screen to help contain things while the compost is still fresh? Cheers from Canada.

[@Kramerrizz]

Thanks for a harvesting video. Just went down to bunnings and picked up everything I need to make one. Two questions, does the tap that you use have a filter to stop casting materials coming through? And once you've harvested your castings from a full bin, what do you after that? Do you just leave the worms as they were and the catcher will just refill? Thanks :)

[@GillmanStudio]

plenty of worm eggs there in your castings, you could start a worm nursery too!

[@chriskelly1825]

Nice

[@ezyjack826]

like the video. what would you think of raising the inner barrel as it fills up to give more room for castings? my thinking is that since the worms work on the upper portion it would give me more finished castings on the bottom. then after harvesting I can just reset it down and start anew. ty and happy harvesting.

[@LoganberryForest]

It will work fine so long as they still wait till the bin is full above it or you’ll have worms in your castings. You can make it any height really by just changing the height of the wood pieces screwed to the side that hold the inner bin up. But it won’t let you harvest more worm castings overall since worms won’t eat any faster. It would just be bigger harvests less frequently but that could still be good.

[@ahgieskes]

Thankyou for your fantastic design. I am ready to upgrade my homemade much smaller try-out. I have one question though: I notice watermelon and avocado peel in your bin. In the Netherlands that always means they have been sprayed with al kinds of fungicdes etc. That is why I keep them out of my wormbin. What do you think?

[@janus878]

Ich denke, dass man nur Bio heraus bekommt wenn man Bio hinein steckt😉🇩🇪

[@RayH-]

What do you do with the worm bins in winter?

[@phuckyoutube5927]

If you end up in the castings you can go back to the wild honestly you earned your keep little buddy

[@mikedurkin9737]

Does anyone know where to buy a sieve that size?

[@nataliemarshall3991]

Hi, If you cut away the slats, what stops the bedding from falling through when you are making the bed, ie setting it up?

[@LoganberryForest]

How sticky and low density the castings are. It sounds counter intuitive I know but it does actually work! There are commercial bins like the hungry bin designed around the same principle

[@kathynix6552]

Good point. At set up the newspaper would just fall through when loaded up with bedding and food. Hers works because she now has worm castings on the bottom - which are sticky. Maybe firmer cardboard cut into a circle might be ok for a new bin.

[@bubblewrap74]

@kathynix6552 I was also coming here to say the same thing. I think it would have to have something in the bottom to prevent this issue for a brand new bin.

[@jeffhaskins6889]

I am missing something. If you cut out the bottom of first barrel completely what is holding the bedding?

[@LoganberryForest]

By the time the bin is full and ready to harvest 90% of the contents are worm castings and only the top might be food etc. worm castings are sticky moist and lightweight. They stick to the bin and don’t fall out at all when you lift the inner bin out. I had to see it to believe it myself as it’s totally counter intuitive which is why I originally had slats even though I had seen a commercial bin a bit like this without it. But actually it totally works if you don’t overfill with bedding to begin with and wait till they are properly turned into worm castings and then in is full before harvesting.

[@connecticutwormsgardens]

I'm still confused. Are the castings limited to what is in the sieve or are there castings in the bottom bin as well? Where do the worms go once the castings as you showed are completed? Is there another layer I watched both videos and something isn't clicking for me

[@perfectlessons]

Really a great question! I've watched the videos so many times and I keep noticing more! In this video she actually has a diagram that shows the castings in the sieve and in the bottom few inches of the upper can. The castings that are in the can still are what is creating that "plug" so she doesn't have to use the strips of plastic to hold in the contents. Does that make sense? Sometimes I wish we could post pictures/screenshots in the comments. I'm putting mine together this week! Crossing my fingers!

[@kathynix6552]

The worms simply prefer to stay towards the top so as the bin gets fuller you can eventually harvest the castings from the bottom.

[@poodlepup1]

are you continuing to do videos..? this is a year ago.....

[@jeremyjjet4909]

Are worm castings dead worms or extra worms that you don’t need for the worm farm anymore anymore ?

[@LoganberryForest]

Castings are like worm manure. It’s what the worms turn the food that they eat and it’s really nutrient rich for the garden.

[@marvinprado1700]

How many trays of casting do you harvest per year? Once it’s all up and running

[@LoganberryForest]

I only really harvest when I need it which is a few times a year. But I’m sure it could be done more so. Would depend on a lot of factors like your climate, how often and what you feed them and how many worms you have. So go by how full the bin is rather than a time frame to get it right for you. I wouldn’t harvest unless the bin is at least 3/4 full

[@fishticles5]

@@LoganberryForest hey just wondering why havent you been posting recently i would love to see more of your videos

[@macp721]

Hi I didn't understand how you separated the worms from castings in the harvest

[@perfectlessons]

My understanding is she doesn't have to (when she leaves it for a longer period of time) because of the depth of the cans.

[@kathynix6552]

That’s how “flow through” systems work. Over time as the bins get fuller majority of worms are living in the top part of the bin.

[@marisaphoenix1893]

Where are you?

[@mauricebrown9094]

Is this channel still working????