Opening Up a Can O' Worms

A worm composter is a great way to turn your leftover kitchen waste into high quality worm castings, and build the fertility in your garden. Once the bin is set up it is quite easy to maintain, and the worms will be able to handle a continuous supply of food scraps. This is one of the many ways in which anyone can help reduce the waste going to the landfill, and create a closed loop from the garden, to the kitchen, and back to the garden. In this video I show you a manufactured worm composting system called the "Can O' Worms." There are a few other manufactured systems available, or you can create your own out of something as simple as a bucket or plastic bin.
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[@cgm707]

Very well presented. I'm considering getting one of these.

[@sarcasmo57]

Good looking worms Jesse.

[@IdahoHillbilly]

Dang that Thing is Awesome !

[@shelbykohn1667]

very helpful thank you!!!

[@JesusFreakJene]

Great video! Thank you!

[@swells5361]

Thank you. That was helpful.

[@rickeshpatel4025]

I would not use that liquid from the spiget unless it’s from complete worm castings. If it’s from uneven liquid of food scraps that will be detrimental to the garden. We learned this in sustainability class. I notice people do a lot of things that they think are beneficial but actually detrimental or negligible in help.

[@sdqsdq6274]

damn really ?why is that

[@vonniebench]

I found if I pulverized the egg shells, the castings were void of the bits of egg shells.

[@jacquelinesmith2994]

Truly excellent demonstration! I may buy this system. I have a few questions, if you don’t mind: 1) How much does it attract mice and roaches? I also live in SoCal (SD), just wondering. 2) When you’re ready to use the bottom tray on your garden, do you lose a lot of worms, or not a significant number since many circulate upwards? 3) We are a slightly bigger family and produce a lot of compostable trash. Should we keep the trash in a container in the fridge and only feed the compost every two or three days? I’d rather not have to open it everyday.. Any advice is much appreciated!!

[@ivaknezevic6752]

Hi! Thankyou for your video! Do you dilute your compost tea with water before using it in your garden?

[@alaskansourdoughwormsgarde4392]

Jesse I am sorry to inform you but that juice is called leachate. First of all it is not worm tea but the juices from the food you are feeding your worms. In reality you should never have any. There are some new papers that have come out recently showing that there is more healthy microbiology if your castings are on the dryer side. Second, depending on how long it was sitting in the bottom, leachate can develop phytotoxins which when put on edible plants can make you sick. Especially children. It should only be used on trees or ornamental plants. Most home worm farmers toss it out. Worm tea is made from the castings and aerated for 24-48 hours for the healthy microbes to increase. A sugar of some type is usually added, normal unsulfured molasses. I hope you will dry your bin by adding more carbon such as dried leaves or cardboard and paper in you top tray to prevent that leachate. Coco coir can also be used. I know that you know that there is no way the worms can eat those egg shells without being powdered and they need grit to keep making those beautiful castings. Those eggshells will be there a long time as they break down very slowly. I hope you the best with your worming but the things I suggested will keep you and your worms healthier.

[@oneheartfire]

Thank you for the corrections and advice!

[@RobinMalgoire]

If you toss it out, you are using the can-o-worm only to reduce your waste?

[@ElderandOakFarm]

@@RobinMalgoire no she is saying to throw out the liquid that comes or off the bottom if the bin gets too wet. The main purpose of this contraption is for the black worm castings (worm poop) which is the soil like stuff that is created lile in the bottom tray after the worms eat the bedding and food (for several months). It is a plus to reduce food waste as well though..

[@gregmiller4387]

Does the worm farm produce any heat so that insulation could keep it warm in winter?

[@oneheartfire]

Greg Miller I'm not sure about that. it always feels cool when I open it up. I don't think there is enough mass to kick off the aerobic composting process that produces heat in a regular compost pile. Part of the benefit of a worm composter is that you can add a little bit at a time, where as with a compost pile you need to have enough mass of material for the composting organisms to get started. Another benefit of the worm composter is that, if done correctly, it doesn't smell. so you could put it indoors in the winter to keep it warm.

[@lindangwe-win4093]

Would I be able to use this composter inside my home instead of outside? Or do you not recommend? Looks like the spigot drips a bit.

[@oneheartfire]

You could totally use it inside, as long as you dont put too many food scraps in at once. If theres more food than the current population of worms can eat, then you will develop mold and odors. Once a healthy population of adult worms build up, and you learn how much you can feed them, then there should be no odors. The worms like the same temperature range as humans, so indoors is perfect for them. You can just leave a jar under the spigot to collect any leaks. In fact, I learned that it is better to just leave the spigot open so and liquid just drains into the jar right away. That way, the fluid never sits in the composter and becomes anaerobic and stinky. When the jar fills up just pour it on your plants and they will love it.

[@janevanboskirk2898]

Can you use newspaper as a filler

[@mantokonstantoulaki1012]

What happens with the worms when you harvest the bottom layer. Is it ok to spread them in the garden ?

[@oneheartfire]

By the time the bottom layer is ready to harvest, the worms should have all moved up to the upper layers since there is no food left for them in the bottom. If there are a few worms left in the castings when you harvest its not a problem, they can live in your garden and do good work there too.

[@aiden7406]

When using the compost how do you separate the worms

[@oneheartfire]

In the system in the video you collect the finished compost from the bottom trays, which will be mostly free of worms, because they will all be up in the top trays where the fresh food is. If you are Just using a simple bin without stackable trays, you can just move all the fresh food scraps over to one side of the bin, then wait a day for the worms to travel over to that side to get to the food. Then you can harvest compost from the other side of the bin. It is fine if you get some worms along with your compost, as they will continue to do good work out in your garden. There is probably worms in your garden soil already, that's where they live naturally.

[@aiden7406]

@@oneheartfire ok I understand so it's sort of a filter

[@kromsnavelfun]

Water out of your wormbin is always a sign of mismanagement. And dirty

[@tammywhatever8602]

OMG, I need to do this!!! Living in Arizona, how would this work??? We have a big compost pile , but we don't have much worms in our soil, due to the heat and compacted dirt we have to deal with. We are supposed to get just under 10 inches of rain, but we are lucky to get 3-5 inches. We do not have a shortage of water, however - only CA has that problem. LOL Will this method work in a HIGH temp area?? Even in shaded areas, the temp can be 100+. Any advice is appreciated!!!

[@oneheartfire]

I'm quite familiar with the Arizona heat, I grew up in Chandler. This would absolutely work in Az, you would just need to keep the worm bin inside of an insulated garage, or somewhere that stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The worms like it around 75 to 80 degrees, just like us. Heat above 90 will kill them, as will near freezing temps. You could even keep one under your sink in the kitchen, or in a laundry room. As long as you dont add food scraps too quickly for the worms to eat, it won't smell. You can work with your compacted soil there as well, mulch is key. Check out my desert backyard permaculture design series for more info on that.

[@x2bros82]

Jesse Grimes Hey, nice Video! And also I have a question.. I have the same worm farm that you have, I just got it yesterday. Should I put the worms in the same area as the food scraps? Because I have them separated, the worms are below, and the food scraps are above. What should I do?

[@oneheartfire]

@@x2bros82 the worms will find the food wherever you put them. You can fill the bottom with coconut coir or partially composted horse manure, and this gives them a place to go when its hot/cold, and also kid of a long term food reserve. When you out food scraps on top, they will move up to the surface to eat the fresh food.

[@x2bros82]

Jesse Grimes yeah but, how would they move up to the food scraps... they’d have to go through tiny holes, Can the do that?

[@oneheartfire]

@@x2bros82 yes they can. Compost worms are much smaller than normal earth worms.

[@BT-kf4kx]

Holy f budd

[@JesusFreakJene]

How much was the Can O Worms on Craigslist?

[@andreo.7633]

Idk how TF! i got here, but all u ppl r sssick lol 🤭😋

[@Sherminator895]

leachate, stale rubbish if not taken fast