The Untold Truth: Worm Species Coexistence

Рет қаралды 2,868

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 62

@Vermicompost 4 ай бұрын

So the two species of red wigglers produce Donkeys and Ligers🤣😂🤣As a Biology major that was actually a fantastic explanation!! One of the common definition of Species is that their off spring can also reproduce...and if their offspring can't reproduce then they are not the same species...We'll have to wait until our boys have kids to see if Autumn and I are the same species🤣Awesome video Ann!! I love your editing and how the camera looks like it is slowly following you as you go from one end of the bin to the other!!🪱🪱🪱

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Ahhh I'm still waiting for my first human grandchild too. 🪱👍🏼🐱👣😁

@lindap9079 4 ай бұрын

I've got a story to share. Because who else am I going to share worm observations with? My real-life friends just roll their eyes when I mention my worms. When I started vermicomposting, I drilled holes all over my bin. I found that not necessary to make my worms happy & healthy, so I don't do it anymore. I'm now up to 5 Rubbermaid tote full of worms. I do still use that original perforated bin but discovered it was draining and making a mess on my back porch. I used another bin to catch the moisture. I thought it would be a good idea to have shredded newspaper soak up the leachate. So, I had a tote w/ a couple of inches of paper shreds under a working worm bin. Yesterday I emptied and sifted that bin. When I separated the two bins I discovered the shreds I had put in the bottom to soak up moisture had all been turned to castings. There were also several worms apparently living down there. The interesting thing to me is that the castings were 'newsprint gray' not rich brown/black. Those worms had nothing to eat but leachate-soaked newspaper and they were satisfied to live in that environment even though they could presumably climb back through the holes to feast on kitchen scraps. Go figure.

@princeindoorandoutdoorplan3003 4 ай бұрын

Nice work

@thomasbazin1529 4 ай бұрын

Hey, I do the same in my worm tower system. I couldn't bother about the 'leachate', so I put browns in the collection tray. Sometimes add grit or even small food scraps. For whatever reason a lot of worms are living their best life down there. Empty it up once in a while into the working tray. Obviously it's not the purpose of it, but it works well. 😅 Cheers!

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I do the same thing with my red wiggler Tower. I put ground up cardboard in the sump and worms. Get down there and make me castings too. 👍🏼🪱😃

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

😃🪱👍🏼

@catherinemiura3979 4 ай бұрын

@@lindap9079 my friends also give me the “eye roll” 😂

@the_green_anna 4 ай бұрын

I sure miss the sifting! There is something almost magical about that finished sifted material. 💚 Blue looks good! Lots of nice castings! 💙

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Soon as I find that 1/4 inch sifter. I I think it is probably out in the garden that has become a jungle this time of year. Should find it in the next couple of weeks. The heat is helping getting them finished fast. 👍🏼🪱😃

@GardeningwithBarchuckin 4 ай бұрын

Interesting conversation Ann. I like the analogy of different species of red wigglers worms to horses and donkeys. It will be neat to see how the long brown paper looks on the next checkin. 😁

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

If it cools down around here we might see it next time, but in the current heat that we've had '90s upper 80s, the bedding is going just super fast. 😃👍🏼🪱

@leahworsnop2798 4 ай бұрын

Hi, have you got a video on how you store your castings that you harvest until you use them at seeding time? Is there anything you do to preserve the integrity and quality of castings while in storage?

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpqzZqRrqb2fn9k👍🏼🪱😁

@StrawberryRiverRedWigglers 4 ай бұрын

Nice video I enjoyed it

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed👍🏼🪱😃

@vreeze33 4 ай бұрын

I randomly got this recommended and haven't watched, but this title makes it sound as if there's some big worm conspiracy.

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Lol no conspiracy just many people wonder if they have more than one species of compost worm in their bin if they will make hybrids. 🪱👍🏼😃

@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920 4 ай бұрын

I have Wigglers and Blue Worms 🪱 ...I think!!!!! Lookin' Good, Ann❤ Take care ❤Peggy❤

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I bet your blues are active all year. Take care. 👍🏼😃🪱

@ericnyamu9981 4 ай бұрын

why were you thinking there was going to be worm-worm gang violence if you mix them up. lol

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Now that is funny. Little worms throwing up signals. I knew I should have added beats in the background ☮️✌🏼🪱😁

@NanasWorms 4 ай бұрын

My research also showed that interbreeding between the Eisenia andrei and fetida does not produce viable offspring. I remember reading that it does interfere with building up a worm population because the worms don't recognize which worms will produce offspring and which ones won't. That's not enough of a problem for me to worry about having those two varieties in my bins, though. Great topic, Ann! ~ Sandra

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Sometimes I wonder with blue having so many worms how anybody finds the right worm to breed with. 👍🏼🪱😃

@RosWigglers 4 ай бұрын

I prefer the diversity in my bins. It seems like the different species complement each other well. Much like you said, one speeds up when the other slows down, based on temps. Which is why to me it feels like a shame seeing this whole craze focused on “pure red wigglers.” I feel like people are somehow getting the memo that that is the better option, so now I am also breeding a “pure red wiggler” stock for sale, but otherwise I’d be keeping all of my bins mixed species. I price my pure red wigglers quite a bit higher than my “red wiggler mix” of reds and blues, but people continue to primarily order pure red wigglers.

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I was there too at first mostly because I ordered one thing and received another. Now I'm on the hunt for pure blues to see if they act differently alone. If I didn't have a YT channel I would only keep the mix.🪱😃👍🏼

@catherinemiura3979 4 ай бұрын

I have a mixed species bin and ENC-only worm factory bin. I think I may have some blues in my euro bin. I just can’t tell them apart 😂

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I can only tell them by the speed. If you see one that is extra zippy and has a flat clitellum it is likely a blue.🪱🙂👍🏼

@bretthogan5805 4 ай бұрын

My bucket has at least 3 different species... Tbh i like it more because during different seasons there is always one that's busy

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I agree 100%. I think having multiple species helps keep the castings rolling year-round. 😃🪱👍🏼

@Tippler0611 4 ай бұрын

I've been a lazy worm farmer this summer. They've been thrown a frozen watermelon chunk or scrap-rito every few weeks

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

It happens, the garden gets going and poof! zero time for the worms.🪱👍🏼😃

@jdawg1835 4 ай бұрын

Sounds like it might have been too hot for the broccoli to not bolt.

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Weirdest plant ever. I'm sure the worms will love it.👍🏼🪱😃

@docborrego1 29 күн бұрын

So Im thinking about doing a Johnson-Su Compost Bioreactor to get a fungal dominant compost. Most people recommend putting in red wigglers once the pile drops below 80 degrees. The issue is Im in Tucson AZ and in the summer the air temps easily get into the 110s. Right now I keep my red wigglers inside to avoid the heat of summer. Would you recommend using a certain species or do a multi-species mix? Thanks!

@PlantObsessed 29 күн бұрын

I don't know of any worms that can live over 90 degrees. Blues and ANC can do that but they are very pricey nowadays. They would be the best bet.👍🏼😃🪱

@lindafreeman1687 4 ай бұрын

With the amount of cardboard (browns) and veggies (greens), that you added, what keeps your bin from getting too hot and composting?

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

It may heat up some. Due to the wedge system the worms have the freedom to not enter the new food until it is ready for them. They can stay where the previous feeding was. 😃🪱👍🏼

@shortythepresident3913 4 ай бұрын

I just adore this woman.

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

👍🏼😃🪱

@juanitanoble3190 4 ай бұрын

I've noticed that I only get really large Euros in the pure Euro bins. In the bins where they're with the red wigglers they are barely bigger than the reds. Maybe because they're competing for food? Idk

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I agree the worms in my mixed species bin are much smaller than the single species bin. I believe it probably is due to competition. 😃🪱👍🏼

@TheGardenAndWormLady 4 ай бұрын

Mine all get along nicely but I had a bin yrs ago that the Red Wigglers took over and out competed the European. But those are the only two species I had in that bin. These days I’ve had up to four and I don’t see that happening interesting right?

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

That is interesting. I wonder if it was a different stock of ENC possibly the ones you have now breed faster and can keep up with the red wigglers. 👍🏼🪱😃

@ewjutube 4 ай бұрын

Is your blue bin kept under artificial lights at all times? Do the worms ever wander?

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

I only keep the light on after I have worked on the bin for a few hours. There are times when the blue worms will start to wander. Since it is a seller and not a basement, I can reclaim them on the brick most of the time. 👍🏼🪱😃

@princeindoorandoutdoorplan3003 4 ай бұрын

I think blue indian worms wont survive with red wigglers or eesnia fetida, i mixed them unfortunatly but the red wigglers out completed the blue indian worms, now i dont have any indian blue worms in the bin which i mixed, so its true that one variety can outcomplete the other variety they cant coexist. If u want a worm population high dont intermix the variety make separate bin for them unforntunatly mixing them didnt work out for me. I mixed the blue indian worms with red wigglers or eesnia fetida becoz the blue indian worms bin i seen worms escaping so to save them i mixed them in the red wiggler or eesnia fetida worm bin

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

In my case, I did not buy blue worms on purpose. They came in a mix of red wigglers from Uncle Jim's. The only way that I know that they're there now is because they're the ones moving it twice the speed. I'm sorry they didn't play nice in your worm bins 👍🏼🪱🥺

@dnawormcastings 4 ай бұрын

I found wth my mixed worm bins that what the reds tiger and blues didn’t eat the night crawling eat 🇳🇿🪱

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

Nice, they are a well groomed ecosystem 😃👍🏼🪱

@dianadeejarvis7074 4 ай бұрын

If worms didn't get along, how would they fight? Their bodies are soft, and I don't see anything they could fight with.

@PlantObsessed 4 ай бұрын

That is an absolutely a Fair point but people do ask me the question all the time. Maybe they're thinking about hammerhead worms where they actually do eat other earthworms. I'm not sure. 👍🏼🪱😃

@dianadeejarvis7074 4 ай бұрын

@@PlantObsessed Ack. I didn't know hammerhead worms could eat each other.