VermiBag Mini gets moisture retention wrappings & cover - vermicompost

[@A-V]

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[@-ChrisD]

The vermibag looks great. I agree with you and Patrick, it looks like the sides of the plastic trapped those few worms that dried out.

[@A-V]

I might have to modify that plastic cover to lessen its likelihood of being a wormie death trap 👍🏻

[@theunskoch4256]

As a suggestion with the next check in, take off the leaf cover and then areate the material by turning it, return the old leaf cover, feed and then carry on as usual, good thing that it was only a few on the top huddled together, the rest all seemed fine, to be honest i forgot that the vermibag came back into service, great video

[@A-V]

I was actually thinking that I would dampen the leaf cover then blend it in. The stuff has been in the system for a while on the surface, so I'd like to see it mixed in - and then perhaps some fresh stuff can be scattered at the end. In reality though, it's anyone's guess what I'll do. I can try scripting my check-ins... but when the mood strikes me to deviate, then the script simply goes out the window :)

[@Vermicompost]

I wonder if the plastic on the surface maybe trapped those couple of worms since the sides are going back up the interior of the bin? looks like you have built some good moisture retaining measures for this VermiBag Mini Along with the spraying they got! It was great to see the whole setup from the side and top. Very cool time lapses within your video!! Another excellent video AV!!

[@A-V]

You're probably right about the top covering plastic & how it probably trapped the worms due to its sides being turned up the way it is. As for the moisture barrier wrapping & cover... I hope it is effective. When I previously ran the VermiBag Mini I had a similar wrapping & as I recall it did help some. This time though, I wrapped it a bit more snuggly that it had been previously. And last time I did nothing to protect the vented lid from allowing humid air out (or did I?..). It'll be interesting to see how it worked the next time we check in on this system... :)

[@Vermicompost]

@@A-V Any bit helps I would think! I feel like humidity levels are either really low or really high in my bins, with a few instances of just right😂

[@A-V]

I'm pretty comfortable managing moisture in bins. In the bag though, I feel like I've still gotta get the hang of keeping things the way I want them :)

[@Vermicompost]

@@A-V My Tiny Worm Bin is my moisture nemesis!

[@PrathamBazin]

I kinda like this worm bag. I've got a plastic vertical system like the worm factory 360 or w/e it's called, I think it's pretty good at moisture retention but lacks a bit in worm retention. Bout 3 weeks after setting it up I still find a few escape artists on the floot every now n then (usually dried out n dead, sometimes I get lucky n it's still alive lol). The worm bag seems better at keeping worms in check. Even normal plastic totes seem to do a better job at it.... 🙄 Anyways, thanks for your vids AJ, helped me quite a bit for this new activity of mine! 🤘 Cheers, Thomas

[@A-V]

On the subject of the worms remaining 'in check', I wonder if the increased humidity that the moisture barriers will cause within the system will result in more worms climbing. I guess we'll have to wait n' see... :)

[@PrathamBazin]

@@A-V yup that's a good question! From what I could see within my vertical tray system, a lot of condensation gathers on the walls, and dozens of worms are having their own party over there. The humidity within the substrate is adequate, too, so my guess is they just like to hang out inbetween 'eating sessions'. Maybe it helps with digestion. Hah ;) Btw, sorry I mispelt your name, AV. Just a typo. 😅 Cheers!

[@A-V]

👍🏻

[@wolfkremen]

what do you think about weighing bins to gauge moisture loss? My small scale experiment, 5.5 lbs of soil and worms goes down to 5lbs 5 oz. It's about 4%, wherein the bottom layer is moist and has all worms, while the upper layer is slightly moist.

[@A-V]

Back in early 2020 I test drove a somewhat more detailed tracker for one of my worm bins in which I kept records of whether I thought moisture levels, grit levels & food levels on a basic 1-5 (bad to good) rating scale. I also kept track of when food, moisture and grit were added (my everyday tracking only keeps track of food). I also tried to maintain an estimate for how close to completion the system was & I even kept track of the amount of food I added. It resulted in an interesting spreadsheet in which I even graphed some of the data points that I collected. In the end I found it to be excessively burdensome to keep track of so much stuff & it added no value to any of my processes. I believe that the info I record & track is about all that really interests me. If I were to go down a rabbit hole of tracking moisture loss - then I would almost certainly feel the need to establish some kind of baseline optimal value to which I would be trying to gravitate towards. And then I'd also probably begin trying to determine what percentage of the various foods I am feeding are actually just extra moisture going in. In other words, an exercise like that for an OCD kinda guy like me is just asking for trouble... haha! :)

[@wolfkremen]

@@A-V I'm weighing it to avoid relying on the very subjective estimation by eye or squishing the soil. Guesstimate has no chance of discovering that soil lost 5% in weight. What other methods other than electronic can be used to gauge the moisture level?

[@A-V]

It *does* seem that weighing is probably the best bet for reliable info 👍🏻