How I Harvest Worm Castings Before My Bin Is Finished | Vermicompost Worm Farm

[@Vermicompost]

Below are my go-to vermicomposting items featured in my videos. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my channel! www.youtube.com/@vermicompost?sub_confirmation=1 Worm Bins I use: Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3w15lQt Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT 20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr 3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO Mortar Tray amzn.to/3V43KD2 Other Worm Bins: Worm Factory 360 3-Tray Version amzn.to/3AHnjqK Worm Factory 360 5-Tray Version amzn.to/3tYfWY4 Bus bins amzn.to/3fd8AvP Equipment I use: 12 Sheet Cross Cut Micro Shredder (I use it to shred cardboard) amzn.to/3xYZKYu Magic Bullet Small Blender (to pulverize egg shells) amzn.to/3gwEzb4 or amzn.to/42SQ4w9 (with extra coffee bean & nut blade) Worms Red Wiggler mixes amzn.to/3yGNhwl & amzn.to/3R5tKvD ENC's amzn.to/3OkxV51 Indoor Outdoor Wireless Thermometer for worm bin amzn.to/3wIdXbO Additional thermometer sensors 433 MHz amzn.to/41juD7v Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz Additional thermometer sensors 915MHz amzn.to/3WTFgua Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz Japanese Garden knife amzn.to/3VEzmiN Wrigglebrew Worm Casting Tea amzn.to/46PhV2A Food Dehydrator amzn.to/3O5Uj2H Mosquito Dunks 6 pack amzn.to/3OlCEUg granular amzn.to/42KDtM0 or 20 pack amzn.to/42Br4Kf Kitchen scale to weigh worms & food: amzn.to/3HnOQjg Blue gloves amzn.to/3XsBg5n Spray bottles to mist bedding amzn.to/3Fq23rN Digital handheld Thermometer amzn.to/3EWfC2j Compost Tea Bags amzn.to/3fCb5o1 Solar powered light amzn.to/3nOucAq Reusable Keurig Coffee K-cups amzn.to/3FNXvt6 Other useful equipment for worm farming: 5 stackable sifter with different sized mesh: amzn.to/3S2k184 Cameras & camera equipment I use: Insta 360 ace pro amzn.to/3vgdmR8 Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF Insta360 GO 3s camera amzn.to/3Z1CKVR Insta360 X3 360 camera amzn.to/494NOGl 4 Ocean bracelets I wear Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/4eH5clM Books on worms & worm farming Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2 Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com www.youtube.com/@vermicompost?sub_confirmation=1

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Wow! Great video and I love watching you harvest Castings and massage the worms 🪱 😅 I hope you guys are staying warm. It's supposed to be in the 30's tomorrow morning ❄️🥶❄️ ❤Peggy❤

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you!! The worms get a massage and roller coaster ride all in one!! Autumn got me some hoops and netting for my garden beds for Christmas so they are going to come in handy this week!! We have some beautiful tomato plants I would love to keep alive through our Florida winter!! Thanks so much for watching Peggy!!🪱🪱🪱

[@Norm6671]

Good worms!! My worm channel worlds are colliding! lol

[@Vermicompost]

😂🤣😂 I love Ann over at Plant Obsessed...if you watch some of my videos where you can see me harvesting the UWB I'm wearing her channel's logo shirt!! Thanks so much for watching Norm!!🪱🪱🪱

[@lifegot8435]

I think the earthworms' most favorite food is boiled sweet potatoes. They seem to be attracted to sugar or carbo. I also saw a website that said that these earthworms gather in large numbers in places where sugar-containing wastewater from factories is dumped into the sewer.

[@Vermicompost]

That is fascinating they gather near waste water!! I bet they help to clean it up!! I'll have to try boiled sweet potatoes in my bins, I have some growing right now in my garden! Thanks so much for passing on your experience & Info!! And of course thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@A-V]

Now that the pink melon is facing the floofah I think it'll get a bit more action than before 👍🏻 Nice new raised beds!

[@Vermicompost]

I think you're right!! That flesh & any remaining juice should make the Floofah super appetizing!! I've been making garden soil for the raised beds with my vermicompost as a key ingredient...and man is that a lot of work!! Thanks so much for stopping by AV!!🪱🪱🪱

[@NanasWorms]

I wanted to see a watermelon worm brain and I wasn't disappointed! You didn't show how many worms you sifted out, Patrick, but I imagine that big central feeding was a great draw to keep the worms away from the side harvest. ~ Sandra

[@Vermicompost]

You called it last video!!! That was pretty exciting!! I don't think I found any big worms in the castings when I sifted, just some tiny worms when we dumped the 1/4 sifter into storage. There were very few in the overs that didn't make it through the sifter. The 1/8th sifter was pure castings!! I think you are right, the watermelon was a huge draw for the worms as well as the dryness of the outer area. Thanks so much for watching Sandra!!🪱🪱🪱

[@joesoutdoorplaces]

Beautiful black gold harvest.

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you Joe! I love taking castings out of this bin when I get caught short while planting!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@dnawormcastings]

Great video 🇳🇿🪱

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you Darren!! Good luck with your worm business in the new year!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@AJsGreenTopics]

I am the first one to watch my twin brother's video.

[@Vermicompost]

😂🤣😂 Twins always got each others back!!! Thanks for always being there for me AJ!! And of course thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@AndrewSmith-rj4ml]

Thanks for all the great info! I aim to setup a worm bag similar to yours once spring rolls around. Have you ever experienced other critters trying to get into your worm bag for all those yummy food scraps?

[@Vermicompost]

Most of the critters I experience are insects and other arthropods. The more common ones are ants like in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKOVaKVpl7Z2p68 but the ants don't eat the worms they are just seeking refuge. As long as I peak in the worm bin once a week the ants realize it is not a safe place for their babies! I also had a critter make a hole through both layers/both fabric pots of this worm bin. It never happened again and you can still see the holes in some of my video where I show the whole bin. Here is a video from when I first discovered the holes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipzPqWNqba6JfM0 I have a Weiner Hound that patrols our yard so that might be why the critter never came back to disturb the worm bin, but I have trapped & released raccoons, armadillos, and bunny rabbits in our yard. After 4 years I truly am surprised nothing has severely attacked the bin!! Maybe because I cover the scraps so well? or because they are plant scraps or the coffee masks it? Great question!! Thanks so much for watching Andrew!!🪱🪱🪱

[@jbc0831]

You are clearly having too much fun! Good worms, indeed!

[@Vermicompost]

Waaaaayyyyyy too much fun!! I get a little excited when I see those globs of worms!! It's like a present you open and find it's exactly what you want!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@brianseybert192]

That was one healthy mess of worms, worms sure do love melons. I have a garbage can (with holes) full of 1/8th inch screened castings and a 30 gal grow bag full of 1/4 inch screened castings, mid winter I am going to take a look under the microscope to see if there is much difference in the living biology between the two. I am starting to think it might be better to leave more unbroken down material in the stored castings. Whatcha going to plant in your ne beds? Awesome video Patrick! Stay Well !!!!

[@Vermicompost]

Now that is a lot of stored castings!! I'll be interested to see the results of your microscopic studies!! Right now I have a 4 x 8 of lettuce, a 4 x 8 of strawberries, a 4 x 8 of tomatoes, broccoli & Brussel sprouts...I think I'm gonna plant beans and more brassicas & egg plant in one of the new ones, cucumbers and small squashes in the other and maybe one more of lettuce!! Thanks for watching and for all the encouragement Brian!!🪱🪱🪱

[@brianseybert192]

@@Vermicompost Hey Patrick, have you ever thought of trellising some of that stuff. I love my arched cattle panels, gives me a lot of different possibilities in a small space. I can grow vining flowers, beans, melons, cucumbers, sweet potato, luffa, birdhouse gourds, cherry tomatoes, squash, just some of the stuff off the top of my head. Have not even dug into that CFT bin I started last Jan, it's pretty full, lol. I have to do a video of that and an update on my new worm bins. Stay Well!!!

[@GoblynGoods]

Please notify me when you upload the dirt video you mentioned

[@Vermicompost]

Will do!! I have filmed some of the segments but we are getting a cold snap and I'll have to wait until it gets back to reasonable Florida winter temps in a few days to film the rest!! We Floridians don't do well at all below 60℉!!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@lisakruger5289]

I think you guys are due for some colder than normal temps there soon...and we are going to get even colder here North of Atlanta. Do you do anything special with your outdoor worm bin when it gets really cold? I just add some extra bedding and sometimes put something over the bin like an old blanket and they seem to hang in there ok. But I just wondered if you did anything any different.

[@Vermicompost]

Yes we are!! We're going to be Florida Freezing at night (in the mid to high 30's) for several days over the next week & a half. In the past I used to take my Outdoor Worm Bin into our garage, but I didn't at all last winter and it did just fine. I think it helps that it is directly on the ground and full of active microbes helping it stay a few degrees above the outside air temperature...But I didn't even think to cover it with a sheet like we do our plants when it freezes!! I will now be doing this!! Thank you for sharing your tip!! We were just up near your area as we spent the first few days of the New Year in Blue Ridge, GA! We even got to see snow when we drove up to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park for the day. Thanks so much for watching Lisa!!🪱🪱🪱

[@marymccormick7806]

Do you store your harvested worm castings in an airtight container? Or should it breath/have vents. I want to gift some castings.

[@Vermicompost]

My storage is a 5 gallon bucket (sometimes 2 buckets) with lots of holes around the sides and bottom and it also has a lid. The worms castings definitely need to breath! Great question Mary!! I'm sure lots of folks are wondering the same thing!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@GardeningwithBarchuckin]

1/8” sifter did a good job. 1 thing when going that small or smaller the moisture in the castings can become a problem. As opposed to sifting they just kind of roll on top. Awesome watermelon worm ball. Cherries and grapes may need to be popped on the next check in. But you do have a ton of worms in there so they should be good. 😁🪱

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you Rick!! So true about the smaller sifter!! These castings were more damp than usual for this bin since I had just watered it a few days ago, but it would be much harder to use that 1/8th sifter with Vermihut castings!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@tiffany7023]

Would ground shells work as a worm grit?

[@Vermicompost]

Many people use oyster shell grit that I think is common for folks who raise chickens so I imagine it is relatively cheap and easy to find. I'm sure you can use well rinsed sea shells as well (if you are able to grind them) but I would test them out in a small area of your worm bin first to see if the eat them. My egg shell grit is usually the first thing to go when I do my time lapses. I hope this helps Tiffany!! Thanks so much for all your support!!🪱🪱🪱

[@tiffany7023]

@Vermicompost Okay cool, thanks to the both of y'all. ❤️

[@wallysworms]

I wonder how many worms you have in that bin. Nice job.

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you Wally!! I think I have at least 4,000-5,000 but it could be much more...every little handful has so many tiny red wigglers...I have noticed the population increase as I've been bulking it up despite some cold snaps we've been having here in central Florida. Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@TheYeaRdPr0jEcT]

It’s better to harvest the casting when they’re a little bit dry right cause they’ll fall through the holes easier? How long before you harvest the castings should you stop feeding the worms?

[@Vermicompost]

Yes indeed!! I had watered down this bin a few days before so it was a little damp on the sides. If I had harvested before that there would hardly be any stuff sticking to the sifter! If you want to harvest your whole bin without just taking castings out like I did here, then I typically stop feeding shredded cardboard 4-6 weeks before I harvest. As for food scraps, you can feed them fast food like lettuce or smaller pieces of melon 7-10 days before you harvest!! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@MonzGary]

Do you find yourself having to add moisture/water to those fabric bag worm bins?

[@Vermicompost]

Yes! When I add dry shredded cardboard I do it right away. If I go more than a couple weeks without feeding it I also add water. Lately I've been bulking it up and it is our dry season so I've noticed it has been running a bit drier than normal. However, during the summer, when it rains on it, I don't have to water it in between feedings. I live in the Tampa Florida area. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@MonzGary]

@Vermicompost during rainy season, can it stay out in the rain? The rain doesn't drive the worms out of the bag?

[@Vermicompost]

No, it actually sheds water very well although it does get damp. I try to keep it on a little bit higher ground so it doesn't pool around it, but over all the rain just keeps things moist without soaking or flooding the bin...it also drains because it is made of fabric so even a hard rain is no problem. I do occasionally find worms between the two fabric pots that make up the worm bin, so if the change in weather gets them wanting to wander they don't get very far since the folded up top of the bag is too complicated to navigate. Over all it is a truly amazing cheap DIY worm bin!!

[@Tippler0611]

If castings in storage get very dry is the biology totally lost or can it be recovered once moistened again?

[@Vermicompost]

It is not totally lost, but a lot of it is depleted. Some microbes such as some bacterium form endospores to survive harsh conditions & other super small critters in the castings can go into a hibernating like state...but this is for extreme survival...so I would just dump some water on the castings to try to revive them and maybe mix your next harvest in with them. Otherwise I would just use them in the garden as normal after rehydrating them...it can't hurt!! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@chantalepick3691]

Why are my worms trying to escape my bin?

[@Vermicompost]

The number one problem for many worm bins is too many food scraps that end up going anaerobic (without oxygen) and off-gassing ammonia or other rotting gasses. The worms will flee if they can't breath. Does the worm bin smell like ammonia? Does the bin have a tight sealing lid with no holes? Make sure you don't have a lid that seals or at least make sure it has holes so they can breath. You you may want to take out as much food and bedding as you can and just add more damp, more dry than wet, shredded cardboard to eliminate any rotting food or bedding. If the worms are just climbing up the sides AND the sides are wet/damp, then the worms are just exploring and won't escape as they will be repelled by the dry air when they get to the top. My first worm bin was a fail when I overfed so this is what I fall back to...I hope this helps!! If not describe how old the bin is, what type of bin it is, is it indoor or outdoor, how many worms you started with, and how much you feed it and I might be able to help some more. Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@theunskoch4256]

The material/castings can also be a bit too acidic, like you said Patrick it could also ve overfeeding, then the other factor that could also be a problem, is what type of worms do you have, Anc's and Jumping worms are known to escape their "houses"

[@Vermicompost]

Yes!! Thanks for the assist!! I appreciate you helping out our fellow worm farmer!!🪱🪱🪱

[@innaslyusarenko]

Try mixing in and then covering the surface with dry shredded paper and leave it without lid in a lighted area for a day or two.

[@chantalepick3691]

@innaslyusarenko that's a good idea. Thank you.

[@GreenfieldsHomeplace]

When you store your castings, do you ever check later and find some baby worms? I used the 1/4 inch and thought I got all the cocoons and baby worms, but almost two months later I was curious and looked in my stored castings and there was one lonely little worm. 😄 He was moving slowly but I put him back in my big bin to join his friends. 🪱🪱🪱

[@Vermicompost]

That's pretty good that you only found one little worm!! I sometimes have to use a bait cup to get all the baby worms out...but I think my Urban Worm Bag is the greatest contributor of worms to my storage since I harvest about 25 pounds at a time and I don't sift it!! The 1/4 inch sifter is an awesome size for worm castings and the one I use the most!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱