Worm Breeding for Beginners - Part 1

[@chrisschultz1580]

I'm so happy to see you getting back to instructional videos. This is what I subscribed for. I've watched a couple of worm presenters who pretty much stopped altogether once the business end of things became successful. Thank you, and please keep up the good work.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks for the feedback, Chris. That’s what I love to do… just time intensive and time is scarce in Spring/Summer - looking forward to continuing to teach/share!

[@muellerdeal8996]

such a respectful young man you are raising and teaching the trade!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

So glad Jude is learning the trade… nothing makes me happier than worming with the family.

[@HDVideoMy]

I did everything you explained here in these videos but into a 15lt bucket as thats all i had available. Today was 21 days and I harvested the cocoons, I didnt think i had too many until i started digging through and holy man i had so many cocoons literally hundreds and hundreds. Thankyou for your video. Breeding Worms setup and going again now. From Australia regards Dan

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

So awesome to hear, Dan!

[@alastairleung1883]

Wohoo!! I’ve been waiting for a step by step breakdown on this topic. Glued to the screen! Thanks Cap!

[@AJ-jl5eo]

Another great video Capt. Matt & Jude - perfect timing as I’m looking to start to do some breeding bins. My kitchen composting worms have been breeding enough to give breeding bins a go - looking forward to the next videos. God bless you & your family, be safe in that garage of yours.

[@monotvbd7540]

😊

[@guylewis3982]

Hi Captain Matt, I am really enjoying watching the great videos on breeding worms with you grandson, both sharing valuable time together as well as learning and sharing skills. After watching the video where you explained how to get an awful lot of moisture into the bedding, I have just set up my new bedding in the same way , as I write this the bedding has been very wet and is now draining. I am using Cocoa Coir compost as bedding and will let you know how I get on. You mentioned some have had problems with Coco coir though I have also seen ' The Garden and Worm Lady' using Cocoa Coir again quite wet to breed worms in. Thanks again for great informative videos, and please say 'Hi, and well done' to your grandson, I hope he is enjoying the time with you! Regards Guy

[@Liliarthan]

Hey Guy, just wondering how you went using the coco coir? Thank you 🪴

[@guylewis3982]

Hello Lilyth, How are you? I hope you are well. Many thanks for your question. I have had the opportunity to watch many videos about how to keep a wormery since the videos and course by Captain Matt sparked my interest starting a worm farm. One of the ones I have seen, videos by the 'Worm Whisperer", I have found very helpful as a beginner. In his video starting up a worm bin, he reveals his 'go to' bedding as being made of equal quantities of moist 'coco coir' and moist 'shredded cardboard'.. I am away on holiday at the moment, before I left home, I refreshed the worm bedding and gave them food, and look forward to checking them when I return at the weekend and will let you know how they are getting on. Wishing you well, Guy

[@dnawormcastings]

About time somebody’s talking real worm stuff that can help my breeding worm have more. Eggs and have the right amount of breeders in one bin 🇳🇿❤

[@rico99586]

Hello again Captain Matt. Am I wrong or is 2' x 1.5', 3 sq feet, or 2.5 sq feet? I think 3 square feet. Maybe it doesn't matter. Not trying to be a smart a**, but it will affect the volume of worms to place in bin. Thanks again for all your vids. You're the best!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks for the correction. You are correct!

[@b3productions974]

Oh Captain, My Captain

[@willsgotworms]

Funny thing is I'm about to begin my breeding setup and was going to use cococoir as the bedding (I have a huge surplus of it). As you weren't able to give an actual reason why not to use it, I'll use it as planned but will keep you updated on my results!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Sounds like a good plan!

[@davidloesch]

Let us know how it goes

[@saucebox11]

Im doing the same, guess we will find out

[@brookeonyx6271]

It’s a good idea to soak in hot water then rinse. Even though it’s well washed before shipping from overseas the salt may not all be out and may collect salt on the trip. The reason coconut coir is considered a “bad” idea is due to the amount of resources needed to clean it then ship it. If you have it I say use it but wash well in hot water then give it a couple rinses in cool water.

[@SheilaG971]

I heard the same thing. I use the coco coir because I heard that the worms process it better but I do wash in hot water and rinse well.

[@guylewis3982]

Hello Captain Matt, I find your great videos very informative, Thankyou. Sadly, I only have room for a ' one tote wormery ' at home. Could I please ask "How do you know when the worm casts are ready to use?", before removing and replacing with fresh bedding. Many thanks Guy

[@MariaGonzalez-p9o]

You are an excellent teacher. Thank you for sharing and may God bless the work of your hands.

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You’re welcome. I appreciate the encouragement. May God bless you in PR!

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Great, great video, Captain Matt❤ Jude is really growing up 💪 Your vision is really expanding Take care ❤Peggy❤

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks, Peggy - great to have a strong guy around these days!

[@BeateDAmato-j5w]

I am so glad to have found you ❤, so much great info helping me to get started ❤

[@amalinafarid7417]

Hi Captain Matt. May i have your favor. Can u please teach us demonstration in making bedding of african night crawlers?😊

[@ryanweidner4825]

Oops you already answered! Thanks! I prefer real videos like these with pleanty of respectable room for minor glitch’s as opposed to an actor cutting it just perfect. You are an inspiration! Captain Matt, I hate to ask but when measuring square feet of top surface you said one side was 2’ and the other was 1.5 foot =2.5 foot but did you mean to say 3 foot or did you round down?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks, Ryan! Your math is correct - 3 sq ft

[@Adventuresofawormman-yp9ds]

Just staring up my worm farm. Thanks for all the info!

[@SmashDab]

Your a awesome teacher, I’m excited every time I see your videos

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks SmashDab... that's encouraging, since I was a terrible student! Worm on!

[@mobiltec]

I'm just trying to see if maybe I don't have a little gem on my property. I have a 1200 sq ft yard that is chock full of night crawlers. I see them when they come up under plastic trash cans and such. They are huge. 5/16 inch diameter on average and 4 to 8 inches long. I've never even found worms like these buying bait. What do I have here besides a horribly bumpy yard and what can be done with them?

[@jessandbean]

Thanks for the video Captain and Jude!✊🏽✊🏽

[@jgarson5916]

My bins are very healthy but much too wet to sift. How do I fix this? Thank you!

[@markhiggins3054]

Great young man of the future!

[@alexsampaio9198]

Thanks, Captain! We need more worms around the world! hehe

[@thelmabolden5388]

So how many worms would you put in a 30 gal plastic tote..??

[@steelmaster73]

Same amount for surface...too much bedding would compact

[@jamespapandrea8979]

Hi Matt I was wondering where do you buy your one ton bags from

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey James... typically from Amazon 1 Ton bag amzn.to/3bNyC7z 1 Ton bag (10 pack) amzn.to/3piqezO

[@ThePeoplesPlugBMWI3]

Yeah you could’ve touched the other kind of lime & water activates it can get so hot it catches fire 🔥

[@RosWigglers]

Love this! Thanks for all of your knowledge, Captain Matt! (and Jude!)

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You bet!

[@jmajick4415]

I've just decided to do it basically the same way. It's great to see a pro moving to the same system. I use coco coir and composted manure (mostly horse, chicken added to heat it up to 140+). In just 2 weeks I had so many dark cocoons, that I decided to sort the worms out by hand. Only took 20 minutes. I don't have a bin of reserves so I keep the breeders breeding and dump cocoons into one of those cubic yard bags. Just getting started with this method so no results from the cocoons quite yet I think the hesitation about coco coir is that people think that it's full of sea salt and needs rinsed. I've been using different brands for years in gardening and my crops thrive in it with no rinsing. I've never rinsed. The absolutely best results for breeding that I've had were in coco by far. I've tried wood chip compost but got too many pot worms with ok levels of breeding. Aged horse manure almost no breeding at all. Then hot composted horse manure was good, but excelled when I mixed it with coco coir. It's also better for the environment than peat moss and no need for the dolomite to bring the pH up. I do add crushed limestone for grit and that also raises the pH on its own

[@Darthmaull0101]

I use coco as well. I'm curious. Do you have castings from your worms that you use for your garden? I'm asking because I've noticed that the castings from the coco coir bedding is dark brown instead of black like it would be from peat. Is there a difference or is it pure preference from people that are used to seeing castings from peat?

[@jmajick4415]

@@Darthmaull0101 I have only run a few batches of worms this way so I haven't gotten to the castings yet. Instead of sifting my breeders and then castings, I'm just picking the worms out and putting them in new breeding bins. I leave the rest as a nursery so it will be a while before I actually have a good amount of the castings.

[@judyhitchcock1903]

I like the idea of using leaf and stick compost. Do you have to do anything specific before bringing it inside for worms? What about other bugs in the compost, does it matter? And where did you get those bins? Thank you

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

For me it doesn't matter... some folks sterilize before bringing indoors. I recall there being discussions about this in the forum at community.wormpeople.com/

[@dr.lattenliterature]

How did you actually build the shelving unit you have in your video? What size are the shelves and how are they build?

[@byrongonzalez8792]

Can't wait to use peat

[@abdulhakimramdhani1680]

Hi sir, I am from Indonesia and I do like your video . I have a question, can we use 100% of biochar as the living medium for worms ?

[@derekzoeller2758]

Thanks Capt. Matt!

[@milespitman7036]

Hey Capt Matt. How do you maintain aerobic conditions with all the moisture?

[@Liliarthan]

Following for the answer 🪴

[@carlmerkey9370]

Just found your channel and think it is great my question is what size continuous bin would be for a beginner thanks Carl from Michigan

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Carl... depends on a lot of factors. I think you would find the Learn to Worm course valuable to really give you a foundation to build on. When we answer questions piecemeal on KZbin or over email, folks really just get fragments of the knowledge needed. We (Captain Matt and family) finally sat down together last year and spent a few hundred hours creating the course so that folks could get a really solid foundation. learn.wormpeople.com/course/learn-to-worm Providing access to to course for all people is part of our values - so there is also a scholarship program. The forum on WormPeople.com community.wormpeople.com/ is also a great free resource where you can search for various topics... there are some really smart Worm People in there and hundreds of discussions.

[@aaronbeh3731]

good information thanks Captain Matt.God bless you

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

You’re welcome, Aaron!

[@SamE2109]

Do you feed them any food scraps in the breeder bins?

[@Alan-t2o8o]

Can you use uv light to stop worms red wrigglers stop them escaping or not good idea

[@lenn508]

Please advise if you microwave your new compost before using it in the breeding bins to get rid of other unwanted insects ? Thanks from South Africa.

[@ryanweidner4825]

I e considered doing this too as horribly cruel as it sounds!

[@evelynknight5627]

Hey Captain Matt! How do you keep the pests under control with your CFTs? I can't imagine you're freezing all of your scraps for that, and I don't see a swarm of insects flying around in your garage!

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hey Evelyn… BTI (mosquito bits/dunks) in all my bin water makes the difference!

[@connectingdots3574]

Poor spider. He isn't fine! Jk. Love the videos. You have taught me so much!

[@carely1532]

hai captain matt, is it possible that i use tea media to grow my worms? and i used cow dunk to feed my worms too

[@Liliarthan]

Tea media meaning used tea leaves? I know lots of people use that and coffee grind, though not solely. Be curious as to the Capt’s view on it

[@stephentackitt8683]

I have an horticultural lime but it’s also hydrated. Is this ok to use? Thanks

[@Billster1955]

I started raising european night crawlers a couple of years ago, but they are just to tiny for fishing. Is there a particular worm or night crawler thatvyou suggest?

[@TheGardenAndWormLady]

Excellent video!!!!! 🤗🪱

[@monotvbd7540]

Good information

[@tdieckma]

How deep would you say would be the minimum depth?

[@Collinhut]

Could I use baking soda instead off lime?

[@سعیدالطرفی-ن3ر]

I SO PROUD AND THANKFULL TO FOIIOW YOU FROM IRAQ👌👌👌🙏🙏🙏🍒🍒🍒💐💐💐👍👍👍

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Greetings, worm friend!

[@carpenter790]

Hello sir I have found some green “stink” worms on my riverbank, they smell like sewer and are fantastic for fishing. What are chances i can use the very few i can find to breed enough to obtain thousands?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Hmm... if you do a little research to find out the type of worm - there may be some history of cultivation. Fish do seem to love stinky worms. This could be a good question for discussion forum at community.wormpeople.com/ There’s tons of information and experienced Worm People over there who support each other on their journeys.

[@ashleytucker9845]

I’m not needing 100’s of worms. Just a few a day to feed my axolotl. Is there a smaller way to do this?

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Sure...just size down to any container.

[@davegiambrone7974]

What r the cocoons?

[@michaelwalborn1384]

How or where do you get the compost when you are first starting out

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Piles of free (or almost free) leaf mulch/compost and composted wood chips from tree folks. Beginning, you may need to start with shredded cardboard and peat moss - but I’d recommend shifting to more natural inputs as soon as possible - the difference in richness of castings is distinctive.

[@robertgiardini2857]

​@@CaptainMattsWorms How do you know your warm castings Is Aren't being contaminated by bugs how do you get rid of them

[@SheilaG971]

@@robertgiardini2857, in my case, because I use compost from my outdoor compost, I freeze my compost for a couple of days before use. Then if needed a light coating of the Agricultural Lime (which is food grade) is great for getting rid of any pesky insect visitors.

[@JoeN-S]

I'd be curious to why no to coir. I am not breeding... but my worms breed like crazy in an urban worm bag in my spent microgreen trays which are grown in coir.

[@victorm7274]

2:17 I think you mean 3 sq ft.🤔

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Your are correct! I’m thankful for people good at math like you. We corrected it in a next video.

[@SheilaG971]

I just love seeing Jude! He reminds me so much of my grandson and they are both becoming great young men!

[@thomasmaclean7465]

2 ft x 1.5 ft = 3 sq. ft, not 2.5 --> 600 worms

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Thanks for the correction, Thomas! Glad to have you double-checking our math!

[@thomasmaclean7465]

@@CaptainMattsWorms sorry, engineer here, couldn’t help myself. Thanks for the interesting content! The worms will likely thank you too!

[@bradleycollins1561]

I felt the same way about the math. Great content.

[@pinballwizard6906]

🇬🇧😎

[@karlelshoff4720]

Cpt. Mat, A 2'x1.5' is 3 square feet not 2.5 square feet.

[@Gerald0613]

Poor spider got killed 😭

[@CBC6669]

I'm not interested in breeding !!!! What us your bedding for worm castngs !!! I cannot find video on your bedding . Thank you

[@ScottMason-ss8ww]

Please don't use peat, please leave it in the ground where it should stay, it's holds massive amount of carbon. It takes thousands of years to lay down a few inches and has its own environment.

[@stabbitythecricket2076]

Do you know what's a good alternative? I was thinking the same thing on how using peat can be bad.

[@HildeAzul]

@@stabbitythecricket2076 Cococoir - rinse it out if you don’t buy it pre rinsed as the salt content is extremely high. Also, there is Peat that is commercially produced and NOT removed from bogs.

[@zackeryshackelford3864]

Peat and peat moss are different things i believe. Peat is that dense stuff they dig out and burn for heat in the UK

[@ScottMason-ss8ww]

@@zackeryshackelford3864 we don't burn peat. Maybe on the odd Scottish island. We are realising it's best kept in the ground.

[@robhoug3724]

Coco coir is much better

[@barbarakidd430]

why is my worm farm stinking and my worms dying

[@CaptainMattsWorms]

Sorry to hear, barbara... sounds like it went anerobic. Lots of variables - most often caused by over-feeding. Our course will give a good foundation for maintaining a healthy bin learn.wormpeople.com/course/learn-to-worm