While I'm capable of any thing I put my mind to, I'm way more likely to try new things when they are explained in simple terms- you did that beautifully! We are moving soon but I can't wait to start this when I get where I'm going! Ha.
@@sacredcowbbq1326 that could definitely work! The worms will produce their own heat and if you have a little extra substrate with a worm mat over the top to help keep the heat in you should be all set
Instead of coffee, I add some dark black cocoa powder to my worm chow. They go crazy for it and I think it encourages them to breed more. Also, I only put 250 worms in each bin, this also encourages them to breed.
Yeah, about $4 for a measly 30 wigglers! Ridiculous! Here in central Florida my old tomato("mater" in my indigenous Arkansan)buckets virtually all end up with worms in them. Just emptying a few old buckets got me about 50 worms the other day, & I've got a slew of buckets left.😁 Great video by the way, a little long, but down to earth using common sense & materials, something that may well be lost in a couple of generations of "digital children"!😎
I love your videos. I'm new to composting (just researching, haven't started) and live in humid hot Thailand. But I'm ready to implement your teachings. I have some ideas and questions about systems. I don't have the space to have an open pile but want to do the worm bin. Also, I stumbled upon a rotating compost bin and Bokashi kitchen waste recycle bin. Would it be wise to have all three systems going? Also, my friend blends his organics before putting them in compost. Is this advisable?
I know you say ‘as the worms migrate up into the new bucket’ but about how long does that generally take? I’m just starting out and I’m wondering if this is a couple weeks or a couple months.
It really depends on how many worms that you have and what you use for bedding. Cardboard takes longer, as do leaves. Honestly, it takes my worms months, to breakdown a tray in my 360.
If you use the top bucket does the middle bucket contents need to touch the bottom of the top bucket or do the worms just climb up the side of the middle bucket and climb up into the holes of the bottom of the top bucket?
Good question, I was wondering too. So let's do some reckoning: Worms can't jump, so the compost has to be high enough to touch the next bucket. above.
@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 well thanks for the reply. It's 3 months later since I asked my question. And my worms figured it all out and as usual I worried over nothing. They are fat and happy.
I'm a newbie and want to start this vermicomposting but I live in a small apartment. Would this 5 gallon bucket system work ok indoors without attracting bugs or odors?
I have a similar system. A pesky problem that I have is some of the worms fall into the bottom bucket then get trapped in there and die. I don’t know if there’s a good solution to prevent them dropping or let them climb back up to the buckets above. Thanks.
To prevent this perhaps you could add a fine mesh to the bottom of the bucket? I lose a few worms this way too but it's never had too serious an impact on the total bin population
I've just put holes in my buckets and realized that would be a problem too! I think my solution is going to be to put some dirt down in there, so it could be good for both holding excess moisture and also hopefully keep any stragglers that may get down in there alive.
Uncle Jim is incredibly proud of his red maggots at $75 per pound. I'm converting my gourmet pork herd to red wrigglers...starting with the dead gilt! Either "Uncle Jim" is "Jackass Jim", or I should make changes to my farm model pronto! How many multi-millionaire worm farmers are there? Can anyone help with stats or data. Yep....not so many.
To begin the middle will be empty. Then, once the top bucket begins to get full, you can switch the buckets, and start adding scraps to the new top bucket. The worms will then migrate up into that bucket and you can harvest castings from the old bucket.
I haven’t seen a video as cool as this in quite some time…. Super informative, super beginner friendly, I learned so much about worms in general, and just… fascinating. Thanks for the explanations and tidbits of knowledge! I’m trying to decide if I want to use red wrigglers or European night crawlers. Uncle Jim’s website has a great comparison between the two. But I still can’t make up my mind. They are considerably larger. (Doing an indoor vermicompost setup). You saved me $75-130+ bucks from those fancy-schmansey worm setups being sold online. Thank you!!!
Just to let you know. 4 years ago I bought a lot of worms from Uncle Jim’s. I live in Texas and the temps were in the 100’s. They shipped the worms and they arrived dead. I contacted the comp, but no restitution was made. 👎🏻
I've watched a bunch of vermiculture videos. This one was great so I'm going to do it your way. Thanks for your clear instructions. Love that you're working with businesses like the juice place and restaurant.
How do you prevent buckets from sticking together? Maybe they won't stick because of the holes not allowing there to be a vacuum. But it would be nice to solve before I put worms in :) Thank you !
Great videos Andrew. Got my 5 gallon buckets from our Jacksonville Zoo where I volunteer in the Animal Nutrition Center. We have stacks of buckets for animal diets. Then I stopped by a local Starbucks and they had 5 gallons of used coffee grounds. A great start at no cost. Next step is the carbon ingredients and finally the worms.
Question: at 8:05 you said maybe don't use chlorinated water to wet cardboard for this. I have a large fish tank with lots of water that I've treated to remove the chlorine. Would there be any reason at all not to use that the next time I do a water change?
When you control the worms, you control.... xD great video thank you. Also Chloramine takes forever to actually break down (unlike 24 hours for Chlorine). You can help with process with some vitamin C powder. Definitely recommend building a water distiller box or starting with filtered water of some kind if you've got chloramine in your city water.
Contracrostics: I responded to somebody who was trying to hydroponics experiment, but really frustrated. when we did a quick troubleshooting, her problem turned out to be chloramine. That brilliant woman figured out that you can deal with the chloramine by using citric acid. I don’t remember the exact details offhand, but I think the information will be on the Internet. That would keep you from having to lug buckets of spring water, or bottled water home. (filtration had been my suggestion, followed by collection of rainwater or springwater.) I hope this helps.
@@daphneraven6745 You are right, citric acid was what I was trying to say with 'vitamin C powder' but I'm a dumb and used a misnomer. Thank you Daphne! Yours is an important post.
@@Contracrostics : I think you made a really good point there. Sometimes a person just gets a word stuck on the tip of the tongue. Hope you don’t mind that I filled it in, just because in that moment it happened to be available for me. After all, the other form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid. And that might not do the trick.
As a painter I come by buckets all the time..i encourage others to do this BUT also write bigger paint companies and demand they Partner with Grocery Stores to optimize our growth and decay Did I read 75$ for 1000 wormss?? Holy moly im upping my prices. Eventually i want to give/trade away worms and trade their castings
Certain types of worms eat more apparently and break the food down faster than others. I think that’s why it matters what kind of worms you use. I believe red wrigglers and night crawlers are the best for composting since they real things down faster
I cackled when you said "they even make Uncle Jim look somewhat wormlike, himself" ... you were clearly amused to say it because you're fighting hard to keep the smirk low key but you ultimately lost that battle
How often do you feed the worms and what amount of worms in count should you have used for these bins shown? Also, when using cardboard, can you use the entire cardboard even if it has printed item on the cardboard, or do you have to cut that out?
You can put the whole setup in a garage it doesn’t make a mess if you’re careful, if not you can order thermal blankets online and put one on the ground beneath the bin then one covering the whole thing and it should be alright
If they are meant to climb upwards when they are finished with their food, to the next layer of bedding and food, then why did you put the worms/bedding/food in the top bucket? I just set one of these up and I had the worms in a bucket that was still holding maybe a 1/2 gallon of the rich dirt I found them in, so after adding coco and cardboard and the other things, it was too much I couldn't fit the top bucket on. Can I just let them be for some weeks or whatnot for them to eat that down a ways? Some of them tried to make an escape into the bottom bucket so I felt like I fucked something up. I didn't have any compost but the dirt they were in was full of castings as well. Trying to figure out if I should just let it be a while with just the 2 buckets or pull all my worms and rebuild with less of everything?
I got the worms and got all excited, built this joint the same day I saw your video, any kinda tips you might have would be wonderful. I got coco(coir) coffee grounds, wet cardboard, half gallon of rich dirt the were living in, crushed some rock made dust added that, then I used a mixer and mixed avocado peel and a rotten banana and peel and egg shells into a puree for food. Mixed it up and now I got them escaping out the bottom and I'm not using the top bucket because the other is too full. 😐🤔
I’m kinda confused too… I don’t understand where the worms are supposed to go. I thought the worms were going to separate themselves from the castings. I love that you made with recycled buckets!
My advise, when bottom bucket is half to 3/4 full, stop feeding to let Worms mostly eat what's leftover in bottom bin. When food is nearly gone, put 2nd bucket with some bedding & maybe some kitchen whizzed up food scraps in it. (Doesn't take as long to break down) Then the Worms will migrate up to feed. Give them time, (a week or so) there's always stragglers. Then remove bottom bucket. As you look through this bucket, there are always worms & eggs left. Just throw them into your new bucket, & you have black gold over for the garden. Don't worry if you miss some. If your system is running well, they'll be breeding, & will replace any Worms that get moved into your garden.
@@ginalee7347 I didn't use recycled buckets, I wish I had, I was excited to build it & had already collected worms, so got home Depot buckets, but if you're looking to get recycled buckets I recommend a restaurant, pickles and several other items come from Sysco in 5 gallon buckets, and they usually have a lot if they are a busy restaurant
So, it looks like you have an empty bucket as the middle, why not put dry bedding in there, and if you get drips from your active bucket with bacteria, fungi etc. in the water, it would be pre-seasoned, so to speak, when needed? When your active bucket is near completion then you could swap them and add food to the pre-seasoned bucket to lure the worms up. Might not get as much worm juice in the bottom bucket that way, but I'd think it might speed up the composting.
Have you considered downward migration? It allows the top to dry out for casting gathering and the bottom layer can pretty much be just paper and catch then liquid and be pre inoculated with microbes
I'm sooooooo pumped to try this! I am a small business owner in a town that has a love for fishing. I have a lot of egg cartons we use though I don't use t gallon buckets but I'm sure someone does! This is a wonderful hobby! Thank you!! Uncle Jim is also pretty close to my town!
Excellent video. I like that these are modular and easy to size to the amount of food scraps your household produces. If you're producing too much for 1 system, just get 3 more buckets. I like that it's cheap... and maybe free if you can get a restaurant to supply them. Upcycling is a good thing, endorsed by Mother Earth. My one objection is your choice of bedding, though. As a long-time composter and eco-freak, I'm always trying to upcycle any waste my home produces. So instead of purchased products, I'd be using the junk mail, bills, and Amazon boxes I shred, along with some leaves and other garden debris. I
I can finally put some of my junk mail to good use. Thanks for the tip. I'm new to worm composting, and want to learn as much as possible. Also what's the best way to shred the cardboard? Thanks again.
@@theknockoutladysaint23 You can shred cardboard in a paper shredder, but it will kill many cheap ones. I usually just hand-tear it into small chunks. Also, beware that shredded paper mats a lot, so be sure to mix it well.
Thank you for keeping local businesses alert and involved and even if they weren't the fact that you initiated the conversation definitely piqued therir awareness
Wow when I heard you speaking, I kept thinking where have I heard his voice was before it sounded very familiar. They didn't realize you even sort of look like that person. The guy that has the UA-cam channel grow your greens. I'm wondering if your brothers I would love to know thank you. Have a wonderful day. Best wishes.🙏❤️☮️
Being a worm be like: “They put me in a circular prison, and we crawl out of our own poop, bud we just keep crawling, we sometimes see the light bud then we’re locked back in, and sometimes, they even take some of us, no one has came back, and they steal our poop? WHY!
Could somebody tell me whether or not that would be harmful to my worms to give them coffee grounds that that have developed a mold I would really appreciate it. Thank you so very much.
Try to order early in the spring, or early fall. You don’t want to have them traveling in the heat or cold. I sent some worms to my daughter and I didn’t know where the mailman might leave them or how long they’d be outside before she came home.
Question 8 are we waiting for the worms to finish off the first bucket before adding to the second and the third or is it okay to do all the layers at once
When do you add the second bucket with bedding? I know you said once they’ve eaten the food but they don’t generate much waste after one feeding so do you do around 3 months then add the top bin with new bedding? Also are the worms able to travel through the holes with all that bedding on the top new bin?
On some of the comments about using worms from the garden or from a pet store, red wigglers tend to be the common composting worm because of the amount of castings they create. If you don't want to order through the mail, a lot of the bigger garden centers will have them. Worth a quick Google to find them in your area.
Don't Forget This Critical Ingredient When Composting With Coffee Grounds: ua-cam.com/video/z_rIUz17mR4/v-deo.html
How many worms should you put in this size bucket? Minimum and maximum amount of worms..
They can have parasites and not be healthy
While I'm capable of any thing I put my mind to, I'm way more likely to try new things when they are explained in simple terms- you did that beautifully! We are moving soon but I can't wait to start this when I get where I'm going! Ha.
For anyone that lives in colder climates, invest in a worm blanket and a couple thermal blankets, especially if you have long harsh winters
Thanks. I wanted to convert an old refrigerator but I wondered if it'll be too cold outdoors since I live in a very cold climate. Any thoughts?
@@sacredcowbbq1326 that could definitely work! The worms will produce their own heat and if you have a little extra substrate with a worm mat over the top to help keep the heat in you should be all set
Instead of coffee, I add some dark black cocoa powder to my worm chow. They go crazy for it and I think it encourages them to breed more. Also, I only put 250 worms in each bin, this also encourages them to breed.
Question 2 what are the variety of worms to use for gardening and are there any we don't want in the garden
Fantastic video. I really appreciate the time and effort that you put into this.
Thanks! Happy composting 👍
You shared what I needed to know. I set up my DIY worm bin a couple months ago using a pot and a bucket. You helped answer my questions. Thanks.
Great video, would you recommend this for a class project or would the smell stink the classroom
it should not smell bad at all if you don't overload them with too much food at once.
Question 10 for the bedding is it okay to use all the things in the yard like grass shavings wood chips dry branches etc
Fabulous video. I can do this tomorrow. I’m so excited. I’m a newbie. Following along now. I must find your worm tea!
Great Video Andrew! We are Worm People!
Very helpful video. You really know your stuff. Thanks!
Question 4 so we're filling all the buckets minus the reservoir with soil food scraps and recyclables all at the same time and sit and leave?
Walmart has worms too, in the fishing area.
Yeah, about $4 for a measly 30 wigglers! Ridiculous! Here in central Florida my old tomato("mater" in my indigenous Arkansan)buckets virtually all end up with worms in them. Just emptying a few old buckets got me about 50 worms the other day, & I've got a slew of buckets left.😁 Great video by the way, a little long, but down to earth using common sense & materials, something that may well be lost in a couple of generations of "digital children"!😎
I love your videos. I'm new to composting (just researching, haven't started) and live in humid hot Thailand. But I'm ready to implement your teachings. I have some ideas and questions about systems. I don't have the space to have an open pile but want to do the worm bin. Also, I stumbled upon a rotating compost bin and Bokashi kitchen waste recycle bin. Would it be wise to have all three systems going? Also, my friend blends his organics before putting them in compost. Is this advisable?
The smaller your food scraps the quicker they’ll dissolve. I also freeze my scraps to help the breakdown process.
I know you say ‘as the worms migrate up into the new bucket’ but about how long does that generally take? I’m just starting out and I’m wondering if this is a couple weeks or a couple months.
It really depends on how many worms that you have and what you use for bedding. Cardboard takes longer, as do leaves. Honestly, it takes my worms months, to breakdown a tray in my 360.
I will often find buckets at delicatessens, restaurants etc., usually happy to give the buckets -
If you use the top bucket does the middle bucket contents need to touch the bottom of the top bucket or do the worms just climb up the side of the middle bucket and climb up into the holes of the bottom of the top bucket?
Good question.....
Good question, I was wondering too. So let's do some reckoning: Worms can't jump, so the compost has to be high enough to touch the next bucket. above.
@senatorjosephmccarthy2720 well thanks for the reply. It's 3 months later since I asked my question. And my worms figured it all out and as usual I worried over nothing. They are fat and happy.
I'm a newbie and want to start this vermicomposting but I live in a small apartment. Would this 5 gallon bucket system work ok indoors without attracting bugs or odors?
Any concern of them escaping thru the vent holes?
Make them small enough for them to not fit, and also they shouldn’t because the other bucket on top will be far down enough to block those holes
Would the worms survive the winter in the buckets? Would it be too hot during the summer?
I move them into my shed in the winter, and keep them in the shade during the summer
Do I have to use food grade buckets?
Any tips for preventing the buckets from sticking together?
Check with your local school cafeterias for food grade buckets!
I have a similar system. A pesky problem that I have is some of the worms fall into the bottom bucket then get trapped in there and die. I don’t know if there’s a good solution to prevent them dropping or let them climb back up to the buckets above. Thanks.
To prevent this perhaps you could add a fine mesh to the bottom of the bucket? I lose a few worms this way too but it's never had too serious an impact on the total bin population
An old piece of window screen hot glued over the bottom holes would prevent the worms falling
How about placing a damp cardboard and drill less holes as the holes is for the liquid to flow over not the worm to fall over 🤣😃
I've just put holes in my buckets and realized that would be a problem too! I think my solution is going to be to put some dirt down in there, so it could be good for both holding excess moisture and also hopefully keep any stragglers that may get down in there alive.
how many worms would you use to start a bucket? How many would be to many?
I bought a worm tower 360 and started with 250 worms. I didn’t want to start with too many worms incase I killed them. Worms are pretty resultant.
Uncle Jim is incredibly proud of his red maggots at $75 per pound. I'm converting my gourmet pork herd to red wrigglers...starting with the dead gilt! Either "Uncle Jim" is "Jackass Jim", or I should make changes to my farm model pronto! How many multi-millionaire worm farmers are there? Can anyone help with stats or data. Yep....not so many.
It looks like there are holes at the top of the bucket (on the side). Is that ok to leave out in the rain?
Please explain your bucket layers. It was not clear which bucket was first, then which was 2nd & which was on top.
Yes, I am curious if the ingredients are only in the top bucket and the middle is empty.
To begin the middle will be empty. Then, once the top bucket begins to get full, you can switch the buckets, and start adding scraps to the new top bucket. The worms will then migrate up into that bucket and you can harvest castings from the old bucket.
Thank you for clarifying!
Great video, very informative.
Anyone ever tell you that you look like "Q" from Impractical Jokers?
Aloha dudes, just got into gardening
How is the gardening going?
@@finallychangedmyname6726 pretty well, 2nd year now, garden has expanded, got irrigation going. Hope yours is well
How do you keep those worms crawling out the air holes?
Try not to let the bin get too moist, if they're crawling out they may need more ventilation or addition of more dry bedding
how do you keep the population in check though?
8:28
Maybe Uncle Jim is a 🪱
14:15
What is this?!
old pulp from making juice, it's from a juice shop near me.
Good vid.
I just turned my water hose on for a hour or so in a corner of the yard and came back to a supply of worms .
That's what I do 😂
So ordinary garden worms is all you need? Not the so called special ones you are told to buy...? 😮
@@Kathy-kr1svyeah
@@Kathy-kr1sv mother nature is waving her finger at you 🤭
Those are common earthworms, not red wrigglers, if anything you might’ve gotten a couple night crawlers which are good
I haven’t seen a video as cool as this in quite some time….
Super informative, super beginner friendly, I learned so much about worms in general, and just… fascinating. Thanks for the explanations and tidbits of knowledge!
I’m trying to decide if I want to use red wrigglers or European night crawlers. Uncle Jim’s website has a great comparison between the two. But I still can’t make up my mind. They are considerably larger. (Doing an indoor vermicompost setup).
You saved me $75-130+ bucks from those fancy-schmansey worm setups being sold online. Thank you!!!
Great video! We love the diversity of the bedding you made for the worms. We'll be implementing what we learned here at our University garden!
Just to let you know. 4 years ago I bought a lot of worms from Uncle Jim’s. I live in Texas and the temps were in the 100’s. They shipped the worms and they arrived dead. I contacted the comp, but no restitution was made. 👎🏻
I've watched a bunch of vermiculture videos. This one was great so I'm going to do it your way. Thanks for your clear instructions. Love that you're working with businesses like the juice place and restaurant.
How do you prevent buckets from sticking together? Maybe they won't stick because of the holes not allowing there to be a vacuum. But it would be nice to solve before I put worms in :) Thank you !
Good forethought. Hardwood sticks for levers could be inserted thru appropriately located holes, one on each side.
Wow Andrew. Thanks for the great video. Very practical and easy to get started!
Thanks for the tip about juice pulp. Maybe I'll start juicing again since it produces such good worm food (and I need a healthy boost)
thought the same... lol maybe that will motivate me to juice!
Great videos Andrew. Got my 5 gallon buckets from our Jacksonville Zoo where I volunteer in the Animal Nutrition Center. We have stacks of buckets for animal diets. Then I stopped by a local Starbucks and they had 5 gallons of used coffee grounds. A great start at no cost. Next step is the carbon ingredients and finally the worms.
Question: at 8:05 you said maybe don't use chlorinated water to wet cardboard for this. I have a large fish tank with lots of water that I've treated to remove the chlorine. Would there be any reason at all not to use that the next time I do a water change?
I think that would work well!
Awesome, thanks!
When you control the worms, you control.... xD great video thank you. Also Chloramine takes forever to actually break down (unlike 24 hours for Chlorine). You can help with process with some vitamin C powder. Definitely recommend building a water distiller box or starting with filtered water of some kind if you've got chloramine in your city water.
Contracrostics: I responded to somebody who was trying to hydroponics experiment, but really frustrated. when we did a quick troubleshooting, her problem turned out to be chloramine.
That brilliant woman figured out that you can deal with the chloramine by using citric acid.
I don’t remember the exact details offhand, but I think the information will be on the Internet. That would keep you from having to lug buckets of spring water, or bottled water home. (filtration had been my suggestion, followed by collection of rainwater or springwater.)
I hope this helps.
@@daphneraven6745 You are right, citric acid was what I was trying to say with 'vitamin C powder' but I'm a dumb and used a misnomer. Thank you Daphne! Yours is an important post.
@@Contracrostics : I think you made a really good point there. Sometimes a person just gets a word stuck on the tip of the tongue. Hope you don’t mind that I filled it in, just because in that moment it happened to be available for me. After all, the other form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid. And that might not do the trick.
As a painter I come by buckets all the time..i encourage others to do this BUT also write bigger paint companies and demand they Partner with Grocery Stores to optimize our growth and decay
Did I read 75$ for 1000 wormss?? Holy moly im upping my prices. Eventually i want to give/trade away worms and trade their castings
Love this video. Straight to the point and very informative!!
Question 6 when it turns and fixed itself did the smell go away
You can usually find some worms at a pet store or a bait shop. Worth checking out if you'd rather not order online.
What about leaving a bucket with holes on the ground for the first little while and let the garden worms crawl in to the compost. Then set it up?
Sam's Cub wouldn't let me have any and they had lots of them for cakes and they were going to the landfill.
my grandma had my brothers and i go worm hunting in the backyard for hers
Certain types of worms eat more apparently and break the food down faster than others. I think that’s why it matters what kind of worms you use. I believe red wrigglers and night crawlers are the best for composting since they real things down faster
I would so do that if I didn't live in the middle of Sonora desert. I miss Colorado
Radio voice!
Buckets sometime get stuck together...
I cackled when you said "they even make Uncle Jim look somewhat wormlike, himself" ... you were clearly amused to say it because you're fighting hard to keep the smirk low key but you ultimately lost that battle
How often do you feed the worms and what amount of worms in count should you have used for these bins shown? Also, when using cardboard, can you use the entire cardboard even if it has printed item on the cardboard, or do you have to cut that out?
Good questions. Should have been covered in the video.
Can I use night crawlers because I also like using them for fishing bait as well it would be nice to grow my own bait too
do night crawlers tend to migrate up like the red wigglers do ? That is the question to answer.... IDK
@lisahatfield4945 I seen them do that in my bin
You’re in Florida, I’m in Canada, what happens in the winter for storage?
You can put the whole setup in a garage it doesn’t make a mess if you’re careful, if not you can order thermal blankets online and put one on the ground beneath the bin then one covering the whole thing and it should be alright
If they are meant to climb upwards when they are finished with their food, to the next layer of bedding and food, then why did you put the worms/bedding/food in the top bucket?
I just set one of these up and I had the worms in a bucket that was still holding maybe a 1/2 gallon of the rich dirt I found them in, so after adding coco and cardboard and the other things, it was too much I couldn't fit the top bucket on. Can I just let them be for some weeks or whatnot for them to eat that down a ways? Some of them tried to make an escape into the bottom bucket so I felt like I fucked something up. I didn't have any compost but the dirt they were in was full of castings as well. Trying to figure out if I should just let it be a while with just the 2 buckets or pull all my worms and rebuild with less of everything?
I got the worms and got all excited, built this joint the same day I saw your video, any kinda tips you might have would be wonderful.
I got coco(coir) coffee grounds, wet cardboard, half gallon of rich dirt the were living in, crushed some rock made dust added that, then I used a mixer and mixed avocado peel and a rotten banana and peel and egg shells into a puree for food. Mixed it up and now I got them escaping out the bottom and I'm not using the top bucket because the other is too full. 😐🤔
I’m kinda confused too… I don’t understand where the worms are supposed to go. I thought the worms were going to separate themselves from the castings. I love that you made with recycled buckets!
My advise, when bottom bucket is half to 3/4 full, stop feeding to let Worms mostly eat what's leftover in bottom bin. When food is nearly gone, put 2nd bucket with some bedding & maybe some kitchen whizzed up food scraps in it. (Doesn't take as long to break down) Then the Worms will migrate up to feed. Give them time, (a week or so) there's always stragglers. Then remove bottom bucket. As you look through this bucket, there are always worms & eggs left. Just throw them into your new bucket, & you have black gold over for the garden. Don't worry if you miss some. If your system is running well, they'll be breeding, & will replace any Worms that get moved into your garden.
@@ginalee7347 I didn't use recycled buckets, I wish I had, I was excited to build it & had already collected worms, so got home Depot buckets, but if you're looking to get recycled buckets I recommend a restaurant, pickles and several other items come from Sysco in 5 gallon buckets, and they usually have a lot if they are a busy restaurant
So, it looks like you have an empty bucket as the middle, why not put dry bedding in there, and if you get drips from your active bucket with bacteria, fungi etc. in the water, it would be pre-seasoned, so to speak, when needed? When your active bucket is near completion then you could swap them and add food to the pre-seasoned bucket to lure the worms up. Might not get as much worm juice in the bottom bucket that way, but I'd think it might speed up the composting.
Have you considered downward migration? It allows the top to dry out for casting gathering and the bottom layer can pretty much be just paper and catch then liquid and be pre inoculated with microbes
I'm sooooooo pumped to try this! I am a small business owner in a town that has a love for fishing. I have a lot of egg cartons we use though I don't use t gallon buckets but I'm sure someone does! This is a wonderful hobby! Thank you!! Uncle Jim is also pretty close to my town!
How many worms should you put in that size bin? Max amount of worms..minimum amount?
What about using grounded up oyster shells for the grit? That is what I gave my chickens for grit.
Leviticus 11 applies.
Excellent video. I like that these are modular and easy to size to the amount of food scraps your household produces. If you're producing too much for 1 system, just get 3 more buckets. I like that it's cheap... and maybe free if you can get a restaurant to supply them. Upcycling is a good thing, endorsed by Mother Earth.
My one objection is your choice of bedding, though. As a long-time composter and eco-freak, I'm always trying to upcycle any waste my home produces. So instead of purchased products, I'd be using the junk mail, bills, and Amazon boxes I shred, along with some leaves and other garden debris. I
I can finally put some of my junk mail to good use. Thanks for the tip. I'm new to worm composting, and want to learn as much as possible. Also what's the best way to shred the cardboard? Thanks again.
@@theknockoutladysaint23 You can shred cardboard in a paper shredder, but it will kill many cheap ones. I usually just hand-tear it into small chunks.
Also, beware that shredded paper mats a lot, so be sure to mix it well.
Just make sure you take out the plastic windows from the envelopes.
I've always heard the print on the cardboard should be cut out as the ink isn't good for the plants nor people.
Very well done 👍😎thanks for sharing your experience on this matter
Great video. I've been looking for a less expensive method using what I already have, this was it, thanks.
Thank you for keeping local businesses alert and involved and even if they weren't the fact that you initiated the conversation definitely piqued therir awareness
Wow when I heard you speaking, I kept thinking where have I heard his voice was before it sounded very familiar. They didn't realize you even sort of look like that person. The guy that has the UA-cam channel grow your greens. I'm wondering if your brothers I would love to know thank you. Have a wonderful day. Best wishes.🙏❤️☮️
i love the cost saving advise in this video. Also does the mucket stink if i was to say move the bucket in during the winter months?
Being a worm be like:
“They put me in a circular prison, and we crawl out of our own poop, bud we just keep crawling, we sometimes see the light bud then we’re locked back in, and sometimes, they even take some of us, no one has came back, and they steal our poop? WHY!
I’m so going to try this! I have several tote type bins and really like them but I like the concept of this. Thanks so much for sharing!
My coffee grounds have grown a mold on them. Are they safe to feed to my worms?
Could somebody tell me whether or not that would be harmful to my worms to give them coffee grounds that that have developed a mold I would really appreciate it. Thank you so very much.
I don't think they will mind
This sounds sooo much easier than what I’m
Doing!!!
It's so simple! I've had several worm bins and this is by far the easiest design I've come across
Looks like Brian Quinn? (Impractical Jokers) right? No one?….anyone???? Lol
Do you have to have a specific kind worms? I find worms in my yard can I use them?
During my research, I've found that most worms will work it's just that the red wrigglers provide the best castings.
Question 9- I'll be using totes. I know how much sunlight gets in but does it matter if your container is see-through
That's where we got our red wigglers
Thanks for the info, I'm going to set it up. Just a note, you can get red worms at most any bait shops.
Thank you. My air hole were too small, you were correct
How long can the worms stay in a package when they are being shipped before suffering permanent, long term damage?
Try to order early in the spring, or early fall. You don’t want to have them traveling in the heat or cold. I sent some worms to my daughter and I didn’t know where the mailman might leave them or how long they’d be outside before she came home.
Question 8 are we waiting for the worms to finish off the first bucket before adding to the second and the third or is it okay to do all the layers at once
Awesome; Thanks and regards from Saudi Arabia Kingdom
Thanks for watching!
I have a few questions: question one- is there a such thing as too much when filling the buckets
My family has restaurant so I want to start composting. We have a Chinese restaurant
Show us the complete process including the worms harvested.
Very informative video. Thank you. I'll be setting one up shortly
Could i use this same method but for nightcrawlers?
At 1:40 Andrew mentions he used a 3/16 inch drill bit to make his holes.
Have you ever given your worms seaweed to eat. Do they eat it? Just something I'd like to know. Jim.
Question 7 should the buckets be on a barrier brick or wood?
You drink a lot of soy sauce, huh?
Saw this on fyp havsnt wathed is he zesty?
@@EgeGeev He's got Kikkoman 5gal buckets lol
He said he got the buckets from a restaurant, called them out and thanked them .
We need to own our land and create community gardens..land is too expensive in CA to start a small business
When do you add the second bucket with bedding? I know you said once they’ve eaten the food but they don’t generate much waste after one feeding so do you do around 3 months then add the top bin with new bedding?
Also are the worms able to travel through the holes with all that bedding on the top new bin?
Worms are burrowers/tunnelers. They will make their way up through the bucket holes just fine.
Ah, bedding is also considered food and can takes months to break down. So, that first bucket can take months.
Chick-fil-A will often have 5 gallon buckets leftover from their pickle chips.
perfect!
I got buckets from firehouse subs that had pickles in them. The smell is rough at first
We used pickle buckets to make flood cleanup kits for people and .... sigh.
@@lisahatfield4945 I think the thought counts if you didn't know. I learned you can leave them open for several days and it helps
Question 5 does it smell or attract unwanted bugs and rodents
Question three is there a such thing as too many worms in one container
On some of the comments about using worms from the garden or from a pet store, red wigglers tend to be the common composting worm because of the amount of castings they create. If you don't want to order through the mail, a lot of the bigger garden centers will have them. Worth a quick Google to find them in your area.
You can go in the woods and find wiggler's free
Thank you, for your wisdom, your video was very helpful 😊
Did you put all that scrap in the bucket??
Thanks for this! one question What is the difference between this and a worm farm or are they the same thing?
Same thing