How To Rotate Worm Tower Trays Without Damaging Worms + Bin Harvest | Vermicompost Worm Farm
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- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- It's tray rotation & harvest time in my VermiHut worm tower, but when I lift the tray hundreds of worms hang from below...Use the technique in this video to protect the worms & keep them in the trays so they can turn your food scraps & shredded cardboard into natural organic fertilizer in the form of worm castings for your garden!!
In addition to demonstrating how I rotate my worm tower tray when I harvest the worm castings, I check on the last feeding of the old top feeding tray and add a new feeding to the new top feeding tray. I also show you the unique way I harvest my worms in this worm tower using an agitation method encouraging the worms to dive down into the lower trays.
Epigeic worms or composting worms are fascinating natural composters & fertilizers that are in most homesteaders bag of tricks to make free organic fertilizer & soil amendments as well as fishing bait. If you've ever thought about vermicomposting or composting with worms to make organic fertilizer & natural soil amendments with your plant based kitchen scraps or food waste, this is the channel for you. I have 3 worm composing bins which you can watch from start to finished worm castings on the 3 playlists following each worm bin. If you haven't started yet, get started now and vermicompost with me!🪱🪱🪱 Visit my Channel at / vermicompostlearnbydoing
Happy Vermicomposting Everyone!!!🪱🪱🪱
Below are some of the items I use for vermicomposting & my channel's videos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you if you use these links. Thank you for supporting this channel!
Worm Bins I use:
Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3Xs1eGe
Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT
20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr
3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO
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
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
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:
GoPro HERO11 amzn.to/3jkRpLa
Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF
Insta360 GO 2 camera amzn.to/3oxCc80
Insta360 One X2 camera amzn.to/3nqV6hp
iPhone 13 Max Pro amzn.to/3nq52aU
Canon EOS Rebel T8i amzn.to/3HcBuX6
4 Ocean bracelets I wear
Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/3HMbHEx
Books on worms & worm farming
Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2
Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com
#Vermicompost #wormfarm #vermihut #redwigglers #selfsufficiency #homesteading #vermiculture #wormcastings #baitworms #wormtower
00:00 Intro & what to look for
00:59 Fluffing bottom inoculation tray
01:36 Checking the basin
02:30 Hanging worms during rotation
03:02 Checking on last feeding
03:52 Mango seed & other leftovers
04:30 Tray timeline
04:59 Adding new top feeding tray
05:43 Hanging worms
05:58 New tray orientation
06:19 Fluffing & new top feeding tray
07:25 Adding bedding & food scraps
08:29 Me & The Executive Producer!!
09:08 Burying feeding zone & harvesting discussion
10:12 Technique for keeping worms safe during tray rotations
10:46 Harvest by agitation
12:12 How the agitation method works
13:50 Cocoon nursery
14:28 Top feeding
Below are some of the items I use for vermicomposting & my channel's videos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you if you use these links. Thank you for supporting this channel!
Worm Bins I use:
Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3Xs1eGe
Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT
20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr
3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO
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
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
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:
GoPro HERO11 amzn.to/3jkRpLa
Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF
Insta360 GO 2 camera amzn.to/3oxCc80
Insta360 One X2 camera amzn.to/3nqV6hp
iPhone 13 Max Pro amzn.to/3nq52aU
Canon EOS Rebel T8i amzn.to/3HcBuX6
4 Ocean bracelets I wear
Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/3HMbHEx
Books on worms & worm farming
Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2
Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com
I never envisioned that I'd be nearing 37 years old and so happy to have found such a great worm-raising resource, yet here we are...
My life has exceeded my expectations!
😂🤣😂That made my day!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my channel!! I never thought I’d be having so much fun with worms at my age either!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch & leave such a fun comment!!🪱🪱🪱
This was the best video I've seen that explains how to rotate worm trays. Thank you!
Thank you!! I’m so glad you liked it!! I really appreciated the good feedback! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Looking to start my own worm farm here, i have seen a lot of videos but your way of explaining it was much better than anyone else ive seen. I was especially glad with how you explained the agitation process to keep all your worms in the farm. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks so much for the kind words! You may have already seen these set up videos, but here are some to get you started: ua-cam.com/video/1IRP-Nu6_90/v-deo.html & ua-cam.com/video/g5Sag75OAXY/v-deo.html & ua-cam.com/video/UsH3k92KhYg/v-deo.html Again, we really appreciate you taking the time to let us know our videos have been helpful!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I so appreciate you repeating things so frequently. My way of learning really loves that! Thank you!
Thanks so much for the kind words Rosie! I learn best that way as well!! I appreciate you taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
I had a bin that I put screen in the bottom hopefully keeping the worms from crawling out. Well there were quite a few that went through the screen & holes on the bottom ending up on the concrete floor. I now have a thin fabric on the bottom. I’m new to this and still learning. Thank you for your posting.
I haven't tried screen mesh on the bottom but I do use it on the sides and lid of my Tiny Worm Bin: ua-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV09y9X94Q4aNpNzwUoLoVXug.html I imagine moisture gathered between the hole/mesh and the concrete and the worms were attracted to the extra moisture trapped there??!? Trial and error are some of my best lessons learned so thanks for sharing your experience with us!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and for taking the time to pass on what has worked for you in your bin!!🪱🪱🪱
The little worm was chilling out on your hand. That's a very easy way to harvest your castings. Thanks for your hard work executive producer.
I can't believe how long that worm held on!! Autumn is such a huge help making these videos!!! She keeps me honest when I forget what I am supposed to do or say!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
You’ve mastered this worm bin.
It is a fun bin to run!! I love the conveyor belt of castings that come every 60 or so days!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch Joe!!🪱🪱🪱
Wow those castings look amazing. That took a very steady hand to tilt up the tray without spilling.
Thank you!! This mix of blues and red wigglers makes great castings for me!! I was hoping tilting the bin up wouldn't lead to a messy disaster😀 I got lucky!! Thanks so much for stopping by Ann!!🪱🪱🪱
I spent so many years managing huge horse manure heaps, and thus worms through them, then also encouraging microbes, and worms in the garden beds themselves, that I was really sceptical about these towers, because I just didn't see how I could run them as a continuous flow system. However, with these inoculating trays going in under the current feeding tray, I'm really liking how it's going. It's much more logical.
A commenter suggested this rotation about a year ago and it has worked incredibly well!! By the time I bring those inoculating trays up, that I just fill with dry cardboard and newspaper shreds, they are moist, teaming with microbes and ready to be worked over by the worms in full force when I put food scraps in them! My son is about to do an Eagle Scout Project at a horse rescue ranch and I was thinking of heading over to their manure heaps and getting some worms!! Thanks so much for watching and passing on your experience with worms and horse manure heaps!!🪱🪱🪱
You were like the pied piper tempting the worms to move towards the watermelon, but then showed some tough love to get them to vacate the harvest tray! I bet you’re relieved no harm was done during your AC break down. It just shows the resilience of these amazing creatures.
~ Sandra
😀 Treats to get them up, tough love to get them down!! I was very relieved that all the worms made it (and my son's salt water fish, we just moved his aquarium to his place today) during our AC break down!! They really are amazing creatures!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch Sandra!!🪱🪱🪱
YAY!! I’m the first to watch🤩
First to watch and first to make a big save last summer when I dumped a bunch of rice in my outdoor bin!!! Those worms owe their survival to you🤣😂🤣 Thanks for all your support!!!🪱🪱🪱
You are such a great teacher. Thanks for these videos.
Thank you for the kind words!!! I really appreciate the feedback and your continued support!!🪱🪱🪱
Come to learn! Thank you for sharing this great footage! Greetings from Canada and wish you have a wonderful day!
Thank you for stopping by my friend!! I appreciate you taking the time to watch & comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Nice walk-thru :) @08:30 it's always great to put faces to the voices 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻
Thank you! I've been trying to come up with a way to occasionally have more of me in the video but I don't have a wormery or basement as a good back drop😀 Thanks for watching long enough to see the picture!!🪱🪱🪱
I always stay tuned till the closing credits on your vids - don't wanna miss even a little bit :)
@@A-V Thank you, I do the same!! I always like to catch the extras you sometimes put at the end if you forget something 😂
I agree, nice to finally see your faces 🙂
👍🏻
That is a process Patrick! I really like the inoculation trays. It has to help keep the system producing castings at a high level, apposed to just adding freshly shredded cardboard.
It really is a process when I'm trying to film it all at once!! The inoculation tray setup was a great suggestion by a commenter about a year ago and it has worked incredibly well!! The trays are teaming with microbes and ready to be worked as soon as they go on top!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch Rick!!🪱🪱🪱
First comment first like for your amazing content my friend 🤗👍🤩💟💟
😀 I appreciate you jumping right in!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!🪱🪱🪱
Fascinating video, thanks for uploading.
I’ve had a 4 tray system for about 5 years, runs like a RR. Coincidentally I just recently also started pre-composting; makes a lot of sense. Love the harvesting style where the worms migrate down to the soon-to-be feeding tray. Very smart! Will save me hours of ‘worm fishing’ in future. It also starts the process of getting some air in and moisture out of the castings. Thanks again.
Thank you!! I call it the agitation method and it is so much less work!! Depending on how loaded the tray is with castings it takes about 5-6 one minute agitation to get them all out!! Sounds like your 4 trays system is an absolute beast!! Thanks so much for watching!🪱🪱🪱
I’m in the process of changing to your method of running a worm tower and it just occurred to me that i can achieve the same results if i just use one bedding tray on the bottom, so i would have a feeding tray on top of a ‘maturing’ tray, a next harvest tray then a bedding tray. Having put some thought into it, considering the current state of my trays it ought to work.
Great videos Patrick, keep them coming.
Thank you great info and camera work ❤
Thanks so much for the great comment!! I appreciate the positive feedback!!🪱🪱🪱
Another great video, nice job you two!
Thank you!! It was definitely a team effort!! We appreciate you taking the time to watch & leave a nice comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Let's go !!!! Starting to understand the engineering of th hut, awesome!!
That worm hangin on your glove was giving me anxiety lol !!
8:30 MARK, EPIC YUBTUB MOMENT!!
Reverse agitate tm ;)
I though you were out of pulverized oats ?!!
So the cocoon nursery- you'll bait them out with a little "fast food", then put the casts into final storage ?
Colleen has know idea how a couple "20 somethings" has adult children 🤣🤣🤣
You guys are great, have a awesome weekend guys !!
Cheers J&C 🌱🪱🌱
That worm was hanging on for dear life!! I was getting anxiety as well while I was editing🤣😂🤣 What you see in that little container is the last of the 2 lbs of oats from 5 months ago; I mentioned it was the last a few videos back when I did the last pulverization, but I should have clarified that I have several more feedings left in the little container itself!! But, bad news...we did a complete pantry clean out and I found a ton of more stuff to make worm chow with😂 You are exactly right with the cocoon nursery. It gets dumped into storage when I'm ready to add more into the cocoon nursery, so everyone graduates at the same time. I don't show it, but I am constantly baiting out worms from storage and the cocoon nursery and adding them back into the VermiHut. Tell Colleen thanks for the kind words, we still feel like we're in our 20's but we're barely hanging on to our late 40's! We had our first son when we were both 24 but we looked like teenagers🤣😂🤣 Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost awesome brother !! Worm chow for days !! We still think we're in our 20's too lol. Why not, plenty of time to sit in a rocking chair lol !!
Have a great weekend you two :) !!
@@clivesconundrumgarden 😀
LOL I have the same hi-tech coffee ground holder that you do!
😂🤣😂 Great minds think alike!! Thanks so much for dropping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
Hi Patrick! This is an older video but still full of great info! I may (🤞🤞) be getting a small 2 tray worm tower next week to play with! Wanted to start learning how to manage it 😮😊. Thanks for the tips!
😄Thanks for watching one of my oldies!! I think you'll really enjoy your worm tower!! I hope you get it!!🪱🪱🪱
Very useful video
Thank you!! I'm so glad you liked it!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch & comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Ahhhhh, You are using Downward Migration like I do💚 It works great in other systems too, large & small💞 You guys are doing a nice job with your system❣
Thank you!! Someone suggested I harvest them downward a while ago and now I'm hooked!! So easy!! So good to see you here!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost It is perfect going with their nature to move downward!! I hope my long message didn't offend you? Thanks for your feedback☮💚 & Worms
I loved your message!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost ☮☮💚☮💚☮💚☮💚☮💚 & Wormies💞💞💞 Nice to meet you❣
If you put risers in the corners to raise up a tray, you might mess up your humidity in the trays altogether. Somebody spent a lot of time designing them to not be lifted up, I think. I believe you would get too much air in your trays and they would become dry..... It just makes sense to me. But what do I know?! Lol!
I have to agree with you, the tapered design of each tray without being interlocked lends itself to being set right on top of the bedding. The designers definitely had a plan!! Great insights as always Cookie!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Great idea Informative video dear friend
Thank you!! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and leave a nice comment!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost welcom
Its been one year to know each other through our channels
@@evergreengarden1M That is fantastic!! I have learned so much over this year from you!! Thank you so much my great friend!!🪱🪱🪱
I'm still debating on which compost method to buy, so this helps a lot! I have a diy 3 tier bin going, but I didn't anticipate the weight of the bins and I need to work out the kinks before I bring a system indoors for the winter...
I'm so glad you've found this video helpful!! I really like my VermiHut and have been running it for 2 1/2 years. I like that the trays can be used as sifters. These trays typically weigh about 10 pound each when they are fully loaded with wet castings, but you can rotate them before they get totally full. I agree each bin type has a learning curve, but they are all so fun to run!! Thanks so much for watching & telling us about your DIY worm bin!!🪱🪱🪱
Harvested my first tray just yesterday. Because of some bad info when I first started I shredded cereal boxes and have been picking plastic coated strips out of the tray for a few weeks.
Congratulations!! That first harvest is always so rewarding!! It is amazing how the worms will eat every thing down to the plastic bits. I have used shredded cereal boxes in my outdoor bin and it takes FOREVER for them to get them all the way down to nothing so I stopped putting them in! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and let us know about your first tray harvest!!!🪱🪱🪱
Those plastic strips are annoying!
I only shred brown corrugated cardboard so I’ve no idea where they come from.
I have a question. People seem to feed their worms food to produce the vermicompost and the compost tea. I want a vermicompost more to breed the worms for my chickens. I guess the compost and the compost tea is a bonus. When I googled breeding worms, they suggest that I fill the bin with soil and compost bedding. Then, add your worms and feed them food scraps, paper, or manure once a week. And harvest them 3 to 6 months later. Nobody ever talks about compost bedding. I happen to have a compost bin. More importantly nobody talks about feeding them manure instead of food scraps or paper. Because I have very little food scraps other than carrot, cucumber, and other vegetable & fruit peels. It seems I consume everything I cook. So manure is a better alternative for me because I have chickens and can feed them this. I normally place the chicken manure into my compost bin to break down.
You can absolutely use your compost from your compost bin and the manure...you may want to do some research on how to age and for how log to age the manure, especially chicken manure as I think it contains higher concentration of salts. I use cardboard for bedding, but you can use leaves or even wood chips and saw dust. Wood chips and saw dust will last longer in the worm bin and some folks that breed the worms for bait use wood product so they don't have to constantly add bedding. I hope this helps! Sounds like you've got a great system and use for your compost worms!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I kinda got lost with who'd on first!
Sorry about that!! I've made a couple other videos that explain it better: ua-cam.com/video/XNG4i8iXc_g/v-deo.html & ua-cam.com/video/_uRRpwZcMXM/v-deo.html Basically the top tray you feed, and the one below it is just settling as the worms finish off the small stuff as it's waiting to be harvested. The bottom two trays are just down there with dry bedding, soaking up the microbe filled liquid, waiting for their turn to go on top! I hope that helps!! Thanks so much for watching David!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you so much for your video's! I have just started my first wormbin (similiar to your vermihut). I am learning a lot from your video's! I do have a question though: why do you freez the food for your worms? I have been trying to find a video about it, but can't find it. TIA!
Thank you for the great feedback!! I'm so glad you are finding my videos helpful! Congrats on starting your worm bin!!! Here is a video I did that shows why I freeze my food scraps first: ua-cam.com/video/oPZi3BXd1bA/v-deo.html The results were pretty amazing!! Because water expands when it freezes, the cell walls of most plants burst when they freeze. This physically degrades them, turning them almost to mush, making it easier for the worms to eat. I just leave a container in my freezer and throw my food scraps in there as I go along throughout the week. When I'm ready to feed the worms I always have something for them! I hope this helps! Thanks so much for watching & for asking a great question!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Thank you so much for your detailed reply and the videolink!
My pleasure!
It will also kill fruit fly and knat eggs.
A piece of 4 inch PVC pipe cut down to about 3 in long pieces in between each tray will make it where it wouldn't compact so much
That is a good idea! I'm pretty sure I have some old PVC from my sprinkler repair I could use...now I just have to remember to try it in about 60 days when I rotate again!! Thanks so much for watching and for the good idea!!🪱🪱🪱
I thinks I watched this video a couple of times to understand how to rotate trays but until now it's quite confusing.
Sorry about that!! It is pretty confusing, but I think these two videos might clear it up: ua-cam.com/video/XNG4i8iXc_g/v-deo.html & ua-cam.com/video/_uRRpwZcMXM/v-deo.html Basically I add trays to the bottom with dry shredded cardboard and as they get moist, they work their way up to the top to be fed and then cure right below the top feeding tray before I harvest them. It's a bit of an odd way to rotate but it is super effective and the most efficient way I have found to run a worm tower! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
How does your bin not have any mites?? I just spotted mites in mine. I'm new at this. Help?
All my bins have mites...we just can't see them unless I get a population bloom or they attack a slow food that worms tend to take longer to eat like in this video: ua-cam.com/video/xCTtrGd0unE/v-deo.html Mites are common in a new bin as the ecosystem is getting adjusted. The mites and other bin critters like potworms and springtails help to shred the food and break it down for the worms. They usually are in the background and hard to find but if the bin gets overfed and/or goes a little acidic thier populations bloom! If you are worried about it (which I don't think you have a problem at all) you can skip a feeding, but in general feed less. Here is a video on starting up; the second half of it shows just how little to feed your worm bin in the fist few weeks: ua-cam.com/video/1IRP-Nu6_90/v-deo.html I hope this helps!! I think your bin is doing ok Tiffani!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Have you tried using coconut coir mixed in to the paper shreds?
I have not tried coco coir mixed in with paper shreds but the VermiHut does come with a brick of coco coir which I used in my very first tray! A good mix of bedding to include coco coir is always a good bet for the worms!!🪱🪱🪱
Quick question… you started with 4 trays… and at the end you remove the castings… but now you have three… once you remove the casting tray… maybe I am misunderstanding but how do you get back to the 4th tray on the top and what is in it? (This is my first harvest/rotation… just set up my vermihut 60 days ago… so would like to label them for myself until I get the hang of it)
That is a great question! Each new tray that enters my VermiHut (after the initial start up) comes in as a dry inoculating tray that I put on the bottom of the stack. This can be done the same day you harvest or anytime within the next couple of weeks but the sooner the better. That new inoculating tray is almost like a storage spot for the tray for the first couple of weeks because no moisture or worms make it down there at first, so you have some time to gather cardboard or other bedding. So a few weeks after this video I added another dry inoculating tray on the bottom to make it into a 4 tray tower again: ua-cam.com/video/c1TGYC-TNc4/v-deo.html I should have probably put it on right during harvest or at least two weeks earlier then I did. I always have at least 1 inoculating tray on, but most of the time it is two...the last time I rotated I added the second (new) inoculating tray on the same time I did the harvest. So top is the feeding tray, 2nd is the pre-harvest tray, 3rd is the old inoculating tray, 4th (bottom most) tray is the new inoculating tray. I hope I haven't confused things more😂🤣😂 Thanks so much for watching & asking a great question I'm sure a lot of other folks have as well!! And congrats on being 60 days into your VermiHut!! Rotation day is always very fun & exciting!!🪱🪱🪱
I am so confused.
I have the one original treat, that is full. I want to add another tray, yet, I am not sure, even after watching your videos, where to put the new bin! On the bottom? On the top? Do I need to add 2 new trays or just one?
With one tray you really can't go wrong!! Unfortunately I haven't done a video yet on adding the second tray after just beginning so here is what I suggest:
1. You can just fill another tray with WET down shredded cardboard bedding and a normal feeding and place it on top of your single tray with the lid on the new top tray. The worms will go up to the new tray and begin turning it into castings while still working the old tray that is on the bottom.
Or
2. Do the same thing as above but ALSO add a tray full of DRY shredded cardboard and put that on the bottom. This will give you a three tray system right away and it will keep most, if not all, of the moisture and worms out of the basin.
Now, in the future, you will be able to do the normal rotation I do with my VermiHut where I put all new trays on the bottom with dry bedding and rotate them to the top after 60-75 days. I hope this makes sense!! Let me know if you have any questions!! Thanks so much for watching and asking for how to go forward after one tray is full!!🪱🪱🪱
do you have to harvest the castings if you are using your worm bin for fishing?
No, you can leave the castings in for a long while or maybe take a handful of castings out every once in a while to make more space. Eventually the castings could become toxic to them when they have depleted every bit of nutrients out of them...but this won't necessarily happen if you keep adding food and bedding. You might want to use more wood chip type bedding mixed in that doesn't break down as fast if you are strictly trying to grow worms and not use their castings. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost okay thanks so much
Great video, Patrick. I love how we each have our own process. Your bins always look so clean and mess free. 🤎
Thank you Peggy!! I have learned a ton from your videos!! Thanks so much for all your support!!🪱🪱🪱
How often do you rotate the trays?
Great question!! I try to rotate them every 60 days but you can go as low as 30-45 days per rotation if you fed less but more often. You'll get a little less vermicompost per tray but you'll be harvesting more often. I usually harvest between 8-12 pounds of vermicompost each time. I've found 60 days to be the sweet spot for me, my schedule, and the worms appetite for the amount of food I feed every 10-12 days or so. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching & asking a great question Shaun!!🪱🪱🪱
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Thank you so much for watching!! I appreciate the fun feedback!!🪱🪱🪱
What are you spraying it with so white?
The first white stuff I typically put in is "worm chow" just some expired grains like oats, corn meal, corn starch, old cereal that I pulverize and feed to them lightly. The second is ground up egg shells which serve as a grit for the worms gizzards which aides in their digestion. The pulverized egg shells also work to buffer the pH in the bin and add calcium & other nutrients to my garden. Hope this helps!! Thanks for taking the time to watch my videos!!🪱🪱🪱
Seems like bad design have trays compressing ones below.
There are pros and cons. Pro's: The worms don't mind it as I see them in all four trays I have on the system. The trays are slightly tapered in so as the trays below compress, the trays slide very well between each other and can all be the exact same size. This makes them completely interchangeable. If you do have risers to lessen the compression, there is a chance of an air gap forming between trays and the worms will not be able to travel freely between each tray. Additionally all the material compresses on it's own so no matter what the volume will go down potentially creating air gaps between trays. Con's: The compressed material gets more compressed with time and moisture. You do have to aerate the trays when you rotate. The finished castings need to be aerated and aired out a bit to help them release some moisture. So I think the designers picked the easiest issues to mitigate and went with what we see now! Just my thoughts! I really enjoying worm farming with this tower system!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I'm sorry I just randomly happened upon this and stayed to watch the whole video I only have one question at this point. Why do you invest the time and money.. Why do you want worm castings? what do you do with them?
It's an honest question.
Hello!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!! That is a great question! I love to garden and got sick of buying fertilizer and top soil amendments for my garden...so I got into composting and discovered the wonders of natural gardening...but composting takes a long time, so I looked into other ways of producing my own natural fertilizer and rediscovered vermicomposting (I've had a fascination with earthworms since I was a kid and I actually have a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology) I also found that I enjoy putting my using my food scraps & card board boxes & used paper for something useful instead of throwing them in the garbage. Ultimately composting, vermicomposting, and other ways of producing natural organic fertilizer has saved me money as I haven't bought any fertilizer or top soil in more than 2 years. I just use the worm castings to refresh my soil, as a top dressing, as seed starting mix, and in a worm casting tea I water my garden with. Compost worms are natures recyclers!! I hope this helps! Thanks again for asking!!🪱🪱🪱
Sorry but your video filme to close of the Trays make as comfused on exchange Trays am still a little confusing on exchange
This was a pretty confusing video...here are some newer ones where I explain it better: ua-cam.com/video/_uRRpwZcMXM/v-deo.html and ua-cam.com/video/XNG4i8iXc_g/v-deo.html I hope these help!! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!!🪱🪱🪱
So tedious for 2 months
I've refined this rotation system since this video, but once you get the whole system going the castings come fast and furious and most folks end up having so much they have to get a storage container or give them away to friends!! It also looks harder since I'm trying to get good camera angles to show what I'm doing. It takes no time at all really. You can feed every 2 weeks, so 4 feedings and you'll have 10 pounds of castings. Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost yeah I just start this few day ago with fabric pot so down the road get the bins
I love my fabric pot worm bin!! Good Luck!
So confusing. Other presentations are more clearly presented.
Sorry about that. It is a very different way to run this worm tower than the directions that come with it. It allows you to add trays dry to the bottom and put them on top to feed and harvest a coulpe of months later. This video may help to explain it better: ua-cam.com/video/5zqKfUi2R4U/v-deo.html Thanks so much for the feedback and thanks for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Helloooooo wormie friend!! 🪱🪱🪱 yaaaaaay congratulations on graduating little ones! 👏 👨🎓 🏆🎖every time I watch these completion of cycle videos I learn so much 🙌🏼 chock a block full of info….. the agitation method works GREAT!!! I don’t blame them, I’d be annoyed too if someone was poking around in my home too 🤣🤣
Thanks for the info at the end too Patrick, 60 days for 10lbs of castings is not bad 👏👏 great job wormies 🪱♥️👨🎓🪱 have a great weekend guys!!! 💐💝🌷🌼
Hellooooo Anita!! Yes, these rotation ones are a bit of a production and I struggle sometimes with how to show everything in one video! I do like the agitation method...or the lazy method...since I don't have too much work to do to get them down! I love these worm towers; once you get 3-4 trays on them the conveyor belt of castings every 60 days is non stop!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch this bit longer video and thanks so much for your awesome comments!! Have a great week ahead!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost always a pleasure my friend 💝🌻💐