Benefit Of Increased Worm Density In Grow Out Bin Castings
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Hello!
Generally I’ve kept my grow out bins at a medium worm density. Not too many, not too few.
However due to needing to re-home lots of survivor worms back at the beginning of June I had to rapidly increase the number of worms in my bins, out of necessity.
What I subsequently discovered over the next few months is the castings from these densely populated worm bins were fantastic! Light and airy, good moisture levels, easily siftable. Many times I could sift out an entire bin and refresh it all at once. No need for migrations! What a time saver!
I think it very much had to do with the high number of worms always searching thru the bin for food, keeping the castings from clumping, and making finer more finished castings.
I have moved to increase the worm numbers in all my grow out bins. A nice side benefit is that I now have fewer bins to manage!
Perhaps a higher worm density could work for you too?!
Thanks for watching 😎🪱
Yours in the dirt,
Jayne
Hello Jayne! I’ve recently started using your “ keep it moving “ sifting technique. I feel like I’m not torturing the poor worms as much because even though I’m giving them a brief nightmare of a roller coaster ride, very few manage to get stuck in the mesh of the sifters. I sometimes imagine them having meetings about the chaos I’m creating when I’m sifting castings. “ She’s doing it again! Sound the alarm!”
Your cocoons are hatching! I have no clue how many worms I have from them at this point because I’m trying to be more hands off and let them eat the bedding and worm chow. I put a couple of moldy green beans and blueberries in their bin this week to make life more interesting for them.
@@marymccusker8133 Haha! Yeah I bet the poor worms are like ‘what the heck was that?!’ But they don’t get damaged and it’s over quick so I think overall it’s less traumatic 😊. I like horizontal migration a lot to reduce the number of worms getting the shake up but I also very much like being able to refresh an entire bin at one time instead of having to monitor it and sift it in parts. I do both of course depending on the specific bin condition.
Oooh! More babies! How exciting! Being a little hands off at this early stage is a good move on your part. A little work chowing and/or veggie powder along with the carbon from the newspaper and bedding is plenty for them to eat until they get some size on them. A teeny tiny bit of food scraps is ok but only teeny tiny 💕🪱. You’re a good worm wrangler! 🤩
Hi Jayne, Great video on your horizontal migration. Happy worms 🪱 make beautiful Castings ❤
@@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920 This was the next bin in the line for me to work on. Several bins before it I got a total sift out and did a complete bin bedding refresh. And bins after this one too 🙄. It was just the luck of the draw that this particular bin was a bit moisture than the others. Figures! 🤣🪱. Thanks for watching Peggy 😍
Oh! Perfect timing!!! I have been thinking all week what I shoud do with worm density in my grow out bins!😊
@@grammym1643 Fantastic! Glad the timing worked out. I really am getting better castings right out of the bin now than I ever was. Being able to do a total bin refresh in one go is so helpful 🤩🪱
Really enjoyed the vid, it gave me the idea of adding a bit of dry peat moss to the of the grow out bin if it’s starting out a little damper. Then a high density of worms would process that and really give me some nice castings. I have multiple grow out bins to test this out with lol, so in future I’ll continue to play with this idea.
@@ThehandygeekGA That’s always a good idea - test and play and tweak. Each bin is its own ecosystem and will be different from the bin right next to it. Even shelf position makes a difference I’ve found!
I look forward to hearing about your experience with a higher density, especially given your recent cocoon purchases! 😝😎🪱
I’ve harvested castings using your 2-sifter method 3 times. Out of 2 gallons of castings I’ve only found 2 small worms after letting the castings sit for about 3 weeks under damp newspaper. 👍🏻
@@scrapzwtf That’s great! I find that almost no (I’ll never say none!) cocoons or wisps make it thru the 1/12” mesh sifter. There will be some in the area between the 2 sifters - a handful cocoons and a wisp or two - but not many and easy to pick out. I ALWAYS sift this way. I have tried several times to skip sifting like some other worm wranglers do. While I certainly see the appeal I do end up with many wisps and worms in the castings. I then spend time picking or baiting them out. Overall for me I don’t see the time savings unless I’m deliberately wanting to add worms to my garden spaces. While I don’t mind if a worm or two gets into the garden, I’m not wanting a whole bunch to end up there.
I’m so glad the 2 sifter method is working well for you too 🥰. Anything that’s so easy to do and works so well is a huge win! 🤩🪱.
Appreciate this very much. I have an Earth Easy 360 Worm Factory; have been quite successful with it the last 2 years. (I've been bringing it in airconditioned indoors over 80-104 degree heat in So. Cal. Earth Easy's Customer Service is helpful with questions in some areas, but you are excellent in your presentations and I thank you (and your terrific cameraman!) I love the idea of enriching the soil with my (diluted) worm castings, worm tea. I was so surprised when early on the ants came, then fruit flies, earwigs, a spider or two but learned the control I have to ensure their home remains hospitable. I put the legs of the factory in containers of water, no more ants.. Yay. I preferred early on to pulverize (use my Cuisinart for) my kitchen discards which makes it easier, faster for them to consume - fruit flies not an issue. Just recently I discovered what I call Cutworms in my raised bin (white chubby worms that burrow in soil). I discovered online just as earwigs and other bugs, they peacefully coexist with earthworms. Thank you for all your interest and for your effort to share your experience. Thank you!
@@elizabethbeckman1947 Hi Elizabeth! How have you been, other than really hot? 🥵. It’s brutal everywhere with the heat. Ugh!
You’ve touched on good solutions to common challenges - ants, spiders, other small insects - moving into our worm bins. Healthy worm ecosystems are attractive to all sorts of creatures 🙄. Placing the legs of none into water absolutely cuts down on a lot of creatures, especially ants, moving in. Regular fluffing of the bedding also keeps ants out as they hate to be disturbed. Running bins a bit in the dry side is also effective, especially against mites and pot worms. You’ve learned lots of tactics to manage your worms as you need to! Good on you! 🤩. I’m happy for any part Cameraman and I have played in your success and joy in worm wrangling 😊.
Grinding, pulverizing, cooking/freezing all help the worms get into food faster. And as you said, the faster they can tackle the foods the less other issue pop up. Keep up the great work Elizabeth and keep us updated 🤩😎🪱
You did the right thing in my opinion by only adding the previous bedding as a food source. You should end up with a nice bin full castings with most of the bedding completely gone. Easy riddle easy day 🎉
@@Junglistworms We will see if the worms agree with us that the food in the breeder trap is sufficient to lure them out of the castings and into the food zone 🤩🪱.
Hi Jayne, I wonder if the clumpy characteristic has something to do with high humidity environments? I don't get clumpy castings and I am less humid than you. I wondered that when Ann first mentioned clumpiness a few years ago (Plant Obsessed). We should ask our Alberta friends, who live in a very dry environment!
~ Sandra
@@NanasWorms It’s something to think about for sure. I’m currently leaning toward Hank g enough worms to keep moving thru the bin and not letting clumsiness even happen. AND at the same time not letting the bin go so long without fresh bedding and food that the worms are fixed to eat their castings multiple times. Clumping from that does not dry out in my experience as it’s not water but their digestive fluids that are making the castings clump by being sticky. Do you agree? 🪱
I would have to see the clumps to see whether they are fully processed castings (stuck together) or they still have some residual unprocessed bedding in them. One way would be to do a water harvest to see if anything is left in the sieve. Ann from Plant Obsessed did that once she couldn't get rid of the clumps. If the clumps dissolved in water and totally go through the finest mesh, we would be closer to the answer!
~ Sandra
@@NanasWorms I watched that video of Ann’s. Cheryl here is talking about doing a water harvest of one bin she has👍.
I almost always have some level of processed food or bedding in my castings. I’m ok with that as it feeds the biota during storage plus any wisps that inadvertently went into the castings bucket. That’s probably why water harvesting doesn’t work too well for me 😝🪱
What you point out about the sifting is very true I found last time I got into my grow out bins that, some were very dry and some very wet lol don’t know why or what was different,
Due to the dryness I have lost some worms, have put 3 into 1 bin. And not full.
But I also found that my breeder bin is like clay soil so I need to get them out and gonna try do that via a water extraction basically, gonna put them in a 2 mm sift and water them until there’s just worms and put them into new bedding.
I hate not being s as blue to do I weekly checking and feeding. As it makes more work when I can get to them.
Good to see you also xx
@@cherylhowker1792 Hi Cheryl! From what you say here I think you really need to look at what you’re using for bedding. Especially if some bins are becoming a heavy clay like substrate. That’s really surprising and a bit concerning.
Yes when we let the bins run too long - which happens as life is busy - it does tend to make more work when we continually get into them 😩. But we do what we can.
I’m interested to hear how your experience is with wetting the substrate and worms to separate them. I’ve tried that a time or 2 and never got it to work where I thought it wasn’t actually more work doing that way 🙄. I hope you have success and then share your method! 🪱😍🪱
@@RockinWorms when I say clay, I mean like really sticky instead of grainy. It’s were 600 works have been in there for 3 cycles instead of 1 so I’m not surprised. But annoying at my self as I know I can do better, usually.
I have never tried the water method myself but I watched Ann do it the other week and when I saw that bin I thought I’m never gonna sift it so that’s the best way to use it, then water the garden.
@@cherylhowker1792 Ah! Now I understand. Thanks. Yeah, the worms may have reprocessed the castings too many times. Sticky happens then and there’s no god way to dry it out. You can do a try a migration to lure the worms out. I think Ann tried that but it didn’t work in her situation.
Give it a try! At least the garden gets a good watering 😎.
Don’t be harsh on yourself. It happens to us all. To some of us (me!) quite often 🙄😩.
Good luck with the water rinsing and let us know how it goes 🤞🤩🪱
@@RockinWorms the reason this has happened is due to hot weather for 3-4 weeks meaning I’ve been poorly with seizures and that stuff so trying to keep me safe is the priority, then sorting Lilly the support dog and then the house work and garden and worms. And i was able to do the first two at a push with help and everything else someone else had to do, the only time I was out of bed other then to the loo was some evenings at 10pm when it had finally got from 28/30c down to 22c at night . Only then was I put watering the garden. And in very little and light clothing. As the temperature rises I can’t control my temperature- like a young child really and so causes me to have more seizures and more serious ones and I know when my brother/ carer was painting the bathroom I wasn’t aware he was here for 4 hours as I had so many fits and had to have meds- don’t remember, that I slept for that time unaware he was here. Thang god he was or I wouldn’t have got the meds. One of them things.
I’m the only one that will go near the worms. Bless her mum thinks they like snakes the way they move so she don’t like em at all. And Dan will look and go yea that’s nice but won’t touch em. So the worms got neglected.
I have put some foot traps in the bins that need them, but again the temperature is rising to 28 today and 25 the rest of the week so we are are having to watch me like a hawk as Dan says lol. But I hope to be able to pick the breeders out into new precompost.
Thanks Jayne for your continued support and I really appreciate your help. Xxxx
Take care and love to you and cameraman xx
@@cherylhowker1792 Your health and safety is paramount. The worms will just have to deal.
It always seems that when we have to cut back on things it’s the stuff we really enjoy that’s on the chopping block first 😡. I, along with everyone else it seems, need to make choices and the actions we have to do just to get thru the day leave very little time for the fun stuff. It’s important to fight to keep at least some of the enjoyable activities otherwise what’s the point.
I’m sorry you’re having g such a rough time with the heat. It’s brutal here too every single day.
Cooler weather can’t come soon enough! 🪱🪱
As always, a great video. I sure keep my grow-out bin densely 😊. By the way, have you seen my replymail on your question about the use of the photos? Greetings from Holland
@@petervanderbrugge7737 Thanks Peter! And yes I did see your permission granting use of your pot worm pictures 👍😍. Thanks!! I have to work on a video where I can use them. UA-cam doesn’t allow for me to post pictures within comments. 🪱🪱
Hey Jayne!
It's Charlotte again!
When I recently bought your cocoons, your helpfulness was out of this world! Thank you.
I mentioned to you that I started vermicomposting to a degree because I wanted to use kitchen and cardboard waste, get castings, but also the vermicompost for possibly some of the raised bed disappearing volume for the garden each year. I do "regular" composting too, but it is difficult to trust some ingredients (grazon etc), as well as it can be quite a job to turn (especially in near 100 degree heat).😅
Do you or anyone here have any suggestions for getting both a degree of volume plus how to keep it alive and happy until the spring? When I mean volume, I could probably use several cubic yards🤣but in reality, what do you think a home vermicomposter could expect? At this point, I have about 25 square feet of surface area of 7 month or less old bins. Does anyone do this for a bit of volume or only for the great castings? My guess is that it's not realistic since the precompost volume would need to be massive to get enough mostly finished vermicompost. Hopefully this question isn't ridiculous!
I so enjoy your videos!
@@user-xf4rc2bp5r Hi Charlotte! Let’s see if I have this right. You want to refresh your raised garden beds with vermicompost and/or known safe regular compost. This refresh requires quite a bit of volume. Making less work to do is always a bonus!
This is what I’m thinking. As a home vermicomposter you’re not going to get the volume to be able to use it 100% for the refresh (as you said). But that’s ok as using all vermicompost isn’t necessarily the best idea anyway. The high water retention of castings can be too much for some plants that need better drainage. Mixing in what you do get from your worm bins at a low percentage for the ‘soil’ and then top dressing plants as needed during the season may be a better plan. It’s actually what I do! 🤩
The known safe compost is much harder to achieve. There’s so many toxic chemicals out there. It’s impossible to track them all or know what’s been used on every composting item. I get loads and loads of mulch from a tree service business. Is all of it non toxic? Probably, definitely, not. But it’s what I can get and use and it’s no different than what’s out here anyway. Sometimes we have to deal with reality and do the best we can to limit exposure. Even the cardboard we use is made with lots of chemicals. I wouldn’t assume they’re all ‘safe’.
All that said, you can at least minimize exposure by making your own compost using cardboard, grass clippings, coffee grounds, your food scraps, etc. It’s the best you can do.
As for less work I suggest look into a few methods. The simplest is to pile the materials up and let nature do the work. It takes longer but that’s always the trade off - time vs effort.
Another medium method is using ‘reactors’ - a fancy term that means placing perforated pipes into the compost pile to add air without having to turn the pile.
You can also explore hugelkulture as a way to add volume, reduce immediate soil volume needs and make compost at the same time.
I hope others chime in with their ideas and suggestions! 😎🪱
Lastly, I’m so glad you’re happy with the cocoons! The new worms be giving you great castings very soon! 💕
@@RockinWorms Jayne, you are the best! You are so generous with your time and knowledge.
I actually do cool composting, have a couple small in bed vermicompost bins, as well as a hardware mesh tube in my hot compost pile. I use my own grass, leaves, kitchen waste, garden waste etc. It is such a bummer that it's just about impossible not to expose ourselves and our gardens to chemicals.
I have not been gardening too long since I was just recently able to cut back in my career. The pest and weed pressure is no joke, and I quickly came to understand why many growers might have resorted to chemical means.
I guess what I was thinking is that if I used some of the mostly finished bin material (not precompost but almost compost?) 😂 along with the castings, I could make up some of the volume. I remember hearing (maybe you?) saying that castings should not be more than 20%.
So, thank you for your reply! I can go for with the castings and try not to worry about the million pounds of cardboard. 😳
@@user-xf4rc2bp5r It was Ann @PlantObsessed that first shared the 20% ‘rule’ on castings for seed starting that I saw. I have seen it myself in some research findings too. I’ve also personally found several plant seeds that don’t like castings at seed start but the plants do later on (peas, beans).
Absolutely mix pre-compost in with what raised bed soil you have. I would have it ‘finished’ in that it’s no longer hot. I can’t even say I have a reason for that but that’s what I would do 🤣🤷♂️.
Yes, it’s a sad situation that toxic chemicals (and plastics) are so ubiquitous but that’s the real world these days. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take solid steps to improve things! Better is still better!
Pest and weed control are hard! So hard! I have super rich soil from the years of mulch being added to my land. Unfortunately the weeds like it too 😡. Therefore I do most of my gardening in large pots. The higher level is of course a huge benefit as well 🤩. Weeding is a constant battle.
Good luck! 🪱🪱
Good video! I sized down my bins, now using shoebox sized bins, and I have more density in them. I just set them up this week, so Ill be interested in seeing if I get gorgeous castings like what you have there.
@@katiem9644 I hope it works as well for you as it has for me. Of course not every bin is super great but the vast majority are now. It’s made things a whole lot easier than when I tried small number of worms in a big bin method. I consider learning this a silver lining to the mass die off 🙄🪱
Great video Jane 🇳🇿🪱
@@dnawormcastings Thank you kindly for watching!! 🥰🪱
Love your videos! I'm out of commission for several weeks and while I can feed and aerate my bins, sifting is not possible due to severe shoulder surgery. I refreshed my bins prior to the surgery but I'm worried about them not being sifted for at least 10 weeks. My bins are halved food grade plastic drums, I only have 2. Do you think they'll be ok?
@@traceybier1128 Hi Tracey! I hope you heal quickly and well! 🥰
If you can manage to check on the bins and add slow foods they will most likely be fine. You want to have them eating more foods and not their castings over and over. That way when you can get to sifting in the future it’ll go much better. Slow foods can be leaves, less finished pre-compost, food scraps of any kind, etc.
it’s one of the great things about worms - they can do really well for longer periods of time with just a little maintenance.
I hope this information helps you! 🪱💕
Have you noticed much decrease in worm size with the increase in density, or is the population still small enough for them to stay big?
@@franklittle Hi Frank! It’s been a few months. How are you and your worms?
That’s a very good question that I don’t have an answer to. Most of these worms are young and smaller anyway. I lost most of my older teenager worms to the June mass die off. 😩. Of bigger worms are wanted I would pack them in as much but they can still be pretty dense. I think balancing the density with great food laden bedding would be key. Like pre-compost! And changing out the bedding when it’s gets used up vs letting it ride for a longer time.
I do want bigger worm on my breeder bins for larger cocoons and that density is less. I know this isn’t really an answer but it’s the best I’ve got at this moment 🤣. I’m eager to see what happens as these worms mature. I very well may have to split them out at some point. We will see!
Thanks for watching and asking a great question 😍😎🪱
@@RockinWorms Thank you. It's fascinating to see how things work out in different conditions. Me and my worms are doing great. They've been feasting on heaps of comfrey on top of their usual kitchen scraps, and I've been feasting on the lovely veggies I grew using their poop 😄. Today's menu includes super fresh kale and runner beans (for me, they only get the scraps lol).
@@franklittle Hi Frank! It is interesting isn’t it?) Bins right next to each other, made at the same time, can go different routes. I made up breeder bins for the reset, 3 at the same time. Reset the breeders. 2 bins were great. One bin heated up! I had to reset that bin within the day. Why did that bin heat up when the other 2 didn’t?? It happens. That’s why it’s important to check back on bins when major changes are done - new bedding, new foods, adding or taking away lots of worms, etc. Different conditions can trigger a strong ecosystem response 😳🪱.
I’m glad your worms are doing so well! It’s clear you and your worms are living in harmony, each benefiting the other. Can’t ask for better than that! Congratulations! 🤩🪱
Do you find that the worms are smaller when they have more worms in the grow bins? Either that or does it take longer for them to get large vs fewer worms per grow out bin?
I find they grow larger when there are fewer worms. Whatever is leftover from a sale go into a bulk bin that has a lot of worms to finish whatever bedding is left. I pull breeders as needed from the bulk bins.
@@brookeonyx6271 Hi Brooke! How have you been?
Many worm wranglers, including myself, do report that their worms seem to grow bigger, faster when less crowded. More space and less competition for food does help my breeders get and stay bigger than worms in my grow out bins.
My grow out bins are more a place for the worms to achieve maturity and give me great castings than to grow big. I use my breeder bins for size attainment. Less crowded bins can take longer to produce a bin full of castings ready for harvest. It really comes down to what the main goal is: bigger worms as soon as possible or more castings as soon as possible. There’s a bit of trade off and each worm wrangler can decide where they want to be on that spectrum. 👍
It sounds like your bulk bin is operating how I’m talking about here - mainly to generate castings and produce mature worms to be promoted into breeder bins 😍😎🪱
@@RockinWorms gotcha. For some reason I thought you raised them in the mixing trays to sell. I mainly raise them to sell worms since I’d rather see others raise worms themselves than buy castings. That way they eliminate extra waste!
I do agree that there’s a big difference in how bins are managed depending upon the end goal. My bulk bins do produce better quality castings, but that really hasn’t been my focus, other than the stuff I use for myself. It does take my “leftovers” longer to become good castings, but I guess that’s where bulk bins come in. They are really there more for holding extra worms that are smaller until space is freed up to grow them out to sales size.
Close to finished castings generally go into a tote that’s stored for a few months so any cocoons that hatch, springtails and remaining worms can finish off what’s left as well as giving the vermicast time to “cure”. I’ve read both sides of curing so not sure that does much good, but at least the critters have time to work through it all. Once the springtails are all gone they are ready to sell since they will leave when there’s no more food, both carbon and nitrogen.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your journey.
@@brookeonyx6271 All my worms are now raised on the same bins. I did give bigger totes a try and some worked really well and some didn’t work as well. But mainly it was space that made me go back to the bins I use. The larger totes needed to be outside (space needs) and the heat was too much. The main consistent differences between my breeder bins and my grow out bins is worm density and worm age. Grow out bins will also get more food variety as in food scraps while breeder bins only get fed worm chow, veggie powder, grit and sometimes azomite.
Curing castings had me befuddled when I started out. I thought there was some additional actions needed for castings to be safe or ready to be used. All I could find was that it meant giving any cocoons a chance to hatch and for any leftover foods to be consumed by whatever was still in the castings (springtails, biota, the odd worm, etc). Have you found any other ‘curing’ techniques?
I totally agree that encouraging people to become worm wranglers is the better way to go if they show any interest at all 👍🤩. Thanks for sharing your experience! 💕👍🪱
Gday Ms. RockinWorms! What is the name of those sifting pans you use?
@@jmannUSMC Hello! Ms RockinWorms - I like that! 🥰
These sifter pans are the SE brand. Amazon has them. The place I bought mine from for a much better price no longer carries them 😩.
Here’s a link to the same pans I have. This is NOT an affiliate link:
SE 13 1/4 Inch Stackable Classifier Gold Prospecting Pan Set - Includes 1/2" 1/4" 1/8" 1/12" and 1/20" Stainless Steel Mesh Sifting Pans, Green, 5 Pack
I also saw Amazon a little while ago a 3 pan set that would work well and was a bit less costly. You can search for that 😊🪱
Young Ms RockinWorms, please.
@@timmcilraith8762 🤣🤣🤣. I’m choosing to believe that you’re not being sarcastic 😝
💕🪱
Hi again I was wondering if I’m using worms to feed my axolotls should I use a grow out bin or breeder bin
@@Froogieboi-b2d Hi again! It depends on a what worm results you want for your axolotis. If you want bigger worms then either a breeder bin or a less dense grow out bin may be better. The worms will have more space and less food competition and therefore grow bigger. If worm size isn’t an issue or you do want smaller worms then a grow out bin works well.
I don’t know how many worms you need to keep a working population going as food either. You may need to do a breeder bin at least once in a while to get cocoons/wisps to replace the worms eaten. You’ll get ‘replacements’ in a grow out bin but if the worms taken out is significant, the replacement rate in a grow out bin may not be enough. I hope this helps you. 🪱
THE CORN (9:25)
@@Froogieboi-b2d Yes! Some corn cobs are still hanging around. When I break them open there are worms inside! But they’re not providing enough food for all the worms so additional food is needed. I want these guys to grow up as big as they can in the grow out bin so they can be promoted to a breeder bin 😊🪱