Disappointed, but not surprised. Hungry Bin vs The Urban Worm Bag update and harvest.
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- Опубліковано 12 тра 2019
- I finally did the first harvest on the HB that I started 44 weeks ago. Although it took a while to get the level up to where I felt comfortable harvesting, I will not wait that long to do the second one. I’ll try to do a lite harvest every couple of months.
A very fine demonstration of how NOT to use your hungry bin.
Please do not put plastic on top, because it will hamper air to worms
As previous comments have pointed out you have your hungry bin set up incorrectly. This is not a negative comment in regards to the other products just pointing out that this is a video demonstrating miss use of the hungry bin. You absolutely can not cover the top of a vermi-composter with a plastic bag it will drastically affect your final product, also you have an apparent fly problem in both of your bins this is likely due to cooking oils / meats / dairy products in your compost.
If the other bins work better for you that's great, I am only making the comment for others that may be considering this bin to compare your results with others as they are not consistent with other's experiences including my own.
I agreed
I think you are see shredded paper on the sides and it looks like maggots. But again, I think it is confetti 😂
So glad I read the comments about the hungry bin being misused. I saw this video a few days ago and wrote off the hungry bin. So happy to find that it was user error.
Complaining about hungry bin moisture... covers top with plastic..... Urban bag breathable all over... hmmm, I wonder what the issue is.
Love your worm bins and showing them both. Thank you very much
Sorry, but I don't know what you are doing compared to what I am doing, but my castings are nothing like what you seem to be getting. Why wouldn't you trust it? You know what you have put into it I assume, also the castings aren't sticking to your gloves like mud would. You say the bag is easier, just remove the cover, but the hungry bin already has a lid with air holes. Why aren't you getting the vermocasting tea? They way the bin is designed, you should be getting liquid shouldn't you? Sorry, but I don't see how you can compare the two when you aren't running one of them the way it was designed. How often do you check the drain filter and screen?
I see you posted this video three years ago so maybe by now you have figured the Hungry Bin out. For the benefit of your viewers- you were not running this bin according to the directions. That matters because if you do not use it the way it was designed to be used you will not get the desired results. I have one and think it is the best worm bin I have owned in almost 30 years of vermicomposting. I wish I could afford to buy ten of them!
I'm looking at a lot of Hungry Bin videos trying to decide if I should put out the big $$$ for it. Your comments are very helpful. I have a Vermihut and it's not easy for me to retrieve the castings. I assume you are still using it and still loving it?
@@lauramccament1381I’m loving the Vermihut, try looking at the videos on UA-cam as they have helped me tremendously.
I would never have bubble wrap on top of worm housing. They need air. Your smell that is bad is most likely due to lack of air.
I use the wrap on top to keep the material from drying out, since the lid is open. The top doesn't smell. The bottom material always had issues because the bin is plastic and doesn't breath. Hence, the material on top is great, but by the time it gets to the bottom harvesting area it looks like mud. My totes have bubble wrap and the castings look amazing.
Trust me you are
Suffocate worms. To keep moist use shredded paper moistened. Plastic smothers air from coming in. It is getting anaerobic. Use burlap cloth.
@@earthkeepinggreen7763 I have been successfully running my bins for 3 years. I have not killed my worms, as a matter of fact, they have multiplied many times over. This system is the only one that is giving me wet castings. May I suggest you watch some of my other videos to see the quality of the material and health of my worms.
@@liliakogan3043 Because you are covering everything with plastic. Newspaper is ample. Get rid of the plastic.
@@liliakogan3043 This system isn't supposed to have plastic in it like that. I've seen it come out much better without plastic on top. Just close the lid like it is designed to be.
What's with the plastic in the hungry bin? I've never seen anyone do that. just newspaper, or cardboard.. I've had mine about a year and a half. And I don't muss with the contents near as much. just lift the lid, the cardboard, dump in whatever I'm feeding them, and shut it up. easy peasy.. and I have it in my kitchen. When harvesting, you can dig some from up in the bin, but no more than you have in the bin, you risk it all falling out. Really need to have the bin a lot more full, the sloped sides help keep it in.. - if - it's full enough. Really need to get that plastic off the top, it's not letting it breath. For an apples to apples comparison, you'd need to put plastic and newsprint over the top of the bag as well.
Hippocrates Garden I have no issues feeding the bin. My issue is the wet castings I get at the bottom.
Steve Laubach such a helpful comment. My hungry bin just arrived in the mail and with only 2 lbs of worms I’m planning to make compost tea which many people have tried to talk me out of because apparently the set up can be super expensive
Steve Laubach wow, the manual said I would start having castings after about 90 days. Do you think you started with enough worms? Would more worms increase the rate at which castings are produced? I just set up my bin today
Yeah, the bin states you shouldn't be harvesting until the bin is nearly full. i.e. the scraps come up within an inch or two or the lid. If it's less than that, the castings aren't being compacted properly at the bottom. ua-cam.com/video/1njy3WyUHuo/v-deo.html has been at it about a year, and this is the level you should look for before you're considering a harvest.
@Ron K Not at all. But if you're harvesting casting when your bin in barely half full and you're not supposed to harvest until it's nearly completely full, you can significantly impact the colony. It's like taking money out of your 401K when you're 30. I GUESS you can do it, but it's really gonna hurt your savings and might even wipe em out entirely.
I like to put a layer of damp coco fibre/soil on top of each new feed & then put the natural fibre blanket on top (no plastic needed)
I also don’t use that much paper.. I think te worms prefer leaves but I could be wrong.
You can get a conditioner to add to make sure it’s not too acidic etc thanks for sharing very interesting
She thinks worm balls in an established bed is a "good" thing? Gimme a break! It means they're extremely unhappy and are collecting to preserve their lives from some stress. I've harvested nightcrawlwers in the 1970's by repeatedly whacking a pounded lath set 2 1/2 feet out of the ground. this set up vibrations in the top foot of damp soil and worms don't like vibration. If both units are side by side, it should affect both equally if vibration - so likely another problem. Too dry, too wet, not enough oxygen, too acidic, too alkaline, too warm or too cold cause balling. She should immediately change the bedding. She may be overfeeding - chopping leftovers into much smaller pieces allows more surface for bacteria. Worms eat the bacteria, not the spoiled leftovers! I see entire small tomatoes and the like when she turns the bag thing's top over - not too good!
Exactly what I was thinking. Especially about the surface area!. Worms eat small things and not the things we eat!. Decaying things is what they eat. Thats why they are surface dwellers
She also keeps complaining about the moisture imbalance and smell, but keeps a large sheet of plastic on top. I just started vermiposting a week ago after watching 50+ videos and I know if the plastic is not holding it all together, it does not need to be anywhere near the bin.
Adding some breathing holes would help. It will never beat cloth/fabric for air circulation. Thanks for sharing
I actually drilled 1/2 inch holes in the lid, but that didn't help much. Now I just leave the lid open.
Remove the plastic cover because the worms can't breathe under there. And if your castings are stinky, then you're definitely doing it wrong.
Why ya putting plastic wrap on the top probly why anaerobic bacteria making it smell also not letting it breath mayby why its getting sludgy? Jus a thought
David B please look through my videos. I don’t have anaerobic conditions in my bin. Since I keep the lid open all the time, the plastic wrap helps keep moisture level comfortable for the worms. Click on Hungry Bin playlist and you’ll get a better understanding of why I do what I do. Thanks for watching.
exactly
@@liliakogan3043 so yup there's air between lid and plastic but I think that's not where the microbiological activity is happening in your situation it's happening underneath the plastic.... Aerate the soil..
@@davidb1933 the HB is not a bin, it's an EFT system not designed for aeration. As I've mentioned before, non of my systems have any issues except the HB, so........
@@dunbardarcy
Some people want to reinvent the wheel then get upset when it doesn’t work as intended.
Nice Avocado worm ball! ; - )
It was pretty cool.
I have both now the hungry bin and the urban worm bin, just set up my urban worm bin so I’ll compare them once it starts going. I got it after watching your videos. I am really happy with my hungry bin. I get a lot of castings and it doesn’t get too wet. But maybe it will be even better with the worm bag? Not sure excited to find out! The only thing is I tend to prefer an outdoor friendly worm bin because I don’t have much space in my garage so I have my hungry bin outside
I'm glad you are happy with your Hungry Bin.
Just harvested my first harvest from the urban worm bag! Probably could have harvested it awhile ago. It was a good harvest! Looks rich and well done. I have it in my garage so I noticed it does tend to dry out, I need to add water periodically usually a water bottle or two full every month. I add veggie scraps and shredded mail usually about once a week. I have lots of happy worms! I definitely recommend it!! Only potential drawback is I don’t think it would be as sturdy to leave outdoors
What about the Summer or Winter when the weather is extreme?
Not really sure about extreme weather I live in coastal climate zone 9 it’s mild and even climate not really any extremes
My UWB zipper broke the first time I went to harvest castings so I went to Tom and bought a Vermibag Max hoping I have better luck with that bag.
Dswan1 sorry to hear that. Did you also contact the maker of the UWB to let him know what happened? His customer service is wonderful.
@@liliakogan3043 yeah Steve is great, he sent me a v2.0 bag at no charge when my zipper broke but I've been actually able to keep using the bag. Nothing comes out and I have a pan to catch anything that falls out if it does. I'm setting up my 2.0 bag right now and will have 2 working UWB. I love mine, castings are great and the open flap at the bottom actually helps regulate moisture even more.
Try cutting back on the moisture at the top with wet scraps thats the point your supposed fine tune your scraps. Dont cover with plastic and dont freak out your not giving them enough food and end up over doing it.
Do you keep your urban worm bag indoor or outdoor? Because i have mine in the garage but it makes some flies escape into my house. I better move it back outdoor. Only problem is in the winter, the bag does freeze a little bit but the core stays hot enough for them to survive.
Yes, I was just wondering if you could apply the wet castings directly on your garden beds???
Daring Danielle yes. But there are worms still in the castings. I have to remove them one by one, since I can’t sift wet castings.
Lilia Kogan oh no! The whole point of me buying this expensive system is so I wouldn’t have to sift through the castings. I feel like such a fool
@@DaringDanielletravels welcome to the club.
@@liliakogan3043 Well I don't know what you are doing, but I have never had to sift worms out of the casting from my bin. You seem to be one of the only people on YT having issues with the Hungry Bin.
ApriliaRSV4F I’ve only read comments here but wanted to say I’ve had very wet castings full of worms as well. Very disappointing. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Thoughts?
But thank you so much for posting xx.
Good job what is the white powder you added to the food
Thanks for the vid... Although I'm sure the commentators dragged you through the mud for adding that plastic on top. Those worms get hot and need some moisture and coolness.
so you add shredded paper every time you feed? I am trying to set up the urban worm bag but I feel like I dont know enough. Could you do a step by step video on how you maintain the the bag?
SOA Redwood I do a weekly update on the VermiBag Minimist. It resembles the UWB, just on a smaller scale. You can go to playlist and click on VermiBag Minimist. Let me know if that helps.
@@liliakogan3043 duh! lol. gotta look at the playlist
one year has 52 weeks. 44 weeks is almost a year. Who will have that much patience? Is there any way to accelerate the process? That is what we must find altogether. Also how about the smell?
If it is smelly, then the lack of oxygen.??
Wow that is so sad. I wonder if you left the bottom tray off and attached some kind of breathable material to it. Or maybe put very small holes in that bottom tray? It needs oxygen that way it won't go anaerobic. Thank you for the video and sticking with the HB. It has to be frustrating.
Melinda, I was actually debating whether to remove the bottom tray all together. Just worried that worms may try to escape out the bottom. Still, something to consider.
@@liliakogan3043 i agree with removing the bottom but you will need something to keep them from escaping. 👍
@@mindy779, I don't know- - - it seems to me if they tried to go down and did not encounter anything but air space, they may just stay in the HB? Would make an interesting experiment!!
@@waynetadlock9719 That's how a lot of DIY flow-through wormeries work; the bottom is open so the castings can dry out a bit and become less hospitable for worms to hang out in. I have been considering keeping the bottom of my HungryBin open too, since the taper stops the entire contents of the bin from falling out.
I just bought another one as we have a lot of scraps to get through. The person who I bought the used one from had the base tray upside down and he gave up using it. I wonder if that is related
you need to put a truckload of food and crap in there. Im no expert, but im thinking you need to get rid of that plastic in the hungry bin. Seems you are getting in your own way.
Michael R Delgado if I put in a truckload of food in there, the material will heat up and can hurt the worms. It will also release a ton of moisture creating leachate, a product I’m not looking to get in any of my bins. I’ve been composting long enough to know what works for me and my worms and what doesn’t. I don’t have issues in any of my other 27 systems, so I must be doing something right.
@@liliakogan3043 I dont know, clearly you are doing something wrong... i have a buddy that has a hungry bin, and im going to buy one too, he was able to get some "black gold" dropping in like 3 mos and some good amount of tea, and we live in Phx, AZ and his is in the garage and its still 90 degrees in his garage. But his is nearly full and the stuff is starting to compress and the worms are near the top.
But, maybe, you should consider.... you dont know what you dont know.
Michael R Delgado the only thing I did wrong was buying the HB. For the amount of money I spent on it I could have gotten 3 Urban Worm Bags. I’m glad your friend is happy with his bin and I truly hope you like your HB.
@@liliakogan3043 if you want to sell your HB, i may be willing to buy it.
Michael R Delgado this HB is already spoken for. My second HB is still being used in my videos. I will most likely be selling it after about a year from now.
Place it back in the been let the worms have another go at it next time.
you have set your hungry bin up incorrectly. pretty obvious you did not read the directions and follow them precisely. the hungry bin is the easiest and best compost bin on the market at this time
Anita Rexinger it’s obvious you haven’t seen any of my previous videos on the HB. I have 2 and set them both up according to manufacturers instructions. After running them for about a year and doing two harvests, I realized that the castings were always going to be wet and sludgy, not my idea of quality. I took them apart and started them back up differently to see if that would work better. It didn’t. We will agree to disagree whether the HB is the best system on the market. So far, my simple plastic bins are giving me better quality castings and so do my bag systems. Have a great day.
@@liliakogan3043 HB is 3-400 bucks and looks like a big green trashcan. UWB is 1/4 the price and looks like camping gear. Better moisture control with the UWB than HB from all the videos I've seen.
I’ve not had any smell. Did you not fill the base 3/4 with organic compost to start it like it said in the instructions? I’ve just bought a second one.
I have two Hungry Bins. I started one with 3/4 full compost and the other with bedding and castings from my other 3 bins. This was an experiment to see if the bin would work different when started with material other than compost. My previous experience with the bin has been less than stelar, so I decided to do something different this time, but sadly got the same results as before.
LOL! the whole point of this is to make compost, now i have to buy compost to make compost to fill 3/4!!? absurd! I have a home made wooden bin flow through that never gets soaking like that and smells great for 30$.
@@lastcastproduction4030 I agree 💯.
@@lastcastproduction4030 could you please show me how you made your $30 bin?
@@herlindeclark5488 wooden composters are pretty straight forward. Four sides, legs and railings or some sort for the bottom. There are tons of youtube videos builds for flow through systems. If you can woodwork a simple box your 75% there. 👍🏼
You didn't harvest from the urban bag. That was not a comparison at all.
You may want to view my other videos where I harvest from the Urban Worm bag. The difference is very obvious.
mine does not smell. look at the positives, eggs have hatched and worms have moved up.
I'll take every small positive sign. Next harvest will be in a month and maybe be better. I'll do more frequent lite harvests to see if that works.
Is the smell a sign that the castings should not be used?
Our castings were smelly because two worms died in it. We had fished out the dead worms but not enough of the bedding surrounding them but after the castings had stood for a couple of weeks, they smelled and the seeds we planted in the potting mix made from the castings were just as good as ever.
I'm sad that your harvest was so stinky. Mine has never been so far. I've been learning to treat my HB for what it is ... a very deep plastic tote.
A very expensive plastic tote.
@@liliakogan3043 You obviously do not care for the Hungry Bin. You don't know how to use it.
There's a guy that loves the HB system and not the Bag. Go figure. I think as a personal preference, one will not know until they try it.
44 weeks?!
I noticed you are put food on top a shredded paper. More paper,coir,straw on top of food acts like a mulch and let's air in. Just constructive observation.
I really think you need to add loads more carbon.......heaps and heaps.
I will be putting more carbon in the bins. The problem is that the HB was made to run wet, and collect leachate, something I don't use and don't like. This information was given to me only now. Had I known that the HB " could potentially produce up to 2 litres of liquid per week ", I would not have purchased it. No wonder I can't make it work. I will continue to use it for a few more harvests before making a final decision about what to do with it. Thank you for your comment.
Lilia Kogan I’m sorry that you were misinformed. Very frustrating when this happens. Best of luck for the future.
She needs to get rid of the plastic - what on earth is she covering the worms with plastic - so dumb!
If you chop the feed finely, the worms will process it faster;
All I can say is wow. Thanks for sharing.
Grr she talks about the dam wetness of the thing for 3 mins. We got it, it came out wet move on. Thanks for the video thou.
I don't understand why people feed the worms so much shredded paper, when they could give them free leaf mulch, that is much better for them and produces better quality castings.
A good book is vermiculture technology Clive Edwards. This knowledge will help people understand better
I liked watching your videos! Is it worth it buying a hungry bin?
Strictly form my experience, no. I don't like the HB. It is expensive, the air holes are not sufficient for the size of the system, the material that comes out the bottom is too wet to sift, the material also gets stuck and needs help getting to the harvesting tray. With so many wonderful and cheaper systems out there, I wouldn't recommend it.
Lilia Kogan did i see you put plastic on the top of the hb ? Is that standard practice as it would restrict oxygen , smell means anaerobic
The Kaveman it’s not standard practice for the HB. When I close the lid, there is not enough air getting in and the worms start climbing up to try and get out. By keeping the lid open and putting a light plastic cover, it lets a lot more air in without drying out the material. The wet castings at the bottom are just the way this system operates. It’s made to run wet and create lots of leachate, something I don’t use or like.
@@liliakogan3043 I can't see how the medium is getting oxygen if it's covered with air . Eg. Try sticking your head inside a plastic bag and try to breath. Wouldn't it be easier to drill more holes and silicon some fly screen to the under side of lid to stop egress of worms or entry of pests? This allows the worms to breath. Also the nite of smelly soil must mean lack of air and so using shredded cardboard provides air pockets down deep . I believe this should be added every few layers of food supplied starting from deep in the bin
@@das250250 there is enough air getting through around the plastic, since it's not taped to the bin. I already drilled a bunch of 1/2 inch holes on the lid. That didn't help. I also add plenty of shredded paper and cardboard when I feed. All my other systems are working great, that tells me it's this system in particular.
Need more paper
Air holes? Why plastic? Need venting!!!!
Don't use bubble wrap or any thing that doesn't breath omg this is terrible!
NO NO NO!!!...Plastic!
Idk it should smell and looks to wet
My worms keep escaping I don’t know why
If you have a HB they can escape through the bottom or the middle, where the sections meet. I had that issue before. Nothing to be done about that. Now that I keep the lid off and the plastic cover on, they have settled down.
Lilia Kogan Ok thank you. I made a worm bin out of the garbage can and I don’t have a problem with it.
it might be too hot for the worms
I liked the hungry bin when I first learned about it but having seen your harvest, I'm not impressed. Your harvested castings are nothing like in the promotional video. I think the old tote method may be better.
you are overfeeding them. that is why it is so wet. the entire system is too wet
That was my first impression.
She is over doing it....making the whole thing looks extremely complicated to use. If it’s that’s difficult to use, I doubt HB could be such a success at first place. I am still ordering one . :)
you did it wrong. You compacted the waste plus your plastic cover is suffocating your worms. This is aerobic composting, not anaerobic.
To much Moisture
Disappointing!
But not unexpected. 😁
Read rhe goddamned directions
Another waste..to waste show
No plastic! 👎