I dig my own worms from rich composted soil under some trees (lots if worms live there), I use the same soil I dig and add leaves and rabbit pellets to the mix. After the worms propagate themselves I harvest some worms and add to my raised bed gardens and flower beds along with the worm tea. Worm tea and rabbit pellet tea is some of the best fertilizer I have ever used.
Question: I have rabbits. They eat hay Some of their hay they eat some of their hay Pee on. Instead of paper wet paper could I use the waste from the hay?
Love your channel! I'm a homeschooler and I'm teaching an "Eco Kids" class at our co-op next semester. I'm going to teach the kids about composting in one of our classes and thought that a worm bin would be perfect (plus my family can start composting!). Your videos are sooo helpful and I love that you really include everything we need to know. PS: I have some invasive ivy and I'm excited to know how to manage it!
Send that english ivy packing! By the way, when you do the worm bin composting with the kids, you can buy a bigger batch of worms from Uncle Jim's at a discount. He'll usually have a sale in the Spring. I did a worm composting workshop for a neighborhood association and had about 10 students. I had purchased 2000 worms and that was more than enough. BTW...my kids go to a Charlotte Mason-based school. I love that they incorporate learning from nature in their education. We can learn a lot from the environment around us.
I don't run my worm bins with holes in the bottom. The "worm tea" could be the product of anaerobic processes that could harm some plants. I manage the moisture by adding dry bedding when feeding and having plenty of ventilation and turning the bedding every two weeks or so to ventilate bottom bedding and monitoring moisture so it can be adjusted as needed. This has worked for me for over a decade. It is just another path for those who may live in a condo or want to eliminate food waste in the landfills but may not have a use for worm tea.
I watched this video researching a 5 gallon bucket flow thru worm farm. Same system but with an extra bucket on top with 1/2" holes. Once first feed bucket is digested, worms migrate up to the top bucket for fresh feed. This technique should separate the worm castings from worms.
@@d4dolphinify If you're able to, I suggest using a 50 gal rubber/plastic stock tank and building it up over time. It's worth the initial investment and before you know it you will have an army of worms ready to process all the scraps you can produce.
The excess liquid is not tea until it is brewed and the worm castings make better tea than the compost liquid (leachate) does. I found the liquid in the bucket system needs air holes farther up the sides because it can get pretty rancid if left for more than a couple days and the pails seem to want to stick together, so a brick helped for both issues but i wished i would have put i drain tap in as well. The worms do not actually eat the food but they eat the microbiol life that break the food down as it decomposes, so wetting down fall or spring leaves and grass is much better than cardboard in my opinion and unlike cardboard they have the microbes started already without the glues that come with. There are hundreds of methods and some work better than others this method uses way too much cardboard and paper which takes much longer to decompose than dried crushed leaves lightly whetted, although with tons of worms it may work okay but i like to put about 50 or less worms in my 3 bins and just leave them be all winter or at least 2 months just living on compost with hay, straw, leaves and rabbit manure and urine, coffee grounds and powered egg shells with about 2 pounds of table scraps. I stay away from too much nitrogen because i want a warm environment not a hot compost. Then my yard compost is used after the worms and eggs are separated at a 20-1 or ratio (sometimes more), to inoculate biochar for a month before putting that mixture on a straw based raised bed. Some do not compost rabbit manure but i do because of pathogens. Worm castings are a necessity to increase plant immunity to disease and create a living soil from just dirt. Plants love to grow in rich compost. I try to keep PH levels at neutral. I applaud anyone using any method of making healthy soil by reducing waste and capturing carbon rather than putting it into the air.
Hi Murray. Thanks so much for all the great worm composting info from your experience. I did learn the difference between worm tea and leachate. I do plan to make a worm tea brewer at some point this summer. Thanks for the feedback.
. I have watched a lot of garden and diy videos on TH-cam and in my humble opinion yours are the best! (There are some really bad ones out there...too long getting to the point, too chatty, wandering off the point of the video, etc). So glad I found you. I'm guessing you do gardening videos, but I haven't seen your channel long enough to know. I hope so! I have been gardening for a 100 years(not really) and have recently gone to raised beds which I love. So much more weed free. But I do need to improve the quality of my soil so I appreciate your ideas of worm composting. I tried regular composting years ago without much success. I think I've finally got all the key components to making good soil and I can hardly wait til next summer! Thank you.
Beth Cush Hi Beth. Thanks for the compliments and encouragement. I do plenty of rambling, it just gets cut. :-) My channel is a mix of sustainability topics, so gardening and composting is in that category. I also make videos about rocket stoves, which are considered “green” because the use found-fuel (sticks and twigs) that are carbon-neutral. A good excuse to play with fire plus I use the ash as a soil amendment (we’ve got generally acidic soil here in Georgia). Thanks for watching. I look forward to your comments and questions. Happy gardening.
Hi there!! I used to have a wriggly ranch worm farm...(highly subsidized by our local landfill./solidwaste folks... otherwise I wouldnt have bought it) But what I wanted to say is that these are multiple bins stacked...so what I was thinking was that to extend your use of the bucket system - is to use 3 prepared buckets. - when the middle one gets close to ready - encourage the worms to migrate up to the new bucket and then you can use the middle worm castings for your garden! Im going to try it!
Hi. I tried a multiple bucket system, but because of the taper, there is a gap between the buckets and the worms keep getting trapped there. It probably could have been worked around, but I haven't gotten to it. Maybe a rubber gasket between buckets or holes on the sides for the worms to enter there. Might have to revisit this. Thanks for watching. Happy worm composting. :-)
This was helpful, thanks! My daughter wants to start a worm bin for her bedroom to feed her axolotl, and making a bin out of purchased totes and whatnot was a little more expensive than I felt it should be. A 5galbucket worm bin is perfect!
Hey, I've got the same plan! Unfortunately, I can't avoid putting it in my bedroom though, so I was thinking of using cedar chips to mask the smell. Do you think this would work?
Great video as our family currently composts with the city but i find that i throw away too much great compost this way and want to add to my garden beds even in my Canadian winter. Will try this indoor composting method for both myself and so my son can earn a badge in beavers. I'm also looking at building a cedar structure to house these 2 buckets..thanks again!
The mesh in the top, helps keep soldier flies out. That kinda works they can lay eggs right through the screen. The mesh in the bottom is to help keep worms from falling I to the bottom bottom with the liquid. They’ll drain there. Thank you for watching.
Hello, thank you for your video. I just would like to ask you. I live in Germany, what can do for the worms in winter, especially when the temperature is lower than 0, in order to keep the worms working normally. And I just have a free place in the celler. Thank you in advance
+Gaitri bharath yes. When I add more compostables and newspaper bedding on top, I’ll sprinkle water to moisten. This slowly adds up in the bottom bucket as leachate. Occasionally, I’ll put a lot of water through the top bucket to generate more output. Sometimes I’ll just take the top bucket off, set it next to a shrub, tree or in the garden, then fill it with water and let it drain right there. I should take a few minutes, not 15. Too long to drain and the worms could drown. Thanks for watching.
So once the worms have turned the first bucket into castings, would it be possible to add a third bucket on top with holes drilled in the bottom and fresh scraps for them to migrate into (which would leave the middle bucket empty and ready to harvest the castings)? Or are they not able to migrate up like that?
Hi Kenzie. A lot of the commercial systems have a layered approach like that. In my experience with buckets, adding a third bucket traps the worms climbing the sides (which they like to do) between the middle and top buckets, above the perforations in the bottom of the top bucket. This could be remedied, by perforating the sides of the bucket as well. But, I haven’t tried that yet. Currently, I’m using a flow through worm composter. It uses a “upward migration” method. Worms move up to the new food as castings are harvested from the bottom. Got videos on those systems too. 😆 Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY thanks, I've made it and put a brick at the bottom, I saw that on another one of yours. I live in Australia so it's hot. Do you ever put soil in the bucket or just paper and items like that?
Edmund Martinez I did. They end up getting trapped along the sides between bucket 1 and 2. I suppose the connection holes could be put in the sides of the buckets to fix that, but bucket 2 could never be used in the first bucket position. :-) I think it’s just less complicated to do 2 buckets instead 3. It is always worth experimenting though. Thanks for watching.
Appreciate the reply. I was thinking of placing bucket 3 on top with new beddings etc. ONLY when the area in bucket 2 seems to be compost like already So that once the worms go to the new bucket on top I remove the middle bucket with now worm castings since they migrated on the new source. then place back Bucket 3 as as 2 bucket style again. Not sure if that made sense?
Thank you for the very nice video.....can you tell me why it is necessary to use rain water? We have well water that is untreated with chemicals. Would this be okay to use instead of rain water?
+Ian Moffit yes to leaves. That is a good substitution for newspaper as bedding for the worms. Grass clippings are OK too, but only in small quantities (a handful at a time) and only if you haven't used chemicals on your lawn. Grass clippings are nitrogen rich and might be better used in a compost pile.
Thank you so much for your videos! You make it so easy for beginners like me to understand how to do things. One question, can I leave the worm bin in a protected but cold place (it might get to 2 degrees at night) or should I keep it inside the house till the weather's get warmer? Thanks in advance for your response.
Hi Tanrem. The worms need to stay above freezing. I'd recommend moving it inside. Alternatively, you could consider burying the worm bin a pile of wood chips. You can cover the top with a bale of hay, so you can still access it. That would let you keep it outside, but keep the worms from freezing. Thanks for watching.
The liquid coming out of the bottom is considered leachate (initially I incorrectly called it tea). Worm tea is made by mixing worm castings, molasses and water and then using a bubbler to aerate it. Aeration kills the anaerobic bacteria (harmful to us) and boosts the aerobic bacteria (not harmful to us). I’ve been meaning to make a worm tea brewer. Thanks for watching.
I think so. It just needs to be breathable. I suggest making bigger holes for the landscape fabric. Perhaps the cut out the whole center of the lid. Thank you for watching.
I think it’s better to dilute. It is strong stuff. Also, from what I’ve learned since making this video, what I’m using isn’t “tea,” but rather “leachate.” Compost tea is brewed using molasses and aeration. This kills off the anaerobic bacteria and boosts the aerobic bacteria, both of which are present in the leachate. In general the anaerobic is bad for humans. As long as you don’t splash it on anything you’ll eat or wash the produce really well, you should be fine. Thank you for watching.
I live in an apartment. I am an inexperienced composter, but have recently set up a small composting tumbler outside. I also decided to start worm composting In order to have something in my kitchen for my food scraps. For my worms I'm doing a 5 gal bucket system and got 2 dozen worms from a neighbor. Im trying to figure out how much to feed my worms and Wondering how long I will have to wait to feed more. My neighbor was using the worms for fishing and has been feedingt them primarily a mixture of cornmeal oat flour and ground up egg shells.
Hi Dame. One easy sign that your worms are established is when you see casting trails on the sides of the bucket. These look a bit like intermittent dirt lines. I also look for a ring of processed castings around the bucket at the level of the compost. It will look dark and granular. That will they you that the worms are established and working. I also recommend adding damp newspaper bedding whenever you add new food scraps. Happy worm composting. Thank you for watching.
@@GreenShortzDIY ty for responding to my question. I'm just curious still...I only have 2 dozen worms... l want to switch from the cornmeal, oat flour, and ground egg shell diet they have been getting. I put a pear in my bucket and about 1/2 cup of coffee grounds mixed w watermelon that I ground up plus a light sprinkling of the neighbors mixture.. Does that sound like a lot of food for 24 worms?
Hi.....thanks for the video on how to make the two bucket work compost bin 👍👍 👏👏 it was simple enough to make. Please explain in more detail how the tea is made or produced in light of the comment Murray Runge made. Also how long will it take to get the tea and worm castings to use as fertilizer? Sorry for so many questions
+Jason Saint-Elie I've tried three bins in a worm composter, with the idea being that the worms finish off one bin and migrate up to the newer compost in the upper bin. They way the buckets stack, there is a gap at the edge that tapers shut. The worms like to climb the sides and get caught in that gap. If you do a three layer system, use only the bottom bin for liquid and the other bins for worms and compostables. Make sure the connections between the bins are easily bridgeable by a worm. Thanks for the question.
I assume the buckets are fine outside during spring thru fall, what about winter, do they need to go indoors? Is there a safe temperature range for the worms?
I took and made a disk of screening on the lid of the lower bucket. Thus preventing the worms from dropping through. Saved on caulking that way too as MOST caulking isn't safe for animals or insects, unless you use aquariam caulking. So I went without it all together.
Great video, thanks for all the tips. I like the small amount of space and effort that something like this takes. About how many worms should be used to start a system like this, and about what is the maximum before splitting these guys up?
Hi Clint. I usually split a 500 worm order between 2 bucket systems. Then divide colonies into 2 about once a year. The worms will stop reproducing when they are overcrowded. Starting with 250 red wigglers would be my recommendation. Thanks for watching.
the compost is just as good,, but red wigglers-compost worms multiply way faster than say nightcrawler-garden worms but if you have many to begin with they eat a lot too, and do a good job.
I had a raised bed frame so I decided to make a garden bed so I started with throwing my food scraps on the bare earth then covered with cardboard then I covered the cardboard with more food scraps and grass clippings then soil ! I don’t think this will hurt anything!
Very helpful video. many thanks!....Two questions - what is the point of the screens over the holes in the lid?....and how do you remove the composted stuff, which is at the bottom of the layers of food scraps and newspaper....wouldn't you have to disrupt the newer layers to get the compost out?
I live in Canada and was wondering about what temperature is too cold for the worms. Where I live it only gets to about 6 C in the winter the coldest is about -6 C. Should I bring it indoors.? Also how often do you feed them.? Thanks
Hi MJ. They need to be a composting worm, like red wigglers. Just means they process organic material in the top layers of the soil. Thanks for watching.
Composting worms are looking for decaying organic matter in the top 12 inches of soil. They don't like being exposed to the sunlight, so as long as your veggies are still on the plant and not starting to rot, they should be safe. If they have dropped to the soil and begun to decompose, the worms will start converting them back into nutrients the plants can use to make more. All any worm bin system does in try to contain this process, to capture the rich organic castings the worms make. Adding worms to your garden soil, or making them more happy to be there, is the easiest way to benefit from their being there. As any chef knows, the best vegetables to cook with are the ones you've just picked, especially if they'v been grown from organically rich soil. In that case, worms are your best friend. Thanks for watching.
I live in Salt Lake City. It gets really hot and dry in the summer. I plan to keep my worm composter in a shady place. Do I need to add water periodically or to put it another way, how wet do I need to keep the stuff and worms inside? Thanks!
Ken, yes, you'll want to add water to keep things moist. I've heard the term "damp sponge" used to describe the amount of wetness, but I keep my wetter than that. The worms are OK until the low to mid 80's F. Above that they'll be nervous. I've gotten a few questions dealing with heat and I've got a couple of simple ideas to modify the composters to aid in convection cooling. I'll make a video about those tweaks this week. Which system did you build?
In a heat spike, you can always add some ice to your worm bin. Perhaps some leftover ice from a drink, versus fresh ice from the freezer, but in a pinch that will do. Don't spread the ice around, rather put it all in a central location. The worms will use the cold spot to regulate their temperature.
I did a version of the big one made from 2 storage bins. I took two corn cobs and ran them through my juicer . . ground them up really fine then added the juice back and threw it in there for them. This morning I could not find any worms in that stuff so I squished some grapes and threw them in. I found that they are going right through the screen into the bottom bin. Has this been an issue for you? What is the mesh size of the screen material you use? Thanks!
I'm using window screen, for the bottom of my bucket composter. Some worms are still getting through. When worms are newly added to a bin the want to move around. Once they settle in they should be less migratory. The corn cob is probably not a food the worms will likely, grapes they will. Juicer waste is a perfect food source for worms. They'll love that their wood is already bite sized. I suggest dumping your lower bin liquid back through the upper bin for a few weeks of so, until the worms know where home is.
Both. I add enough water to moisten the bedding...newspaper in my case. The leachate (not tea yet), does come from the liquid in the cells of the compostable material, once the worms free it up. Thanks for watching.
Where I get my organic food online they pack the boxes w brown paper ... can I use that after shredding it in a paper shredder for my worm compost / Im concerned about the ink thats on the newspaper
Hi Mary Jo. Yes, that would be a great option. You might consider just tearing it up by hand though. I find that the worms love the folds of the paper for laying their cocoons. But, I’ve used shredded paper before and worked fine too. I think most printing inks are soy-based now, but why add any ink to the worm’s habitat if you don’t have to. Thanks for watching.
Sooo nice that u respond soo quickly .. thank you :) I'll tear some up too.. sure want more worms to keep coming !! Really love all of ur videos !!! Again thank u for all u do ~~
Thanks Mary Jo. I’m enjoying all the TH-cam interaction. I usually try to answer a few comments before I turn in. Let me know how your worm composting goes. Have a good night. :-)
Hi Carrie. I keep it in my garage year-round. Semi-indoors keeps the temperature somewhat normalized and keeps the soldier flies from laying eggs in it. Thanks for watching.
We will be building 3 sets like these for our grand children in Sydney next year. What type of earth worms should we look for? And do you know a worm supplier thereof down under? Michiel K
Hi Michiel. You want to order “composting” worms versus earthworms. My supplier is US based and doesn’t ship internationally (the worms wouldn’t survive). I bet you can find a local supplier. The particular species I use is the “Red Wiggler.” Hope that helps. Good luck with your builds. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for the speedy reply. Resulting from that I found a supplier down under selling a "Mix of Red, Blue & Tiger Worms". Will all of those qualify as composting worms? And why would the worms which we in South Africa know as Earthworms (which is fairly common in all fertile or "healthy" soil here) not do the same job? I.e. making compost and leachate under the same conditions as your bins propose? Lastly is your worm tea brewer video available yet? Thank you for your informative yet kept simple videos. I used the link to the "cooling the bins down" and will implement the tips you supplied therein from the start as temperatures in Sydney can be quite high (and humid) in summer. Regards Michiel
Any fruit or vegetable scraps left over in your kitchen and nothing processed. So potato peels, apple cores, strawberries that got mouldy before you got around to eat them and more but no meat or half eaten pancakes. If it helps think of the bin as a forest floor. The worms eat the organic matter available.
question - will this system work with LARGE worms? I have a great source of them and would like to use them. I have been feeding them leaves, I don't know if they will eat newspaper and scraps??? What do you think?
Amy Elliott actually, no. The physiology is different, even though they look the same. Composting worms, like Red Wigglers, process organic material that would exist in the top layer of the soil. Earthworms work deeper, processing soil. That's why a specialized worm is needed for a composting bin. But, fish can't tell the difference, so you can use them for fishing too.
Hi Lithia Moon! :-) I prefer to keep my worm bin in the garage. It is cooler and limits access to Black Soldier Flies. Rain is OK, but I'm in Georgia too and know what you are talking about. I use rain water to moisten my worm bins, but like to control how much. Thanks for your question.
Hii, I’m very interested in making my own but I don’t know where I can get worms... do they really have to be for composting or can I buy worms in like a fisherman shop?
Hi Sunchild. You can actually try getting worms from a fishing bait shop. Ask them if they have "red wigglers." This is a common name for a composting worm. They may have a mixture of worms, some of which could be composters. Composting worms are just an earthworm that processes organic material in the top layer of soil (12 to 18 inches) instead of processing soil (deeper). If you find worms living in a pile of leaves, they are most likely composting worms. You can build your own colony by gathering worms from piles of leaves. You can also, sort through a batch of worms purchased from a bait shop by putting them in a bucket with holes in the bottom. Bury the bottom half of the bucket 6-12 inches in the soil and fill it with leaves and veggie scraps. Put all the worms in. The "soil processing" earth worms will leave through the holes. The "compost processing" worms with stay. Then you can put your composting worms into an enclosed worm composting bin. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.
In a sense, yes. The water liquifies the castings, transferring the richness. I think this is an easier way to harvest the bin intermittently. The liquid can be diluted with more water and poured on the garden. Just avoid splashing plants as the liquid can contain bacteria. Thanks for watching.
Although I can use the compost produced, my main motive is to raise nightcrawlers for fishing bait. Is there anything you would recommend doing differently in my situation?
If you do a lot of composting and use it in a raised bed for gardening, you will probably get more night-crawlers. You can't raise night-crawlers in a compost bin. I have been composting for a few years now and my gardens are full of huge night-crawlers. I'm actually thinking of selling them there are so many. I just have to keep an eye on the mole population since night-crawlers are a favorite of theirs.
Good question Henry. The answer depends on the ink. Most printing happens these with soy based-inks (newspaper/flyers), which are fine. It is the metallic inks that should be avoided. I also avoid putting "shiney" printed paper in my bin, which indicates a varnish or aqueous coating on the paper. Regardless, the less ink on the paper the better. I save paper towels when ever I dry my hands when out and about, and use them for the bedding in my worm bin. Thanks for the question. Thanks for watching.
I made a simular system but have trouble with slugs, especially leopard slugs, they decimate and eat the worms and their eggs, i have also tried moving the composter, but they always find it again, do you have any tips on how to solve this problem? UK 🇬🇧
Add weekly just below soil,the next week pull the soil back and if there's any food scrap remaining feed them less, if it's all gone feed them about the same.
Hello, I am thinking of getting into vermiculture, I have no knowledge of the subject or anything, in the future I would like to be more friendly to the environment and have my organic garden. Can I practice vermiculture in buckets with holes and mesh and / or wooden boxes with geotextile mesh so that the worms do not escape? Can you give them the sun or do they need only food, shade and water? What percentage or ratio of substrate, green matter and brown matter should I provide them? As green matter, can I use peels, tea, yerba mate, freshly cut step, etc? As brown material, can I use grass that I would let dry, cardboard from toilet paper rolls, cardboard from which eggs are brought, etc? I hope you can help me with this, thank you.
I have lots of dried leaves in bags mainly ash, can I add these for bedding, if so do I need to soak them? Have prepared my bin & live in U.K. So I can buy tiger worms or dendrobaena not sure what U S call them. Hope someon can advise.
Dolores, I answered your questions in this video. th-cam.com/video/ozoDzJPu7g8/w-d-xo.html Thanks for asking. Let me know if you decide to start worm composting.
I'm starting this project and used metal buckets instead. I am keeping them under the kitchen sink. Do you think this would be ok? Also, we happen to be on quarantine and the only types of worms I could find were Night Crawlers. Would it be ok to use these and they are big...so how many would you recommend to start out?
Hi Liliana. I'm stuck in the house too (and yard...I gotta have yard). Sometimes composting worms are called night crawlers, but it depends on whether or not your supplier knew what they had. If you captured them in your yard, you can just observe what happens. A composting worm will break down the vegetable matter into soil. A soil processing worm will just hang out. Watch for a rim of dark granular castings around the edge of the bucket at the surface. You may also see casting trails around the sides of the bucket closer above the surface. The metal buckets will be fine as well as your location under the sink. Just make sure your worms can't escape. :-) Thanks for watching.
Dang it the Uncle Jim's link wasn't clickable. And for the record on android you can't copy text in yt app. On a much better note... Thank you for the content. I stumbled across you looking for protein additions for my chicks. And a treat... Well! Aren't you supposed to respect ladies? Bring um sweets now and again. But actually setting some tubes in keyhole planters and throwing a few rw into the scraps bucket for the ladies from a main bin sounds pretty manageable. Another farm project to jump on. Are red wiggly s the ones that eat old root matter in aquaponics systems? Been told they will show up out off the blue?
Started my worm bin under 2 weeks ago. Is water from my dehumidifier okay to use for the worms? Also, I've made a bunch of rookie mistakes.. Should I take out the worms and completely start again? I want the least stressful route for my little worms dudes.
Claire Sherwood dehumidifier water is the same as distilled meaning there are no trace elements and is acidic. Rule of thumb is If the water is safe for human consumption it's safe for the worms.
Claire, likely your worms are staring to get settled in to the bin, so I wouldn't disturb them again. What mistakes have you made? If I know more details I can help with strategy. John is correct about your dehumidifier water being distilled, but it is safe for humans to drink (as long as your dehumidifier basin is clean). Therefore it is OK for worms as well. Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY unfortunately distilled water isn't good! The reason is it lacks trace elements and consuming it will cause leaching. The leaching process will over time rob calcium, magnesium and other elements from bones, tissues and organs.
I've got a couple of raised beds. One is 3x5 the other is 3x7. how many worms do I need in each one. Also, will the worms escape my beds through the bottom of the bed? Noobie questions I'm sure. Thanks in advance. Great vids.
Hi Scott. Good questions. If you are populating the whole bed with worms, you'd probably be happy with 500 per bed. You could also do two worms towers in each bed, with 250 worms each. Worms will stick around as long as there is enough food. Composting worms like to be in the top 12-18 inches of soil. If the soil at the base of your beds is more compact, they'll likely stay in the bed. Especially if your garden soil mix includes a lot of compost. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
Question: I have rabbits. They eat hay Some of their hay they eat some of their hay Pee on. Instead of paper wet paper could I use the waste from the hay?
Thank you for this very informative video. I started my worm composter yesterday, just like in your video- with about 1/2 lb of red wrigglers. This morning, I notice that about 40 of the worms had fallen out into the water in the bottom bucket. Is this normal, or is it indicative of something not being right in the top bucket? Thanks again.
Ashvin, This is normal. When your worms are in a new environment, they freak out a little for the first few days. They may try to get out or end up in the bottom bucket. I'd make sure there isn't any water in the lower bucket until they settle in to the top bucket and realize it is home. If they are trying to get out the top, you can leave the top off and shine a light down into the bucket from above. They'll run from the light and stay down in the bucket. Thanks for watching. Happy worm composting.
@@GreenShortzDIY thanks for your reply. Generally how long until you start to see worm tea collecting at the bottom, and how long until I can start harvesting castings from the top bucket?
i got a tip from another video, using BUGSCREEN ORE EVEN COARSE CLOTHING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOP BUCKET,, So only water-tea get thru. I raise nightcrawler worms for bait,, they like to dig deep and i would hate them drowning themself by mistake. hehe
I dig my own worms from rich composted soil under some trees (lots if worms live there), I use the same soil I dig and add leaves and rabbit pellets to the mix. After the worms propagate themselves I harvest some worms and add to my raised bed gardens and flower beds along with the worm tea. Worm tea and rabbit pellet tea is some of the best fertilizer I have ever used.
Question: I have rabbits. They eat hay Some of their hay they eat some of their hay Pee on. Instead of paper wet paper could I use the waste from the hay?
Love your channel! I'm a homeschooler and I'm teaching an "Eco Kids" class at our co-op next semester. I'm going to teach the kids about composting in one of our classes and thought that a worm bin would be perfect (plus my family can start composting!). Your videos are sooo helpful and I love that you really include everything we need to know. PS: I have some invasive ivy and I'm excited to know how to manage it!
Send that english ivy packing! By the way, when you do the worm bin composting with the kids, you can buy a bigger batch of worms from Uncle Jim's at a discount. He'll usually have a sale in the Spring. I did a worm composting workshop for a neighborhood association and had about 10 students. I had purchased 2000 worms and that was more than enough. BTW...my kids go to a Charlotte Mason-based school. I love that they incorporate learning from nature in their education. We can learn a lot from the environment around us.
most ink on newspaper and cardboard boxes are soy based inks
I don't run my worm bins with holes in the bottom. The "worm tea" could be the product of anaerobic processes that could harm some plants. I manage the moisture by adding dry bedding when feeding and having plenty of ventilation and turning the bedding every two weeks or so to ventilate bottom bedding and monitoring moisture so it can be adjusted as needed. This has worked for me for over a decade. It is just another path for those who may live in a condo or want to eliminate food waste in the landfills but may not have a use for worm tea.
If you're worried about anaerobic all you'd need to do is add a airstone for a hour or so and oxygenate it
I watched this video researching a 5 gallon bucket flow thru worm farm. Same system but with an extra bucket on top with 1/2" holes. Once first feed bucket is digested, worms migrate up to the top bucket for fresh feed. This technique should separate the worm castings from worms.
thank you for your helpful comment.
@@d4dolphinify If you're able to, I suggest using a 50 gal rubber/plastic stock tank and building it up over time. It's worth the initial investment and before you know it you will have an army of worms ready to process all the scraps you can produce.
The excess liquid is not tea until it is brewed and the worm castings make better tea than the compost liquid (leachate) does. I found the liquid in the bucket system needs air holes farther up the sides because it can get pretty rancid if left for more than a couple days and the pails seem to want to stick together, so a brick helped for both issues but i wished i would have put i drain tap in as well.
The worms do not actually eat the food but they eat the microbiol life that break the food down as it decomposes, so wetting down fall or spring leaves and grass is much better than cardboard in my opinion and unlike cardboard they have the microbes started already without the glues that come with.
There are hundreds of methods and some work better than others this method uses way too much cardboard and paper which takes much longer to decompose than dried crushed leaves lightly whetted, although with tons of worms it may work okay but i like to put about 50 or less worms in my 3 bins and just leave them be all winter or at least 2 months just living on compost with hay, straw, leaves and rabbit manure and urine, coffee grounds and powered egg shells with about 2 pounds of table scraps. I stay away from too much nitrogen because i want a warm environment not a hot compost. Then my yard compost is used after the worms and eggs are separated at a 20-1 or ratio (sometimes more), to inoculate biochar for a month before putting that mixture on a straw based raised bed. Some do not compost rabbit manure but i do because of pathogens. Worm castings are a necessity to increase plant immunity to disease and create a living soil from just dirt. Plants love to grow in rich compost. I try to keep PH levels at neutral. I applaud anyone using any method of making healthy soil by reducing waste and capturing carbon rather than putting it into the air.
Hi Murray. Thanks so much for all the great worm composting info from your experience. I did learn the difference between worm tea and leachate. I do plan to make a worm tea brewer at some point this summer. Thanks for the feedback.
In my observations I've seen worms eating food that hasn't had enough time for microbial breakdown to occur.
@John Holifield, Me to . I watch worms pull live plants down holes, as well as maple seeds down their holes, worms eat stuff not just microbes.
thanks. this post made it clear and simple. thanks
Maybe you should make a video and share all this knowledge on TH-cam.
. I have watched a lot of garden and diy videos on TH-cam and in my humble opinion yours are the best! (There are some really bad ones out there...too long getting to the point, too chatty, wandering off the point of the video, etc). So glad I found you. I'm guessing you do gardening videos, but I haven't seen your channel long enough to know. I hope so! I have been gardening for a 100 years(not really) and have recently gone to raised beds which I love. So much more weed free. But I do need to improve the quality of my soil so I appreciate your ideas of worm composting. I tried regular composting years ago without much success. I think I've finally got all the key components to making good soil and I can hardly wait til next summer! Thank you.
Beth Cush Hi Beth. Thanks for the compliments and encouragement. I do plenty of rambling, it just gets cut. :-) My channel is a mix of sustainability topics, so gardening and composting is in that category. I also make videos about rocket stoves, which are considered “green” because the use found-fuel (sticks and twigs) that are carbon-neutral. A good excuse to play with fire plus I use the ash as a soil amendment (we’ve got generally acidic soil here in Georgia). Thanks for watching. I look forward to your comments and questions. Happy gardening.
Your video helped me decide to use buckets for my new worm farm. Cheap n easy. Thanks.
Very well teaching! Thank you, just started with worms, family probably think I've lost it, lol
Thank you, Jaime. Your family will come around to the beauty of a worm farm. :-) Good luck with your new experiment. Thank you for watching.
Hi there!! I used to have a wriggly ranch worm farm...(highly subsidized by our local landfill./solidwaste folks... otherwise I wouldnt have bought it) But what I wanted to say is that these are multiple bins stacked...so what I was thinking was that to extend your use of the bucket system - is to use 3 prepared buckets. - when the middle one gets close to ready - encourage the worms to migrate up to the new bucket and then you can use the middle worm castings for your garden! Im going to try it!
Hi. I tried a multiple bucket system, but because of the taper, there is a gap between the buckets and the worms keep getting trapped there. It probably could have been worked around, but I haven't gotten to it. Maybe a rubber gasket between buckets or holes on the sides for the worms to enter there. Might have to revisit this. Thanks for watching. Happy worm composting. :-)
Thanks buddy! Super excited to get something more substantial going.
This was helpful, thanks!
My daughter wants to start a worm bin for her bedroom to feed her axolotl, and making a bin out of purchased totes and whatnot was a little more expensive than I felt it should be. A 5galbucket worm bin is perfect!
Excellent! You might consider a laundry room or garage location for the bin. It can release a little musty odor.
@@GreenShortzDIY Thanks!! Ill let her know!
Hey, I've got the same plan! Unfortunately, I can't avoid putting it in my bedroom though, so I was thinking of using cedar chips to mask the smell. Do you think this would work?
I just got my Uncle Jim’s worms and I have to say it was worth every penny. Love the quality! 🍎🍌🍇🐛🐛🐛🍓🍓🍓
Yay! Happy worm composting, Aura. :-)
How much for the worms?
good information & good video.
Thank you for watching.
Great video as our family currently composts with the city but i find that i throw away too much great compost this way and want to add to my garden beds even in my Canadian winter. Will try this indoor composting method for both myself and so my son can earn a badge in beavers. I'm also looking at building a cedar structure to house these 2 buckets..thanks again!
2:58 what’s the point of wearing one glove if u also use the other hand
That is a good question. I intend to use one hand, but it’s hard not to go in with both. :-) Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY np
Going to try and make this for home for me and my two boys to experiment with!
Could we add a tap . This could enable drainage and aeration to the buckets . Would also need the elevate the. Buckets .
If you don't have rain water can I use tap water and if yes do I need to do any steps to be able to use tap water?
Do fishing Worms' work?
That is why I am here. Want to make a small red worm farm for my boys to use to fish.
I would think they would. I fish with red worm and night crawlers. Any worm is a fishing worm
awesome.... thank u. I will try.
Excellent. Thank you for watching.
Did you add soils?
Thank for the lesson
You're welcome. Thank for watching.
"The worms love the spaces between the cardboard" ... it's actually the starch from the glue they're after 👍
Oooh. Cool tip, Afri. Thanks for sharing.
Do you add any soil?
What did you use the mesh screen for, and how do you apply it to the worm house
The mesh in the top, helps keep soldier flies out. That kinda works they can lay eggs right through the screen. The mesh in the bottom is to help keep worms from falling I to the bottom bottom with the liquid. They’ll drain there. Thank you for watching.
Hello, thank you for your video.
I just would like to ask you.
I live in Germany, what can do for the worms in winter, especially when the temperature is lower than 0, in order to keep the worms working normally.
And I just have a free place in the celler.
Thank you in advance
Do I add water to the top bucket occasionally to make the compost tea?
+Gaitri bharath yes. When I add more compostables and newspaper bedding on top, I’ll sprinkle water to moisten. This slowly adds up in the bottom bucket as leachate. Occasionally, I’ll put a lot of water through the top bucket to generate more output. Sometimes I’ll just take the top bucket off, set it next to a shrub, tree or in the garden, then fill it with water and let it drain right there. I should take a few minutes, not 15. Too long to drain and the worms could drown. Thanks for watching.
Never add water on top of newspaper , the food have enough moisture.
So once the worms have turned the first bucket into castings, would it be possible to add a third bucket on top with holes drilled in the bottom and fresh scraps for them to migrate into (which would leave the middle bucket empty and ready to harvest the castings)? Or are they not able to migrate up like that?
Hi Kenzie. A lot of the commercial systems have a layered approach like that. In my experience with buckets, adding a third bucket traps the worms climbing the sides (which they like to do) between the middle and top buckets, above the perforations in the bottom of the top bucket. This could be remedied, by perforating the sides of the bucket as well. But, I haven’t tried that yet. Currently, I’m using a flow through worm composter. It uses a “upward migration” method. Worms move up to the new food as castings are harvested from the bottom. Got videos on those systems too. 😆 Thanks for watching.
Can't wait to try this one sometime this week
Awesome Michael. Let me know how it turns out and if you have any worm composting questions.
GreenShortz DIY thanks, I've made it and put a brick at the bottom, I saw that on another one of yours. I live in Australia so it's hot.
Do you ever put soil in the bucket or just paper and items like that?
Where do I place the bucket when start composting? Under direct sun or shady place? Thanks for your video.
How many water should i add to my bin every day
Thanks. Did you try a 3 bucket style? To swap out the bucket so that the worms will crawl up and leave the castings on the middle bucket?
Edmund Martinez I did. They end up getting trapped along the sides between bucket 1 and 2. I suppose the connection holes could be put in the sides of the buckets to fix that, but bucket 2 could never be used in the first bucket position. :-) I think it’s just less complicated to do 2 buckets instead 3. It is always worth experimenting though. Thanks for watching.
Appreciate the reply. I was thinking of placing bucket 3 on top with new beddings etc. ONLY when the area in bucket 2 seems to be compost like already So that once the worms go to the new bucket on top I remove the middle bucket with now worm castings since they migrated on the new source. then place back Bucket 3 as as 2 bucket style again. Not sure if that made sense?
do color ink of the paper does not affect the quality?
Thank you for the very nice video.....can you tell me why it is necessary to use rain water? We have well water that is untreated with chemicals. Would this be okay to use instead of rain water?
Hi Sue. My only concern with tap water is the chlorine (which will dissipate if left our overnight). Your well water should be fine. Happy composting.
@@GreenShortzDIY Thank you!
Can you put leaves and grass clippings in the worm composter as well?
+Ian Moffit yes to leaves. That is a good substitution for newspaper as bedding for the worms. Grass clippings are OK too, but only in small quantities (a handful at a time) and only if you haven't used chemicals on your lawn. Grass clippings are nitrogen rich and might be better used in a compost pile.
So do you place the bucket outside where the rain can get to it?
wondering. can only use veggie scraps? or can you use bone scraps as well?
No fatty or meat products
Can I use worms from the walmart fishing section?
Thank you so much for your videos! You make it so easy for beginners like me to understand how to do things. One question, can I leave the worm bin in a protected but cold place (it might get to 2 degrees at night) or should I keep it inside the house till the weather's get warmer? Thanks in advance for your response.
Hi Tanrem. The worms need to stay above freezing. I'd recommend moving it inside. Alternatively, you could consider burying the worm bin a pile of wood chips. You can cover the top with a bale of hay, so you can still access it. That would let you keep it outside, but keep the worms from freezing. Thanks for watching.
How often do you add water for the compost tea?
The liquid coming out of the bottom is considered leachate (initially I incorrectly called it tea). Worm tea is made by mixing worm castings, molasses and water and then using a bubbler to aerate it. Aeration kills the anaerobic bacteria (harmful to us) and boosts the aerobic bacteria (not harmful to us). I’ve been meaning to make a worm tea brewer. Thanks for watching.
But, to answer your question...I add a little water whenever I add compostables and fresh bedding.
I'm looking into creating a worm farm for feeding axolotls and my garden. In the 2 bucket system could you use landscaping fabrics instead of screen?
I think so. It just needs to be breathable. I suggest making bigger holes for the landscape fabric. Perhaps the cut out the whole center of the lid. Thank you for watching.
Do I dilute the "tea" b4 putting on my garden?
I think it’s better to dilute. It is strong stuff. Also, from what I’ve learned since making this video, what I’m using isn’t “tea,” but rather “leachate.” Compost tea is brewed using molasses and aeration. This kills off the anaerobic bacteria and boosts the aerobic bacteria, both of which are present in the leachate. In general the anaerobic is bad for humans. As long as you don’t splash it on anything you’ll eat or wash the produce really well, you should be fine. Thank you for watching.
Do I need to add water to the compose bucket once it is set up?
do the worms reproduce or will you have to buy more ?? might be a dumb question
Hi,
Nice video.I just want to know how long before you add the next food waste?
You can add food waste daily, if needed. Just always cover food scraps with new bedding (newspaper) and dampen. Thank you for watching.
I live in an apartment. I am an inexperienced composter, but have recently set up a small composting tumbler outside. I also decided to start worm composting In order to have something in my kitchen for my food scraps. For my worms I'm doing a 5 gal bucket system and got 2 dozen worms from a neighbor. Im trying to figure out how much to feed my worms and Wondering how long I will have to wait to feed more. My neighbor was using the worms for fishing and has been feedingt them primarily a mixture of cornmeal oat flour and ground up egg shells.
Hi Dame. One easy sign that your worms are established is when you see casting trails on the sides of the bucket. These look a bit like intermittent dirt lines. I also look for a ring of processed castings around the bucket at the level of the compost. It will look dark and granular. That will they you that the worms are established and working. I also recommend adding damp newspaper bedding whenever you add new food scraps. Happy worm composting. Thank you for watching.
@@GreenShortzDIY ty for responding to my question. I'm just curious still...I only have 2 dozen worms... l want to switch from the cornmeal, oat flour, and ground egg shell diet they have been getting. I put a pear in my bucket and about 1/2 cup of coffee grounds mixed w watermelon that I ground up plus a light sprinkling of the neighbors mixture.. Does that sound like a lot of food for 24 worms?
Hi.....thanks for the video on how to make the two bucket work compost bin 👍👍 👏👏 it was simple enough to make. Please explain in more detail how the tea is made or produced in light of the comment Murray Runge made. Also how long will it take to get the tea and worm castings to use as fertilizer? Sorry for so many questions
I see you have a 2 bucket system, if you were to do a 3 bucket system how would you do it? What would you place in the top or middle bucket?
+Jason Saint-Elie I've tried three bins in a worm composter, with the idea being that the worms finish off one bin and migrate up to the newer compost in the upper bin. They way the buckets stack, there is a gap at the edge that tapers shut. The worms like to climb the sides and get caught in that gap. If you do a three layer system, use only the bottom bin for liquid and the other bins for worms and compostables. Make sure the connections between the bins are easily bridgeable by a worm. Thanks for the question.
Thank you. I ended up breaking down the 3 and added another bucket and now have 2 separate bucket bins
I assume the buckets are fine outside during spring thru fall, what about winter, do they need to go indoors? Is there a safe temperature range for the worms?
Can you then use the worms for bait
Can I use fish water instead of rain water
Hi sir can we use this worm tea for hydroponic plants
Ye dude. Water it down. Less is more. Use meter to test if you can. 😉
Would you regularly add water or do you just leave it alone ?? Also where would you store the buckets?
I took and made a disk of screening on the lid of the lower bucket. Thus preventing the worms from dropping through. Saved on caulking that way too as MOST caulking isn't safe for animals or insects, unless you use aquariam caulking. So I went without it all together.
Excellent option. Less is more...especially with caulk. :-) Thanks for watching.
Can we use cocopeat instead of newspaper bed
Yes. I think I know what you are talking about. That should work fine. Thanks for watching.
Great video, thanks for all the tips. I like the small amount of space and effort that something like this takes. About how many worms should be used to start a system like this, and about what is the maximum before splitting these guys up?
Hi Clint. I usually split a 500 worm order between 2 bucket systems. Then divide colonies into 2 about once a year. The worms will stop reproducing when they are overcrowded. Starting with 250 red wigglers would be my recommendation. Thanks for watching.
If i used normal garden worms, how good would the quality of the compost be?
the compost is just as good,, but red wigglers-compost worms multiply way faster than say nightcrawler-garden worms
but if you have many to begin with they eat a lot too, and do a good job.
I had a raised bed frame so I decided to make a garden bed so I started with throwing my food scraps on the bare earth then covered with cardboard then I covered the cardboard with more food scraps and grass clippings then soil ! I don’t think this will hurt anything!
Can egg tray be used instead of paper
Yes. They will work the paper-based egg cartons as well. They like cardboard too. Thanks for watching.
Very helpful video. many thanks!....Two questions - what is the point of the screens over the holes in the lid?....and how do you remove the composted stuff, which is at the bottom of the layers of food scraps and newspaper....wouldn't you have to disrupt the newer layers to get the compost out?
I live in Canada and was wondering about what temperature is too cold for the worms. Where I live it only gets to about 6 C in the winter the coldest is about -6 C. Should I bring it indoors.? Also how often do you feed them.? Thanks
Do we need to add worms on each layer?
What kind of worms are the best for garden composting?
Hi MJ. They need to be a composting worm, like red wigglers. Just means they process organic material in the top layers of the soil. Thanks for watching.
Is it ok to put cow manure in it?
another questipn
should i ad fresh veggetable scraps to premade comppost
pls reply fast
hello!!!! i used to start this kind of composting, still i need to know more to share it to my co-student.. thanks for more info...
Thanks for watching. Glad you are teaching others about worm composting.
How about using grass cuttings between layers instead of paper?
Great video, thanks! I got free buckets at a local donut shop:)
Hope you got a few donuts while you were there. :-) Good luck with your build. Thanks for watching.
so i got a question
if i put earthworms in my vegetable garden will they eat the vegtaables before i can?
Composting worms are looking for decaying organic matter in the top 12 inches of soil. They don't like being exposed to the sunlight, so as long as your veggies are still on the plant and not starting to rot, they should be safe. If they have dropped to the soil and begun to decompose, the worms will start converting them back into nutrients the plants can use to make more. All any worm bin system does in try to contain this process, to capture the rich organic castings the worms make. Adding worms to your garden soil, or making them more happy to be there, is the easiest way to benefit from their being there. As any chef knows, the best vegetables to cook with are the ones you've just picked, especially if they'v been grown from organically rich soil. In that case, worms are your best friend. Thanks for watching.
@@GreenShortzDIY thank you
I live in Salt Lake City. It gets really hot and dry in the summer. I plan to keep my worm composter in a shady place. Do I need to add water periodically or to put it another way, how wet do I need to keep the stuff and worms inside? Thanks!
Ken, yes, you'll want to add water to keep things moist. I've heard the term "damp sponge" used to describe the amount of wetness, but I keep my wetter than that. The worms are OK until the low to mid 80's F. Above that they'll be nervous. I've gotten a few questions dealing with heat and I've got a couple of simple ideas to modify the composters to aid in convection cooling. I'll make a video about those tweaks this week. Which system did you build?
In a heat spike, you can always add some ice to your worm bin. Perhaps some leftover ice from a drink, versus fresh ice from the freezer, but in a pinch that will do. Don't spread the ice around, rather put it all in a central location. The worms will use the cold spot to regulate their temperature.
I did a version of the big one made from 2 storage bins. I took two corn cobs and ran them through my juicer . . ground them up really fine then added the juice back and threw it in there for them. This morning I could not find any worms in that stuff so I squished some grapes and threw them in. I found that they are going right through the screen into the bottom bin. Has this been an issue for you? What is the mesh size of the screen material you use? Thanks!
I'm using window screen, for the bottom of my bucket composter. Some worms are still getting through. When worms are newly added to a bin the want to move around. Once they settle in they should be less migratory. The corn cob is probably not a food the worms will likely, grapes they will. Juicer waste is a perfect food source for worms. They'll love that their wood is already bite sized. I suggest dumping your lower bin liquid back through the upper bin for a few weeks of so, until the worms know where home is.
I usually use my juicer waste to make biscuits for my dog but I don't think she will mind sharing them.
buckets get hot were should I stoore them.
hey man you really solve my problem
thanks + regards
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching, Ali.
I am not sure if you have to add water to the finished bin to create the tea or does that liquid just come from the compost?
Both. I add enough water to moisten the bedding...newspaper in my case. The leachate (not tea yet), does come from the liquid in the cells of the compostable material, once the worms free it up. Thanks for watching.
Where I get my organic food online they pack the boxes w brown paper ... can I use that after shredding it in a paper shredder for my worm compost / Im concerned about the ink thats on the newspaper
Hi Mary Jo. Yes, that would be a great option. You might consider just tearing it up by hand though. I find that the worms love the folds of the paper for laying their cocoons. But, I’ve used shredded paper before and worked fine too. I think most printing inks are soy-based now, but why add any ink to the worm’s habitat if you don’t have to. Thanks for watching.
Sooo nice that u respond soo quickly .. thank you :) I'll tear some up too.. sure want more worms to keep coming !! Really love all of ur videos !!! Again thank u for all u do ~~
Thanks Mary Jo. I’m enjoying all the TH-cam interaction. I usually try to answer a few comments before I turn in. Let me know how your worm composting goes. Have a good night. :-)
This is my first time ever trying this, so I built it as instructed but I'm not sure how much water to add to the bed
Hi Robert. You only need to add enough water to dampen the bedding. No more is needed.
Where do you keep this worm being during the winter months
Hi Carrie. I keep it in my garage year-round. Semi-indoors keeps the temperature somewhat normalized and keeps the soldier flies from laying eggs in it. Thanks for watching.
We will be building 3 sets like these for our grand children in Sydney next year. What type of earth worms should we look for? And do you know a worm supplier thereof down under?
Michiel K
Hi Michiel. You want to order “composting” worms versus earthworms. My supplier is US based and doesn’t ship internationally (the worms wouldn’t survive). I bet you can find a local supplier. The particular species I use is the “Red Wiggler.” Hope that helps. Good luck with your builds. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for the speedy reply. Resulting from that I found a supplier down under selling a "Mix of Red, Blue & Tiger Worms". Will all of those qualify as composting worms? And why would the worms which we in South Africa know as Earthworms (which is fairly common in all fertile or "healthy" soil here) not do the same job? I.e. making compost and leachate under the same conditions as your bins propose? Lastly is your worm tea brewer video available yet?
Thank you for your informative yet kept simple videos. I used the link to the "cooling the bins down" and will implement the tips you supplied therein from the start as temperatures in Sydney can be quite high (and humid) in summer.
Regards
Michiel
Is there a place that I can find a list of types of kitchen scraps you can use, and should avoid, in the worm composter?
Any fruit or vegetable scraps left over in your kitchen and nothing processed. So potato peels, apple cores, strawberries that got mouldy before you got around to eat them and more but no meat or half eaten pancakes. If it helps think of the bin as a forest floor. The worms eat the organic matter available.
ploefff thank you
question - will this system work with LARGE worms? I have a great source of them and would like to use them. I have been feeding them leaves, I don't know if they will eat newspaper and scraps??? What do you think?
Will regular earth worms not work like the ones you fish with?
Amy Elliott actually, no. The physiology is different, even though they look the same. Composting worms, like Red Wigglers, process organic material that would exist in the top layer of the soil. Earthworms work deeper, processing soil. That's why a specialized worm is needed for a composting bin. But, fish can't tell the difference, so you can use them for fishing too.
The worms that work for making compost are red wigglers, European night crawlers, African night crawlers and Alabama jumpers. Non are native to the US
The "Big Red Worms" that walmart carries can be used to seed a colony. I've purchased 10 and setup a 5 gallon bucket and it worked very well
Do you leave it outside in the rain. Is that a problem. I am in Georgia and sometimes we get massive rainstorms.
Hi Lithia Moon! :-) I prefer to keep my worm bin in the garage. It is cooler and limits access to Black Soldier Flies. Rain is OK, but I'm in Georgia too and know what you are talking about. I use rain water to moisten my worm bins, but like to control how much. Thanks for your question.
Hii, I’m very interested in making my own but I don’t know where I can get worms... do they really have to be for composting or can I buy worms in like a fisherman shop?
Hi Sunchild. You can actually try getting worms from a fishing bait shop. Ask them if they have "red wigglers." This is a common name for a composting worm. They may have a mixture of worms, some of which could be composters. Composting worms are just an earthworm that processes organic material in the top layer of soil (12 to 18 inches) instead of processing soil (deeper). If you find worms living in a pile of leaves, they are most likely composting worms. You can build your own colony by gathering worms from piles of leaves. You can also, sort through a batch of worms purchased from a bait shop by putting them in a bucket with holes in the bottom. Bury the bottom half of the bucket 6-12 inches in the soil and fill it with leaves and veggie scraps. Put all the worms in. The "soil processing" earth worms will leave through the holes. The "compost processing" worms with stay. Then you can put your composting worms into an enclosed worm composting bin. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY Oooh very helpful! Thank you soooo much! I’m going to ask my bait shop tomorrow!
Also, can the worms live in the compostbin for up to a year? Or do you have to switch worms and all of that?
@@kenelerno7152 They can live there indefinitely as long as they have food. When food gets low, they won't reproduce.
GreenShortz DIY thank you 😊
Does adding water reduce the richness of the worm casting?
In a sense, yes. The water liquifies the castings, transferring the richness. I think this is an easier way to harvest the bin intermittently. The liquid can be diluted with more water and poured on the garden. Just avoid splashing plants as the liquid can contain bacteria. Thanks for watching.
You start with rainwater. Why? Can I use my tap water?
Although I can use the compost produced, my main motive is to raise nightcrawlers for fishing bait. Is there anything you would recommend doing differently in my situation?
Check out the Uncle Jim's website - but I'm pretty sure worms for composting is Red Wigglers and that Night Crawlers aren't great for composting.
If you do a lot of composting and use it in a raised bed for gardening, you will probably get more night-crawlers. You can't raise night-crawlers in a compost bin. I have been composting for a few years now and my gardens are full of huge night-crawlers. I'm actually thinking of selling them there are so many. I just have to keep an eye on the mole population since night-crawlers are a favorite of theirs.
ive heard that the paper ink can poison the worms, is that true?
Good question Henry. The answer depends on the ink. Most printing happens these with soy based-inks (newspaper/flyers), which are fine. It is the metallic inks that should be avoided. I also avoid putting "shiney" printed paper in my bin, which indicates a varnish or aqueous coating on the paper. Regardless, the less ink on the paper the better. I save paper towels when ever I dry my hands when out and about, and use them for the bedding in my worm bin. Thanks for the question. Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY Thanks I’m making one and I just wanted to make sure I kept the worms alive🙂
Thanks for sharing this video!
You're welcome Cheryl. Thanks for taking the time to says thanks.
I made a simular system but have trouble with slugs, especially leopard slugs, they decimate and eat the worms and their eggs, i have also tried moving the composter, but they always find it again, do you have any tips on how to solve this problem? UK 🇬🇧
Hi Kim. Maybe try a small metal mesh to keep the slugs out. How are they getting in now?
What is the interval between putting in the vegetable scraps, i.e. feeding interval?
Add weekly just below soil,the next week pull the soil back and if there's any food scrap remaining feed them less, if it's all gone feed them about the same.
Hello, I am thinking of getting into vermiculture, I have no knowledge of the subject or anything, in the future I would like to be more friendly to the environment and have my organic garden.
Can I practice vermiculture in buckets with holes and mesh and / or wooden boxes with geotextile mesh so that the worms do not escape?
Can you give them the sun or do they need only food, shade and water?
What percentage or ratio of substrate, green matter and brown matter should I provide them?
As green matter, can I use peels, tea, yerba mate, freshly cut step, etc?
As brown material, can I use grass that I would let dry, cardboard from toilet paper rolls, cardboard from which eggs are brought, etc?
I hope you can help me with this, thank you.
I have lots of dried leaves in bags mainly ash, can I add these for bedding, if so do I need to soak them? Have prepared my bin & live in U.K. So I can buy tiger worms or dendrobaena not sure what U S call them. Hope someon can advise.
Dusty, leaves will work fine. You don’t need to soak, but you will need to add water to moisten. Thanks for watching. Happy Worm composting.
How do you know when to add more scraps? What do worm castings look like? Don't you ever add any dirt?
Dolores, I answered your questions in this video. th-cam.com/video/ozoDzJPu7g8/w-d-xo.html Thanks for asking. Let me know if you decide to start worm composting.
I'm starting this project and used metal buckets instead. I am keeping them under the kitchen sink. Do you think this would be ok? Also, we happen to be on quarantine and the only types of worms I could find were Night Crawlers. Would it be ok to use these and they are big...so how many would you recommend to start out?
Hi Liliana. I'm stuck in the house too (and yard...I gotta have yard). Sometimes composting worms are called night crawlers, but it depends on whether or not your supplier knew what they had. If you captured them in your yard, you can just observe what happens. A composting worm will break down the vegetable matter into soil. A soil processing worm will just hang out. Watch for a rim of dark granular castings around the edge of the bucket at the surface. You may also see casting trails around the sides of the bucket closer above the surface. The metal buckets will be fine as well as your location under the sink. Just make sure your worms can't escape. :-) Thanks for watching.
Dang it the Uncle Jim's link wasn't clickable. And for the record on android you can't copy text in yt app.
On a much better note... Thank you for the content. I stumbled across you looking for protein additions for my chicks. And a treat... Well! Aren't you supposed to respect ladies? Bring um sweets now and again.
But actually setting some tubes in keyhole planters and throwing a few rw into the scraps bucket for the ladies from a main bin sounds pretty manageable. Another farm project to jump on. Are red wiggly s the ones that eat old root matter in aquaponics systems? Been told they will show up out off the blue?
No lemons or limes in compost?
My thought would be no to adding any citrus, green gregs mentioned in one of his vids that ACID kills worms, and Citrus Fruits contain Citric Acid.
Started my worm bin under 2 weeks ago. Is water from my dehumidifier okay to use for the worms?
Also, I've made a bunch of rookie mistakes.. Should I take out the worms and completely start again? I want the least stressful route for my little worms dudes.
Claire Sherwood dehumidifier water is the same as distilled meaning there are no trace elements and is acidic. Rule of thumb is If the water is safe for human consumption it's safe for the worms.
That's good news, thanks for the reply.
Claire Sherwood let me clarify, distilled water isn't good
Claire, likely your worms are staring to get settled in to the bin, so I wouldn't disturb them again. What mistakes have you made? If I know more details I can help with strategy. John is correct about your dehumidifier water being distilled, but it is safe for humans to drink (as long as your dehumidifier basin is clean). Therefore it is OK for worms as well. Thanks for watching.
GreenShortz DIY unfortunately distilled water isn't good! The reason is it lacks trace elements and consuming it will cause leaching. The leaching process will over time rob calcium, magnesium and other elements from bones, tissues and organs.
I've got a couple of raised beds. One is 3x5 the other is 3x7. how many worms do I need in each one. Also, will the worms escape my beds through the bottom of the bed? Noobie questions I'm sure. Thanks in advance. Great vids.
Hi Scott. Good questions. If you are populating the whole bed with worms, you'd probably be happy with 500 per bed. You could also do two worms towers in each bed, with 250 worms each. Worms will stick around as long as there is enough food. Composting worms like to be in the top 12-18 inches of soil. If the soil at the base of your beds is more compact, they'll likely stay in the bed. Especially if your garden soil mix includes a lot of compost. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
@@GreenShortzDIY Thank you. your vids are great.
where do i keep the buckets?
Question: I have rabbits. They eat hay Some of their hay they eat some of their hay Pee on. Instead of paper wet paper could I use the waste from the hay?
Thank you for this very informative video. I started my worm composter yesterday, just like in your video- with about 1/2 lb of red wrigglers. This morning, I notice that about 40 of the worms had fallen out into the water in the bottom bucket. Is this normal, or is it indicative of something not being right in the top bucket? Thanks again.
Ashvin, This is normal. When your worms are in a new environment, they freak out a little for the first few days. They may try to get out or end up in the bottom bucket. I'd make sure there isn't any water in the lower bucket until they settle in to the top bucket and realize it is home. If they are trying to get out the top, you can leave the top off and shine a light down into the bucket from above. They'll run from the light and stay down in the bucket. Thanks for watching. Happy worm composting.
@@GreenShortzDIY thanks for your reply. Generally how long until you start to see worm tea collecting at the bottom, and how long until I can start harvesting castings from the top bucket?
i got a tip from another video, using BUGSCREEN ORE EVEN COARSE CLOTHING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOP BUCKET,, So only water-tea get thru.
I raise nightcrawler worms for bait,, they like to dig deep and i would hate them drowning themself by mistake. hehe