For those having problems, I recommend trying leaves as bedding. Shredded dry leaves if you can, it works like magic. I instantly have practically no more deserters after changing to leaves. And they used to run away faster than I can blink...
It just did a first check for this season, literally less than an hour ago, on my first ever humble worm composting project. I bought the worms last year for my aquaponics system and I kept some apart for composting and as a backup worm storage/farm in case the worms in my grow beds from the aquaponics system did not survive the winter, for whatever reason. At least it saves me from having to buy new worms. I used a cheap plastic trash bin with a flapping top cover, and I filled it with some paper and garden bio mass and so on, and over the year I kept on filling it with my used coffee pads and vegetable bio mass and some garden bio mass. I keep the bin in a shady spot all year around, protected from the sun and the wind and the rain. It has no holes whatsoever. Just a flapping top cover. Other than filling it over the past year I did not pay much attention to it. To my own surprise the worms did well. Well enough to call it a success. I emptied the bin in my wheelbarrow, and I mixed up all the material that was not decomposed yet, I added some compost with a high amount of wood chips, just a few hands, and after that I did put everything well mixed back in the bin, and now I am drinking my coffee while I was watching this video. After I washed my hands very very thoroughly. 🙂
Geoff, I’ve had much success using your ground bucket worm farms here in NJ, USA. I put the worms in 3 buckets and gave a nice mix of hay/manure and kitchen scraps.. I completely soaked each bucket with water. I had an issue with one bucket that had a worm die off, but since I had 2 other buckets and their population was thriving, I relocated them in the bucket that had the die off. Since then, all buckets and some additional buckets I added, are all thriving.. They get kitchen/yard scraps on occasion and they survive our winters. The bucket tops provide rodent protection and easy access..
I’d say to build an aluminum or stainless screen. By the way, would a two tub system have any advantages? Maybe in terms of timing them back and forth?
does the base need to necessarily be manure? if that's unavailable, does compost work? I would _imagine_ so, as it's all just digested organic matter that you're adding scraps to, but is there something unique about animal manure that makes it better? if compost is alright to use, should it be compost that's not fully composted?
Try dry leaves. Best shredded. I found them to be extremely alluring to worms, specifically African Night Crawlers. It figures as dry leaves are their main food in nature.
What are you thoughts / experience with coco coir? I am about start a bathtub worm farm with a pony poo base - matured for 6 months and have old, spare coco coir bricks that I would like to use for the next layer. I should mix it with some compost and I have tested the coco after wetting and draining at PH7. Is coco coir detrimental for compost worms? I thank you kindly if you decide to reply.
Is it okay to use a lead painted bath for the worm farm? Could the lead leach? Would fibreglass be better? I’m not sure what paints are in bathtubs, I am in Australia. Thanks
Have you ever had ratters/ratting dogs? I'm avoiding barn cats because of all of the downsides of having outdoor cats, but we're planning on having ratting dogs on the property working in shifts to hopefully avoid rats getting into our compost, or at least minimize it as much as possible. Have you ever done this or known anyone who had success in using dogs to prevent rats from interfering?
Is there a plant that attracts a predator to the fruit fly? I am not interested in buying any pesticides? I would of course use fruit fly traps but i dont want to be hurting positive bugs.
I have another suggestion for rodents, I think it helps to only use plant matter as far as food scraps goes. (This works perfect if you have poultry or pigs to eat everything else.) Then I suggest getting good topsoil or compost or forest duff, peat, leaf mold as a substrate. Start the farm off with it 1/3 full with substrate. Dig a central hole or furrow and bury the feed each time, about 4” deep. As Geoff says, it’s critical that it can drain and in wet climates that it has a roof or lid to shed water outside the tub. By burying the food and not using fats, grains and cooked starches, you make it a lot less appealing and aromatic.
I had to look up what a chook was! Am I correct in learning that it refers to fowls such as chickens and other farm birds, maybe guinea fowl, turkeys, etc.?
I've seen other worm farm suggest to bury the food scraps to harvest the casting from the top is it a problem if there is no manure in there or will all buried scraps go anaerobic (buried under loose soil)?
I have been hearing about farmers/gardeners unknowingly using herbicide contaminated manure losing their crops and even trees? What would you recommend for repairing something like this?
Hi Geoff, big fan here from Canguçu, Brazil! I have a question: You say that the "Golden rule about making compost is if it lived it can live again" that being said, how I compost acid citrus like, orange, lemon, limes, and onions (not a citrus but also acid). Literally every one that I watch say it can not be done in quantity because of the acidity, I would like to have your take on this. We plan to have a essential oil business, so we gonna have a lot of citrus laying around. If you could coment on composting cooked/steamed organic matter, like leafs, there is any difference? Ps: sorry about the broken English.
I put manure in buckets in the sun for a few days (with a plastic bag covering it) which seemed to work, had no issues. Manure was taken from a local hobby farm/stable.
Supposedly Ivermectin (the typical agricultural dewormer) breaks down outside the animals body within a couple days, especially when exposed to the elements.
I about to begin, I have access to 50kg of “spent grain” from brewing a week. (High N) do I need to cut with lots of C as if I was composting or will the worms be happy enough?
Hi Jeff, I've been adding off/sour milk to my bins and the worms are very quickly creating the most amazing compost; soft and fluffy in about three weeks from a box of cabbage leaves. I've tried it twice now with the same results. Is this the microbes exploding due to the added proteins, thereby causing the worm population to increase or do you think it's something else? Cheers.
Is it normal to find a few worms drowned in the drainage bucket under the drain-hole after a big rain? I just started my bin recently and I’m not sure they’re doing very well. They’re all bunched up under their original shipping bedding and a couple have tried to escape now and have ended up dead.
Every time I try to make a dedicated worm farm they always seem to escape but I'm always creating accidental worm farms in my containers. To be fair, I don't have red wrigglers. I'm just wormnapping them from under my compost.
Ants are often a problem if the system is too dry. Check the moisture level, but don't just assume that is the problem, because you also don't want it too wet
You should be doing both. Worm farms are about processing organic waste and easy harvesting of the rich fertilizer they create. It also gives you access to a population of worms you can use to seed other projects like an aged dung pile, aerating containers, preparing new growing spaces, free protein for chickens as well as dozens of other things.
@@PaleGhost69 If you do it on the ground you can just dig up the dirt? You can just dig worms from the ground and transport them? Or let them find their own way? Chickens naturally dig worms?
@@vinvan4237 We want to add soil, not take it away. Digging them up has the potential to damage them not to mention destroys habitat and soil structure for the half dozen worms you'll find. Chickens scratch. They don't dig. Unless they are pasture or compost fed, there is likely no insects or worms left in the chicken run.
@@vinvan4237 The worms used for composting are not the same as the earth worms you dig up from the ground. They're far more efficient, as scraps are their preferred food.
![How to Make a Chicken Tractor on Steroids [FULL VIDEO]](/img/n.gif)
For those having problems, I recommend trying leaves as bedding. Shredded dry leaves if you can, it works like magic. I instantly have practically no more deserters after changing to leaves. And they used to run away faster than I can blink...
It just did a first check for this season, literally less than an hour ago, on my first ever humble worm composting project. I bought the worms last year for my aquaponics system and I kept some apart for composting and as a backup worm storage/farm in case the worms in my grow beds from the aquaponics system did not survive the winter, for whatever reason. At least it saves me from having to buy new worms.
I used a cheap plastic trash bin with a flapping top cover, and I filled it with some paper and garden bio mass and so on, and over the year I kept on filling it with my used coffee pads and vegetable bio mass and some garden bio mass. I keep the bin in a shady spot all year around, protected from the sun and the wind and the rain. It has no holes whatsoever. Just a flapping top cover. Other than filling it over the past year I did not pay much attention to it. To my own surprise the worms did well. Well enough to call it a success.
I emptied the bin in my wheelbarrow, and I mixed up all the material that was not decomposed yet, I added some compost with a high amount of wood chips, just a few hands, and after that I did put everything well mixed back in the bin, and now I am drinking my coffee while I was watching this video. After I washed my hands very very thoroughly. 🙂
There is a chance the horses were dewormed and the manure is deadly to them. Always check before purchasing...
If its fresh then yes if you leave it to age any drug will soon wear off that's y I use aged horse poo
@@Gunniboysexplorers
Also be aware of horses are fed hay that was sprayed with Grazon that it can persist for a few years...
You inspire us with you're knowledge and passion.
Geoff, I’ve had much success using your ground bucket worm farms here in NJ, USA. I put the worms in 3 buckets and gave a nice mix of hay/manure and kitchen scraps.. I completely soaked each bucket with water. I had an issue with one bucket that had a worm die off, but since I had 2 other buckets and their population was thriving, I relocated them in the bucket that had the die off. Since then, all buckets and some additional buckets I added, are all thriving.. They get kitchen/yard scraps on occasion and they survive our winters. The bucket tops provide rodent protection and easy access..
Can you use sheep manure as back up feed for the worms?
i have one of the cafe 4 tier worm farms and have a lot of the larvae the flies are obviously getting in around the edges of the bins etc...
I’d say to build an aluminum or stainless screen.
By the way, would a two tub system have any advantages? Maybe in terms of timing them back and forth?
does the base need to necessarily be manure? if that's unavailable, does compost work? I would _imagine_ so, as it's all just digested organic matter that you're adding scraps to, but is there something unique about animal manure that makes it better? if compost is alright to use, should it be compost that's not fully composted?
Try dry leaves. Best shredded. I found them to be extremely alluring to worms, specifically African Night Crawlers. It figures as dry leaves are their main food in nature.
Hello Geoff
We are having an issue with mites, how can we resolve this?
Many thanks Lois & Steve NZ
What are you thoughts / experience with coco coir? I am about start a bathtub worm farm with a pony poo base - matured for 6 months and have old, spare coco coir bricks that I would like to use for the next layer. I should mix it with some compost and I have tested the coco after wetting and draining at PH7. Is coco coir detrimental for compost worms? I thank you kindly if you decide to reply.
Is it okay to use a lead painted bath for the worm farm? Could the lead leach? Would fibreglass be better?
I’m not sure what paints are in bathtubs, I am in Australia.
Thanks
Have you ever had ratters/ratting dogs? I'm avoiding barn cats because of all of the downsides of having outdoor cats, but we're planning on having ratting dogs on the property working in shifts to hopefully avoid rats getting into our compost, or at least minimize it as much as possible. Have you ever done this or known anyone who had success in using dogs to prevent rats from interfering?
Is there a plant that attracts a predator to the fruit fly? I am not interested in buying any pesticides?
I would of course use fruit fly traps but i dont want to be hurting positive bugs.
Beneficial nematodes eat knat fly larvae
potentially figs which attract wasps
The wild tobacco weed- a noxious weed in QLD where I live
@@kathynix6552 Is it ok in NSW?
Thanks master for all information!✌️
I have another suggestion for rodents, I think it helps to only use plant matter as far as food scraps goes. (This works perfect if you have poultry or pigs to eat everything else.) Then I suggest getting good topsoil or compost or forest duff, peat, leaf mold as a substrate. Start the farm off with it 1/3 full with substrate. Dig a central hole or furrow and bury the feed each time, about 4” deep. As Geoff says, it’s critical that it can drain and in wet climates that it has a roof or lid to shed water outside the tub. By burying the food and not using fats, grains and cooked starches, you make it a lot less appealing and aromatic.
Or, DON'T exclude the black soldier flies, and be vigilant about harvesting them to feed your chooks
I had to look up what a chook was! Am I correct in learning that it refers to fowls such as chickens and other farm birds, maybe guinea fowl, turkeys, etc.?
@@louisegogel7973 yes 😀
@@louisegogel7973 Just chickens.
Instead of using shade cloth could you use weed barrier fabric?
Good information
Thank you! As always!! ❤
I've seen other worm farm suggest to bury the food scraps to harvest the casting from the top is it a problem if there is no manure in there or will all buried scraps go anaerobic (buried under loose soil)?
I have been hearing about farmers/gardeners unknowingly using herbicide contaminated manure losing their crops and even trees? What would you recommend for repairing something like this?
Hi Geoff, big fan here from Canguçu, Brazil!
I have a question:
You say that the "Golden rule about making compost is if it lived it can live again" that being said, how I compost acid citrus like, orange, lemon, limes, and onions (not a citrus but also acid). Literally every one that I watch say it can not be done in quantity because of the acidity, I would like to have your take on this. We plan to have a essential oil business, so we gonna have a lot of citrus laying around.
If you could coment on composting cooked/steamed organic matter, like leafs, there is any difference?
Ps: sorry about the broken English.
You partially aerobically compost the peels first. Then you drench in water to cool it down. Feed that to the worms.
It might also be that the horse manure has residual deworming in it.
I put manure in buckets in the sun for a few days (with a plastic bag covering it) which seemed to work, had no issues. Manure was taken from a local hobby farm/stable.
@@TheApothecaryAus How does that get rid of deworming medications? I am curious.
@@louisegogel7973 I'm also interested
Supposedly Ivermectin (the typical agricultural dewormer) breaks down outside the animals body within a couple days, especially when exposed to the elements.
I about to begin, I have access to 50kg of “spent grain” from brewing a week. (High N) do I need to cut with lots of C as if I was composting or will the worms be happy enough?
50kg sounds like a great hot composting amount ;)
It might get too hot. You could leave outside to cool off or mixed it with other cooling material before putting to the worms. My 2c.
Why dont you use black soldier fly Geoff?
Or do you? Cheers
Hi Jeff, I've been adding off/sour milk to my bins and the worms are very quickly creating the most amazing compost; soft and fluffy in about three weeks from a box of cabbage leaves. I've tried it twice now with the same results. Is this the microbes exploding due to the added proteins, thereby causing the worm population to increase or do you think it's something else? Cheers.
You hit the double whammy. The worms feeds best if it’s food in liquid form. Milk is a protein and sugar solution.
Worms like the lactobacilus and the cabbage leaves that are breaking down
Is it normal to find a few worms drowned in the drainage bucket under the drain-hole after a big rain? I just started my bin recently and I’m not sure they’re doing very well. They’re all bunched up under their original shipping bedding and a couple have tried to escape now and have ended up dead.
Maybe Too wet too acidic or too hot
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Every time I try to make a dedicated worm farm they always seem to escape but I'm always creating accidental worm farms in my containers. To be fair, I don't have red wrigglers. I'm just wormnapping them from under my compost.
Hammerhead roundworms also a problem
Why would you build a wormfarm at all, instead of integrating the worms in your compost heap?
What about ants? I have an ante situation at the moment 😰
Ants are often a problem if the system is too dry. Check the moisture level, but don't just assume that is the problem, because you also don't want it too wet
Set the legs into water filled containers to create a barrier
How do I prevent ants in my worm bin ? I suddenly had a colony of ants in my worm bin, and don't know what to do with it.
Put the legs in containers of water
How to overcome ants?
Difficulty #1: convincing yourself you're not an evil character from "wrong turn".
🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱
Why not just keep the worms in the ground?
You should be doing both. Worm farms are about processing organic waste and easy harvesting of the rich fertilizer they create. It also gives you access to a population of worms you can use to seed other projects like an aged dung pile, aerating containers, preparing new growing spaces, free protein for chickens as well as dozens of other things.
@@PaleGhost69 If you do it on the ground you can just dig up the dirt? You can just dig worms from the ground and transport them? Or let them find their own way? Chickens naturally dig worms?
@@vinvan4237 We want to add soil, not take it away.
Digging them up has the potential to damage them not to mention destroys habitat and soil structure for the half dozen worms you'll find.
Chickens scratch. They don't dig. Unless they are pasture or compost fed, there is likely no insects or worms left in the chicken run.
@@PaleGhost69 Not having the worms in your soil destroys soils structure. You sound like a cultist. I am believing permacultre is a bit of a cult now.
@@vinvan4237 The worms used for composting are not the same as the earth worms you dig up from the ground. They're far more efficient, as scraps are their preferred food.
Parlament in my country never had difficulties, they get fatter every year.