Below are some of the items I use for vermicomposting & my channel's videos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you if you use these links. Thank you for supporting this channel! Worm Bins I use: Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3Xs1eGe Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT 20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr 3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO Other Worm Bins: Worm Factory 360 3-Tray Version amzn.to/3AHnjqK Worm Factory 360 5-Tray Version amzn.to/3tYfWY4 Bus bins amzn.to/3fd8AvP Equipment I use: 12 Sheet Cross Cut Micro Shredder (I use it to shred cardboard) amzn.to/3xYZKYu Magic Bullet Small Blender (to pulverize egg shells) amzn.to/3gwEzb4 Indoor Outdoor Wireless Thermometer for worm bin amzn.to/3wIdXbO Additional thermometer sensors 433 MHz amzn.to/41juD7v Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz Additional thermometer sensors 915MHz amzn.to/3WTFgua Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz Kitchen scale to weigh worms & food: amzn.to/3HnOQjg Blue gloves amzn.to/3XsBg5n Spray bottles to mist bedding amzn.to/3Fq23rN Digital handheld Thermometer amzn.to/3EWfC2j Compost Tea Bags amzn.to/3fCb5o1 Solar powered light amzn.to/3nOucAq Reusable Keurig Coffee K-cups amzn.to/3FNXvt6 Other useful equipment for worm farming: 5 stackable sifter with different sized mesh: amzn.to/3S2k184 Cameras & camera equipment I use: GoPro HERO11 amzn.to/3jkRpLa Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF Insta360 GO 2 camera amzn.to/3oxCc80 Insta360 One X2 camera amzn.to/3nqV6hp iPhone 13 Max Pro amzn.to/3nq52aU Canon EOS Rebel T8i amzn.to/3HcBuX6 4 Ocean bracelets I wear Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/3HMbHEx Books on worms & worm farming Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2 Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com
Thank You! I had to watch so many videos to find out what to do with the flat brown coco fiber mat! It wasn't mentioned in the user's manual and no other video shows the mat. I had no idea where to place it.
Awesome!! I'm so glad you found our video useful! I have a couple of videos to show what happens to the mat over time: th-cam.com/video/KqaBwGM3AFk/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/WCFwG1MWVAY/w-d-xo.html Compost worms are naturally curious creatures so they will explore up in that mat, but don't worry they will not escape! I absolutely love my VermiHut and have been running it for 3+ years. I have a ton of videos on how to manage it; if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section of any of my videos. Thanks so much for watching Laura!!🪱🪱🪱
This is a new type of tail gate party. Looks good. You might be the tallest worm wrangler. You wouldn't even fit in my Wormery. Lol I'm hitting the spider webs at 5'5"
😂 I had to put our heights because Jeff made me look like a baby!! That would be a tight fit down in your wormery but I'd be at home with all your tropical plants!! Thanks so much for stopping by Ann!!🪱🪱🪱
Excellent!! It wasn't obvious that's for sure!! I actually had to call the company to find out what the piece of plastic like cloth with the rubber band around it was for😀 Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost What is it for??? 😅 I just got mine yesterday, and the directions don't say anything about those two things. At least, I know how to make the lid now!!
Thank you Peggy!! It took some creativity but I finally figured out how to get in the video while showing off the tiny creatures that make our gardens so great!! Thanks so much for watching and for all your support!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for helping me rebuild my VermiHut. The padawan is now the Jedi master. You're the best neighbor and worm lover could have. You can use my truck anytime for filming purposes. Soon: Sourdough Bread.
😂🤣😂 Oh I am still the padawan in so much I still have not mastered!!! Teach me the ways of the Sourdough starter next!!! We love being your neighbor!!🪱🪱🪱
I like watching worm bin assembly videos because there's such a wide variety of worm bins. Thank you for explaining the assembly.bly and starting of the worm bin so thoroughly.
Hello Whytedavy!!! So good to hear from you!! I like watching and learning about all the different bins as well!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and watch!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you Vee!!! If you are seeing this comment and want to know where to buy worms check out @thegarden&wormlady and order worms from this legend!!! Here is her website to order worms www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com 🪱🪱🪱
Rewatching this video because my first vermihut is getting delivered tomorrow! I recently combined some of my worm bins and I am down to only nine bins….until tomorrow! 😅 I’m planning to run my vermihut the same way you do. It seems to work perfectly! Thanks for the good advice!
Sorry i'm so late with this comment, I was on the road and I think I responded out of cell phone range and it didn't take...I am so excited for you and your new VermiHut!! Only nine bins!!?! That would be a dream, if only I could get my wife to agree!! You have probably gotten through the first few days, but be sure to leave the lid off for the first 48-72 hours with a light on in the room. When you do put the lid on don't be alarmed if some go all up inside of it, as you know they are naturally curious, but the lid does a great job with the moisture and I never have any escapees! If I had to do this video over I would put a tray with dry bedding right under this top tray. Thanks so much for watching, keep us updated on your new VermiHut's progress!!🪱🪱🪱
Awesome!! Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments of any of my videos as you get started!! I'm so excited for you!!🪱🪱🪱
Hiya Patrick and Geoff! So great to see your faces guys! Us short people would have fitted in the screen no worries lol 😆 This is like a worm party out of the back of the truck 🛻🙌🏼🪱!! Perfect work bench guys 😂 great to see you set this up Patrick, and the tips on feeding a newbie bin. RELEASE THE WORMS!!! The vermicelli 🤣🤣🤣 nice work guys and hope the new wormies settle in amazingly!! Xx 🌸🙏💐🪱🌼🍝😅
Helloooo Anita!! Yep, we didn’t last long in the video, especially Jeff!! This was a fun tailgate worm party!! So much editing after we were done as half the video was filled with Jeff cracking us up!! The release sure surprised him!! Thanks for all the kind words!! I really look forward to you awesome comments!! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!!🪱🪱🪱
True!! When I tried by putting it just above the M-Board it collected some liquid, but I only tried it once. You might have better results with it the way you mentioned but it may also trap worms that way...or perhaps they will be able to climb back up in that configuration??!? Either way let me know what you find out if/when you try it!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
My Vermihut Plus is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I'm so excited to get it set up. I have 5 containers already and looking forward to getting a more streamlined set up.
That is awesome!! I'm so excited for you!! It sounds like you have lots of experience with your 5 containers so I know you are gonna have fun with the VermiHut!! Every worm bin I have runs a little different and they each teach me something, so I am really looking forward to hearing updates as you go along!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Any tips on harvesting and transferring those worms? My tote worm bin is pretty wet and mucky (I'm fearful of it frying out), I'm guessing I should let it dry out a lot. How do you like your Vermihut?
😀 Thanks Joe!! I've found it hard to appear in my videos as I try to showcase some of the smallest creatures...we're all giants to them!! I hope your worm bin is doing well!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
You will only be about 100 miles south of me...and more coastal so I would say that is a fantastic place to worm farm both inside and outside!! Almost everything I talk about in my videos from humidity to temperature and worm type will pertain to you. In general we don't have to worry about adding moisture or our worms slowing down too much in the winter (which we don't have winter😂) and we also can worm farm with ENC's, ANC's, Blue Worms, and Red Wigglers no problem! I hope that helps! I've got lots of videos that will help, so let me know if you have any questions in the comments of any of the videos! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I'm not a big fan of how they look but I'm really trying to push pass my fear. When you uncover the soil and reveal a bunch of worms my reaction was just like your neighbor lol. When he yelled "OMG" we were in synch I had to laugh out loud because I knew exactly what he meant😂
😂🤣😂 That many red wigglers at once sure is a surprise!! I don't know why but it is eerily fascinating to me to watch them wiggle down!! Thanks so much for watching and posting a fun comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you Gaetano!! If any viewers are reading this, you can get your worms from northeastworms.com and checkout his TH-cam channel to see how he grows the very best worms for his customers!! You will be happy you did!!🪱🪱🪱
Ok where to start. YOUR JAWLINE IN STRONGER THAN MY WIFI, and I GOT LIGHTSPEED BABY 🤣🤣🤣 Full circle now you're hypnotizing your neighbor !! This was amazing !! Like I said we're starting a worm farm this weekend!! Perfect subliminal teaching !! Hey could you inoculate the cardboard in a worm tea first ? Really get that biology cooking? This should be the go to "how to start a worm bin video". To the point, factual and totally entertaining. I shoot for 1 outta 3, but you nailed em all !! Btw I hope Autumn had a VERY comfortable director's chair to sit on !! Let's go brother !! We just had our first ever tomato sauce made from own Tomatoes!! Uhhhhhhh!! Have a great night you two !! Cheers Jason and Colleen 🌱🪱🌱💥🤣🤜🤛👍
😂🤣😂Autumn had a great seat on the back of the truck behind the camera laughing at all our antics!!! Quite a lot of editing behind the scenes as Jeff cracked us all up!! I think inoculating the bedding with worm casting tea might be one of your best suggestions!!!! I might have to give that a try on the next round of the Tiny Worm Bin!! Thanks so much for all the kind words!! I really appreciate it!! Do we get to see the first ever home grown tomato sauce being made?? Your gardens are amazing!!! Starting a new worm farm this weekend...Let's go!!!! Thanks so much for all the support Jason & Colleen!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost cool Brother!! I just figured they eat microbes so would get things kick started !! The editing was superb!! Speeding up video 3x and keeping the audio, with out overlaying it worked awesome!! I wish we would've but we were waxed from our day !! Farmers life 🤣🤣🤣 Definitely hooked on growing a ton more and making lots. Now the adventure of finding our favorite Tomatoes begins!! Keep an eye out for Marbonne from Johnny's Seeds;) Awesome video guys !! And have a great weekend!! High Five to Jeff 🖐
@@clivesconundrumgarden I’ll pass a huge high five to Jeff!! Can you imagine him trying to do the Tiny Worm bin??? It would be all hands in the video😂🤣😂
Nice job on this quickie video 👍🏻 The worm release was summed up nicely by what your guest, Jeff, said... haha! The tailgate worm bin maintenance - with the ability to simply hose it all off afterwards - sounds great. I just don't have a pickup - and even if I did, I don't know how I would get it down into my wormery :)
Thanks AV!! I’m cracking up here thinking about you having a truck in your world famous wormery!! Jeff is hilarious and is the most descriptive person I know!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!!🪱🪱🪱
Hi Cookie!! I haven't tried the the white cloth yet...mostly because the bottom inoculating trays, when I put then on dry, accomplish the same thing. I'm so glad it is working well for you and maybe someone will see this comment and give it a try!!🪱🪱🪱
Jeff is one of the funniest guys I know!! Half the stuff he said I had to edit out as we were all laughing!!! I couldn’t ask for better neighbors!! Thanks for watching Sandra!!🪱🪱🪱
Patrick, I just want to thank you again for your clever way of chasing the worms from the top bin down into the second bin! What a lovely way to do things. I appreciate it so much. Did you notice that the instructions for the VermiHut say to put a layer of newspaper down inside the tray when you first start a bin? I'm still sorry I did that because I still am trying to get it up and Away so the worms can go down. That's not a very good idea. Have you tried it? Also one of the senior citizens where my sister lives gave me a soap Box that had Irish Spring bar soap in it. She thought that I could put that through the shredder and give it to my worms, but it really smells so great that I think the worms might hate it! The garden and worm lady told me that she's never tried that. What do you think?
Thank you, good to hear it is working so well for you!! I had the same issue with lining a tray with newspaper, so I don't do it anymore. Even though I'm 3 quarters Irish & 1 quarter Brazilian I would NOT put a container that had Irish Spring Soap or any kind of soap in it 😀 Best to have the recycling bin sort it out!! But.....I'm all for experimentation so may one little piece at the very edge of one of your bins...so you can scoop it and the bedding/castings around it out if it does not do well. Then definitely report back to us so we can all see if it worked!! Thanks so much for watching Cookie!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you Sandy!! This means I’ll have a little less in my outdoor worm bin, but I hope it is still your favorite!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost oh yes it always is n will be. Don't u worry. Ha ha ....I luv all outdoor bins. Infact the other day I reminded plant obsessed about hers. Waiting to watch her bin too.
Thanks Mikko!! He definitely got a great head start as you could tell with his sense of awe when we dumped the worms in!!! Can you imagine if we got to start with that many when we first got started!! I think he'll have the next layer on in 30-45 days tops! The first tray always fills fast!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@SaladVision aren't they just amazing to see, I did not get a worm ball like that either. I would like a massive one with no dirt in-between,, awesomeness..😂🤣🐮🐮🐮
I'm setting up my first worm bin this week. Do I add a second tray right at the beginning as the inoculating tray or should I start with just the main tray for a few weeks while they settle in? Thanks so much for all of your wonderful videos.
Honestly, I would start with two trays, right at the beginning with the bottom one being your first inoculating tray. You could even start with two inoculating trays. Having those inoculating trays on the bottom, will prevent the worms from going all the way down to the basin during the most curious time for them. Thanks so much for the kind words and of course thanks so much for watching!🪱🪱🪱
Love your video. I'm trying to get into setting up and make worm tea for my plants. How often you add another tray and do you set it up the same way. Do you add more worms or transfer from first ready?
That's awesome! I constantly have warm tea brewing for my plants in my garden. Here are some videos on how I rotate my trays: th-cam.com/video/XNG4i8iXc_g/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/_uRRpwZcMXM/w-d-xo.html I try to rotate my trays every 60 days and I get about 10 pounds of castings each time. If I could do this video over again I would add at least one tray of completely dry bedding under the feeding tray. When I rotate, I use the agitation method to get the worms out of the castings and back into the top most tray so they always stay in the system to keep making me more castings!! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for your sharing Is it necessary to put a piece of paper or cardboard underneath the worm bed ? I plan to put the worm bin outdoor, is it ok to leave the lid open for the first 48 hours ?
Nope, no need to put paper or cardboard between the layers or under the worm tower. I would recommend putting a light on it, without the lid for the first 2-3 days so the worms get settled. You might want to keep it indoors while you have the light on it and the lid off so no curious critters try to get inside it! I hope this helps! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Nice looking setup Patrick! Thanks for showing what you receive and how to set the tower up. I'm waiting still, but I plan on picking up a tower for red wigglers. 😁
Thanks Rick!! It really comes with everything you need and since you have worms already you’ll be all set if you decide to get one!! I’m still needing to build that raised bed you showed us!! Thanks so much for watching!!!🪱🪱🪱
Great question!! I'm in the Tampa area and I have a DIY fabric pot worm bin I keep outside except when we get an overnight low below 32℉. I also keep it in the shade throughout the summer. Although I keep this VermiHut inside as an indoor bin, I would have no problem keeping it outside in the shade with an occasional trip into the garage when it's freezing!! Here is the playlist for my outdoor bin if you haven't seen it: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html Thanks so much for the great question and thanks for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I have had a 5 tray vermihut for a few years now. I am still learning how to take care of them. I thought the plastic thing was to put on top of the worms. How important is it to have that cococoir mat in the lid? I spoke to the guy who sold it to me on Amazon and he said to put it on the bottom tray which I did. I need to start over. I have a ton of worms and cocoons. Thanks
It can definitely be confusing with the unique lid and extra plastic parts they give you! Yep, the solid white plastic piece with lots of holes in it goes on the bottom right over the basin, and the translucent plastic piece goes in the lid. I have a few videos on the lid and what it ends up looking like over the course of the years and how to replace it for super cheap: th-cam.com/video/KqaBwGM3AFk/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/WCFwG1MWVAY/w-d-xo.html I think the coco coir mat really helps prevent flying insects from getting in, but I don't think it is absolutely necessary to have one in there...but like I show on the second video I linked, it is super easy to replace. Ironically I just finished filming a video on what to do if you need to refresh or restart your VermiHut; I should be done editing it in a few days. I hope this helps!! It sounds like your worms are doing fantastic!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@justagirlsd3000 I think anything you put up their that is really fibrous is great and will keep the flying insects out and slowly feed the worms, so give the jute a try and let us know what you think!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Do you know if ENCs can be used with the Vermihut or are they too big? The Q and As on Amazon say yes, but I'd rather ask an expert! Thanks for your help.
I wish I could tell you I have some ENC's in my VermiHut...but I don't, so I can't tell you yes from experience...but I measured the holes in the trays (there are about 1,600 in each) and they are 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Plenty of room for ENC's to get through! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching Laura!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thanks so much! I really enjoy your videos, have been watching yours and a few others for several months. I started with RW in March and added more after that, then bought RW cocoons from RockinWorms, then started a few bins of ENCs in June-August. It has not been smooth sailing, my latest issue being fungus gnats. Anyway, not sure yet if I will use RW or ENC for the Vermihut, but glad to know that I can do either. I will be buying it within the next week and will be sure to do it through your link. 😊 Thanks again, your videos are wonderful and I appreciate your help!
Thanks so much for the kind words Laura!! We appreciate you using our links!! Fungus gnats can be a pain!! Best advice I can give is freezing all your food before giving it to the worms, feed a little less and spray in some water that has some mosquito dunks graduals soaking in it...but I'm sure you've seen all the tricks in the various videos you've been watching!
Great question!! The compost earthworms do not escape the container. I keep my VermiHut and my Tiny Worm Bin indoors and I don't have any escapees!! When you first set up a worm bin the worms may be confused about their new surroundings, so it is recommended to leave the lid off for 48 hours in a room with a light on. Compost worms avoid light and this will reenforce that they belong within the bedding. After this time you can place the lid on (make sure any worm bin with a lid has holes in it so oxygen can be exchanged). As long as you don't overfeed your bin or let it get too wet (or too dry) the worms will always stay in the bin because they will dry up if they get out of the bin in the normal air. Worms need the moisture of the damp bedding to breath. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Hi Wendy!! The only time I aerate the bottom trays is when I do a rotation about once every 60 days. Since the majority of the worms are in the top feeding tray I don't bother to do it any other time. So I'd say it is not necessary but it can't hurt either!! Hope this helps!! Thanks so much for asking a great question!!🪱🪱🪱
Have a few questions? Are you growing worms or making compost? Or both? In another video of yours you had a few different kinds of worms? Does it matter? And where do you find other than red wigglers? Finally slow feed, fast feed?
Great questions!! I am mostly growing worm casting compost for my garden, seed starting, and to make worm casting tea liquid fertilizer...but worms like to reproduce so that helps speed everything up!! My wife has me on a strict 3 bin diet so there is a theoretical limit to the number of worms I can sustain...but I like to give the worms away to my neighbors for their worm bins as well. I have red wigglers in all three bins and my VermiHut also has blue worms mixed in it. The red wiggler is the most forgiving with temperature range, reproduces quick, and eats food fast so it is my absolute favorite and the compost worm the majority of people use. The blue worms came in a worm mix that I thought was going to be just red wigglers, but they are doing well for me as well. Some people have trouble with blue worms trying to flee their bins after a storm passes through. I have a link in the description to the garden and worm lady's website where she sells different kinds of worms to include European night crawlers, red wigglers and Louisiana swamp worms I believe. She has a TH-cam channels so you can see how she takes care of them and produces them. Most of us worm farmers categorize food scraps into Slow food, food scraps that take longer than a week to be consumed and fast food, food that is consumed quicker than a week. I feed fast food for the first few feedings so I can know the worms are eating, then start to introduce slow foods to help bridge the gap between feedings so they always have something to eat besides their bedding. Slow foods can make a bin go anaerobic, smelly and kill the worms if too much are fed to the bin before the microbial count gets higher in a new bin...so hold off on banana peels for a while!! I hope this helped!! Thanks for asking some great questions!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost I recently moved from south central Texas where I had water restrictions m, excess hot summers and alkaline soil, but rich & black and loaded with worms. To East Texas, where we have more rain, more humidity and acid soil but is sandy on top with red clay below and I can’t find any worms. So thought I’d grow my own to put in my raised beds. But obviously I need to amend the soil with compost and I’ve long composted with the traditional methods. But that doesn’t solve my worm shortage. So I was thinking about a worm farm, but outdoors as we downsized to a mear 750 square feet and no garage. If you wouldn’t mind a few more questions? Since I’m looking to primarily have my worms outside are there heat/cold restrictions? We don’t get the dry oven like 114 degrees like where we were but we still get 100+ temperatures just with 50-60% humidity. So should I put it in the shade? What about winter? We rarely get hard freezes (1 every 10 years), but we may get an overnight freeze. Is there a way to protect them? Also I imagine if my long term plan is to put them In The raised garden beds, I should build up the beds first or grow enough worms for them to take over? How long does it take to grow worms? Like if I start with 1500. How long before I can remove half and transfer to a bed? Sorry for all the questions, this is new to this old gardener. I just happened across your channel while viewing another on organic gardening and it just cropped up. I’ll also check out the other channel you suggested. Thank you for any additional info you can provide. I will be watching the rest of your videos to educate myself on fast/slow feeding.
It sounds like you climate is similar to mine here in Tampa, FL. I have an Outdoor Bin where I cover a lot of the questions you have with regard to cold in the winter and heat in the summer. Here is the playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html I would definitely keep an outdoor worm bin in the shade. I use two 20 gallon fabric pots, one inside the other as a bin. It drains, it protects the worms as I fold down the tops and the temperature stays pretty stable when I keep it on the ground. Red wigglers are going to be your best bet for an outdoor worm bin in your climate. As for your garden beds, as you build them up with compost and soil, the garden earth worms will eventually show up. You can even bury some food scraps within your garden beds to attract them. However the earth worms that are used for worm composting (epigeic earth worms) are different from the garden earth worms (endogeic) that are in the top 6 inches or so and burrow horizontally. The third type of earth worm, Enecic earth worms are really muscular and burrow deep in the soil. If you dump a bunch of red wiggler compost worms in your garden beds they will eventually die or flee to an area with a lot of dead organic matter. They like to stay in the top inch or two and don't make burrows. A typical garden bed does not have enough dead decaying matter for them to eat...they are however easily found in a compost pile or horse manure pile. If you still want to put red wigglers in your garden beds I would just let them come naturally in the form of cocoons that end up going with the worm castings you use in your garden. 1500 worms is a great start for any worm bin and you will find they can double in number every 3 months or so depending on how big your bins are and how often you feed them. I think if you check out my outdoor worm playlist and look around for videos on heat and cold, how much to feed, what kinds of food to feed etc. it will give you a lot of confidence to get started in your new climate of East Texas!! Let me know if you have anymore questions to help get you started!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thank you. I had no idea there were so many kinds of earth worms, let alone how deep they burrow. I will definitely be watching lots of videos. I like to study up, so I keep my mistakes to a minimum. I’m retired and my husband retires in a few months, so with a fixed income I can’t afford to make too many, especially considering the cost of the initial set up. But I consider it an investment in the new garden full of produce and berries. Safely I could take my pecan trees with me.
Oops I bought just 250! Am waiting for them to arrive. I guess I underestimated? I have in the home just me and a 6 year old. I also have Guinea pigs who eat a lot of scrap veggies like pepper middles and seeds etc. I went by the weight of worms of the weight of waste per day and I settled in 250. Should I get more ? Btw I plan to see if they like the pig poop. Is that more of a compost not a worm farm thing? Dunno if I should save the peed on dried grasses (orchard grass and Timothy hay) for a compost pile am in process of starting or if I can give to the worms.. All this is new to me. I’m a hydroponics person and so soil is new to me lol
That is so great to hear you are getting started with your new worm bin!! 250 will work fine if you don't want to buy more, but I find it easier to know how much they have eaten when I start with 1000. The biggest issue with new worm bins is over feeding so just be sure to start with small feedings, and plenty of moist but not soaking wet bedding. If you check on them every 5-7 days (it will be hard not to check on them hourly at first😂) to see how much they have eaten and to replace some more food if it is all gone (and add a little bit of bedding at each feeding) then you will be in good shape! They won't eat much at first, until the population grows...maybe 2-3 strawberry tops or the cut off end of a lettuce stalk. Be sure to freeze the food scraps first, then feed them to the worms to help make them more mushy (you can thaw them out before feeding if you want). I've got several videos that show you how much I feed when I first start out a bin th-cam.com/video/ji0BISL12N8/w-d-xo.html but I have a lot of worms...about 6000 in my VermiHut & 4000 in my Outdoor worm bin & 1000 in my Tiny Worm bin so just be sure to go easy on the feedings!! I'm so excited for you good luck!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Ty so much for all the encouragement and information! It’s nice to know I can freeze the food too so I don’t have to hurry and create a compost pile for the excess stuff they can’t consume only being 250 of them til they populate more. I bought a compost bin for my counter etc too lol. I guess I won’t need that lol
Any tips for increasing populations faster? Since I moved them out of a under-bed box and into the Worm Factory, they dont seem to be multiplying or eating as fast.
Great question! A couple of things could help depending on your situation. A big caveat though…worm towers are deceivingly good at looking not as full of worms as they actually are. I counted one of my non feeding trays thinking it had just 250-300 worms and it had 804! So I went from thinking I had about 4000 to actually having over 6000 worms in the system. Here are the things I have found that really boost my populations. Temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s. Enough food and amendments that there is still a little left over each feeding (7 day intervals between feedings) moisture level pretty damp but not so damp that the food ferments or spoils before they can eat it. Those last 2 present a fine line so you have to really monitor it & be sure to aerate the feeding tray. And finally space. Add another tray or add a lot more bedding, so the worms have room to fill it up. When I do these 4 things I get mini population explosions. Try some worm chow with some expired grains as well if you don’t already. It’s another way to get easy food into them. But don’t put a lot in, just a light sprinkle. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Great demonstration! Found another Vermihut on sale and grabbed it! Starting #2 over the weekend. One question. Do you not line the very first working tray on the bottom with newspaper? I found that helped slow them down from going into the well/dungeon before they got familiar with their new home.
Thank you Ann!! The only thing better than 1 VermiHut is 2 VermiHuts!! Even better to catch one on sale!! I did line it with newspaper on a couple of trays but I found it stuck to the bottom when they rotated through the system so I stopped doing it. Using a tray full of dry shredded cardboard helped me keep them out of the basin. But my humidity & other conditions could be different so I would keep lining them since it works well for your system!! Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your awesome deal on #2!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Yes, sounds good. I have only lined the initial tray, but not the others. Works great. The worms seem to learn the space in time and so far rare to find them below. Only a tiny wisp found there today. My second hut arrived early! Starting it tomorrow. Amazon has a great price right now. I think nearly 20% off. I was already contemplating a second one so decided to pounce on it! 👍🪱🪱🪱🪱
I gotta tell you the shredder is absolutely amazing!! I have had it for 5 years now and the last 3 years it has been shredding corrugated cardboard! It actually runs rougher when I put 12 sheets of paper through vs one piece of cardboard as I show in this video: th-cam.com/video/rRXWtNT9PSo/w-d-xo.html It is a 12 sheet cross cut MICRO shredder. The 12 sheet is what makes it able to cut through the cardboard and the MICRO is what gets it into such small pieces so make sure it says both if you get one. Here is an affiliate link to a newer model of the one I use: amzn.to/3xYZKYu Occasionally, like 4 times a year, I'll spread some vegetable oil on a sheet of copy paper and run it through the shredder to lube it up, but other than that I don't do anything different. Like I said, I absolutely love my shredder!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Received my order and rand a good amount of cardboard through with no issues, super happy. I held off on the corrugated but I always have a lot of the Amazon shipping boxes that I want to be able to shred.
Great question! You can add one at the same time as you start the the first feeding tray. Then 60 days later rotate it up on top of the 1st feeding tray and add another inoculating tray on the bottom so you have 3 trays after 60 days. If you want 4 trays, rotate (harvest this time) & add 2 more trays. Now it should be an every 60 day cycle. The first few trays that get harvested may not have as much volume but they will have good castings!! I hope this helps!! If I did this video all over again, I'd add an inoculating tray on the bottom! Thanks so much for watching and asking a question I'm sure a lot of other folks have as well!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Ya I was going to start with 2 inoculating trays from day 1 but maybe I'll start with 1 and add the 2nd after 60 days. Your system is unique and seems to be the best so far. Some people are soaking the tip trays and wondering why they have so much liquid and worms in the bottom tray.
That sounds like a great plan! One of my commenters suggested this early on and I’ve modified it a little but it is the best way I’ve found to keep things as efficient & tidy as possible!! Thanks again for watching!!
I know you like to experiment with different things in the worm bin. And I was wondering if you would be willing to try dog or cat food dry or wet. I know everyone says you can’t add meat but my gut tells me it wouldn’t be a problem because in most kibble the first or second ingredient is normally corn meal. Worms die in the bin all the time and I believe the worm Will eat their dead friends🤷♂️. Maybe grinded up would work better. It might be a bad idea But I’ve always been curious.
I have actually been wondering about dry dog food myself! We have a little dachshund so I have access to kibble. I could probably make a little pile of it in a section of one of my bins to see if and how long they take to go for it!! Thanks for the idea & thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Anne over at Plant Obsessed did a protein bin. While she wasn't super enthusiastic about putting protein into the bin on a regular basis, she did show the worms will eventually eat it. Eggs, I think beef, and chicken bone. I often get meats in my bin because all food scraps get composted here. Worms cant keep up with it all, but they get a bit of whatever is there. Maybe that contributes to the fungus gnat issue? Not sure. But the worms are happily chomping through it all!
😀 50/50 shot!! That little nub just helps keep a little airflow between the coco fiber mat and the plastic. Thanks so much for checking out this video!!🪱🪱🪱
😀😂It’s hard to fit in the videos when filming such small creatures!! On the back of a truck seems to do the trick for about 20 seconds😂🤣😂Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Absolutely!! After 48 hours the lid went on and it got fed again after 5 days...it's up to 4 trays regularly rotating now! The directions say to hold off on food for the first couple of days but I like to feed a little right away. Thanks so much for watching and thanks for sharing your tips!!🪱🪱🪱
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Below are some of the items I use for vermicomposting & my channel's videos. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you if you use these links. Thank you for supporting this channel!
Worm Bins I use:
Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3Xs1eGe
Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT
20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr
3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO
Other Worm Bins:
Worm Factory 360 3-Tray Version amzn.to/3AHnjqK
Worm Factory 360 5-Tray Version amzn.to/3tYfWY4
Bus bins amzn.to/3fd8AvP
Equipment I use:
12 Sheet Cross Cut Micro Shredder (I use it to shred cardboard) amzn.to/3xYZKYu
Magic Bullet Small Blender (to pulverize egg shells) amzn.to/3gwEzb4
Indoor Outdoor Wireless Thermometer for worm bin amzn.to/3wIdXbO
Additional thermometer sensors 433 MHz amzn.to/41juD7v Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz
Additional thermometer sensors 915MHz amzn.to/3WTFgua Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz
Kitchen scale to weigh worms & food: amzn.to/3HnOQjg
Blue gloves amzn.to/3XsBg5n
Spray bottles to mist bedding amzn.to/3Fq23rN
Digital handheld Thermometer amzn.to/3EWfC2j
Compost Tea Bags amzn.to/3fCb5o1
Solar powered light amzn.to/3nOucAq
Reusable Keurig Coffee K-cups amzn.to/3FNXvt6
Other useful equipment for worm farming:
5 stackable sifter with different sized mesh: amzn.to/3S2k184
Cameras & camera equipment I use:
GoPro HERO11 amzn.to/3jkRpLa
Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF
Insta360 GO 2 camera amzn.to/3oxCc80
Insta360 One X2 camera amzn.to/3nqV6hp
iPhone 13 Max Pro amzn.to/3nq52aU
Canon EOS Rebel T8i amzn.to/3HcBuX6
4 Ocean bracelets I wear
Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/3HMbHEx
Books on worms & worm farming
Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2
Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com
Thank You! I had to watch so many videos to find out what to do with the flat brown coco fiber mat! It wasn't mentioned in the user's manual and no other video shows the mat. I had no idea where to place it.
Awesome!! I'm so glad you found our video useful! I have a couple of videos to show what happens to the mat over time: th-cam.com/video/KqaBwGM3AFk/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/WCFwG1MWVAY/w-d-xo.html Compost worms are naturally curious creatures so they will explore up in that mat, but don't worry they will not escape! I absolutely love my VermiHut and have been running it for 3+ years. I have a ton of videos on how to manage it; if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section of any of my videos. Thanks so much for watching Laura!!🪱🪱🪱
This is a new type of tail gate party. Looks good. You might be the tallest worm wrangler. You wouldn't even fit in my Wormery. Lol I'm hitting the spider webs at 5'5"
😂 I had to put our heights because Jeff made me look like a baby!! That would be a tight fit down in your wormery but I'd be at home with all your tropical plants!! Thanks so much for stopping by Ann!!🪱🪱🪱
I finally learned what that mat and other piece was for! Thank you. I've watched several videos and none explained it.
Excellent!! It wasn't obvious that's for sure!! I actually had to call the company to find out what the piece of plastic like cloth with the rubber band around it was for😀 Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost What is it for??? 😅 I just got mine yesterday, and the directions don't say anything about those two things. At least, I know how to make the lid now!!
You and your channel are the ultimate resource for worm bins! Educational, experimental and resourceful. Amazing!
Wow!!! Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your kind words!! I love your channel and your fearless creativity when it comes to gardening!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thank you!!
Great job Patrick 👏 and nice to see your face My Dear 🪱💓🪱💓🪱
Thank you Peggy!! It took some creativity but I finally figured out how to get in the video while showing off the tiny creatures that make our gardens so great!! Thanks so much for watching and for all your support!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost You continue to impress me. Your channel is growing and you are still having fun teaching and learning 👩🌾🪱👍
@@Vermicompost You continue to impress me. Your channel is growing and you are still having fun teaching and learning 👩🌾🪱👍
@@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920 I'm having a blast and loving the community!!🪱🪱🪱
Straight forward and concise. 👍
I'm glad you liked it!! Thanks for the great feedback & of course thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for helping me rebuild my VermiHut. The padawan is now the Jedi master. You're the best neighbor and worm lover could have. You can use my truck anytime for filming purposes. Soon: Sourdough Bread.
😂🤣😂 Oh I am still the padawan in so much I still have not mastered!!! Teach me the ways of the Sourdough starter next!!! We love being your neighbor!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost You are now named Sourdough Sam.
😂🤣😂🪱🪱🪱
I like watching worm bin assembly videos because there's such a wide variety of worm bins. Thank you for explaining the assembly.bly and starting of the worm bin so thoroughly.
Hello Whytedavy!!! So good to hear from you!! I like watching and learning about all the different bins as well!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost it was good to be able to put a face to the voice.
😀
Oh my gosh it’s so nice to see you in person 😂 great video!!
Thank you Vee!!! If you are seeing this comment and want to know where to buy worms check out @thegarden&wormlady and order worms from this legend!!! Here is her website to order worms www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com 🪱🪱🪱
I like this video. It is simple and very easy to follow. Thank you
Thank you!! I appreciate the great feedback! Thanks so much for watching & taking the time to comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Rewatching this video because my first vermihut is getting delivered tomorrow! I recently combined some of my worm bins and I am down to only nine bins….until tomorrow! 😅 I’m planning to run my vermihut the same way you do. It seems to work perfectly! Thanks for the good advice!
Sorry i'm so late with this comment, I was on the road and I think I responded out of cell phone range and it didn't take...I am so excited for you and your new VermiHut!! Only nine bins!!?! That would be a dream, if only I could get my wife to agree!! You have probably gotten through the first few days, but be sure to leave the lid off for the first 48-72 hours with a light on in the room. When you do put the lid on don't be alarmed if some go all up inside of it, as you know they are naturally curious, but the lid does a great job with the moisture and I never have any escapees! If I had to do this video over I would put a tray with dry bedding right under this top tray. Thanks so much for watching, keep us updated on your new VermiHut's progress!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks Guys!
Our pleasure!! So glad you liked it, thanks for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
I used your link to get the VermiHut Plus. Thanks for all your awesome videos. I plan to use your rotation plan too.
Awesome!! Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments of any of my videos as you get started!! I'm so excited for you!!🪱🪱🪱
Hiya Patrick and Geoff! So great to see your faces guys! Us short people would have fitted in the screen no worries lol 😆 This is like a worm party out of the back of the truck 🛻🙌🏼🪱!! Perfect work bench guys 😂 great to see you set this up Patrick, and the tips on feeding a newbie bin.
RELEASE THE WORMS!!! The vermicelli 🤣🤣🤣 nice work guys and hope the new wormies settle in amazingly!! Xx 🌸🙏💐🪱🌼🍝😅
Helloooo Anita!! Yep, we didn’t last long in the video, especially Jeff!! This was a fun tailgate worm party!! So much editing after we were done as half the video was filled with Jeff cracking us up!! The release sure surprised him!! Thanks for all the kind words!! I really look forward to you awesome comments!! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost 😆💐💕
You could put the stretchy thing on the lower part then the m-board to stop worms from entering the bottom
True!! When I tried by putting it just above the M-Board it collected some liquid, but I only tried it once. You might have better results with it the way you mentioned but it may also trap worms that way...or perhaps they will be able to climb back up in that configuration??!? Either way let me know what you find out if/when you try it!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
My Vermihut Plus is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. I'm so excited to get it set up. I have 5 containers already and looking forward to getting a more streamlined set up.
That is awesome!! I'm so excited for you!! It sounds like you have lots of experience with your 5 containers so I know you are gonna have fun with the VermiHut!! Every worm bin I have runs a little different and they each teach me something, so I am really looking forward to hearing updates as you go along!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Any tips on harvesting and transferring those worms? My tote worm bin is pretty wet and mucky (I'm fearful of it frying out), I'm guessing I should let it dry out a lot. How do you like your Vermihut?
Excellent videos for beginners
Thanks so much for the kind words!! I appreciate your support!!🪱🪱🪱
At 5’7” my head would have still been in the picture. Great tutorial.
😀 Thanks Joe!! I've found it hard to appear in my videos as I try to showcase some of the smallest creatures...we're all giants to them!! I hope your worm bin is doing well!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
I am the garden and worm lady this is my other channel I just started 😅
Awesome!!!! Double the learning, double the fun!!!🪱🪱🪱
My wife and I are moving to Fort Myers soon and we were wondering if its to hot that far south to farm worms,
Thanks
Kevin
You will only be about 100 miles south of me...and more coastal so I would say that is a fantastic place to worm farm both inside and outside!! Almost everything I talk about in my videos from humidity to temperature and worm type will pertain to you. In general we don't have to worry about adding moisture or our worms slowing down too much in the winter (which we don't have winter😂) and we also can worm farm with ENC's, ANC's, Blue Worms, and Red Wigglers no problem! I hope that helps! I've got lots of videos that will help, so let me know if you have any questions in the comments of any of the videos! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I'm not a big fan of how they look but I'm really trying to push pass my fear. When you uncover the soil and reveal a bunch of worms my reaction was just like your neighbor lol. When he yelled "OMG" we were in synch I had to laugh out loud because I knew exactly what he meant😂
😂🤣😂 That many red wigglers at once sure is a surprise!! I don't know why but it is eerily fascinating to me to watch them wiggle down!! Thanks so much for watching and posting a fun comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Very nice and educational video my friend
Thank you Gaetano!! If any viewers are reading this, you can get your worms from northeastworms.com and checkout his TH-cam channel to see how he grows the very best worms for his customers!! You will be happy you did!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thank you very much my friend 😊
Ok where to start.
YOUR JAWLINE IN STRONGER THAN MY WIFI, and I GOT LIGHTSPEED BABY 🤣🤣🤣
Full circle now you're hypnotizing your neighbor !!
This was amazing !! Like I said we're starting a worm farm this weekend!! Perfect subliminal teaching !!
Hey could you inoculate the cardboard in a worm tea first ? Really get that biology cooking?
This should be the go to "how to start a worm bin video". To the point, factual and totally entertaining. I shoot for 1 outta 3, but you nailed em all !!
Btw I hope Autumn had a VERY comfortable director's chair to sit on !!
Let's go brother !! We just had our first ever tomato sauce made from own Tomatoes!! Uhhhhhhh!!
Have a great night you two !!
Cheers Jason and Colleen 🌱🪱🌱💥🤣🤜🤛👍
😂🤣😂Autumn had a great seat on the back of the truck behind the camera laughing at all our antics!!! Quite a lot of editing behind the scenes as Jeff cracked us all up!! I think inoculating the bedding with worm casting tea might be one of your best suggestions!!!! I might have to give that a try on the next round of the Tiny Worm Bin!! Thanks so much for all the kind words!! I really appreciate it!!
Do we get to see the first ever home grown tomato sauce being made?? Your gardens are amazing!!! Starting a new worm farm this weekend...Let's go!!!! Thanks so much for all the support Jason & Colleen!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost cool Brother!! I just figured they eat microbes so would get things kick started !! The editing was superb!! Speeding up video 3x and keeping the audio, with out overlaying it worked awesome!!
I wish we would've but we were waxed from our day !! Farmers life 🤣🤣🤣
Definitely hooked on growing a ton more and making lots. Now the adventure of finding our favorite Tomatoes begins!! Keep an eye out for Marbonne from Johnny's Seeds;)
Awesome video guys !! And have a great weekend!!
High Five to Jeff 🖐
@@clivesconundrumgarden I’ll pass a huge high five to Jeff!! Can you imagine him trying to do the Tiny Worm bin??? It would be all hands in the video😂🤣😂
@@Vermicompost 🧤🪱😱🤣
Nice job on this quickie video 👍🏻 The worm release was summed up nicely by what your guest, Jeff, said... haha! The tailgate worm bin maintenance - with the ability to simply hose it all off afterwards - sounds great. I just don't have a pickup - and even if I did, I don't know how I would get it down into my wormery :)
Thanks AV!! I’m cracking up here thinking about you having a truck in your world famous wormery!! Jeff is hilarious and is the most descriptive person I know!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!!🪱🪱🪱
Have you tried putting that white cloth around that white board like I showed you on the picture I sent on email? It works great!
Hi Cookie!! I haven't tried the the white cloth yet...mostly because the bottom inoculating trays, when I put then on dry, accomplish the same thing. I'm so glad it is working well for you and maybe someone will see this comment and give it a try!!🪱🪱🪱
Great video guys thank you for sharing your talents 🪱🪱🪱
Thank you!! We're so glad you are enjoying our videos!!🪱🪱🪱
Vermicelli!! I may not look at rice pasta ever the same again…
~ Sandra
Jeff is one of the funniest guys I know!! Half the stuff he said I had to edit out as we were all laughing!!! I couldn’t ask for better neighbors!! Thanks for watching Sandra!!🪱🪱🪱
Patrick, I just want to thank you again for your clever way of chasing the worms from the top bin down into the second bin! What a lovely way to do things. I appreciate it so much. Did you notice that the instructions for the VermiHut say to put a layer of newspaper down inside the tray when you first start a bin? I'm still sorry I did that because I still am trying to get it up and Away so the worms can go down. That's not a very good idea. Have you tried it? Also one of the senior citizens where my sister lives gave me a soap Box that had Irish Spring bar soap in it. She thought that I could put that through the shredder and give it to my worms, but it really smells so great that I think the worms might hate it! The garden and worm lady told me that she's never tried that. What do you think?
Thank you, good to hear it is working so well for you!! I had the same issue with lining a tray with newspaper, so I don't do it anymore. Even though I'm 3 quarters Irish & 1 quarter Brazilian I would NOT put a container that had Irish Spring Soap or any kind of soap in it 😀 Best to have the recycling bin sort it out!! But.....I'm all for experimentation so may one little piece at the very edge of one of your bins...so you can scoop it and the bedding/castings around it out if it does not do well. Then definitely report back to us so we can all see if it worked!! Thanks so much for watching Cookie!!🪱🪱🪱
Great informative video Patrick. Liked to c d 🪱 worms. They will be happy in their new home.
Thank you Sandy!! This means I’ll have a little less in my outdoor worm bin, but I hope it is still your favorite!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost oh yes it always is n will be. Don't u worry. Ha ha ....I luv all outdoor bins. Infact the other day I reminded plant obsessed about hers. Waiting to watch her bin too.
@@sandyjoao4489 😁
tyvm this was a very good video tyvm
Thank you Sandy!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!🪱🪱🪱
That reaction after adding those worms😂.
Jeff is a riot to be around!! Never a dull moment!! Thanks so much for watching Julius!!🪱🪱🪱
Great instructions, and to think, he starts with approx 10x more than I did. He'll need to add layers very soon. Have a great day.
Thanks Mikko!! He definitely got a great head start as you could tell with his sense of awe when we dumped the worms in!!! Can you imagine if we got to start with that many when we first got started!! I think he'll have the next layer on in 30-45 days tops! The first tray always fills fast!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost it was nice to see his reaction. I think more people are getting interested in it.
@@mikkosgarden For sure!!
Brilliant information as always..I don't think Geoff realised what a thousand worms looked like,,, he does now, awesome response...🐮🐮🐮
😂 I think he started with 500 the first time he ran his VermiHut. Thanks so much for stopping by to watch Manda Moo!!!🪱🪱🪱
It's Jeff. And yes, I did realize, but my VermiHut never generated the "wormballs" that he achieves regularly.
@@SaladVision Jeff!!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@SaladVision aren't they just amazing to see, I did not get a worm ball like that either. I would like a massive one with no dirt in-between,, awesomeness..😂🤣🐮🐮🐮
I'm setting up my first worm bin this week. Do I add a second tray right at the beginning as the inoculating tray or should I start with just the main tray for a few weeks while they settle in? Thanks so much for all of your wonderful videos.
Honestly, I would start with two trays, right at the beginning with the bottom one being your first inoculating tray. You could even start with two inoculating trays. Having those inoculating trays on the bottom, will prevent the worms from going all the way down to the basin during the most curious time for them. Thanks so much for the kind words and of course thanks so much for watching!🪱🪱🪱
Love your video. I'm trying to get into setting up and make worm tea for my plants. How often you add another tray and do you set it up the same way. Do you add more worms or transfer from first ready?
That's awesome! I constantly have warm tea brewing for my plants in my garden. Here are some videos on how I rotate my trays: th-cam.com/video/XNG4i8iXc_g/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/_uRRpwZcMXM/w-d-xo.html I try to rotate my trays every 60 days and I get about 10 pounds of castings each time. If I could do this video over again I would add at least one tray of completely dry bedding under the feeding tray. When I rotate, I use the agitation method to get the worms out of the castings and back into the top most tray so they always stay in the system to keep making me more castings!! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for your sharing
Is it necessary to put a piece of paper or cardboard underneath the worm bed ?
I plan to put the worm bin outdoor, is it ok to leave the lid open for the first 48 hours ?
Nope, no need to put paper or cardboard between the layers or under the worm tower. I would recommend putting a light on it, without the lid for the first 2-3 days so the worms get settled. You might want to keep it indoors while you have the light on it and the lid off so no curious critters try to get inside it! I hope this helps! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
You're not just hands?!
😂🤣😂 I actually found a way to get into the video...briefly!! The worms are much more interesting!! Thanks so much for watching!!!🪱🪱🪱
Nice looking setup Patrick! Thanks for showing what you receive and how to set the tower up. I'm waiting still, but I plan on picking up a tower for red wigglers. 😁
Thanks Rick!! It really comes with everything you need and since you have worms already you’ll be all set if you decide to get one!! I’m still needing to build that raised bed you showed us!! Thanks so much for watching!!!🪱🪱🪱
Can you keep this outside in south Florida ?
Great question!! I'm in the Tampa area and I have a DIY fabric pot worm bin I keep outside except when we get an overnight low below 32℉. I also keep it in the shade throughout the summer. Although I keep this VermiHut inside as an indoor bin, I would have no problem keeping it outside in the shade with an occasional trip into the garage when it's freezing!! Here is the playlist for my outdoor bin if you haven't seen it: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html
Thanks so much for the great question and thanks for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I have had a 5 tray vermihut for a few years now. I am still learning how to take care of them. I thought the plastic thing was to put on top of the worms. How important is it to have that cococoir mat in the lid? I spoke to the guy who sold it to me on Amazon and he said to put it on the bottom tray which I did. I need to start over. I have a ton of worms and cocoons. Thanks
It can definitely be confusing with the unique lid and extra plastic parts they give you! Yep, the solid white plastic piece with lots of holes in it goes on the bottom right over the basin, and the translucent plastic piece goes in the lid. I have a few videos on the lid and what it ends up looking like over the course of the years and how to replace it for super cheap: th-cam.com/video/KqaBwGM3AFk/w-d-xo.html & th-cam.com/video/WCFwG1MWVAY/w-d-xo.html I think the coco coir mat really helps prevent flying insects from getting in, but I don't think it is absolutely necessary to have one in there...but like I show on the second video I linked, it is super easy to replace. Ironically I just finished filming a video on what to do if you need to refresh or restart your VermiHut; I should be done editing it in a few days. I hope this helps!! It sounds like your worms are doing fantastic!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thanks for the reply and I look forward to that video you’re talking about. 🪱
I found jute on Amazon will that work?
@@justagirlsd3000 I think anything you put up their that is really fibrous is great and will keep the flying insects out and slowly feed the worms, so give the jute a try and let us know what you think!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Do you know if ENCs can be used with the Vermihut or are they too big? The Q and As on Amazon say yes, but I'd rather ask an expert! Thanks for your help.
I wish I could tell you I have some ENC's in my VermiHut...but I don't, so I can't tell you yes from experience...but I measured the holes in the trays (there are about 1,600 in each) and they are 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Plenty of room for ENC's to get through! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching Laura!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thanks so much! I really enjoy your videos, have been watching yours and a few others for several months. I started with RW in March and added more after that, then bought RW cocoons from RockinWorms, then started a few bins of ENCs in June-August. It has not been smooth sailing, my latest issue being fungus gnats. Anyway, not sure yet if I will use RW or ENC for the Vermihut, but glad to know that I can do either. I will be buying it within the next week and will be sure to do it through your link. 😊 Thanks again, your videos are wonderful and I appreciate your help!
Thanks so much for the kind words Laura!! We appreciate you using our links!! Fungus gnats can be a pain!! Best advice I can give is freezing all your food before giving it to the worms, feed a little less and spray in some water that has some mosquito dunks graduals soaking in it...but I'm sure you've seen all the tricks in the various videos you've been watching!
Are earthworms escaping from the container, will I keep them indoors at home and that's why I'm asking?
Great question!! The compost earthworms do not escape the container. I keep my VermiHut and my Tiny Worm Bin indoors and I don't have any escapees!! When you first set up a worm bin the worms may be confused about their new surroundings, so it is recommended to leave the lid off for 48 hours in a room with a light on. Compost worms avoid light and this will reenforce that they belong within the bedding. After this time you can place the lid on (make sure any worm bin with a lid has holes in it so oxygen can be exchanged). As long as you don't overfeed your bin or let it get too wet (or too dry) the worms will always stay in the bin because they will dry up if they get out of the bin in the normal air. Worms need the moisture of the damp bedding to breath. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
is it necessary to aerate the bottom bins? thanks!!
Hi Wendy!! The only time I aerate the bottom trays is when I do a rotation about once every 60 days. Since the majority of the worms are in the top feeding tray I don't bother to do it any other time. So I'd say it is not necessary but it can't hurt either!! Hope this helps!! Thanks so much for asking a great question!!🪱🪱🪱
Have a few questions? Are you growing worms or making compost? Or both? In another video of yours you had a few different kinds of worms? Does it matter? And where do you find other than red wigglers? Finally slow feed, fast feed?
Great questions!! I am mostly growing worm casting compost for my garden, seed starting, and to make worm casting tea liquid fertilizer...but worms like to reproduce so that helps speed everything up!! My wife has me on a strict 3 bin diet so there is a theoretical limit to the number of worms I can sustain...but I like to give the worms away to my neighbors for their worm bins as well. I have red wigglers in all three bins and my VermiHut also has blue worms mixed in it. The red wiggler is the most forgiving with temperature range, reproduces quick, and eats food fast so it is my absolute favorite and the compost worm the majority of people use. The blue worms came in a worm mix that I thought was going to be just red wigglers, but they are doing well for me as well. Some people have trouble with blue worms trying to flee their bins after a storm passes through.
I have a link in the description to the garden and worm lady's website where she sells different kinds of worms to include European night crawlers, red wigglers and Louisiana swamp worms I believe. She has a TH-cam channels so you can see how she takes care of them and produces them.
Most of us worm farmers categorize food scraps into Slow food, food scraps that take longer than a week to be consumed and fast food, food that is consumed quicker than a week. I feed fast food for the first few feedings so I can know the worms are eating, then start to introduce slow foods to help bridge the gap between feedings so they always have something to eat besides their bedding. Slow foods can make a bin go anaerobic, smelly and kill the worms if too much are fed to the bin before the microbial count gets higher in a new bin...so hold off on banana peels for a while!! I hope this helped!! Thanks for asking some great questions!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost I recently moved from south central Texas where I had water restrictions m, excess hot summers and alkaline soil, but rich & black and loaded with worms. To East Texas, where we have more rain, more humidity and acid soil but is sandy on top with red clay below and I can’t find any worms. So thought I’d grow my own to put in my raised beds. But obviously I need to amend the soil with compost and I’ve long composted with the traditional methods. But that doesn’t solve my worm shortage. So I was thinking about a worm farm, but outdoors as we downsized to a mear 750 square feet and no garage. If you wouldn’t mind a few more questions? Since I’m looking to primarily have my worms outside are there heat/cold restrictions? We don’t get the dry oven like 114 degrees like where we were but we still get 100+ temperatures just with 50-60% humidity. So should I put it in the shade? What about winter? We rarely get hard freezes (1 every 10 years), but we may get an overnight freeze. Is there a way to protect them? Also I imagine if my long term plan is to put them In The raised garden beds, I should build up the beds first or grow enough worms for them to take over? How long does it take to grow worms? Like if I start with 1500. How long before I can remove half and transfer to a bed? Sorry for all the questions, this is new to this old gardener. I just happened across your channel while viewing another on organic gardening and it just cropped up. I’ll also check out the other channel you suggested. Thank you for any additional info you can provide. I will be watching the rest of your videos to educate myself on fast/slow feeding.
It sounds like you climate is similar to mine here in Tampa, FL. I have an Outdoor Bin where I cover a lot of the questions you have with regard to cold in the winter and heat in the summer. Here is the playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html
I would definitely keep an outdoor worm bin in the shade. I use two 20 gallon fabric pots, one inside the other as a bin. It drains, it protects the worms as I fold down the tops and the temperature stays pretty stable when I keep it on the ground. Red wigglers are going to be your best bet for an outdoor worm bin in your climate. As for your garden beds, as you build them up with compost and soil, the garden earth worms will eventually show up. You can even bury some food scraps within your garden beds to attract them. However the earth worms that are used for worm composting (epigeic earth worms) are different from the garden earth worms (endogeic) that are in the top 6 inches or so and burrow horizontally. The third type of earth worm, Enecic earth worms are really muscular and burrow deep in the soil. If you dump a bunch of red wiggler compost worms in your garden beds they will eventually die or flee to an area with a lot of dead organic matter. They like to stay in the top inch or two and don't make burrows. A typical garden bed does not have enough dead decaying matter for them to eat...they are however easily found in a compost pile or horse manure pile. If you still want to put red wigglers in your garden beds I would just let them come naturally in the form of cocoons that end up going with the worm castings you use in your garden. 1500 worms is a great start for any worm bin and you will find they can double in number every 3 months or so depending on how big your bins are and how often you feed them. I think if you check out my outdoor worm playlist and look around for videos on heat and cold, how much to feed, what kinds of food to feed etc. it will give you a lot of confidence to get started in your new climate of East Texas!! Let me know if you have anymore questions to help get you started!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost thank you. I had no idea there were so many kinds of earth worms, let alone how deep they burrow. I will definitely be watching lots of videos. I like to study up, so I keep my mistakes to a minimum. I’m retired and my husband retires in a few months, so with a fixed income I can’t afford to make too many, especially considering the cost of the initial set up. But I consider it an investment in the new garden full of produce and berries. Safely I could take my pecan trees with me.
Oops I bought just 250! Am waiting for them to arrive. I guess I underestimated? I have in the home just me and a 6 year old. I also have Guinea pigs who eat a lot of scrap veggies like pepper middles and seeds etc. I went by the weight of worms of the weight of waste per day and I settled in 250. Should I get more ? Btw I plan to see if they like the pig poop. Is that more of a compost not a worm farm thing? Dunno if I should save the peed on dried grasses (orchard grass and Timothy hay) for a compost pile am in process of starting or if I can give to the worms.. All this is new to me. I’m a hydroponics person and so soil is new to me lol
That is so great to hear you are getting started with your new worm bin!! 250 will work fine if you don't want to buy more, but I find it easier to know how much they have eaten when I start with 1000. The biggest issue with new worm bins is over feeding so just be sure to start with small feedings, and plenty of moist but not soaking wet bedding. If you check on them every 5-7 days (it will be hard not to check on them hourly at first😂) to see how much they have eaten and to replace some more food if it is all gone (and add a little bit of bedding at each feeding) then you will be in good shape! They won't eat much at first, until the population grows...maybe 2-3 strawberry tops or the cut off end of a lettuce stalk. Be sure to freeze the food scraps first, then feed them to the worms to help make them more mushy (you can thaw them out before feeding if you want). I've got several videos that show you how much I feed when I first start out a bin th-cam.com/video/ji0BISL12N8/w-d-xo.html but I have a lot of worms...about 6000 in my VermiHut & 4000 in my Outdoor worm bin & 1000 in my Tiny Worm bin so just be sure to go easy on the feedings!! I'm so excited for you good luck!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Ty so much for all the encouragement and information! It’s nice to know I can freeze the food too so I don’t have to hurry and create a compost pile for the excess stuff they can’t consume only being 250 of them til they populate more. I bought a compost bin for my counter etc too lol. I guess I won’t need that lol
@@karensabolcik2511 My pleasure!! I keep a Tupperware type container in my freezer and just put scraps in as they get created throughout the day.
Any tips for increasing populations faster? Since I moved them out of a under-bed box and into the Worm Factory, they dont seem to be multiplying or eating as fast.
Great question! A couple of things could help depending on your situation. A big caveat though…worm towers are deceivingly good at looking not as full of worms as they actually are. I counted one of my non feeding trays thinking it had just 250-300 worms and it had 804! So I went from thinking I had about 4000 to actually having over 6000 worms in the system. Here are the things I have found that really boost my populations. Temperatures in the upper 70’s to low 80’s. Enough food and amendments that there is still a little left over each feeding (7 day intervals between feedings) moisture level pretty damp but not so damp that the food ferments or spoils before they can eat it. Those last 2 present a fine line so you have to really monitor it & be sure to aerate the feeding tray. And finally space. Add another tray or add a lot more bedding, so the worms have room to fill it up. When I do these 4 things I get mini population explosions. Try some worm chow with some expired grains as well if you don’t already. It’s another way to get easy food into them. But don’t put a lot in, just a light sprinkle. I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Great demonstration! Found another Vermihut on sale and grabbed it! Starting #2 over the weekend. One question. Do you not line the very first working tray on the bottom with newspaper? I found that helped slow them down from going into the well/dungeon before they got familiar with their new home.
Thank you Ann!! The only thing better than 1 VermiHut is 2 VermiHuts!! Even better to catch one on sale!! I did line it with newspaper on a couple of trays but I found it stuck to the bottom when they rotated through the system so I stopped doing it. Using a tray full of dry shredded cardboard helped me keep them out of the basin. But my humidity & other conditions could be different so I would keep lining them since it works well for your system!! Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your awesome deal on #2!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Yes, sounds good. I have only lined the initial tray, but not the others. Works great. The worms seem to learn the space in time and so far rare to find them below. Only a tiny wisp found there today. My second hut arrived early! Starting it tomorrow. Amazon has a great price right now. I think nearly 20% off. I was already contemplating a second one so decided to pounce on it! 👍🪱🪱🪱🪱
@@annsalty5615 Score!! I love it!!!
Does that shredder actually hold up shredding cardboard and, if so, do you have any advice to keep it running.
I gotta tell you the shredder is absolutely amazing!! I have had it for 5 years now and the last 3 years it has been shredding corrugated cardboard! It actually runs rougher when I put 12 sheets of paper through vs one piece of cardboard as I show in this video: th-cam.com/video/rRXWtNT9PSo/w-d-xo.html It is a 12 sheet cross cut MICRO shredder. The 12 sheet is what makes it able to cut through the cardboard and the MICRO is what gets it into such small pieces so make sure it says both if you get one. Here is an affiliate link to a newer model of the one I use: amzn.to/3xYZKYu Occasionally, like 4 times a year, I'll spread some vegetable oil on a sheet of copy paper and run it through the shredder to lube it up, but other than that I don't do anything different. Like I said, I absolutely love my shredder!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I used your link an be ordered.
Thanks so much!! We appreciate your support!!
@@Vermicompost Received my order and rand a good amount of cardboard through with no issues, super happy. I held off on the corrugated but I always have a lot of the Amazon shipping boxes that I want to be able to shred.
Excellent!!
When do you add the inoculating trays?
Great question! You can add one at the same time as you start the the first feeding tray. Then 60 days later rotate it up on top of the 1st feeding tray and add another inoculating tray on the bottom so you have 3 trays after 60 days. If you want 4 trays, rotate (harvest this time) & add 2 more trays. Now it should be an every 60 day cycle. The first few trays that get harvested may not have as much volume but they will have good castings!! I hope this helps!! If I did this video all over again, I'd add an inoculating tray on the bottom! Thanks so much for watching and asking a question I'm sure a lot of other folks have as well!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Ya I was going to start with 2 inoculating trays from day 1 but maybe I'll start with 1 and add the 2nd after 60 days.
Your system is unique and seems to be the best so far. Some people are soaking the tip trays and wondering why they have so much liquid and worms in the bottom tray.
That sounds like a great plan! One of my commenters suggested this early on and I’ve modified it a little but it is the best way I’ve found to keep things as efficient & tidy as possible!! Thanks again for watching!!
Mine were like distant cousins 😂
😂🤣😂 Now that is funny!! Thanks for the good laugh & thanks for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
To widen the view of the camera, simply move it further away from what youre recording to capture it all on screen.
Good point!! I should have checked it before we filmed with Jeff standing...He's super tall. Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I know you like to experiment with different things in the worm bin. And I was wondering if you would be willing to try dog or cat food dry or wet. I know everyone says you can’t add meat but my gut tells me it wouldn’t be a problem because in most kibble the first or second ingredient is normally corn meal. Worms die in the bin all the time and I believe the worm Will eat their dead friends🤷♂️. Maybe grinded up would work better. It might be a bad idea But I’ve always been curious.
By the way love your videos. i do believe you have some of the best videos for raising worms on youtube
I have actually been wondering about dry dog food myself! We have a little dachshund so I have access to kibble. I could probably make a little pile of it in a section of one of my bins to see if and how long they take to go for it!! Thanks for the idea & thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you!! I appreciate the kind words!!
@@Vermicompost Anne over at Plant Obsessed did a protein bin. While she wasn't super enthusiastic about putting protein into the bin on a regular basis, she did show the worms will eventually eat it. Eggs, I think beef, and chicken bone. I often get meats in my bin because all food scraps get composted here. Worms cant keep up with it all, but they get a bit of whatever is there. Maybe that contributes to the fungus gnat issue? Not sure. But the worms are happily chomping through it all!
Hi friend hope you are doing great 🌺🥰 so awesome sharing wish you all the best 🇹🇷🌹⛵🥐☕
Take care of you 💕
See you soon 🎁💕💫🌹🏖️
Thanks for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Oh man, I think I put my lid insert in upside down. lol
😀 50/50 shot!! That little nub just helps keep a little airflow between the coco fiber mat and the plastic. Thanks so much for checking out this video!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Yup, it was backwards, I flipped it around.
Finally get to see what you look like. I've only seen your hands. Lol
😀😂It’s hard to fit in the videos when filming such small creatures!! On the back of a truck seems to do the trick for about 20 seconds😂🤣😂Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Lol is it what you expected or disappointment lol
@@rondavis2791 🤞I'm hoping for better than expected!🪱🪱🪱 Thanks for watching Ron!!
@@rondavis2791 Not sure what I expected. Not disappointed. He and his executive producer make beautiful couple.
@@AngeliaHoward Thank you!!!
Put the lid on. And put in more quick food.
Absolutely!! After 48 hours the lid went on and it got fed again after 5 days...it's up to 4 trays regularly rotating now! The directions say to hold off on food for the first couple of days but I like to feed a little right away. Thanks so much for watching and thanks for sharing your tips!!🪱🪱🪱
Your channel is nothing but worms?! This is sick!!
😂🤣😂Amazing what you can find on TH-cam isn't it? Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Cheers!
Keep up the great work worm professor. 🪱 😎
😂 Thanks AJ!! I've learned from some masters like yourself!!🪱🪱🪱
You are very good tutorial for producing earthworms 🪱 Can I take a class with you 😊
😀 Thank you Bo!! When I come to Thailand to visit some day, I will build a worm bin for you!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch!!!🪱🪱🪱