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 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
This video has answered something that really puzzled me : I put in a fresh watermelon shell into the bin, there was a bit of flesh sticking to it. In no time at all, the worms were in there having an orgy. But 3 days later they all started to desert the melon and by day 4 it was yesterday's fashionable hotspot (nobody, but nobody would be seen dead in that place anymore). I was puzzled because I thought it would be more popular as it started to decay. I didn't check for heat and the weather is hot for the UK and now I know what the problem was. Thanks.
I’m so glad the video helped you out!! I know you all had a really bad heat wave over there a couple weeks back!! I learn so much from my worms all the time!! They are such fascinating creatures!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch my video!!🪱🪱🪱
Let's go !! Saved this video to !! Got quite the Patrick library building!! Whoops I ticked every box on what you shouldn't do. Plus the bonus on started it in minus 20° 🤣🤣🤣 Hey they're not dead !! Awesomeness, we'll be referencing this a lot !! Great clear, concise and confident information!! Cheers Patrick Have a great Easter weekend you 5 !! Jason and Colleen ✒️📃🌱🪱👑
Minus 20 is about 40℃ too cold or 90 ℉ too cold for me or my worms😂 But you are a compost maniac so I fully understand why you chose that temperature to start your worm bin! (or maybe you didn't want to wait until spring ✔) I appreciate your kind words!! I have my Jason & Coleen vermicompost experiments "FOR THE WIN" library building!! Happy Easter to you and your family!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost let's go Patrick!! We're off tomorrow for 2 weeks !! Coldest spring on record. Sink or swim time for our babies. There all out in the garden unprotected lol. Can't wait to see what happens in a couple weeks. Never prayed for rain before 🤣🤣🤣 Won't be on Yubtub much but will be watching for your updates every 7.96 days ;) Cheers Brother!!
I really appreciate your videos. I tried to start A worm been years ago but I listen to some idiot on the Internet and all my worms ended up in the living room floor dead. Now I have a small worm bin and they are loving it. Only one worm has ever attempted escape. It’s probably about 300 to 400 worms in my bin now.
Thank you!! That's great your small worm bin is thriving!! I had a similar situation with my very first worm bin years ago...let's just say I learned ammonia smell coming from a worm bin is a big warning sign that things are not going well😂 Thanks so much for watching and telling us about your experience with your worm bins!!🪱🪱🪱
@6:48 That was one loooooong worm at the bottom of the screen!! I guess it was sniffin' and stretchin'. Interesting critters. I love your videos!! The more I watch the more I (might) want to start a worm bin 😁
I love your channel and how you show us the ins and outs of your business!! Plus the read outs from your vermicompost lab tests were off the charts!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks AJ!! I must have done alright if the Worm Tip Master gives me a compliment!! Thanks so much for watching!! Great to see you on @martysgarden 🪱🪱🪱
Thank you!!! I appreciate that coming from your combined 87 years or worm farming😂!! You may be the longest running experienced worm farmer I follow!! Good eye on that lucky number 613!! I had a feeling I missed one!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a wonderful weekend!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost 87 years 🤬🤬😡🤬🤬 Just how old do you think I am 😂😂😂. You have an awesome weekend too. Make sure you're in bed before the Easter Bunny comes 😳
My tip would be for people to make sure that any cardboard they put through their shredder has no coating on it at all, otherwise they will be picking little bits of plastic out of their castings in a few months to prevent the plastic going to their garden! I learned this lesson the hard way.
That is a great tip!! I still find a few little bits of plastic that went through the shredder accidentally in some of my castings! Sometimes learning the hard way makes the most impact!! Thanks so much fro stopping by to watch & pass on a new worm bin tip!!🪱🪱🪱
Probably the most succinct and informative video out there on building these. I do like the nested design that drains and catches the leachate though. I might also try a thin layer of potting soil at the bottom of my bin.
Thank you for the kind words!! I agree, I think the bins that drain are the best designs as well!! I have two other bins, one is a worm tower that drains and an outdoor worm bin made of two fabric grow pots, one inside the other, which also drains. A thin layer of potting soil is a great idea as well, I haven't tried that!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and passing on that great tip!!🪱🪱🪱
Sure thing! I'm a total noob to this, and haven't tried out the potting soil yet, but I saw it on another video and seemed like an improvement over the bare plastic bottom. I figured the worms might like an alternative substrate with a little more moisture retention/less interstitial space than my cardboard chunks.
Thank you Peggy!! I'll be heading over to check out your latest "Meals on Wheels" bin in a few!! Thanks so much for watching & leaving a nice comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Worms never have a problem taking to a bin with a layer of bedding, then a layer of compost, and then more bedding on top. Compost has all the beneficial microbes to get them started right.
I could not agree more!! That is a great way to start off a bin!! I actually add compost to my outdoor worm bin every couple of months to add different microbial activity to the bin. Here is a video I did on the topic if you are interested: th-cam.com/video/y6pJgA-Lr5A/w-d-xo.html Thanks so much for watching and for your awesome tip that so many will find useful to get started!!🪱🪱🪱
Hellooooooo wormie friend!!! 🪱🪱🪱 That was so helpful info on the amount of bedding and consistency you want!! Yes awesome info on checking the strawberries for signs of life and whether you’re over feeding 😁👏 Yeah I love my worm tower but I haven’t tried anything else yet, I would like to try those grow bags as a bin like what you have, I think that would be cool! Wow Patrick so much awesome info on there my friend! Learnt a lot from this one!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge my friend 👏👏🙌🏼🙌🏼🌻🌻 take care!!
Hellooo!! And Happy Easter Weekend!! Thank you so much for your kind words!! I do really like the grow bags for ease of use and their flexibility in being a worm bin or nothing at all folded up & put away, back to being a pot for growing veggies etc. there ability to have just the right of moisture is rivaled only by a worm tower!! It is so good to see your comment!! Have a great weekend!!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you!! I love how you show us all the ins and outs of the care and feeding of your worms! I know your worms are top notch and you take care of your customers!! Yay, a sale!!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for the tips! I just started my second bin with 500 red wigglers and they are doing so well. I fed them a mixture of slow and fast foods, then after watching this video I wondered if I overfed them. Checked the bin and the food was gone in less than a week. They must've been hungry!
That's fantastic!! If they ate everything within 7 days you are in great shape to add a little more each feeding until you see a little leftovers and find their limits. Hungry worms are good worms!! The last time I ran this tiny bin I overfed them early on and had a couple of mite population blooms, so I'm taking them back to square one!! They have to prove to me they will eat everything on their plate😂 Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your new hungry worms!!🪱🪱🪱
Jason and his Death Star worm ball pointed me in your direction 😁😂. I'm considering starting a bin. What temp range do these guys need to stay at? Btw glad to see you wearing a glove, Im sooo wearing gloves 😁.
😂🤣😂When I saw him take a drill to an Avocado to make his Death Star Worm Ball I burst out laughing!! Thank you so much for coming over from his channel to visit! Red Wigglers are the most versatile compost worm and they are comfortable from 85 degrees Fahrenheit down to low 50’s. They can survive a little higher and considerable lower than that!! My next video in a couple of days demonstrates the upper end of that comfort range. I’m so glad you stopped by to watch, thank you!!!🪱🪱🪱
One time I turned an old fridge into a big worm bin. This was my first bin. I bought 1k worms. They all ran away because my wife an I eat a lot of lemons and limes and onions and worms don't seem to like the acidic stuff
That's a good idea turning an old fridge into a worm bin!! With citrus and onions I tend to go light compared to the number of worms in my bin. For my outdoor 6000 red wiggler worm bin I might put in a few small pieces of onion and half a peel of citrus cut up. I can totally understand your predicament...It's easy to overwhelm a bin with that stuff. Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your first worm bin!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you so much!! I really like worm towers and bins that shed moisture such as my outdoor worm bin made of 20 gallon fabric pots: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html ...So I think a DIY worm tower made of stacked 5 gallon buckets would be great! It would certainly be cheaper and could be made of materials that would most likely be thrown away like pickle buckets that a lot of restaurants throw away but would rather give away. Things I would be concerned with...The bottom bucket, I assume would collect water (or perhaps would have holes in it and set directly on the ground outside). This water would need to be drained fairly often or as one gets better at running a worm bin, at least checked every few days to make sure water is not pooling there. In my worm tower there are a lot of air gaps through the system but buckets inside each other seem to get a tight seal and lack of oxygen would make this water rancid fast! The holes between each bucket should be around 1/4 inch, large enough to let worms up and down but small enough so that castings and bedding aren't falling through when you take the buckets on and off to harvest etc. The holes in my VermiHut Worm Tower are 1/4 inch: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV0_jVcRI9rI5xnbAFqNP3WZ_.html I would also have a lot of holes in the bottom of the bucket so they are free to go up and down without having worm traffic bottle necks 😀 Finally the trays in my worm tower are pretty shallow, a 5 gallon buck is relatively deep and the air within it will be stagnant...carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen so if you leave your buckets alone for weeks on end you could get an oxygen poor environment built up and that will not be good for the worms. All these issues are easily mitigated with more holes drilled in (and perhaps covered with screen) and more airflow around your bins ie. not put in a closet somewhere with stagnant air. Just my thoughts!! I have not built nor do I own a 5 gallon bucket system but I store my castings in them and have a VermiHut Worm tower I purchased. I think any thing you can do DIY is fantastic if you can construct it well!! 5 gallon buckets are usually made of harder plastic than totes so they will hold up well for a worm bin!! I hope this helps!! Please let me know if you make one and how it works out!! Thanks so much for watching!!!🪱🪱🪱
I have compost in a bin that already started rhe decomposing process on my counter. I also have Guinea pig poo fresh and older in compost w orchard grass hay and alfalfa hay. Should I feed my new worms this or fresh food or fresh frozen food right after cooking and having the scraps? I cAn grab the Guinea pig poo at any given time from the cages in the same room as the worm tower. Please advise.
Great question!! Unfortunately I don't have any experience with Guinea Pig poo in my worm bins, However there are several forums online where people discussing using their Guinea Pigs' poop and bedding in their bins. I would search those out and see if they took any special considerations like aging the poop or making sure the bedding didn't have any microbe killing pesticides or dewormers given to the animals. If your bin is just starting out a handful of compost would be great to boost the microbial life in the bin. You could continue to add it in small quantities to see how your bin reacts as the weeks go on. I would stick to frozen veggies/fruits and/or cooked then frozen veggies fruits (hold the salt, worms won't like that!) until you bin gets well established, a couple of months, then start experimenting with the Guinea Pig poop and more compost. Compost worms live in compost but they can go to the parts where the compost is ready for them...Which is why I advise on holding off on putting to much in...you could accidentally overwhelm a bin with acidic or fermenting/ammonia producing compost depending on how aged or what you put in it. I hope this helps! Thanks for the questions!! And thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Yeah, can't wait to see how Season 3 of the Tiny Wormbin turns out! :D Two questions: What's the "net" you use to cover the holes called? I tried to understand and re-listened some times, but I just can't understand it acoustically as someone whose native language isn't English. And the second question is about the tape. Does it get a little bit loose when there's more moisture? Or do the worms try to crawl beneath it in the curvy parts of the bin? Those are the questions that kept me from getting a DIY style bin, don't know why I didn't ask sooner. :D
Thanks for staying tuned for "Season 3"!!! The word I used for the "net" is "lanai screen." In Florida many of us have screens encapsulating our back porches and pool deck areas to keep the flying insects away and to keep children from falling in if we don't have fences. We commonly refer to them as lanais, so I call it lanai screen. It is also similar to the screen that is placed on window frames to keep out bugs as well. It is super cheap and found in any hardware store around here. The holes are about as small as mosquito nets but it holds its shape as it is a more firm. The tape I used is duct tape and after almost a year, I haven't had any corners or edges of the tape get loose and no worms have gotten stuck!! I agree though, any other tape would have issues!! I've also seen people use glue. Of course your Wurmkiste bin looks so classy, any DIY bin would have a tough time competing for "favorite worm bin" honors in your house!! Thanks so much for watching and for the great questions!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you for sharing! This is very useful. There is a lady by me which sells the red wigglers for $25 for 100. If i start with 100 worms, can i do the same thing? or should I only use 1/2 a strawberry top? How long would it take for the 100 worms to multiply to 600?
Thank you!! I'm so glad you found this video useful!! This bin has been through a couple of harvests and the first time I started it, I started with only 50-100 red wigglers!! After 5 months I had 492. I harvested the castings and restarted it right away with the 492 worms and 5 months later I had 612...So I think the worms reached their carrying capacity (or max population) of about 600 in this 3 gallon, very small bin at the 6-7 month time frame. I think 1 strawberry top or 1/2 a strawberry top will be perfect as long as you have a lot of shredded cardboard bedding since they eat both. After a week if they have consumed it all give them 2 strawberry tops until you get the feel for how quickly they eat. 100 worms will work fine to start in a bin this size but any bigger and I would want to start with 500 or more. I know the price of worms has gone up but once you get your 100 worms settled and eating, they will reproduce fast. Eventually another bigger bin will allow your population to expand rapidly as the population growth becomes exponential!! My outdoor bin, which had 5000-6000 worms before I gave 2000 away to a neighbor, was started with just 90 worms!! It did that rapid growth in just over a year!! Here is the playlist for that bin: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html I hope this helps!! I think you are really gonna enjoy worm farming and the castings it brings!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
I started my worms with compost and a bit of dead weeds instead of cardboard. Will they be alright with this? I totally gave them an apple core at first, but they have strawberry tops, too. 💀
Great question!! I think aged compost is good to start with to help boost microbes. But if you just started the bin or have less than a couple hundred worms, I would stick to adding shredded cardboard and/or finely shredded leaves with each feeding and just a few strawberry tops and maybe some lettuce. If they haven't eaten the weeds or apple core yet, you can take that out and give them that type of food in a couple months when you get used to how much they eat. Soft juicy foods like little pieces of melon, or high moisture content foods like lettuce are better at the beginning until you get used to how much they eat. Once the microbial count gets going having a good mix of slow (apples pieces) and fast (strawberries, lettuce, melon) foods makes for a good worm bin feeding! In the beginning, less food is better, check on them every 5-7 days and see how they did with the feeding and slowly increase it adding more carbon bedding each time. I hope this helps!! Your worms will be eating all kinds of food and populating like crazy in no time!!! Thanks so much for watching!!
@@Vermicompost Thank you so much for your reply! That was super informative and beyond helpful. I went and added a shredded paper bag for the worms. The fruit part of the strawberry tops is already gone. They're fast! I'll give them some time to eat the apple core and the weeds before I feed them more. The compost I used is ridiculously aged. It's from this bag of leaf mold that's been sitting outside for probably five years at this point. I kinda just haven't gotten around to using the last of it until now. I've been so excited about this worm bin, my friends are starting to think worms are my favorite animal. 🪱🪱🪱
@@sensorymode6261 🤣😂That sounds a lot like me, super excited about my worm bins and my family thinks worms are my favorite animal!! That leaf mold compost is fantastic!! Your bin is in great shape with everything you are doing! Can't wait to hear how it's going in a few months!!🪱🪱🪱
That is a great question!!! There are several things that will happen in the short term and long term so I'll try to cover what I've experienced. If you over feed, the food scraps you give will probably give off more moisture than the bin can absorb, this will most likely lead to pockets of lack of airflow and aerobic activity. Many "bad for worms and bad for humans" microbes grow under lack of oxygen or anaerobic conditions. You can tell if your bin has anaerobic activity in it because it will smell like ammonia or rotten food. A properly fed worm bin never smells bad...It will smell like the forest floor or like the forest smells right after it rains. Eventually the will try to get away from the pockets of anaerobic activity and could try to flee the bin and escape. The other thing that can happen with overfeeding are population blooms of pot worms, mites, springtails or other normally helpful worm bin arthropods. This typically happens a few weeks after the bin is overfeed. These bin critters increase their populations as they find more food due to the over feeding. When you eventually get the overfeeding under control the increased numbers then start competing with the worms for food. I've seen all of these things happen in worm bins and I have some videos for what it looks like: This one shows mite overgrowth: th-cam.com/video/As9LNdmjUIU/w-d-xo.html and this one shows pot worm overgrowth: th-cam.com/video/V5N_0cfXAyU/w-d-xo.html I hope this helps!! Thanks for watching and for the great question!!🪱🪱🪱
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
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
It's just that easy! Every household needs at least one worm bin. No matter the size!
Dee!!! YES!! I totally agree x 1000 Thanks so much for dropping by to watch...I see you just released a new worm video!!! Heading over now!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost I'll see you there 👍
I'm glad the tiny bin is back.
Thanks!! Round 3 should be a fun one!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!🪱🪱🪱
This video has answered something that really puzzled me : I put in a fresh watermelon shell into the bin, there was a bit of flesh sticking to it. In no time at all, the worms were in there having an orgy. But 3 days later they all started to desert the melon and by day 4 it was yesterday's fashionable hotspot (nobody, but nobody would be seen dead in that place anymore). I was puzzled because I thought it would be more popular as it started to decay. I didn't check for heat and the weather is hot for the UK and now I know what the problem was. Thanks.
I’m so glad the video helped you out!! I know you all had a really bad heat wave over there a couple weeks back!! I learn so much from my worms all the time!! They are such fascinating creatures!! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch my video!!🪱🪱🪱
Let's go !! Saved this video to !! Got quite the Patrick library building!!
Whoops I ticked every box on what you shouldn't do. Plus the bonus on started it in minus 20° 🤣🤣🤣
Hey they're not dead !!
Awesomeness, we'll be referencing this a lot !!
Great clear, concise and confident information!!
Cheers Patrick
Have a great Easter weekend you 5 !!
Jason and Colleen ✒️📃🌱🪱👑
Minus 20 is about 40℃ too cold or 90 ℉ too cold for me or my worms😂 But you are a compost maniac so I fully understand why you chose that temperature to start your worm bin! (or maybe you didn't want to wait until spring ✔) I appreciate your kind words!! I have my Jason & Coleen vermicompost experiments "FOR THE WIN" library building!! Happy Easter to you and your family!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost let's go Patrick!! We're off tomorrow for 2 weeks !! Coldest spring on record. Sink or swim time for our babies. There all out in the garden unprotected lol. Can't wait to see what happens in a couple weeks. Never prayed for rain before 🤣🤣🤣
Won't be on Yubtub much but will be watching for your updates every 7.96 days ;)
Cheers Brother!!
So beautiful sharing 😍
Thank you so much!! I'm glad you liked it!!🪱🪱🪱
I really appreciate your videos. I tried to start A worm been years ago but I listen to some idiot on the Internet and all my worms ended up in the living room floor dead. Now I have a small worm bin and they are loving it. Only one worm has ever attempted escape. It’s probably about 300 to 400 worms in my bin now.
Thank you!! That's great your small worm bin is thriving!! I had a similar situation with my very first worm bin years ago...let's just say I learned ammonia smell coming from a worm bin is a big warning sign that things are not going well😂 Thanks so much for watching and telling us about your experience with your worm bins!!🪱🪱🪱
@6:48 That was one loooooong worm at the bottom of the screen!! I guess it was sniffin' and stretchin'. Interesting critters. I love your videos!! The more I watch the more I (might) want to start a worm bin 😁
😂 you should give it a try!! It is fun and easy!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Thank you for the shout out 🥰
I love your channel and how you show us the ins and outs of your business!! Plus the read outs from your vermicompost lab tests were off the charts!!🪱🪱🪱
Great worm bin tips.
Thanks AJ!! I must have done alright if the Worm Tip Master gives me a compliment!! Thanks so much for watching!! Great to see you on @martysgarden 🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Lol. It was a great livestream. Thank you for stopping by. 😎
I saw 613 wiggling down I demand a recount 😤😤!
But other than that, this was an awesome video. Perfect for someone new to worms
Thank you!!! I appreciate that coming from your combined 87 years or worm farming😂!! You may be the longest running experienced worm farmer I follow!! Good eye on that lucky number 613!! I had a feeling I missed one!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! Have a wonderful weekend!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost 87 years 🤬🤬😡🤬🤬 Just how old do you think I am
😂😂😂. You have an awesome weekend too. Make sure you're in bed before the Easter Bunny comes 😳
@@connecticutwormsgardens Add all the years of your bins lives individually, no overlapping…it is probably more than 87 years!! Have a Happy Easter!!
My tip would be for people to make sure that any cardboard they put through their shredder has no coating on it at all, otherwise they will be picking little bits of plastic out of their castings in a few months to prevent the plastic going to their garden! I learned this lesson the hard way.
That is a great tip!! I still find a few little bits of plastic that went through the shredder accidentally in some of my castings! Sometimes learning the hard way makes the most impact!! Thanks so much fro stopping by to watch & pass on a new worm bin tip!!🪱🪱🪱
Probably the most succinct and informative video out there on building these. I do like the nested design that drains and catches the leachate though. I might also try a thin layer of potting soil at the bottom of my bin.
Thank you for the kind words!! I agree, I think the bins that drain are the best designs as well!! I have two other bins, one is a worm tower that drains and an outdoor worm bin made of two fabric grow pots, one inside the other, which also drains. A thin layer of potting soil is a great idea as well, I haven't tried that!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch and passing on that great tip!!🪱🪱🪱
Sure thing! I'm a total noob to this, and haven't tried out the potting soil yet, but I saw it on another video and seemed like an improvement over the bare plastic bottom. I figured the worms might like an alternative substrate with a little more moisture retention/less interstitial space than my cardboard chunks.
@@muscovyducks Absolutely! I'm always up for trying new things!!
Great tips for new vermicomposters. 🪱😁🪱
Thank you!! I wish I had some one waring me about the perils of overfeeding when I started out!!🪱🪱🪱 Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!!!
Nice job Patrick 🪱💓🪱
Excellent tutorial 👌
Thank you Peggy!! I'll be heading over to check out your latest "Meals on Wheels" bin in a few!! Thanks so much for watching & leaving a nice comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for this video from the beginning..I have learned so much from this one...
Thank you!! I'm so glad you found it informative!! I love learning how to take care of so many flowers and plants on your channel!!🪱🪱🪱
Very good thx sharing this information
Thank you!! I'm so glad you found it informative!! Thanks so much taking the time to watch & comment!!🪱🪱🪱
Worms never have a problem taking to a bin with a layer of bedding, then a layer of compost, and then more bedding on top. Compost has all the beneficial microbes to get them started right.
I could not agree more!! That is a great way to start off a bin!! I actually add compost to my outdoor worm bin every couple of months to add different microbial activity to the bin. Here is a video I did on the topic if you are interested: th-cam.com/video/y6pJgA-Lr5A/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much for watching and for your awesome tip that so many will find useful to get started!!🪱🪱🪱
Very informative, bravo
Thank you!! That really means a lot coming from an expert like you!! I appreciate you stopping by to watch & comment!! 🪱🪱🪱
Hellooooooo wormie friend!!! 🪱🪱🪱 That was so helpful info on the amount of bedding and consistency you want!!
Yes awesome info on checking the strawberries for signs of life and whether you’re over feeding 😁👏
Yeah I love my worm tower but I haven’t tried anything else yet, I would like to try those grow bags as a bin like what you have, I think that would be cool!
Wow Patrick so much awesome info on there my friend! Learnt a lot from this one!! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge my friend 👏👏🙌🏼🙌🏼🌻🌻 take care!!
Hellooo!! And Happy Easter Weekend!! Thank you so much for your kind words!! I do really like the grow bags for ease of use and their flexibility in being a worm bin or nothing at all folded up & put away, back to being a pot for growing veggies etc. there ability to have just the right of moisture is rivaled only by a worm tower!! It is so good to see your comment!! Have a great weekend!!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost right back at ya my friend!!! 💐🌻🌷
Nice demo! 👍🏻
Thanks AV!! I really appreciate that coming from the godfather of worm videos!!!!🪱🪱🪱
Haha - if only! :)
Great tips!!!! Great video!!! Thank you for the mention, I’m having a sale right now☺️
Thank you!! I love how you show us all the ins and outs of the care and feeding of your worms! I know your worms are top notch and you take care of your customers!! Yay, a sale!!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱
Thanks for the tips! I just started my second bin with 500 red wigglers and they are doing so well. I fed them a mixture of slow and fast foods, then after watching this video I wondered if I overfed them. Checked the bin and the food was gone in less than a week. They must've been hungry!
That's fantastic!! If they ate everything within 7 days you are in great shape to add a little more each feeding until you see a little leftovers and find their limits. Hungry worms are good worms!!
The last time I ran this tiny bin I overfed them early on and had a couple of mite population blooms, so I'm taking them back to square one!! They have to prove to me they will eat everything on their plate😂 Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your new hungry worms!!🪱🪱🪱
Jason and his Death Star worm ball pointed me in your direction 😁😂. I'm considering starting a bin. What temp range do these guys need to stay at? Btw glad to see you wearing a glove, Im sooo wearing gloves 😁.
😂🤣😂When I saw him take a drill to an Avocado to make his Death Star Worm Ball I burst out laughing!! Thank you so much for coming over from his channel to visit! Red Wigglers are the most versatile compost worm and they are comfortable from 85 degrees Fahrenheit down to low 50’s. They can survive a little higher and considerable lower than that!! My next video in a couple of days demonstrates the upper end of that comfort range. I’m so glad you stopped by to watch, thank you!!!🪱🪱🪱
One time I turned an old fridge into a big worm bin. This was my first bin. I bought 1k worms. They all ran away because my wife an I eat a lot of lemons and limes and onions and worms don't seem to like the acidic stuff
That's a good idea turning an old fridge into a worm bin!! With citrus and onions I tend to go light compared to the number of worms in my bin. For my outdoor 6000 red wiggler worm bin I might put in a few small pieces of onion and half a peel of citrus cut up. I can totally understand your predicament...It's easy to overwhelm a bin with that stuff. Thanks so much for watching and letting us know about your first worm bin!!🪱🪱🪱
Great Vid! What are your thoughts on DIY stacked 5 gallon bucket worm towers?
Thank you so much!! I really like worm towers and bins that shed moisture such as my outdoor worm bin made of 20 gallon fabric pots: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html ...So I think a DIY worm tower made of stacked 5 gallon buckets would be great! It would certainly be cheaper and could be made of materials that would most likely be thrown away like pickle buckets that a lot of restaurants throw away but would rather give away. Things I would be concerned with...The bottom bucket, I assume would collect water (or perhaps would have holes in it and set directly on the ground outside). This water would need to be drained fairly often or as one gets better at running a worm bin, at least checked every few days to make sure water is not pooling there. In my worm tower there are a lot of air gaps through the system but buckets inside each other seem to get a tight seal and lack of oxygen would make this water rancid fast! The holes between each bucket should be around 1/4 inch, large enough to let worms up and down but small enough so that castings and bedding aren't falling through when you take the buckets on and off to harvest etc. The holes in my VermiHut Worm Tower are 1/4 inch: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV0_jVcRI9rI5xnbAFqNP3WZ_.html
I would also have a lot of holes in the bottom of the bucket so they are free to go up and down without having worm traffic bottle necks 😀 Finally the trays in my worm tower are pretty shallow, a 5 gallon buck is relatively deep and the air within it will be stagnant...carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen so if you leave your buckets alone for weeks on end you could get an oxygen poor environment built up and that will not be good for the worms. All these issues are easily mitigated with more holes drilled in (and perhaps covered with screen) and more airflow around your bins ie. not put in a closet somewhere with stagnant air. Just my thoughts!! I have not built nor do I own a 5 gallon bucket system but I store my castings in them and have a VermiHut Worm tower I purchased. I think any thing you can do DIY is fantastic if you can construct it well!! 5 gallon buckets are usually made of harder plastic than totes so they will hold up well for a worm bin!! I hope this helps!! Please let me know if you make one and how it works out!! Thanks so much for watching!!!🪱🪱🪱
I have compost in a bin that already started rhe decomposing process on my counter. I also have Guinea pig poo fresh and older in compost w orchard grass hay and alfalfa hay. Should I feed my new worms this or fresh food or fresh frozen food right after cooking and having the scraps? I cAn grab the Guinea pig poo at any given time from the cages in the same room as the worm tower. Please advise.
Great question!! Unfortunately I don't have any experience with Guinea Pig poo in my worm bins, However there are several forums online where people discussing using their Guinea Pigs' poop and bedding in their bins. I would search those out and see if they took any special considerations like aging the poop or making sure the bedding didn't have any microbe killing pesticides or dewormers given to the animals. If your bin is just starting out a handful of compost would be great to boost the microbial life in the bin. You could continue to add it in small quantities to see how your bin reacts as the weeks go on. I would stick to frozen veggies/fruits and/or cooked then frozen veggies fruits (hold the salt, worms won't like that!) until you bin gets well established, a couple of months, then start experimenting with the Guinea Pig poop and more compost. Compost worms live in compost but they can go to the parts where the compost is ready for them...Which is why I advise on holding off on putting to much in...you could accidentally overwhelm a bin with acidic or fermenting/ammonia producing compost depending on how aged or what you put in it. I hope this helps! Thanks for the questions!! And thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
Yeah, can't wait to see how Season 3 of the Tiny Wormbin turns out! :D Two questions: What's the "net" you use to cover the holes called? I tried to understand and re-listened some times, but I just can't understand it acoustically as someone whose native language isn't English. And the second question is about the tape. Does it get a little bit loose when there's more moisture? Or do the worms try to crawl beneath it in the curvy parts of the bin? Those are the questions that kept me from getting a DIY style bin, don't know why I didn't ask sooner. :D
Thanks for staying tuned for "Season 3"!!! The word I used for the "net" is "lanai screen." In Florida many of us have screens encapsulating our back porches and pool deck areas to keep the flying insects away and to keep children from falling in if we don't have fences. We commonly refer to them as lanais, so I call it lanai screen. It is also similar to the screen that is placed on window frames to keep out bugs as well. It is super cheap and found in any hardware store around here. The holes are about as small as mosquito nets but it holds its shape as it is a more firm. The tape I used is duct tape and after almost a year, I haven't had any corners or edges of the tape get loose and no worms have gotten stuck!! I agree though, any other tape would have issues!! I've also seen people use glue. Of course your Wurmkiste bin looks so classy, any DIY bin would have a tough time competing for "favorite worm bin" honors in your house!! Thanks so much for watching and for the great questions!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Oh this brings me back to reruns of the Golden girls. They would always go out on the Lanai 😂😂
@@Vermicompost Thanks for the explanation! Guess I'll have to go shopping soon. :D
Another option is a reusable shopping bag that’s breathable. I’d probably cut bigger holes in the lid though.
Thank you for sharing! This is very useful. There is a lady by me which sells the red wigglers for $25 for 100. If i start with 100 worms, can i do the same thing? or should I only use 1/2 a strawberry top? How long would it take for the 100 worms to multiply to 600?
Thank you!! I'm so glad you found this video useful!! This bin has been through a couple of harvests and the first time I started it, I started with only 50-100 red wigglers!! After 5 months I had 492. I harvested the castings and restarted it right away with the 492 worms and 5 months later I had 612...So I think the worms reached their carrying capacity (or max population) of about 600 in this 3 gallon, very small bin at the 6-7 month time frame. I think 1 strawberry top or 1/2 a strawberry top will be perfect as long as you have a lot of shredded cardboard bedding since they eat both. After a week if they have consumed it all give them 2 strawberry tops until you get the feel for how quickly they eat. 100 worms will work fine to start in a bin this size but any bigger and I would want to start with 500 or more. I know the price of worms has gone up but once you get your 100 worms settled and eating, they will reproduce fast. Eventually another bigger bin will allow your population to expand rapidly as the population growth becomes exponential!! My outdoor bin, which had 5000-6000 worms before I gave 2000 away to a neighbor, was started with just 90 worms!! It did that rapid growth in just over a year!! Here is the playlist for that bin: th-cam.com/play/PLimznaPXKV08Y-7OifhRa_JBH0b5-nR-O.html
I hope this helps!! I think you are really gonna enjoy worm farming and the castings it brings!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱
@@Vermicompost Thank you so much!!
I started my worms with compost and a bit of dead weeds instead of cardboard. Will they be alright with this? I totally gave them an apple core at first, but they have strawberry tops, too. 💀
Great question!! I think aged compost is good to start with to help boost microbes. But if you just started the bin or have less than a couple hundred worms, I would stick to adding shredded cardboard and/or finely shredded leaves with each feeding and just a few strawberry tops and maybe some lettuce. If they haven't eaten the weeds or apple core yet, you can take that out and give them that type of food in a couple months when you get used to how much they eat. Soft juicy foods like little pieces of melon, or high moisture content foods like lettuce are better at the beginning until you get used to how much they eat. Once the microbial count gets going having a good mix of slow (apples pieces) and fast (strawberries, lettuce, melon) foods makes for a good worm bin feeding! In the beginning, less food is better, check on them every 5-7 days and see how they did with the feeding and slowly increase it adding more carbon bedding each time. I hope this helps!! Your worms will be eating all kinds of food and populating like crazy in no time!!! Thanks so much for watching!!
@@Vermicompost Thank you so much for your reply! That was super informative and beyond helpful. I went and added a shredded paper bag for the worms. The fruit part of the strawberry tops is already gone. They're fast! I'll give them some time to eat the apple core and the weeds before I feed them more.
The compost I used is ridiculously aged. It's from this bag of leaf mold that's been sitting outside for probably five years at this point. I kinda just haven't gotten around to using the last of it until now.
I've been so excited about this worm bin, my friends are starting to think worms are my favorite animal. 🪱🪱🪱
@@sensorymode6261 🤣😂That sounds a lot like me, super excited about my worm bins and my family thinks worms are my favorite animal!! That leaf mold compost is fantastic!! Your bin is in great shape with everything you are doing! Can't wait to hear how it's going in a few months!!🪱🪱🪱
What happens if ya over feed?
That is a great question!!! There are several things that will happen in the short term and long term so I'll try to cover what I've experienced. If you over feed, the food scraps you give will probably give off more moisture than the bin can absorb, this will most likely lead to pockets of lack of airflow and aerobic activity. Many "bad for worms and bad for humans" microbes grow under lack of oxygen or anaerobic conditions. You can tell if your bin has anaerobic activity in it because it will smell like ammonia or rotten food. A properly fed worm bin never smells bad...It will smell like the forest floor or like the forest smells right after it rains. Eventually the will try to get away from the pockets of anaerobic activity and could try to flee the bin and escape. The other thing that can happen with overfeeding are population blooms of pot worms, mites, springtails or other normally helpful worm bin arthropods. This typically happens a few weeks after the bin is overfeed. These bin critters increase their populations as they find more food due to the over feeding. When you eventually get the overfeeding under control the increased numbers then start competing with the worms for food. I've seen all of these things happen in worm bins and I have some videos for what it looks like: This one shows mite overgrowth: th-cam.com/video/As9LNdmjUIU/w-d-xo.html and this one shows pot worm overgrowth: th-cam.com/video/V5N_0cfXAyU/w-d-xo.html
I hope this helps!! Thanks for watching and for the great question!!🪱🪱🪱