In the autumn I pile leaves on my vegetable garden about two feet deep. In the spring these leaves are matted together into a six inch layer of wet leaves. I pull these into the corners to expose the soil for planting. These piles in the corners are used during the growing season to mulch the vegetables. By June the earthworms have populated the leaf piles heavily. The piles become a mixture of worm castings and leaves. By August the leaves are pretty much gone and I'm eagerly waiting for the autumn leaf drop. I get the benefits of the worm bin without any special care for the worms.
Do you have an outside bin too? If so how do you insulated from extreme cold and extreme heat? I have a small indoor bin in my office. My challenge of expanding my workers is space, being a small house and no basement. So do little bit of vermicompsting, the rest hot compost outside when the weather breaks. My holding and for my hot compost is approaching full and its -15 out currently😅 love your channel
My outside bin just lives near the house. I fill it with leaves and food and hope for the best. Last year it was ok. I'm with you at negative 15. Fingers crossed 👍🏼🪱😀
Thanks to you, I have started my own vermicomposting with a 55 gallon barrel cut length wise using the two halves separately. I call them “Blue’s Brothers.” 😂. Love your channel!
We're keeping ours in a Styrofoam cooler. Seems to be working OK. I went to flip our leaf mold, completely frozen solid 😂 Better weather a coming 🤞 Cheers Ann 🌱🤞👍👍👍👍👍👍
Hello again. Regarding cardboard: if the packing tape is removed but the cardboard is still sticky or gummy, would you feed the cardboard to the worms? Thank you again in advance. I look forward to your new videos.
Please look in the description of the video of the list of books i have read and links to get them on Amazon. I dont usually have a lid so there are no need for holes for ventilation.
Decades ago I got scammed into going into the worm business. Not for plants but for food for Arabians. You won’t believe this but the scammer’s name was Crookshank. I had a 4’x8’x1’ bed full of thriving red wrigglers. However I live in Florida, the lightning capitol of the world, and in a thunderstorm one night, even though the bed had a cover over it, every single worm took a powder! How do you prevent that?
My ANC live in a zipped bag. Vermi bag lil mammoth. It's the only way I can contain them. Sometimes in a bad storm the little ones will come out of the teeth in the zipper. I'm not affiliated but it is an awesome product. 😃🪱👍🏼
I watch several channels to try and glean whatever info I can. The differences between the channels are many! Citrus is a no-no on some channels. The types of papers I use are brown paper and cardboard. I have a crosscut shredder which makes the paper about 1/4" square and crinkled. I cut up my fruits and veggies, get rid of hard pieces such as the top of banana peels and apple cores. I do not want to much decaying matter in my bins. My thought process being to avoid attracting flies. I end up with almost pure castings and cocoons.
great content, as usual. 🙂 I don't get to watch as much as I used to. Since we've gone commercial, there just isn't time! However, I do like to send my customers your way as you and only a couple of other channels are populated by worm people have channels as opposed to people who have channels and also have worms. There is a difference. Thanks for the huge help you have been to me along the way.
With the bio-mass of blue i bet african nc would be fine. I would experiment with a couple dozen and see how they do. Reminder wood fire pellets are cheap and a good substitute for coco coir when you are out. I add more eggshell to offset the acidity (i can only get pine pellets here).
@@reneebaranoski9576 yes Ann uses leaves but by this time in winter leaves are used up. For me I live in pine country there are very few leaf bearing trees where I live. Also I use a pellet stove to heat in winter and buy them by the ton. Just passing along a tip for those who need to save a dime as coco coir costs have almost doubled in 3 years.
I started raising worms in September of 2022. I now have 5 Rubbermaid Totes in varying stages working. The only reason I have so many is because I generate too many kitchen scraps for just the one bin. My red wiggler population seemed to really increase last summer so hopefully 5 bins will serve me from here on out. Over the past year I have harvested some castings but yesterday I completely sifted the 1st bin and got 5 gallons of castings. This was a timely video so I can keep those casting in good shape for garden season.
amzn.to/3wAoiKa is for the whole set. This is my Amazon link for the 1/4 inch I use all the time. amzn.to/4dvxv7h - Thank you for supporting the channel. If you use the link the channel gets a commission but the price is the same to you.
Another Interesting and Informative video. Thanks for all you do. On a side note, 65f is equal to 18.33c. I am fortunate that my worm area maintains 72f or 22.2c all winter long !
We use a 20 Pepsi bottle (others work, too. We just drink Diet Pepsi. 🙂) it off just below the shoulder of the bottle, pour in about an inch or two of apple cider vinegar. (White works, too, but not as well.) Add a drop or two of dish detergent to break the surface tension of the liquid.Turn the cut-off piece of the bottle upside down into the base of the bottle. Press it down gently to eliminate as much of the gap as possible. The flies get in, drawn by the scent of the vinegar and can't find their way out. Adding a small piece of spoiled fruit to the vinegar can be helpful at times, but not totally necessary. After a day or two, throw out the collected flies and vinegar. If you still have more flying about, repeat as necessary.
Good morning, Ann, from Windermere Florida zone 9b USA Watched completely and enjoyed thoroughly 👌 How are you surviving the winter? 52°F here this morning 🌄 Happy Casting Harvesting ❤ ❤Peggy❤
It is weather like I'm having now that makes people retire to Florida. Lol. It is so cold I have to use pee pads for my poor old pugs. They can't breathe in the super cold. It will pass in a few days. Thank you for watching. 👍🏼😊🪱
Hi Ann...i moisten my castings a little bit n cover it with cardboard on top. Check on them on and off n sometimes the cardboard is all disintergrated. I dont sell so i distribute the castings to neighbours. I do not like to have more than one bucket of castings. Am trying to grow tomatoes . I love veggy garden more than flowers he he. Take care u all.
Blue is looking good. I jump between the 1/8-1/4” screens. If drier I use the 1/8, a good moisture I go with the 1/4”. Unique feeding with the tea blocks. It will be neat to see what is left on the next checkin. 😁🪱
Hi Ann 🥶 Brrrrrrr 🥶 Oh Baby It's Cold Outside .. Here It's only going down to -15c this week . I store my castings in Tidy Cats litter buckets There 7.71kg =16lbs I have holes drilled all around the top edge I also sprinkle chow on top. Then wet newspaper Bubble wrap , shut the lid. And date it.. It stays perfectly moist. I fluff it every couple of months. So far I have 4 buckets full. I made a Tea last month. Using the oldest castings. I was looking for worms. I didn't find any. I put my castings in a mesh bag that zippers shut. 😂😅 It's a laundry bag made for a Bras..😅😂😂 24 hours of bubbling I found 3 tiny 🪱 🪱 🪱 I swear they hatch while Floating around. Molasses made them grow a tiny bit.. I was so shocked 😲 Cheers from Toronto
In the autumn I pile leaves on my vegetable garden about two feet deep. In the spring these leaves are matted together into a six inch layer of wet leaves. I pull these into the corners to expose the soil for planting. These piles in the corners are used during the growing season to mulch the vegetables. By June the earthworms have populated the leaf piles heavily. The piles become a mixture of worm castings and leaves. By August the leaves are pretty much gone and I'm eagerly waiting for the autumn leaf drop. I get the benefits of the worm bin without any special care for the worms.
I can't wait to get a new season of leaves. 👍🏼🪱😁
Do you have an outside bin too? If so how do you insulated from extreme cold and extreme heat? I have a small indoor bin in my office. My challenge of expanding my workers is space, being a small house and no basement. So do little bit of vermicompsting, the rest hot compost outside when the weather breaks. My holding and for my hot compost is approaching full and its -15 out currently😅 love your channel
My outside bin just lives near the house. I fill it with leaves and food and hope for the best. Last year it was ok. I'm with you at negative 15. Fingers crossed 👍🏼🪱😀
I take a lot of pleasure in watching you play in worm infested soil, cant really explain why 😂
Lol me too. 👍🏼😃🪱
Thanks to you, I have started my own vermicomposting with a 55 gallon barrel cut length wise using the two halves separately. I call them “Blue’s Brothers.” 😂. Love your channel!
Nice I love that. Blues brothers 💙💙🪱👍🏼😁
@PlantObsessed would a single barrell length be suitable for using the wedge method? would you have to leave it longer time to finish etc?
@@jaychet my ENC are in a single length. It is not as efficient getting the worms to move before I want to harvest but it does work
@@PlantObsessed is it better for a double length in your opinion? I have red wrigglers
Wheatkernels?
Blue is lovely as always! 😁💙
Lol I'm not sure it was a gift from my friend. Thank you 🙏👍🏼🪱😀
We're keeping ours in a Styrofoam cooler. Seems to be working OK.
I went to flip our leaf mold, completely frozen solid 😂
Better weather a coming 🤞
Cheers Ann 🌱🤞👍👍👍👍👍👍
We can make it. 👍🏼😀🪱🪴🪴
Hello again. Regarding cardboard: if the packing tape is removed but the cardboard is still sticky or gummy, would you feed the cardboard to the worms? Thank you again in advance. I look forward to your new videos.
Hi. Please show us how to make vermicomposting bin and where to drill hole for ventilation. What's the best book for the composting. Thanks
Please look in the description of the video of the list of books i have read and links to get them on Amazon. I dont usually have a lid so there are no need for holes for ventilation.
I don’t know how to keep them alive. I finally actually got some beautiful compost, but I didn’t know how to winter over it.
Outside the microbes go dormant and wake up in the spring 😀👍🏼🪱
Decades ago I got scammed into going into the worm business. Not for plants but for food for Arabians. You won’t believe this but the scammer’s name was Crookshank. I had a 4’x8’x1’ bed full of thriving red wrigglers. However I live in Florida, the lightning capitol of the world, and in a thunderstorm one night, even though the bed had a cover over it, every single worm took a powder! How do you prevent that?
My ANC live in a zipped bag. Vermi bag lil mammoth. It's the only way I can contain them. Sometimes in a bad storm the little ones will come out of the teeth in the zipper. I'm not affiliated but it is an awesome product. 😃🪱👍🏼
In the past, my castings were like concrete balls, lol. So glad to find your site.
I'm so glad I could be helpful.👍🏼😀🪱
Hi Ann,
I'm showering and listening a 2nd time. Great info 👍
Have a wonderful weekend 🇺🇸
❤Peggy❤
Thank you! You too!🪱😀👍🏼
I watch several channels to try and glean whatever info I can. The differences between the channels are many! Citrus is a no-no on some channels. The types of papers I use are brown paper and cardboard. I have a crosscut shredder which makes the paper about 1/4" square and crinkled. I cut up my fruits and veggies, get rid of hard pieces such as the top of banana peels and apple cores. I do not want to much decaying matter in my bins. My thought process being to avoid attracting flies. I end up with almost pure castings and cocoons.
That is 100%true no sifting needed🪱👍🏼😃
great content, as usual. 🙂 I don't get to watch as much as I used to. Since we've gone commercial, there just isn't time! However, I do like to send my customers your way as you and only a couple of other channels are populated by worm people have channels as opposed to people who have channels and also have worms. There is a difference. Thanks for the huge help you have been to me along the way.
Congratulations on going commercial. Thank you for the support. Good luck on your future endeavors.😁👍🏼🪱
Hi. Thanks for your videos. You showed a special scale that you use to weigh bins. Can you share the name/type/vendor of the scale? Thanks!!
amzn.to/3yiORnX is the Amazon link to the one I use. It is currently on sale. If you use this link the channel will get a small commission. :)
Hi I like your website can you tell me what bedding do you use I live in Sydney Australia. Many thanks Rob
Here is a good video on my prepared bedding.😁👍🏼🪱 th-cam.com/video/8EzLVtJrYQk/w-d-xo.html
With the bio-mass of blue i bet african nc would be fine. I would experiment with a couple dozen and see how they do. Reminder wood fire pellets are cheap and a good substitute for coco coir when you are out. I add more eggshell to offset the acidity (i can only get pine pellets here).
Thank you for the reminder. I'm putting them on my list now. 😁👍🏼🪱
Leaves are cheaper and come inoculated with beneficial microbes. Straw is nice as well if you can get stuff not tainted by persistent herbicide.
@@reneebaranoski9576 yes Ann uses leaves but by this time in winter leaves are used up. For me I live in pine country there are very few leaf bearing trees where I live. Also I use a pellet stove to heat in winter and buy them by the ton. Just passing along a tip for those who need to save a dime as coco coir costs have almost doubled in 3 years.
What is worm food made of? Do you make it yourself? What is a recipe?
th-cam.com/video/cW3Sof_iURs/w-d-xo.html. 👍🏼🪱😀
I started raising worms in September of 2022. I now have 5 Rubbermaid Totes in varying stages working. The only reason I have so many is because I generate too many kitchen scraps for just the one bin. My red wiggler population seemed to really increase last summer so hopefully 5 bins will serve me from here on out. Over the past year I have harvested some castings but yesterday I completely sifted the 1st bin and got 5 gallons of castings. This was a timely video so I can keep those casting in good shape for garden season.
Where can I purchase the screens? Hope they ship to Hawaii, thanks, Vivian
amzn.to/3wAoiKa is for the whole set. This is my Amazon link for the 1/4 inch I use all the time. amzn.to/4dvxv7h - Thank you for supporting the channel. If you use the link the channel gets a commission but the price is the same to you.
Your cork is holding up great :) My cork, over the past couple check-ins, appears to have made some noticeable progress in recent times
I'll check back in 5 years lol🪱👍🏼😁
Take your time. You could easily wait 8 or 10 if you like... :)
In winter I drop below 0 deg. How do you keep the worms alive ?
My worms are mostly inside. My outside worms are in a tote on the ground . They seem to go dormant and wake up in the spring.😀🪱👍🏼
9:14 65F is not 24C , it’s 18.something, 24C is a perfect 75F, but anyway nice worms.
Thanks for the save🪱😀👍🏼
No new video and no community post? 😳
Gets me worried...
Hope you're allright Ann? 💚
I'm ok. The ANC Video was corrupted so I couldn't post. I'll be back on track this week. 👍🏼🪱😀
My stored worm casting dried out. Should I just put them back in the worm bin and hope the worms rejuvenate them?
You can add moisture to correct it and add a few worms to the casting. They will fix it for you and you won't have to harvest it again. 👍🏼🪱😀
Another Interesting and Informative video. Thanks for all you do. On a side note, 65f is equal to 18.33c. I am fortunate that my worm area maintains 72f or 22.2c all winter long !
I'm sure they are very happy worms!!😀🪱👍🏼
The castings look great. I love the 1/8" screen.
Thank you. 😁🪱👍🏼
How many worms could you actually have in that bin at one givin time
I would think it will max out in the summer at 15# . If I fed more worm chow maybe I could get more.🪱😀👍🏼
It took 20 minutes of a 22 minute video to get to the stated point of the video.
Thank you for watching 😃🪱👍
How do you get read of fruit Flys because my bins are loaded with them in my basement
We use a 20 Pepsi bottle (others work, too. We just drink Diet Pepsi. 🙂) it off just below the shoulder of the bottle, pour in about an inch or two of apple cider vinegar. (White works, too, but not as well.) Add a drop or two of dish detergent to break the surface tension of the liquid.Turn the cut-off piece of the bottle upside down into the base of the bottle. Press it down gently to eliminate as much of the gap as possible.
The flies get in, drawn by the scent of the vinegar and can't find their way out. Adding a small piece of spoiled fruit to the vinegar can be helpful at times, but not totally necessary.
After a day or two, throw out the collected flies and vinegar. If you still have more flying about, repeat as necessary.
Here is a video to help. 🪱😊👍🏼
Will you talk more about how you use your castings on your bonsai?
Good idea. I'll add that in detail next time. Short story is that I add it to the soil. 🪱👍🏼😁
Do you drill holes in the bottom of Blue?
No holes. I just keep the moisture even by adding either wet or dry bedding.🪱👍🏼😀
What kind of bedding did you use?
th-cam.com/video/vizmWwtxJSU/w-d-xo.html 😀👍🏼🪱
awesome!
Thank you! Cheers!😀👍🏼🪱
Good morning, Ann, from Windermere Florida zone 9b USA
Watched completely and enjoyed thoroughly 👌
How are you surviving the winter?
52°F here this morning 🌄
Happy Casting Harvesting ❤
❤Peggy❤
It is weather like I'm having now that makes people retire to Florida. Lol. It is so cold I have to use pee pads for my poor old pugs. They can't breathe in the super cold. It will pass in a few days. Thank you for watching. 👍🏼😊🪱
Hi Ann...i moisten my castings a little bit n cover it with cardboard on top. Check on them on and off n sometimes the cardboard is all disintergrated. I dont sell so i distribute the castings to neighbours. I do not like to have more than one bucket of castings. Am trying to grow tomatoes . I love veggy garden more than flowers he he. Take care u all.
I give away some castings too. 👍🏼🪱😀
Awesome worm balls & cool look at how you store your castings & keep them moist! I never knew that about tea in the 1700’s!! So cool!!🪱🪱🪱
I hope the worms like it as much as the fish did in Boston lol 🪱👍🏼😀
Good worms. 🪱
Yes they are👍🏼🪱😊
Blue is looking good. I jump between the 1/8-1/4” screens. If drier I use the 1/8, a good moisture I go with the 1/4”. Unique feeding with the tea blocks. It will be neat to see what is left on the next checkin. 😁🪱
I wonder if I should have soaked them first. We will see.🪱👍🏼😀
Hi Ann
🥶 Brrrrrrr 🥶
Oh Baby It's Cold Outside ..
Here It's only going down to -15c this week .
I store my castings in Tidy Cats litter buckets
There 7.71kg =16lbs
I have holes drilled all around the top edge
I also sprinkle chow on top.
Then wet newspaper
Bubble wrap , shut the lid. And date it..
It stays perfectly moist.
I fluff it every couple of months.
So far I have 4 buckets full.
I made a Tea last month.
Using the oldest castings.
I was looking for worms.
I didn't find any.
I put my castings in a mesh bag that zippers shut.
😂😅 It's a laundry bag made for a Bras..😅😂😂
24 hours of bubbling
I found 3 tiny 🪱 🪱 🪱
I swear they hatch while
Floating around.
Molasses made them grow a tiny bit..
I was so shocked 😲
Cheers from Toronto
I like the idea of the news paper on the top and I agree those babies hatch fast. 👍🏼😊🪱