Stop doing these 3 things to be a better worm farmer

The Fastest worm bin to make castings -DIY worm bin

This bin is x3 ten-gallon totes I purchased at a big box store for about 7$ USD each. Today we get them harvested and restart the bin. They are the uncle Jim mix of red wigglers, blue worms and European night crawlers. To make the stack of 3 10 g/38l bin I placed ½ in (13mm) air holes in the sides of the totes and holes in the bottom of the top 2 layers for the worms and liquid to move throughout the bin. I drilled half inch holes and covered them with screen on the top layer upper walls. The middle layer has smaller holes. The lowest layer does not have holes in it. The middle layer of the worm bin has 1 sixteenth inch holes (3mm) drilled in the bottom. This layer was meant to only drain off liquid from overly wet food. The worms had their own plan and demanded I place bedding down there. I did and we have lived happily ever after. The top layer has 1 quarter inch holes drilled in the bottom to allow the worms to migrate down or up. This bin needs harvested about every 5 or 6 months.
I am an Amazon affiliate.
The items below are the Amazon affiliate links for the items I use in my wormery. I have read and recommend these books. The cost is the same to you, but the channel will be supported and get a small commission if purchases are made using the links.
pH meter TDS meter compo pack
Mesh bags to make worm tea
Coco coir Coco Bliss
Organic Kelp Fertilizer
Liquid Kelp
Unsulfured Black Strap molasses
Utility Tub - 26" X 20"
Aurora 18 sheet shredder
SE 5-Piece Set of Patented Stackable 13-¼” Sifting Pans - GP2-5 SET
SE Patented Stackable 13-1/4" Sifting Pan, 1/4" Mesh Screen - GP2-14
SE Patented Stackable 13-1/4" Sifting Pan, 1/8" Mesh Screen - GP2-18
SE Patented Stackable 13-1/4" Sifting Pan, Mesh Size 1/12" - GP2-112
Bon Tool 11-407 Utility Tub - 26" X 20"
Tetra 16172 Aqua Safe Fish Tank Water Conditioner
Worm Farmers Handbook Book
Worms Eat My Garbage Book
Vermiculture and Technology Book
Worm Farm Revolution
Uncle Jims European Night Crawlers
Uncle Jims Product page

[LazyLizy]

The reason they don’t want people looking at them is because they’re all naked😂

[A-V]

Great advice - I encountered the same exact pitfalls when I started. Now that I am a bit more experienced, I have a whole slew of new pitfalls that I constantly tangle with :)

[augustineschaefer]

I’ve been adding yard duff to my bins with the shredded paper. They LOVE the actual outdoor plant bedding. They’re on top right under the bubble wrap worm balling in the grass clippings and root matter. No weird smells, or temperature or anything different. The only difference is the addition of just enough yard duff to make the castings go black…and my babes are not disappointing. They’re just not as interested in their made to order food as they are in old garden duff.

[AlvinMcManus]

I am working on patience. I have an Urban Worm Bag 2 and the 5-gallons of bedding I prepared for this bag back in late August makes for a real depth of material, about 10 inches deep. My worms seem happy so I am just checking in on them every 4-5 days and just monitoring the food consumption. So far so good just gonna practice patience and moisture control and feed only when absolutely necessary. No easy for a rookie to me patient but I seem to be okay.

[rachaeld]

Thanks. This is one of the best videos/info I’ve seen (plus a 23 min video of yours I just watched). My bin is WAY too wet and I have 2 layers and wasn’t sure what I’m doing. I only have food in the second layer! Going to watch more of your videos

[melodylamour]

It will take about 6 months for my bin to be working right with microbes, bugs, etc. I needed to hear that too.

[ontherocksinthesoilmichael]

Sandra so sorry for your fall! Having seizures I know all about falls in awkward places! Much love and appreciation!

[johnduffy]

as a fellow worm head, you've nailed ALL 3 points!

[brianseybert]

I keep all of my worms outside in the spring, summer and fall in 25 gallon grow bags. When I bring them in in the winter I put them in 27 gallon plastic totes. I use shredded leaves and compost as bedding over shredded newspaper or cardboard to bring in a wider array of bacteria and to introduce beneficial fungi into my worm castings.
I have never had an issue with pests associated with vermicomposting since I made a switch to natural bedding.
I also go a step further when feeding my worms, I freeze, then thaw their food before placing in their bins. The freezing process breaks down the cellular walls in their food and makes it easier for bacteria to invade it, thus making in available faster for the worms. I do get lazy with melons, bananas and squash, it disappears frozen or not.
I have also learned to keep my bins on the dry side. For a while I followed the University Of Illinois suggestion of about a 70% moisture level. I ended up with fugus gnats, springtails and mites. I believe natural bedding along with a drier bed makes for better indoor vermicomposting. Just me.

[brianseybert]

A lot of good advice.
I know when I 1st started raising worms, I made every mistake in the book. Much of it was from watching worm videos that did not work for me.
There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to successfully raising compost worms.
The one thing I hate to hear, is people giving up when it comes to raising worms. You do not need fancy worm bins, or the contraptions many worm videos tell you to construct.
I have found the best worm bin for me outside are the grow bags, and as far as inside, an open 17 gallon tote. The only problem for me is the totes take up to much room in my grow room, will have to figure something out or keep them in my cold basement.
Enjoy your videos ! Stay Well !!!

[Mothobius]

Sorry for all these comments but also about not looking at your worms too much, I don't dig down in the bin. I just take the lid off and watch them. They don't really get bothered by it and continue their worm activities at the surface of the substrate. It would be different if I was constantly digging around messing things up.

[sandyjoao]

Great info Ann. I once added ginger which had gone dry...obviously took a long time but I tell u the castings smelt sooo gd with the gingerly flavour. He he....Great bin u have there. Good worms.

[jerrycallison]

spot on! Impatience is a real danger. Too many on YouTube and FB have channels and happen to raise worms. Others raise worms and happen to have a YT channel. (Such as yourself.) There is a HUGE difference. A good rule of thumb is to discount what you see/hear by 90% and take the last 10% as an exaggeration.

"Evaluate and then act." Again, spot on. It's much too easy to act and then evaluate, but by then, it's too late.

Thanks so much for continuing to educate and encourage.

[DaddyFP]

I see that you put some unfrozen food in there. Will that lead to a big fruit fly problem? Even my bin has fruit fly problems though I freeze everything a few days prior to feeding

[winstonsmiths]

I fuss with my worm bin probably too much. I trim the scraps, remove moisture from the scraps, do not use hard parts. I do not bury the food much if at all. The food must start to decompose before the worms can actually start to feed on it. I do not want too much rotting scraps in the bins, will attract flying insects.

[amypeterson]

I have a bioactive leopard gecko tank, so I already have colonies of springtails and isopods. Should I add some to my worm bins? My I have had my worms for years, in a VermiHut, and never had those critters in my bin before.

[davidmalone]

Is it really necessary to manipulate the layers like that? I think it’s better to influence the bin as you add stuff to the top instead of shuffling all of it about.

[percyblok]

You make a GREAT and critical point about the "ecosystem" and biology necessary to really cycle through material. I'm curious, have you ever played around with different local innoculants when starting new bins? I like grabbing a couple handfuls of dirt and leaves from where I've had compost piles in the past and seed bedding with it.

[fattworms]

I'm going down your checklist and it's
guilty
guilty
guilty
...
all the way down 😂

Thanks for reinforcing what I should already know and will one day get better at. 😊

[cynthiaedwards]

Hi, really like your videos - just found them. I'm starting with European Night Crawlers but am going to use my two long halves of a 55 gallon drum for red wigglers soon. Believe I'll follow your wedge method.