I've been adding some chitin to my bins when I feed my red wigglers. The only part of the worm that has chitin is the little part used to grind food. I used to be afraid to use too much chitin because I thought the chitinase that digests chitin will hurt the worms, but I think that was wrongthink on my part. However, worm tea that is high in chitinase makes an excellent organic pesticide when sprayed on plants because the chitinase dissolves the chitin exoskeleton of most plant pests. fyi: When worms take over the world, it’s called global worming. Good to see other vermiculturalists on this social media platf-worm. Subscribed.

Excellent referrals! I am just starting a worm bin, and I watch as many videos as I can. So many benefits in raising worms. I'm glad I come across you, and good luck in your venture. Looking forward to watch this grow!

@chiefjusticecoke

Жыл бұрын

getting info from as many different sources as possible pays off in the long run even if it seems confusing in the short

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Worms are the best possible karma.

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

You're gonna love worm farming. I started about 9 months ago and am so excited every day to go out and check on the worms. I originally started out with an Urban Worm Bag with only about 150 worms. Now I have thousands of worms in there. I later added on a Hungry Bin and started that off with about 2k worms about 6 months ago. I'm not sure how many thousand I have in there now, but when I feed, I get huge worm balls. I've been harvesting beautiful worm castings that has my garden growing like crazy! Just wish I had started sooner. Happy worm farming to you!

@eleanoraddy4683

Жыл бұрын

I started about six months ago, you are doing the right thing researching all over. May I suggest downloading "The formation of vegetable mould through the action of earthworms" by Darwin its a free PDF download. Taught me alot

Very nice information. Make absolutely sense what you are saying. Actually, now that I have more space and, after a lot of experimentation, I am running those mortar trays, with 1 pound each, and I found that they breed more. I have more cocoons x tray with 1 pound. I also harvest every 3 weeks. I put the adults in New bedding and the cocoons in a nursery

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Well you are the man Gaetano.... As you know, I follow your advice.

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

What technique do you use for harvesting?

@northeastworms

Жыл бұрын

@Surf City Busy Bee I have a commercial trommel that harvests casting, cocoons, and worms in different containers. With the cocoons, I start a nursery bin, and when the cocoons hatches, I move them in a new bin and let them grow. Is a cycle

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

@Northeast Worms very nice! I'm always so fascinated by the many different creative techniques people use. Appreciate your sharing how you do things.

i keep worms in a bucket tower. right now it's 6 high but each bucket only contains 1 1/2 gallons of bedding or so that they stack properly and keep everyone contained. i added bucket number 6 last summer when i was storing casings in my tote out in the garden shed and discovered wisps. by adding another bucket that would add another cycle to the length of time my worms processed and hopefully less livestock at sifting time. i started with 250 worms a little over 3 years ago. i have no idea how many i have now but it's a lot. i don't worry about overpopulation too much because the worms are so good at regulating their own population. i only feed my worms mature compost, about a quart of so per week and then the last feeding a week or so before harvest i will feed them a cup of cooked oatmeal sweetened with a disturbing amount of molasses, in addition to their weekly compost, to bait the worms up served in a wet coffee filter. i've taken over 300# of castings out in those 3 years i'm sure if i had more buckets and more worms i would have even more worms and castings. i harvest castings when my bucket tower has gained 5 lbs going along with your thinking about the bins not actually gaining any weight. the worms are consuming & excreting their bedding so it would only stand to reason that your bins would weigh more by adding bedding or food and removing worms or castings. 5# of weight in my worm bucket tower takes between 3 - 4 weeks to accumulate and seems to be the perfect time to harvest castings and search for baby worms.

I've watched every video I could find on castings and reproduction, and I think you're spot on. Every situation is different in some way. Figure out what you're going for and then find the best way to accomplish it. Thanks for coming on the scene and adding some common sense.

@chiefjusticecoke

Жыл бұрын

every situation is definitely different

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I appreciate your feedback very much.

Great Video. New sub with all notifications here. I'd seen your thumbnails several times over the last few months, and, for no specific reason, just never clicked. I've been binge'ing all the channels you mentioned in this video, and I respect them all. This video's title grabbed me, and I clicked. I like your delivery style, and will be checking out more of your content. I have, on a few occasions, half-heartedly, started raising Euopean Nightcrawlers. This time I'm going all in, and plan to raise Euros and red wigglers for all the different retail possibilities they will afford me, as well as for my own gardening. I have enough capital to hit the ground running, and am very excited about the whole affair. I sincerely hope your worm business is doing for you what you had hoped, and I'll now be monitoring your progress too.

Another fun update. You've really got the herbs growing. You're going to be able to dry and preserve a LOT of herbs this year!

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Let's hope so!

Great video! Thanks so much for sharing. It's amazing how worms know how much to mate/produce based on their population. I have an Urban Worm Bag & a Hungry Bin, so I guess I have a lot of room for population growth still. I used to keep about five trays like yours along with my other two bins, but working full time, gardening & running a household, it became too much to manage, so now I'm down to my two larger bins & and a snall homemade in-ground container. Those black bins were very enjoyable to have stacked in my office, which allowed me to check in on the worms during my work breaks. They were great for lowering work stress! 😅

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

I say this all the time..... worm farming is pretty much the best thing we can do as human beings. There is something so humbling and fulfilling about taking care of these little creatures. And they really can save the world!

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

@@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843 I totally agree. Worm farming is personally so enjoyable for me, and it's so great for the environment.

I have to say, really like that you reference other worm youtubers. One issue ive been finding on youtube as of late, is outdated information from 2000's-2019 still feeling relevant when its not. I know everyone does things different, depending on your resources and weather. So its great to see at least in the last few months, in the red wiggler worm stuff the information has been just getting better and better. I stop before 2020 because I feel like we had huge boom in new wave of people who wouldn't necessary be on youtube, or youtube showing their expertise and such but the pandemic brought them all on board. just noticed your peat moss video, I will go watch that. But that was also the first thing that made me go, wait a sec. Since the PH levels are acidic, vs say coco coir. But everyone in the commercial side will be using some peat moss. Like one theory I read was that partially reason why worms try to escape is because they were just in a bag only with peat moss (outside of potentially meaning you have a bunch of blues too)

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

My worms have no problems in peat moss. Obviously a peat moss medium means they need to be fed, but the acidity hasn't seemed to be a problem. As far as referencing other youtubers, they are how I learned whatever it is I "know" and that probably isn't much. I "know" enough to run my business and try to learn more every day. Thank you for watching and for comment. Hope to see you again!!!

I watch on my TV mostly bro. I don't get any of your videos as recommendations anymore. I'm digging the worm videos though. I gotta come find you when I get a minute. Hope you and your fam are doing well in this heat! Stay safe bro!

Im new at this worm farming and trying to learn as much as I can from all different points of view. I really enjoy listening to you. Thank you for sharing what your learning.

@chiefjusticecoke

Жыл бұрын

worm farming is the best thing human beings can do. period.

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

Huge congrats! I started worm farming in SoCal about 9 months ago, and have since gotten friends & family farming too. It's been funny checking in on people & their worns. 😂 It's been such an enjoyable experience. Hope you're enjoying it too!

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out. I will tell you what I know for whatever its worth.

From my experience they do double in population but not biomass. Once they reach the optimal population for the space and amount of food waste to be processed they pretty well stop breeding. You get cleaner castings that finish quicker.

Great, thx for new informations..

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for watching!

I have some breeder bins, but i leave them, because i have so many other systems with worms in them, so basicly if i have someone who wants earthworms i have stock from wich i can draw, and thats really cool for me, when the population is thinned out, they can reproduce again😊

Great information. Thanks.

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching it really means a lot to me.

Your density is for composting. Breeding less I agree with that old (not my favorite) man

How are separating worms, castings and cocoons?

Great content. I will definitely agree with less than 1 pound.

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

Hey thank you very much for watching! I really appreciate the comments and i love to hear from other worm farmers about what they have learned.

What I want to know is it safe & ok to dump overpopulation of the blue worms in an outside compost? (Like dirt On the ground)

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am new and bought a pound of ENCs from MeMes and put them in a large tote. I followed the directions for bedding and feeding but I’m into this for three weeks and cannot find a cocoon. Do I just need to wait longer? Also, do you keep a light on your worm trays to keep them from climbing out?

@surfcitybusybee

Жыл бұрын

Congratulations on your new venture! You're gonna love it! It may be too early to see cocoons. The worms probably need more time to acclimate to their new environment, new bedding, feeding, etc. I started my worm farm about 9 months ago with the Urban Worm Bag, and I've had fantastic results both with population increase and beautiful worm casting harvests. Regardless of what bin type, if the environment & feedings are right, you should see good results. I have also used a bin like you see in the video, and I didn't keep a lid or light on it to keep the worms from escaping. The trick is keeping the correct moisture level. I tend to keep my bedding on the dryer side, than too wet. When it's too moist, my worms will try to escape. When I keep it on the dryer side, they seem more content and stay put. I like my bedding material damp, like a wrung out towel, and the worms seem to enjoy it too. I think I've done a video on this subject before. If not, I'll be sure to do that. Happy worm farming to you! I absolutely love it!

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

You will see cocoons soon (if not already) if your bin is healthy. We do keep some lights on to keep worms in but our bins are covered also.

Thanks for the video. When you say the bins need a lot of care and attention, in what sense exactly? I have lidded bins that I neglect and feed once per week or fortnight.

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

I am a firm believer that worms need to be "touched." There is a lot of debate about whether it is a good idea to disturb them, but I would never let a bin go 3 weeks without giving it some love. A big part is that the water tends to settle at the bottom and the top tends to dry out. The settled water can go stagnant and anaerobic, which I think is something to avoid. Thank you very much for comment and I hope to see you again.

@pilkyish

Жыл бұрын

@@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843 thanks for your reply.

I have seen many of the KZreadrs you have mentioned. I appreciate your work. I have been worm farming for my own garden and I’m wondering how you get such “clean worms”. In other words. How did you get them separated from the “dirt” they live in? Thank you

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

There are a bunch of different ways to do this. Right now we mostly use a hand sifter that has a screen that lets most of the medium pass thru and leaves us with mostly worms. Some people use a bright light to "herd" the worms into a ball. Some people just pick the worms out with their hands.

@MaffeiKris

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thank you for you Mr additional insight! I have a sifter and it seems it lets a lot of worms through. Maybe I just need to make a softer with smaller holes to pass through. Keep it up my new friend :)

I'm OK with them doubling in numbers within 6 weeks. That amazes me.

@LarryWileyWormFarm-ey8lp

11 ай бұрын

If they produce at least 3 worms per cocoon I can see doubling in 6 weeks. I have a bit of money in crypto I am cashing out to invest in more red wigglers. I don't expect the crypto to double that quickly.

@LarryWileyWormFarm-ey8lp

11 ай бұрын

The weight will come.

Can someone tell me what to do if I have ants in my worm bin

I also got the pound of worms per square foot of surface and now its spring all the babies are hatching and there's ALOT of them😅

@tiggerswigglersmagickwormc843

Жыл бұрын

The more worms the better. The world needs as many as possible!

If your worms aren't doubling in 6 months you are doing something wrong.