Love having worms in my bins that I relocated from the yard. Was tedious to get enough initially but now they're going strong I dont worry about them much at all!

@valeriemarshall5037

Жыл бұрын

How many worms did you consider enough to start your worm bin and how long did it take you to gather them? I'm considering the same method, lack of funds. Thanks for answering.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Did you get them from compost or plant build up? Do you think they are likely red wigglers?

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

If you are in a Facebook worm group many times people will give you free worms to get started with. What state/ country are you in?

@lindaspellman2108

Жыл бұрын

@@valeriemarshall5037 the kids and I would go on worm hunts after rains. They really like it under flower pots and between bricks, but we also found them under areas of fallen leaves. I would get 20 or 30 each hunt, and went about weekly most of the fall and winter. Not all survived\stayed in the bin of course. Offering tiny bits of "fast food" seemed to help them cozy in and breed

@lindaspellman2108

Жыл бұрын

@@PlantObsessed i have not been able to figure out the difference between red and blue worms, but they're reddish in color for sure. Some have an iridescent sheen that I call my blue worms. No idea if thats accurate though. I do find MASSIVE worms also reddish and iridescent I'd like to try in a bin. Thick as a sharpie and 6"+

I love my ANC friends! I'm in the Pacific Northwest, so definitely a more humid climate. We keep our house around 70 (clearly, I'm not in charge of the thermostat... it would be much lower!). The ANCs are in the office (tiny Vermibag in a 10 gallon tote), in an unheated room near a heated space (stacked kitty litter bin), and a Vermibag Mini up in a room that is kept 56 degrees in the winter. To be sure, there is some slowing of consumption during the winter months, but with all the carbon in there, the bins stay sufficiently toasty. It does take some time to assess volume of bedding relative to what's going in (how much food and the water content of it) to have it dialed in without having to think too much. I have had ANC cocoons sitting in a 50-ish degree garage for several weeks and they hatched and were doing okay! I do notice that some (currently in the garage hanging out in a Rubbermaid tote) will climb the walls if the bin is covered... but none have escaped!

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Wow you have a good stock of the ANC. Half mine died when I had them in the basement that gets to 55. Lol I can't imagine the bill if I kept my old house at 70 when it is 30 below out.

Had a similar experience with Africans. Just not warm enough in my area. I've now learned that red's are the way to go for me. Such a wide range of temperature tolerances.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Agreed! Reds are the best of both worlds. Good food consumption and temperature range.

That bin is so dry I can hear it crunching when she flips the material. My worms would be fleeing if I allowed my bin to get that dry my worms hate being dry. I must have alien worms. Lol

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yes it is dry, I add almost a gallon a week. It is hard to keep up with.

I keep my house around 67-68 in the winter. I put my worm bag with ancs next to my furnace and water heater in the basement and there seems to be enough ambient heat to keep the bag between 73-75 degrees Fahrenheit. This is still probably slightly below ideal for them from what I’ve read but I don’t see any lethargic or slow moving worms either whenever I feed

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

You have a good plan. 75 is great for ANC. They probably don't miss a beat all winter.

Good info, I was thinking of trying them out but you opened my eyes. I am not in the proper growing zone either. It would take too much looking after. Glad your bin is working out though.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Thank you. I wish it wasn't such a struggle all the time.

I wanted ANCs at first but yeah, too cold in 6b. The red wrigglers are doing solid work on my cardboard stockpile so I don’t feel like I’m missing out. Cheers!

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Smart.👍

I have ANCs. I got them three months ago. I split one pound into three bins, with a bedding of moldy pine straw and rotting pine chips. They weren't thriving in that environment. There were new young worms. But, if anything, the overall population seemed to suffer a decline. So, I've remade two of the bins with shredded cardboard as the bedding, with the wood chips mixed in. One more to go. Hopefully in the next three months the population rebounds. -- -- -- These worms really do wander. I'm not sure what drives them to do it. They need to out-reproduce their tendency to wander off and die. --- --- --- No problem with the temps. I live in North Carolina.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

For me the constant vibration of semi traffic. They talk about people in Mumbai finding earth worms in the trees after a storm. Might be a natural reaction for tropical worms to try and get above the water.

I wonder what those paper towels are made of I lost a bunch of ANC last year because of temps I love your videos ❤

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yes they are high maintenance for sure. Weird about the towels. They broke down eventually but not in one week like usual

I live in zone 9 and love my ANC. Only maybe two months out of the year I may need to use a heat mat in the garage but it stays pretty warm here throughout. They absolutely destroy cardboard. I just purchased a vermibag Li’l Mammoth but opted for the black Rattler due to complaints about moisture.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

That sounds like a good idea. That was not an option when I got mine. Let me know how it works this winter.

I have ancs and they absolutely eat through cardboard and paper

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

I love the capacity of the ANC. If I lived somewhere warmer I would totally have more.

I’m in Texas with high temps and humidity and they still were a pain in my azz! They were constantly crawling out of the bottom of my UWB and drying on the floor. I eventually dumped the whole bin on one side of my outdoor garden and just feed them out there now. It’s been about 3m now and they are still there. Now once our temps drop in December they will parish but I couldn’t stand scraping up dried rams off my floors everyday.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yep that pretty much was my life before vermi bag. Now I just fight the temperature. Do you have other worms still?

Glad to here your take on the African Night Crawlers. Haha, no high maintenance worms for me 😂 I would not be able to keep them warm enough.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I like them in the summer lol

Some great information. Grilled apples 🤔 👍🏿🍻

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

They are spoiled worms for sure 😃

Good words of wisdom about the ins & outs of ANC worm farming. Definitely not the ideal worm for everyone 👍🏻

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Thanks. Not everyone willing to turn the dining room into a wormery. Lol

Send your worm food to freezer camp for a couple days before you feed it. Freezing the food kills all the bugs and all their eggs.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

I agree for most bugs but In the case of apple scab that is not 100 sure. I don't want the disease to stay in the bin. I need a bigger freezer for sure.

@asteria4279

Жыл бұрын

I do that to soften the food too. Then leave the container on the counter for a day, then zap it in the microwave for a minute or two if it’s cold out to give them the equivalent of a warm chilli meal :)

Ann i just order 1/2 pound of African nightcrawlers. So pretty small amount im think of just putting rhem in a plastic half tote bin. I know they like to escape so should i leave a bright light on them ? Keep the lid on and maybe drill small holes ? I guess i might just learn why a vermi bag is used 😂.

@PlantObsessed

9 ай бұрын

Bright light doesn't work on ANC for me. If you give them a larger area they will multiply faster and keep their size. I hope you have the kind that will behave.🪱😁👍🏼

No ANCs here. I thought I would only raise red wigglers, but my first batch also contained blues. Then I found that native Vancouver Island worm in the manure I fed my bins, so that’s enough worm diversity for me!

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Good call. The temperature in VI probably gets pretty cold in the winter.

@NanasWorms

Жыл бұрын

@@PlantObsessed Actually, we have a mild Mediterranean climate (I know, not what people usually think of in Canada!). We might get a killing frost or even snow for a few days, but then again we might not. Geraniums, fuchsias, etc., live outside year-round most years. We grow kale, collards, leeks, Brussels sprouts, etc., easily through the winter. Last year we got as low as -7°C (around 20°F), which was highly unusual. Who knows what the climate will do from one moment to the next, though. Last summer we hit over 40°C (106°F) and this year our drought worsened and we still haven’t seen any rain since spring.

I live in zone 3 and really would love to try anc, but as y say, temp is going to be a challenge... however, if willing to take the extra steps necessary to maintain bin temps, a colder climate can work to your advantage... i had a conversation about this very challenge with someone who has anc... he uses a heatmat to maintain the temp, but because the ambient room temp is not to the liking of the anc, they don’t try to escape... they try climbing the walls, but once they realize hey it’s cold out here, back into the bedding they go

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Wow 3a. I complain about 5a. Good luck.

No ANCs for me either. I dream of one day having a sort of greenhouse-in-a-greenhouse system to have a straight up tropical room in my zone 7b area and if I do that, I could see having some ANCs in there...

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

That sounds like the dream. I wish I could have a green house here too.

I live in a tropical country. Just got my ANCs 3 days ago. I just fed them with top part of strawberries (32g total). Now, 2 days ago, yesterday and this morning, there were already 5 worms escaped, 4 returned and 1 died. The bedding is moist and the cover of bin is mesh screen. What should I do? Btw, my bin is 80cmL x 40cmW x 30cmD. I added about 2kgs worms (substrates included)

@PlantObsessed

8 ай бұрын

My ANC live in a zippered fabric bag. The change in atmospheric pressure and vibration make them want to escape. It sounds like they have a good home and appropriate food and bedding. I have the same issue with blue worms. Instead of screen can you is a nylon fabric top?🪱😃👍🏼

@bhingko

8 ай бұрын

@@PlantObsessed thanks for the recommendation. I will look into it!

I'm just a little bit north of you, so no, I don't have ANC's though I really want to try them. Maybe when I can get a little better place where I can regulate their temps better. I appreciate your input on this.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I jumped in with both feet buying 80$ worth. I have spent more trying to keep them healthy than they were worth. It's a good conversation starter. Lol

I found that if I put some cardboard down the inside walls of the Vermibag, then it really can hold the moisture. In my area (PNW) it gets damp a lot, so I don’t typically have that problem. I can’t have African Night Crawlers yet cuz my step kids already freak out about the worms I have & if they saw the big ANC they would revolt. Lol. I do think they would be nicer than the Indian Blue worms tho considering the risk-to-benefits. Their castings seem flakier and don’t seem to get all muddy like the blue worms, as well as the ANC plow through cardboard, which would be awesome for me. I have to keep some RW and ENC in with the blues to combat the castings getting so wickedly muddy, then they turn into a cement like block.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

I may try that cardboard trick. Thanks for the idea.

I'm in zone 9 and ANC still seem like they'd be a PITA. Today is nice, cool 88 and 40% humidity.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

There is not a better worm for leaves and paper but the expensive upkeep is not really worth it.

@percyblok6014

Жыл бұрын

Well, your reverse psychology worked, just ordered a pound. Thanks...I think...

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

@@percyblok6014 well you made the purchase well informed. 😁

Sticks take forever to turn into worm poo… and dollar store bargain paper towels that I bought my dear😂

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Cheapies? Humm high end cheepies

Use peat or coir….

@PlantObsessed

4 ай бұрын

Either one works.😃🪱👍🏼

That is extremely dry

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yes it is a problem for me.

А причому тут африканці? При такому сухому субстраті ніякі червяки не виживуть. Тут на господаря потрібно пиняти, а не на африканців. Субстрат потрібно регулярно зволожувати хоча б. Я вже не кажу про регулярне кормління. А живуть африканці при такій самій температурі, як і eisenia foetida або eisenia andrei - 20- 28 град цельсія.

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Так, я винна, що вони занадто сухі. Червоні хробаки можуть опускатися до температури замерзання, а ANC не може. Я роблю помилки. Зараз я поливаю їх щотижня.

Great tip trying new things/leaves on the sides so the worms can avoid it if needed! MMMMMMmmmm grilled mushy apples!! I've been a little skeptical of getting ANC's even though I'm in FL because we like to let the house get cold 60's in the winter...Knowing they'll try to escape and the light trick doesn't work marks them right off my list!! 🪱🪱🪱

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

Yeah it was nuts. They took off across the living room in daylight as big as sharpie markers. I thought they were snakes.

@Vermicompost

Жыл бұрын

@@PlantObsessed 😱

I would raise them if I lived in a warmer climate. 🪱

@PlantObsessed

Жыл бұрын

I would buy more if I lived in Florida.