It’s been 21 years since I started this worm farming career and I’m so glad I chose that profession. #vermicompost #worms #wormcomposting TheGardenAndWormLady.com
Here you’ll learn of the different types of beddings I use, and how I set them up. Check out my Etsy shop, all proceeds, go towards the wormery. etsy.me/3vg1MSU Visit my website TheGardenAndWormLady.com
I run a nursery; it consists of 30 bins. Every week 3 bins get emptied and every week 3 bins are started with fresh bedding plus the undigested material containing the cocoons. The nursery bins that get emptied every week are done using the light method, the worms get weighed and then go into a grow out bucket for another 10 weeks. So, the 3 nursery bins get combined and go into 1 grow out bin. After the grow out bins, they become breeders themselves. The grow out bins consist of 10 buckets. What happens is after 20 weeks, is a constant supply of worms weighing between 15 - 20 oz of worms every week. This is done year-round and is at a small scale. When it comes time to produce copious amounts of castings and sized worms another part of the wormery is designated as a nursery and grow-out, in that area the cocoons are hatched and grown in buckets each bucket contains cocoons from 10- 15 breeder bins, that area holds 28 buckets and produces about 3 lbs. of worms every week after 18 - 20 weeks ( they just get sifted) along with the regular year-round nursery and grow-outs that comes out to a 4lb. minimum of breeder worms a week. Have a wonderful Day!
@@TheGardenAndWormLady I enjoy sharing the information, it's not about me or what I do, so much as it is in the hopes that someone who really enjoys working with worms can understand the words I type and maybe somehow adopt or tweak the practices themselves. The goal is to truly understand the life cycle of worms and manipulate it to our advantage. Thanks for uploading your great videos. 👍👍
Thank you so much even though I have been doing this a long time I never stop learning. You should film some videos explaining this with the wall of worms in front of you. I’m sure people would greatly appreciate that.
@@TheGardenAndWormLady Well. I am camera shy. I don't really have a wall of worm bins. 90% of my worms are in 5 gal. buckets with lids on and stacked 5 high. My nursery that I use to hatch cocoons in is just small shoebox sized totes stacked 10 high and 3 rows wide in an old dresser. That is powered by 3 breeder buckets each week (6 ANCs or 9 ENCs total). The size of the nursery is only 28" wide by 46" high by 14" deep. I have thought about getting a camera and making a video, it would start at the landscaper supply. Maybe someday I'll get a cell phone and use that.
So the three nursery bins that are full of worms get harvested using the light method? Correct? So now you take that pile of worms from the three nursery bins and put them in one bin altogether? I’m trying to understand.
I’m so thankful our Ace Hardware has peat moss year round. I fell in love with the Black Gold peat. It feels so smooth, like mushroom compost, and there’s almost never any sticks and big junk in it. The stuff I was getting at Lowes is full or sticks and little rocks, which are very annoying! Thanks for sharing. Take care!
Happy Birthday to your daughter ❤️ Happy 21st Anniversary to you and the worms 🪱 ❤️ 🪱 And, YES, those of us who know and love you, know that you are nuts 🤪 How funny to hear you say Don't overthink it. I'm getting better about it now that I have more beds. Take care and Happy Bigfoot Hunting. I hope you find one someday and show him/her your tattoo and they make you and honorary member of the Clan. 🫠
@@TheGardenAndWormLady Not much to it. He's a logger. He went a ways away from the others to eat his lunch. While quietly sitting there he said the creature walked past in the brush. He thought it had to be his neighbor pranking him. When he saw his neighbor later he found out he hadn't been anywhere near the spot and no prank. He hasn't talked about it much since no one believes in such things. He said it wasn't a bear. He's seen plenty since he's been in the mountains much of his life, lives in a logging town and is in the forest daily for work. I'd love to have a sighting. I've seen lots of bears, deer, elk, coyotes and typical forest fauna, but no Bigfoot.
Happy anniversary! I was most definitely overthinking it… I swear I studied how to raise worm’s until I thought my head was gonna explode…😂 I left them alone for a couple days and they are eating the fruit that I put in the bin now. Thanks for all your help.
I just restarted growing worms again. At the moment I mostly have eisenia foetida or red wigglers. I think I have enough dendrobena veneta to make a separate colony but I haven''t taken the time to separate them yet. As I don't have many bins yet I can use my one year old compost as bedding mixed with cardboard but I think later on I'll have to use peat moss too. I know it's not really sustainable but coc choir is really expensive here. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and keep those videos coming.
The cocoons that you collected go into a bin for ten weeks to hatch and grow into larger worms. After the 10 weeks they get light separated. Then they go to grow out bins for another 10 weeks. Then they are separated again, and they are breeders themselves. Some will start breeding at 16-18 weeks from cocoon. The majority will start breeding at 20 weeks from cocoon and should be 3"-3" 1/2 long and the weight of worms should come out between 12 - 18 oz. The 3 bins of breeders go back to breeding for another 3 weeks. Then the cocoons are collected and go into another bin to hatch. The process is continually repeated. If you have 9 bins of breeding worms, you will do 3 bins every week, (splitting them into 3rds). Every week you will start a new bin with the cocoons. After 10 weeks you will start a grow out bin. After 20 weeks you will have 10 cocoon/hatchling bins and 10 grow out bins and you will be having a grow out bin coming out with an average of 1lb of worms at 3" 1/4 long, every week, after the 20 weeks. So, the complete system is a total of 29 bins. It takes self-discipline to do this. The cool thing is the worms are grown in batches from birth and in each batch the worms are generally the same size. You top feed them worm chow every day, at least the 20. Well, after you put the cocoons in the first bin it takes about a week before they get feed daily. You still put chow on the next day after starting it. Then usually 5 - 7 days. The neat thing is you actually get to see them at 1 week old, 3 weeks old, at 6 weeks old, at 9 weeks old and so on, Every single day. Enjoy worms and have a great Day!
When you separate the worms have you tried using a small container with holes along bottom edge with bedding and a small banana peel or food of some sort You use it like a trap and the worms will migrate into them leaving all the rest behind
I've tried everything on the planet in 21yrs. I'm pretty sure i have a video doing that or something similar. LOL! and boy have i made my share of mistakes.
Hey! Great video. I'm curious to know if you feel you get more springtails in the bin with the pine shavings and manure than the one with just compost.
It depends on the size and species of worms. My regulars are on the chunky side, but approximately 250, European nightcrawlers are usually 150 and African my crawlers are usually 50 all approximate.
I can’t knock big foot my girlfriend and I have had orb visits but they seem to be interested in the horses in the backyard and not the idiot running up and down the porch haha
@@TheGardenAndWormLady I live in North Carolina and in my backyard we have part of the Smokey mountain and it is special. We have friends come over and watch things we are not suppose to see. Orbs spitting orbs too just spooky stuff you can’t explain or ask because people think your crazy.
This is all Cherokee land and often wondered if it was spirits looking over the horses. My step dad was Ottawa and he taught us young we are never alone.
I'd like to go bigfoot hunting my sister lives in Oregon. I'm in Texas. I have so many worms thousands now. I've been breeding since last December. Any advise will help.
