Not to mention that not all worm castings are the same. I had a friend who was a commercial worm farmer for bait companies and sold worms all over Texas and Arkansas. He raised his worms in straight horse manure. First he washed a lot of the green water out with a water hose and then added worms. After the worms were done you could use the castings straight with no soil at all. There were no need for any fertilizer , and it was like straight magic. He had strawberry's the size of apples. In my 50 years I have never seen anything even come close to worm castings. You could take a 5 gallon bucket full of his castings and push down on them with your hand and then release....and they would come back up like a sponge. It was absolutely incredible.
I think he's referring to the ammonia content of fresh manure. He's saying his friend flushed out the ammonia with water. If you use old manure you don't have to worry about it. I use manure to catch red wrigglers for fishing. I think I'm going to start using the spent manure to grow some vegetables though.
@@ayileenenga9670 He built his boxes out of wood. There were cracks where water could escape. He would run water in it and let it rinse some of the ammonia out or whatever it was that turned the water green that was leaking out. When the water running out of the cracks cleared up somewhat he would stop. Then let it drain. Then add worms.
I had an old broken garbage pale and wanted to try a potatoe tower. I drilled a bunch of holes in it and kept adding adding debris for the potatoes. I noticed it kept shrinking and thought someone was pulling my leg. When I dumped the pail to get my potatoes I was shocked and very pleased to see thousands of the biggest and healthiest worms in some of the richest and darkest soil on my property. Ever since iv used the garbage pale solely as my worm bin, and leave it next to my fruit trees and veins. I let the rain and irrigation do all of the for me. It removes my yard and food waste, and feeds my plants. At the beginning of every new growing season I dump it over and mix it with stump grindings to rejuvenate a new portion of my yard I am very pleased with it and the results
Ok im brand new to all of this gardening,I started 3 weeks ago with 5 gallon containers,now how exactly do I make a worm farm,can I just throw leaves,grass clippings,tree bark,branches in one of my empty garbage cans,will doing all that attract worms the most???
I did a test of three different grow mediums. I planted a seedling in 3 cups. 1. seed starting mix 2. regular black cow brand compost and 3. black cow compost with 1/10th worm casting mixed in. The worm castings one was 4x the size of the seed starting mix and 2x the size of just growing in regular compost. So worm castings is the best thing I've ever used. I have a worm bin and they are doing great. I started my worms with coca choir and compost. 3 months later the whole container is completely jet black. I just check them a few times a week for moister and food. It's stupid simple to have your own worm bin. Wise investment.
TranquiI Geo Now I have an idea. Infact theres a Iot of earthworn here in our pIace but am not giving much attention to what they can personaIIy to my pIants. Now Ia have to gather some of them for give and take method. thanks for the ideaI way of utiIizing the Nature system.
I started a small worm bin about a month ago. I want to use worm casting for my own potting mix for seedlings. I still compost in more traditional ways too. Great video Mark!
Great explanation of compost vs worm castings. I have both and never thought of the worms processing the bacteria and fungi. Makes sense. I love the fact that I can add the stuff I want to my worm farm to get the desired castings. So fascinating
Hello, Mark Just ran across your video, For me I follow the Back to Eden Method and have been very happy with this method as for what I use, it is a three part process, 1. Leaf mold, 2. Worm castings and 3. compost tea. For me I stopped using Red wigglers and went straight to night crawlers. I based this change on the amount of night crawlers I find in my wood chip piles. I have 4 six foot diameter 3 feet high compost corals for my leaves. They sit on top of tarps. I find lots of night crawlers in leaf compost corals. For me red wigglers never lasted in both environments, however night crawlers are very prolific and do a great job. I get about 30 loads of wood chips on a 4 year cycle. My garden is only 8,000 sq. ft. and it keeps me busy just making compost. Thanks for all of your video's I always learn something new each time.
I started this year trying to be a serious composter as I am expanding my raised beds. Now almost 6 months in, I’ve found I’m really a worm farmer as my compost bins are not really “hot”, but now full of thousands of beautiful red wigglers that have naturally multiplied from the wood chips and leaf mulch I used as my brown material base. Incredible compost and environment I hope to keep going in my beds.
I use comfrey, chop, and drop for fertilizing. Also, my garden is well mulched with wood chips and straw that brings in the worms. They provide fertilizer as well as tunneling. I've used fish fertilizer in the past but find it is an unsustainable material as well as bone/blood meal. After several years of the deep mulch, I find I no longer need to add any fertilizer even though I do chop the comfrey leaves down around the fruit orchard. Each fruit tree has 2 comfrey plants growing at their base.
Good explanation on the difference in the two. I’m just getting started with my worm castings. Right now I use worm castings from the store. I do make my own compost. I use bonemeal, blood meal, fish emulation and some epson salts. For bugs only use cold pressed neem oil and dish soap. Love how you explain things..!! Have a great day..!!
Great video Mark! On another note, I just harvested two pounds of new potatoes from my compost pile. Not bad for no cost and little effort! Thanks again. All the best to you and your sons!
I do it the lazy way: I choose a bed and use it as my food-waste pile for part of the season. It quickly disappears into beautiful compost/worm castings and then I plant into it.
I do the same. Some places I find so many castings I shovel them out and place them around plants. The castings have to be cleared out so worms don't die. I move them to fresh compost so they can keep working. I mix compost with several handfuls of wood ash and char from the firepit for soil amendment.
Permanent pen, This is not lazy. This is the easiest, least expensive and best way to make compost. It allows all the mini-beasts (not just worms) to chew at the material; all their droppings end up on your veg bed. Anything that leaches out stays under the bed.
I have a large area in the back yard, under trees, where i pile leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps. I rotate one side then the other each year. The result is almost all worm castings and pretty much every thing i plant gets it. This year its mammoth sunflowers and there getting close to 8' already. Very informative channel Mark. Thanks!
I'm still pretty new, but for fertilizing I've been using fermented stinging nettles (smells terrible, but works wonders. Many videos out there). I also use a light 'composting water' from when I boil vegetables, eggs, or tea, the leftover water gets put into the garden. I was told to put fish heads at the bottom of the beds, so I've done that too. I'm still experimenting and enjoying the results. For pests or fungus I've been using a mixture of organic essential oils with water, grapefruit seed extract and glycerine, so far so good. Thanks for your videos, it's great to keep learning and teaching each other...
Mr. Mark you have been a true inspiration to me and I’m getting a compost pile started. Also experimenting with raising red wrigglers and mealworms. It’s fun me. I know it’s not much but planning on moving back to Florida this is a start to learning and the worms will get a feeding every month while I get things wrapped up in both locations. I hope your children and family are doing great. Thank you very much for sharing. I can only hope and pray for someplace like yours to help my family live a healthier lifestyle. Sincerely, William Gallaher
Hi Mark, I've been raising worms for about 3 years now and use the castings anytime I start seeds indoors, transplant, or repot my plants. This year I am going to try your method with the leaf mold and worm castings for my seed starting mix. My first year with a BTE garden I did add blood meal to the plants as needed for nitrogen. I've also used horse and cow manure on a garden - which was fantastic for the plants but resulted in many seeds and weeds sprouting - stickers and thistles especially. This year I plan on using the material from my chicken run spread over the garden in the fall. I may try something new with the chickens this year and that is taking the fish I catch from a family pond (which is overstocked and has many small fish) and toss them into the chicken run for them to eat and break down as well. (If I notice a taste difference with the eggs I will stop or moderate the amount of fish put in). I will sometimes use inorganic fertilizer for my indoor house plants. Thank you for all the great information and videos, I greatly appreciate it!
Hey Mark, I’m considering buying Red wigglers to put in my garden directly. We’re in zone 7B. We have a BTE garden that is deeply mulched with wood chips (Tree branch chips). We run chickens on one side and grow vegetables on the other and switch them every spring. We’re in year two, and I want to dig a couple of holes in the mulch on both side all the way to the soil level, loosen the soil a bit, and put the red wigglers in and then cover them back with soil and mulch. My questions are: 1. Will they survive the winter time here in 7B? It gets cold but usually not for long periods. The mulch is 8-12” deep in most areas. 2. Will the chickens totally wipe the worms out? I know they scratch down a few inches now and occasionally find earth worms to eat, but losing some worms to them here and there is ok, so long as they don’t eat them out of existence. Let me know what you think. Im thinking that the worms will migrate over to the side away from the chickens every year. I’m also thinking that the worms reproduce fast enough to keep up with the chickens finding them. I currently have 6 chickens on a 25X100 mulched area, but will be adding another 10 chickens to them in a week or so. I know Red wigglers eat composted manure, so I’m wondering if they’ll risk being found by the chickens to eat their old manure off the surface.
Hi Mark. I have two small worm towers that have only been on the go for a few months. I feed them on out of date veg that I get from the local supermarket and they seem to be happy with that. Looking forward to the next vid on the science on castings. Cheers Jim from Scotland.
Mark I bought 3lbs of worms 2 yrs ago (Red Wigglers) I used some in my 3 bins down my basement. The rest I put in my compost pile and in my garden . Because I use the Back To Eden method of gardening there is always decaying matter in my garden for the worms. Also I have large mulch piles through out my yard around all the trees and bushes. I live on about 2 acres and at this point there isnt a place on my land you cant find these worms. They are a little hard to find in the hot days of summer or cold of winter but in the spring and fall they are all over the place doing the job of breaking down these raw materials. I believe they have been and still are a great ally in my growing program. Great Vid keep them coming
James Ruland I want to try adding them into my BTE beds too. We’re in zone 7B. Do you think it’ll get too hot or cold down here in Mississippi for them? Our mulch is kept at least 6” deep. Some areas are 12” for now until it breaks down more. Also we’re running chickens on the opposite of the garden and every spring we switch the chickens and garden out. Do you think the chickens will wipe out the worms really badly on their side every year? If they do, do you think they will recover or migrate from the other side when the chickens are moved?
Combat it seems when it gets to hot or cold the worms move down to deeper ground. I have chickens also and they do get to the worms but it seems that once the worms start breeding and moving though out the yard there numbers are such that the chickens just get some of them not all of them. Getting back to the temps there are times when I swear there are no worms in my yard but as soon as the weather is about 50 to 70 degrees everywhere I dig I find them. One warning though they dont like the rain and if you get a heavy rain you will find them everywhere even up on my deck under flower pots trying to escape the flood
They like when everything is wet and there is no sunlight (night or very very overcast). That’s the only time they can scout around up on the surface because they hate sunlight and need constant moisture.
Thanks for sharing. I have a huge compost pile and a small garden so that's where all my fertilizer comes from. The pile is mostly leaves and grass clippings but it gets my kitchen and garden waste, too. Occasionally I'll add some urea to get it to break down faster
Thank you! I started a vermicompost bin in Sept 2021 and I just started a second one. Wow! I thought I was making compost and worm castings but I'm actually just making worm castings. The biological activity is much better from worm castings. Pretty cool. It has been such an educational experience. I have very little trash now. If I could only train some fungi to eat the small amount of plastic I use. One question: I live in NYC. I moly have windowsill space. I was a bit afraid to use the warm castings because of bugs. An experienced CZcams gardener recommended soil for planting indoors because of of bugs. I think it's been sterilized. What do you think? Do you think it's safe to use worm castings for an indoor plant pot garden? Thanks again.
For my worm bins (out of one big one I now have four bins) I use "Jiffy" Organic and natural sphagnum peat moss and shredded newspaper for bedding (will also order coconut coir as well) and for feeding I'm using the usual vegetable and fruit scraps such as banana peels and overripe bananas, apple slices, mangoes, and scraps of leafy vegetables like lettuce and also cauliflower and broccoli. I put the food scraps into a blender and blend it down nicely so the worms can eat and digest it easily and you should see them FLOCK to the area after I've placed the food in a trench I make in the bedding. I also add used coffee grounds and I mixed ground-up eggshells mixed with cornmeal and the worms are LOVING it!! The castings are nice and black and I'm using it for my potted houseplants and will use it also on some potted vegetables that I plan to have potted up outside. I live in a ground-floor apartment and put my plants in pots out near the front step. I LOVE vermicomposting and am using red wiggler worms, which I ordered 1,000 right off the bat when I started the first ever bin. I LOVE your explanation and the timing was PERFECT, as I had a fellow FB friend ask what is the difference between regular composting and vermicomposting so I shared this clip with her. Thanks for posting this clip!
What's the simplest way to start a worm bin,I just started container gardening 3 weeks ago with 20 5 gallon containers,I was using organic potting mix,black kow manure,peat moss,blood and bone meal,tomato fertilizer and liquid fish fertilizer but I want to eliminate those expensive fertilizers and just use our "FREE NATURAL RESOURCES" like the cheapest top soil,worm castings or homemade compost from kitchen scraps and leaves,wood chips,grass clippings,any help is greatly appreciated...
I am hoping to get to a living mulch walkway biomass accumulation system going. 12" walkways, 30" beds all walkways and borders growing in native weeds, to be composted into the rows by raking in after scythe/string trimming. Its working, But I am only 2 years in. The idea is the same as everyone. To fight nature as little as possible and use the least energy to mold/sculp the growth/biomass into the most useable form. You do much of the same in most of your videos. I believe we are really approaching a Hybrid technique of small-scale production farming that combines dozens of methods. I don't mind getting 60% of the yield, If my energy inputs are only 20% as high as a maximum production variant of the same cropping.
Over time yields increase with crop rotation and use of flowering perennials to attract pollinators. I even remove some garden topsoil and replace it with fresh compost to minimize soil diseases. The old garden soil gets spread on the lawn to break down clippings and improve grass quality. Mulch allows worms to move quickly and survive downpours or heat.
Got red wigglers in March for our house compost bin. I bought worm castings to add to my potting mix. I have quite a few trees on four acres and I have several leaf piles of different ages that are to supplement plants in the garden. There is 60+ cu. ft. of well-aged wood chips from trees downed by Sandy. Like the ifo you provide especially because I am in zone 6B.
Ok what i used this year (bought in March so didn’t have time to build the soil.) was humic acid, bokashi, kelp meal, epsom salt, azimite, galcial rock dust, blood meal, rock phosphate, alfalfa meal, neem seed meal, and feather meal. I also planted a big cover crop mix and went with 24 inch wall ways to build soil for next year. My current system I use to prep for next yeah is a flock of chickens in a stationary coop. I give them a compost pile in the run. They knock it down and poop on it I stack it back up. Makes compost so fast it’s crazy and it’s very high in N from the poo. I also have red wiggles in a worm bin that get a compost mix as well, also I have a meal worm colony (to grow bugs for the hens for the winter) so i harvest the frass from them. I also use pigs to till my soil and send chickens and tuckerys I’m behind the pigs to spread the poo. I cover crop everything as well. I hope in a few years my soil will be amazing. I will be mixing all my compost, worm castings and frass together and will spread it down my 50ft rows at the start of next season.
They are all good. The best thing is you will never have to buy or repeat that process ever again. Plants will grow soil and recycle all the nutrients you need..THANK YOU.
What is explained in worm casting vs compost is really the reason for Vermiculturecompost fertilizer. Combining both processes to get a most fertile soil conditioner fertilizer. Good posting
Hey mark nice bin! I have done alot of looking in and studying worm casting tea and have some good shots on my channel of protozoa eating bacteria as the bacteria eat fungal hyphae if youd like to check them out. I had not considered the worms eating and digesting the microbes like you said. I always thought of it as the worms mainly eating organic matter and their activity supporting a chain of aerobic microbial life. The theory i picked up about available nutrient for plants was that the plants could uptake sugars and other compounds that were produced as the larger microbes consumed smaller microbes that consumed fungal hyphae. Once the oxygen available dipped too low the microbial population would die back and essentially become regular organic matter (aka not food for plants). I love your channel, keep up the good work.
We have a small farm so we use mostly goat, horse and older, composted chicken manure! As well as a chicken tea that I make up a batch of at the beginning of every grow season. I am however getting in to the worm farming for starting plants, seedlings and cuttings. also I just think its cool!!
Sifted 17 cubic feet from my 1 year old compost heap. bigger chunks and lots of worms were thrown in new started adjacent heap. Ingredients were cardboard, paper towels, shredded paper, hedge and tree clippings, garden and kitchen waste (including eggshells and spend coffee grounds), also very old oats, baking flour, and even some unused paper based cat litter. Occasionally some diluted wee was applied. No bread, meat, fat and cooked food in order to keep rodents away. Heap was gradually build up during year and only once turned over in early spring and heated up a bit. After filling my grow bags, I'm without compost. So in order to expand my no dig, raised beds with fine, poor sandy, water repellent soil, I now harvest weeds, add some bentonite clay, crushed basalt, dried cow dung and some unused cat litter, water it, mix it in, and top of with some old spend potting soil. Seeded now with Phacelia for building soil. In autumn I will slash it, add another layer of sand and put in winter rye. That will be slashed in spring and covered with some layers of newspaper, topped of with another layer of sand, plant bush beans and add some very old weed free compost. Just trying to build soil. Next year compost harvest will be less, my wife snatches the coffee grounds, and suddenly applies chop and drop in her ornamental garden (can't blame her, already 3 months without rain). Report back on earlier discussion: two beds with winter rye, both cut back to 2 inches, "harvested" material used for ground cover in ornamental garden, bed1 covered with layer of newspaper, both beds seeded with mix of carrots and radishes (bed1 2 weeks later after removal of paper). Both beds sprouted normal. Had to cut back winter rye in bed2 3 times, no regrowth in bed1. Harvest in bed1 was super, harvest in bed2 was poor. Conclusion: kill the winter rye before replanting. Happy gardening, greetings from Holland.
just found your website, good video. I work with bioponics, aquaponics, and vermiponics. had worked with as many as a half a million worms on my worm farm producing about a cubic yard of pure worm castings a week. there are variables to everything, castings are no different; the castings will vary in quality dependent on what they are given to work with. you have used basically leafmold which is excellent, paper not so great. worm casting work well for cloning much better then mulch. it works magic with root crops that are on their last leg. the worms restore the health and vigor to them.
Funny.. this was the 2nd video I watched this week about vermicomposting in which a reference to sprinkles is made. In the other video, the castings of African Night Crawlers are described as looking like a bin full of chocolate sprinkles
I live in coastal Australia and the soil is terribly sandy. I have had the best luck with coco coir, worm castings, bio char & a clay compost mix to amend the soil. as for liquid fertiliser its either worm juice or seaweed solution.
I make a compost using shredded fall leaves and kitchen scraps. I use this as a mulch in addition to the cover crop that is chopped and dropped. I planted comfy this spring and will be adding to my mulch layer once it is established.
I've used those wire screen wastebaskets for years now to extract soluble nutrients (with water) from compost/worm castings. That way, the nutrients can be added at any time, regardless of composting stage.
I have a compost pile in the corner of my chicken run. I throw everything in there, kitchen scraps, weeds, bedding from the coop, leaves, etc. The chickens (and worms) spend lots of time in there looking for goodies and break it down so much faster and other than going in and piling it up once in a while, the chickens do all the work. I am now harvesting it and spreading on my garden beds for next years garden.
Everything that is free and it helps business out and neighbours. Bit of time collecting. But good for keep up community. So landscapers trimmings, grass clippings. Coffee and food waste. Dog waste to give the wigglers a boost (only from my own dog's!) I keep them organic. Chemical wormers I assume would be bad. Natural one's so far so good. That said if I felt that the soil needed enrichment quickly and had to pay. Seaweed extract and or chicken manure liquid if colder temperatures. For a quick answer. Great work and appreciate all that you do. Schools and colleges should use your channel etc. Talking from experience.....hint. Thanks again!
Hi Mark I love all your fabulous ytubes including this one . You are so inspirational and clever . Wondering if you can tell me what benefits worm wee provide ie composition wise if you know and perhaps also some comment on how it is best applied to plants ... diluted or not , weekly or monthly ? Many thanks for all your information .
I am looking to feed horse manure to earthworms. I am concerned that the medicines given to horses may kill off the earthworms. I have the manure in black plastic bags and left them in the sun for over a year. Also the hay that is the horses feed is being sprayed to kill off broad leaf weeds. Which limits the horses diet and may also effect the earthworms. I would greatly appreciate your opinion and view on this potential problem. Thanking you in advance, Tom.
Along with my worm castings I use dry ammendments such as alfalfa meal, ground oyster shell, Kobashi, which I'm going to feed my worms I just ordered. Amongst other things/I also like to use Nectar of The God's organic nutrient line. I do implement some" knf " into my garden as well
One issue I’ve heard and it makes sense is worm castings depend on what they’re fed. One place in cali has played with different ingredients and proportions over years and tested the result. They basically said what you feed does affect the quantity and quality of the microbes and fungi in worm castings.
Quail manure is a great fertilizer, it can be used straight into the ground by mixing it with the dirt, or it can be stored in a container with water, then mix that dirty water before applying it to the root of the plants.
on the other side of ocean are many methods of composting , in september we do some beds 2 metres by 2 metres and about 1 metre tall , anything green or yellow added there until 50 cm tall , after added 1 kg of yeast 1 kg of sugar mixed in mild hot water and 500 grams of simple salt this added to 20-30 litres of water and added plus mixed very well with a fork ...after this we add manure of anything and put a plastic on top ...and 1 time a week, everything is mixed again , after 20-23 days you see worm casting and other small creatures ....when temp goes below 0 C we put soil on top of plastic and we mixing like 1 time a week...on march like 15-25 , mixed with some soil and used directly to planting in greenhouse for late april's crops...this mix is really good for tomatoes , we have like 1 kg of bull's heart type, giant bell pepper(less than 1 kg grow like 700-900 grams , seed pumkins like 20-40 kg ....compost or worm casting in both you have bacteria and fungus at worm casting you can use as it is without worry about but on compost if is too strong it's need to be diluate with some soil
We have no animals so we use only grass clippings and leaves for the gardens as both mulch and compost. We seem to find worms through out the gardens but I was wondering if it would make sense to add worms directly to the garden?
I use arborist wood chips, which has all the leaves and small branches. I also like manure, peet, coco coir, straw, and any fruit waste or rines the worms eat. I think a good mix of all of them work well. I also raise worms in the ground.
I got goats and their bedding and putting it in the garden very early spring or this year I am covering my beds with both cow poo and goat poo and bedding. Next year I am adding the chicken poo, the year after the duck poo. I am hoping to get rabbits and quile as well and mix it all ! I am thinking of also using humanure on my walnut trees ! But I found out worms love my friends' horse manure so I will purchase 3 wagon full for this spring !
I use fox farm happy frog fertlizer 6-4-5 and also and fish emulsion and of course castings and perlite for my potting soil specifically for veggies thats my recipe and it's been amazing for the vegetative stage on my veggies because of all the nitrogen especially
What about manure. Can I add manure to worm bin ? I also heard the moist on the bottom of wormbin can kill worms is this true. Thank u for colorful explanation
Hey Mark, my garden is 100% leaf and grass compost which turned to 85% worm castings. I made hugal mounds and started planting. Moles and voles have become an issue.
hi, new gardener here. My soil is terrible here so I'm going with a raised bed vegetable garden - 20 ft long, 4 ft wide and 30 in high to save my back and keep rabbits out. That's a lot of volume to fill. I found a rancher who will give me cow manure. It's a combination he scrapes up for me near the cow feed bins - fresh and old manure with some hay scrapped up with a bit of soil. My question is how will I know when the manure has decomposed enough to add worms? And how many do I need to start with? Do I just get them from eBay or is there a better source? And will they all just freeze to death in winter and I will need to buy new ones each spring? Obviously I can't move my raised bed out of the cold and the temps get into the single digits in winter usually with snow or hail. And into the 90's in summer. The bed is made of wood so it has some insulating potential, but probably not enough to keep the bed from freezing like a block of ice in the winter. And is there any way to tell if the worms have digested enough of my soil/cow manure to start planting, or is it just trial and error? I appreciate anyone who can help me with answers to any of my questions. Thank you.
I'm brand new to all of this gardening,started 3 weeks ago and I feel it's all trial and error,my goal is to stay away from those expensive commercial fertilizers and just use our FREE NATURAL RESOURCES,cheapest top soil,worm castings or just kitchen scraps or both,leaves,leaf mold and grass clippings,good luck to you... New Jersey....
I make my compost from fall leaves, veggie/plant scraps, coffee grounds and sometimes horse manure. It all breaks down into a beautiful black compost with plenty of worms that find there way up from under the pile. Totally off subject but I was wondering if any of your preying mantis eggs ever hatched?
Great selection of materials to use as compost... I am SORRY to say that they did not hatch at all. I do not know what the real cause was either.. THANKS for asking
If you are trying to build up soil, such as in a raised bed, you don't really need to sieve the material. Just let the worms break down a lot of the material so it has a lot of castings. Then attract out the worms like you showed. You won't get all of them, but that is OK. Then just put the remaining mix of castings and partially broken-down material to the bed. The breaking down will continue in the bed if the weather is suitable. You will transfer some worms with the castings and organics, but the worms will be good for the bed if you still have much warm weather left. I would not do this late in the season if you have hard freezes.
I have thousands of crickets in my garden so iam sure there's plenty of cricket frass, also me and my family gather wild rabbit droppings, and I compost everything I can find lol. That's about it . I already have corn almost 6feet high with tassles.
I keep a blender just for compost. I add paper to all the food scraps & the worms devour the mix with a burgeoning population. I have hard pan clay. I bury about ten quarts of the mix , cover it with a pot that drains which has a healthy number of worms, keep it wet and shazam! in less than a month I have real soil under the pot;) Then I move the pot over... This works for me because I have a small yard. I blend the mix when the do dishes and have gotten pretty fast. No compost pile to mess with. No rodents. No smell. Nobody could believe how many worms are thriving! My grandaughters rescued local suicidal worms after neighbors fertilized. I think having local varieties helps.
Not to mention that not all worm castings are the same. I had a friend who was a commercial worm farmer for bait companies and sold worms all over Texas and Arkansas. He raised his worms in straight horse manure. First he washed a lot of the green water out with a water hose and then added worms. After the worms were done you could use the castings straight with no soil at all. There were no need for any fertilizer , and it was like straight magic. He had strawberry's the size of apples. In my 50 years I have never seen anything even come close to worm castings. You could take a 5 gallon bucket full of his castings and push down on them with your hand and then release....and they would come back up like a sponge. It was absolutely incredible.
Thanks for rinsing tip. This week I added horse manure without rinsing and the worms tried like hell to get out.
i dont understand when you say "First he washed a lot of the green water out with a water hose"
what does that mean?
I think he's referring to the ammonia content of fresh manure. He's saying his friend flushed out the ammonia with water. If you use old manure you don't have to worry about it. I use manure to catch red wrigglers for fishing. I think I'm going to start using the spent manure to grow some vegetables though.
THANK YOU for sharing this with us..
@@ayileenenga9670 He built his boxes out of wood. There were cracks where water could escape. He would run water in it and let it rinse some of the ammonia out or whatever it was that turned the water green that was leaking out. When the water running out of the cracks cleared up somewhat he would stop. Then let it drain. Then add worms.
The sprinkles/bacteria on paper demo was excellent!
I had an old broken garbage pale and wanted to try a potatoe tower.
I drilled a bunch of holes in it and kept adding adding debris for the potatoes.
I noticed it kept shrinking and thought someone was pulling my leg.
When I dumped the pail to get my potatoes I was shocked and very pleased to see thousands of the biggest and healthiest worms in some of the richest and darkest soil on my property.
Ever since iv used the garbage pale solely as my worm bin, and leave it next to my fruit trees and veins.
I let the rain and irrigation do all of the for me.
It removes my yard and food waste, and feeds my plants.
At the beginning of every new growing season I dump it over and mix it with stump grindings to rejuvenate a new portion of my yard
I am very pleased with it and the results
What a GREAT discovery you found.. And now working so well for you... THANK YOU for sharing
Ok im brand new to all of this gardening,I started 3 weeks ago with 5 gallon containers,now how exactly do I make a worm farm,can I just throw leaves,grass clippings,tree bark,branches in one of my empty garbage cans,will doing all that attract worms the most???
Thank you Mark, for all you do to educate us. You are truly a blessing!!!
So interesting..nothing like a great visual! Thank you!
Glad to hear ... THANK YOU.
I did a test of three different grow mediums. I planted a seedling in 3 cups. 1. seed starting mix 2. regular black cow brand compost and 3. black cow compost with 1/10th worm casting mixed in. The worm castings one was 4x the size of the seed starting mix and 2x the size of just growing in regular compost. So worm castings is the best thing I've ever used. I have a worm bin and they are doing great. I started my worms with coca choir and compost. 3 months later the whole container is completely jet black. I just check them a few times a week for moister and food. It's stupid simple to have your own worm bin. Wise investment.
GREAT TRAIL with test results.. THANK YOU so very much for sharing this info. Worm casting are truly amazing.
Tranquil Geo remember, you need a fungally dominated media and it will grow much faster.
TranquiI Geo Now I have an idea. Infact theres a Iot of earthworn here in our pIace but am not giving much attention to what they can personaIIy to my pIants. Now Ia have to gather some of them for give and take method. thanks for the ideaI way of utiIizing the Nature system.
Not to mention safer for the rivers and streams
I started a small worm bin about a month ago. I want to use worm casting for my own potting mix for seedlings. I still compost in more traditional ways too. Great video Mark!
Today I just used my worm casting about 20 % by volume mix into QTY one 1.2 lb weight coco coir brick. Works great
Thank you, Mark, for the explanation of why and how worms add value to compost material. It makes me appreciate my red wrigglers even more!
They really do a fantastic work for us for free.. THANKS
Great explanation of compost vs worm castings. I have both and never thought of the worms processing the bacteria and fungi. Makes sense. I love the fact that I can add the stuff I want to my worm farm to get the desired castings. So fascinating
IT is truly amazing how nature works. Thanks
Hello, Mark Just ran across your video, For me I follow the Back to Eden Method and have been very happy with this method as for what I use, it is a three part process, 1. Leaf mold, 2. Worm castings and 3. compost tea. For me I stopped using Red wigglers and went straight to night crawlers. I based this change on the amount of night crawlers I find in my wood chip piles. I have 4 six foot diameter 3 feet high compost corals for my leaves. They sit on top of tarps. I find lots of night crawlers in leaf compost corals. For me red wigglers never lasted in both environments, however night crawlers are very prolific and do a great job. I get about 30 loads of wood chips on a 4 year cycle. My garden is only 8,000 sq. ft. and it keeps me busy just making compost. Thanks for all of your video's I always learn something new each time.
I started this year trying to be a serious composter as I am expanding my raised beds. Now almost 6 months in, I’ve found I’m really a worm farmer as my compost bins are not really “hot”, but now full of thousands of beautiful red wigglers that have naturally multiplied from the wood chips and leaf mulch I used as my brown material base.
Incredible compost and environment I hope to keep going in my beds.
I use comfrey, chop, and drop for fertilizing. Also, my garden is well mulched with wood chips and straw that brings in the worms. They provide fertilizer as well as tunneling. I've used fish fertilizer in the past but find it is an unsustainable material as well as bone/blood meal. After several years of the deep mulch, I find I no longer need to add any fertilizer even though I do chop the comfrey leaves down around the fruit orchard. Each fruit tree has 2 comfrey plants growing at their base.
lane laney is their a reason for comfrey plants at base of fruit trees. I'm just starting comfrey plants, do they benefit the trees?
Good explanation on the difference in the two. I’m just getting started with my worm castings. Right now I use worm castings from the store. I do make my own compost. I use bonemeal, blood meal, fish emulation and some epson salts. For bugs only use cold pressed neem oil and dish soap. Love how you explain things..!! Have a great day..!!
That is a great mixture of organic fertilizer, VERY nice.. THANK YOU for sharing
I really love the visual aids you make. looking forward to microscopic examination of castings.Keep up the good work.
YES, I really would like to share what is moving around in their.. THANKS
Great video Mark! On another note, I just harvested two pounds of new potatoes from my compost pile. Not bad for no cost and little effort! Thanks again. All the best to you and your sons!
You must be just ecstatic about this.. I am for you.. THANK YOU.
This was such a helpful tutorial! Your explanation with the sprinkles was fun and made the decomposition process very easy to understand. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful and fun to watch. THANK YOU
I do it the lazy way: I choose a bed and use it as my food-waste pile for part of the season. It quickly disappears into beautiful compost/worm castings and then I plant into it.
That is always the best way to do it... THANK YOU.
Loving that actually, never tried it. Simplicity is sometimes lost in overthinking
I do the same. Some places I find so many castings I shovel them out and place them around plants. The castings have to be cleared out so worms don't die. I move them to fresh compost so they can keep working. I mix compost with several handfuls of wood ash and char from the firepit for soil amendment.
@@MarlonVanderLinde Leaves, grass clippings, weeds, and kitchen scraps mixed together is best.
Permanent pen,
This is not lazy.
This is the easiest, least expensive and best way to make compost.
It allows all the mini-beasts (not just worms) to chew at the material; all their droppings end up on your veg bed.
Anything that leaches out stays under the bed.
Excellent info. Thank you. Subscribed!
I have a large area in the back yard, under trees, where i pile leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps. I rotate one side then the other each year. The result is almost all worm castings and pretty much every thing i plant gets it. This year its mammoth sunflowers and there getting close to 8' already. Very informative channel Mark. Thanks!
A tree will thrive when you do this. Especially fruit trees.
As ALWAYS I learned so much. Thanks!
THANK YOU.
Excellent video, thank you for posting x.
I am very glad it was helpful and likable. Always here to share. THANK YOU.
I'm still pretty new, but for fertilizing I've been using fermented stinging nettles (smells terrible, but works wonders. Many videos out there). I also use a light 'composting water' from when I boil vegetables, eggs, or tea, the leftover water gets put into the garden. I was told to put fish heads at the bottom of the beds, so I've done that too. I'm still experimenting and enjoying the results. For pests or fungus I've been using a mixture of organic essential oils with water, grapefruit seed extract and glycerine, so far so good. Thanks for your videos, it's great to keep learning and teaching each other...
Mr. Mark you have been a true inspiration to me and I’m getting a compost pile started.
Also experimenting with raising red wrigglers and mealworms. It’s fun me.
I know it’s not much but planning on moving back to Florida this is a start to learning and the worms will get a feeding every month while I get things wrapped up in both locations.
I hope your children and family are doing great.
Thank you very much for sharing.
I can only hope and pray for someplace like yours to help my family live a healthier lifestyle.
Sincerely,
William Gallaher
THANK YOU for your kind words. It will work out for you to get a place ...just have fun looking. it will happen
I AM ORGANIC GARDENING
Thank you for a great reply, it means the world to me.
Have a great day and live a safe and happy life!!!
Thank you, very nicely illustrated.
Glad you enjoyed it! THANK YOU Kindly.
Thats a great idea for a compost sifter!
Leafs and sticks great job thanks for sharing your help
Hi Mark, I've been raising worms for about 3 years now and use the castings anytime I start seeds indoors, transplant, or repot my plants. This year I am going to try your method with the leaf mold and worm castings for my seed starting mix. My first year with a BTE garden I did add blood meal to the plants as needed for nitrogen. I've also used horse and cow manure on a garden - which was fantastic for the plants but resulted in many seeds and weeds sprouting - stickers and thistles especially. This year I plan on using the material from my chicken run spread over the garden in the fall. I may try something new with the chickens this year and that is taking the fish I catch from a family pond (which is overstocked and has many small fish) and toss them into the chicken run for them to eat and break down as well. (If I notice a taste difference with the eggs I will stop or moderate the amount of fish put in). I will sometimes use inorganic fertilizer for my indoor house plants. Thank you for all the great information and videos, I greatly appreciate it!
This was very helpful! Thanks for sharing this info!
Glad it was helpful! THANK YOu.
Currently composting leaves and kitchen scraps! Excited to start worm farming. Thankyou for sharing your knowledge
You will love the result. Just keep it simple and enjoy and learn slowly
That was basket idea is pretty cool, makes me want to attach it to an old mower motor for automated sifting.
That would be fun to watch.. THANKS.
Hey Mark,
I’m considering buying Red wigglers to put in my garden directly. We’re in zone 7B. We have a BTE garden that is deeply mulched with wood chips (Tree branch chips). We run chickens on one side and grow vegetables on the other and switch them every spring. We’re in year two, and I want to dig a couple of holes in the mulch on both side all the way to the soil level, loosen the soil a bit, and put the red wigglers in and then cover them back with soil and mulch. My questions are:
1. Will they survive the winter time here in 7B? It gets cold but usually not for long periods. The mulch is 8-12” deep in most areas.
2. Will the chickens totally wipe the worms out? I know they scratch down a few inches now and occasionally find earth worms to eat, but losing some worms to them here and there is ok, so long as they don’t eat them out of existence.
Let me know what you think. Im thinking that the worms will migrate over to the side away from the chickens every year. I’m also thinking that the worms reproduce fast enough to keep up with the chickens finding them.
I currently have 6 chickens on a 25X100 mulched area, but will be adding another 10 chickens to them in a week or so. I know Red wigglers eat composted manure, so I’m wondering if they’ll risk being found by the chickens to eat their old manure off the surface.
Hi Mark. I have two small worm towers that have only been on the go for a few months. I feed them on out of date veg that I get from the local supermarket and they seem to be happy with that. Looking forward to the next vid on the science on castings. Cheers Jim from Scotland.
Mark I bought 3lbs of worms 2 yrs ago (Red Wigglers) I used some in my 3 bins down my basement. The rest I put in my compost pile and in my garden . Because I use the Back To Eden method of gardening there is always decaying matter in my garden for the worms. Also I have large mulch piles through out my yard around all the trees and bushes. I live on about 2 acres and at this point there isnt a place on my land you cant find these worms. They are a little hard to find in the hot days of summer or cold of winter but in the spring and fall they are all over the place doing the job of breaking down these raw materials. I believe they have been and still are a great ally in my growing program. Great Vid keep them coming
WHAT A GREAT OUTCOME.. THANK YOU so much for sharing. Truly amazing how much they can do.
James Ruland I want to try adding them into my BTE beds too. We’re in zone 7B. Do you think it’ll get too hot or cold down here in Mississippi for them? Our mulch is kept at least 6” deep. Some areas are 12” for now until it breaks down more. Also we’re running chickens on the opposite of the garden and every spring we switch the chickens and garden out. Do you think the chickens will wipe out the worms really badly on their side every year? If they do, do you think they will recover or migrate from the other side when the chickens are moved?
Combat it seems when it gets to hot or cold the worms move down to deeper ground. I have chickens also and they do get to the worms but it seems that once the worms start breeding and moving though out the yard there numbers are such that the chickens just get some of them not all of them. Getting back to the temps there are times when I swear there are no worms in my yard but as soon as the weather is about 50 to 70 degrees everywhere I dig I find them. One warning though they dont like the rain and if you get a heavy rain you will find them everywhere even up on my deck under flower pots trying to escape the flood
They like when everything is wet and there is no sunlight (night or very very overcast). That’s the only time they can scout around up on the surface because they hate sunlight and need constant moisture.
Thanks for sharing. I have a huge compost pile and a small garden so that's where all my fertilizer comes from. The pile is mostly leaves and grass clippings but it gets my kitchen and garden waste, too. Occasionally I'll add some urea to get it to break down faster
Very nice to hear. It is great you can get all the compost material.. THANK YOU.
Great advice.
THANK YOU so very much.
Great info, Thanks Mark
THANK YOU.
Thank you!
I started a vermicompost bin in Sept 2021 and I just started a second one. Wow! I thought I was making compost and worm castings but I'm actually just making worm castings. The biological activity is much better from worm castings. Pretty cool. It has been such an educational experience. I have very little trash now. If I could only train some fungi to eat the small amount of plastic I use.
One question: I live in NYC. I moly have windowsill space. I was a bit afraid to use the warm castings because of bugs. An experienced CZcams gardener recommended soil for planting indoors because of of bugs. I think it's been sterilized. What do you think? Do you think it's safe to use worm castings for an indoor plant pot garden? Thanks again.
For my worm bins (out of one big one I now have four bins) I use "Jiffy" Organic and natural sphagnum peat moss and shredded newspaper for bedding (will also order coconut coir as well) and for feeding I'm using the usual vegetable and fruit scraps such as banana peels and overripe bananas, apple slices, mangoes, and scraps of leafy vegetables like lettuce and also cauliflower and broccoli. I put the food scraps into a blender and blend it down nicely so the worms can eat and digest it easily and you should see them FLOCK to the area after I've placed the food in a trench I make in the bedding. I also add used coffee grounds and I mixed ground-up eggshells mixed with cornmeal and the worms are LOVING it!! The castings are nice and black and I'm using it for my potted houseplants and will use it also on some potted vegetables that I plan to have potted up outside. I live in a ground-floor apartment and put my plants in pots out near the front step. I LOVE vermicomposting and am using red wiggler worms, which I ordered 1,000 right off the bat when I started the first ever bin. I LOVE your explanation and the timing was PERFECT, as I had a fellow FB friend ask what is the difference between regular composting and vermicomposting so I shared this clip with her. Thanks for posting this clip!
What's the simplest way to start a worm bin,I just started container gardening 3 weeks ago with 20 5 gallon containers,I was using organic potting mix,black kow manure,peat moss,blood and bone meal,tomato fertilizer and liquid fish fertilizer but I want to eliminate those expensive fertilizers and just use our "FREE NATURAL RESOURCES" like the cheapest top soil,worm castings or homemade compost from kitchen scraps and leaves,wood chips,grass clippings,any help is greatly appreciated...
I am hoping to get to a living mulch walkway biomass accumulation system going. 12" walkways, 30" beds all walkways and borders growing in native weeds, to be composted into the rows by raking in after scythe/string trimming.
Its working, But I am only 2 years in. The idea is the same as everyone. To fight nature as little as possible and use the least energy to mold/sculp the growth/biomass into the most useable form. You do much of the same in most of your videos. I believe we are really approaching a Hybrid technique of small-scale production farming that combines dozens of methods.
I don't mind getting 60% of the yield, If my energy inputs are only 20% as high as a maximum production variant of the same cropping.
Over time yields increase with crop rotation and use of flowering perennials to attract pollinators. I even remove some garden topsoil and replace it with fresh compost to minimize soil diseases. The old garden soil gets spread on the lawn to break down clippings and improve grass quality. Mulch allows worms to move quickly and survive downpours or heat.
Who doesn’t give this content a thumbs up 👍🏼? Haters.. that’s who! Great stuff 😇thank you
I fully understand what you are saying. Like my 2nd newest video about giving a gift of clean air to 28 thousand people
Got red wigglers in March for our house compost bin. I bought worm castings to add to my potting mix. I have quite a few trees on four acres and I have several leaf piles of different ages that are to supplement plants in the garden. There is 60+ cu. ft. of well-aged wood chips from trees downed by Sandy. Like the ifo you provide especially because I am in zone 6B.
What a good way to use all that material you have to GREAT use. THANK YOU.
Good going Mark...Sherlock......Matlock.....Columbo.....GoGo Gadget....LoL......Keep on investigating. I like it.
THANKS for the laugh.. Columbo really brings back great memories. THANK AGAIN
Thk u for the great information
Glad it was helpful! THANK YOU.
Ok what i used this year (bought in March so didn’t have time to build the soil.) was humic acid, bokashi, kelp meal, epsom salt, azimite, galcial rock dust, blood meal, rock phosphate, alfalfa meal, neem seed meal, and feather meal. I also planted a big cover crop mix and went with 24 inch wall ways to build soil for next year.
My current system I use to prep for next yeah is a flock of chickens in a stationary coop. I give them a compost pile in the run. They knock it down and poop on it I stack it back up. Makes compost so fast it’s crazy and it’s very high in N from the poo. I also have red wiggles in a worm bin that get a compost mix as well, also I have a meal worm colony (to grow bugs for the hens for the winter) so i harvest the frass from them. I also use pigs to till my soil and send chickens and tuckerys I’m behind the pigs to spread the poo. I cover crop everything as well. I hope in a few years my soil will be amazing. I will be mixing all my compost, worm castings and frass together and will spread it down my 50ft rows at the start of next season.
They are all good. The best thing is you will never have to buy or repeat that process ever again. Plants will grow soil and recycle all the nutrients you need..THANK YOU.
What is explained in worm casting vs compost is really the reason for Vermiculturecompost fertilizer. Combining both processes to get a most fertile soil conditioner fertilizer.
Good posting
Hey mark nice bin! I have done alot of looking in and studying worm casting tea and have some good shots on my channel of protozoa eating bacteria as the bacteria eat fungal hyphae if youd like to check them out. I had not considered the worms eating and digesting the microbes like you said. I always thought of it as the worms mainly eating organic matter and their activity supporting a chain of aerobic microbial life. The theory i picked up about available nutrient for plants was that the plants could uptake sugars and other compounds that were produced as the larger microbes consumed smaller microbes that consumed fungal hyphae. Once the oxygen available dipped too low the microbial population would die back and essentially become regular organic matter (aka not food for plants). I love your channel, keep up the good work.
Valuable information.
Glad it was helpful! THANK YOU.
We have a small farm so we use mostly goat, horse and older, composted chicken manure! As well as a chicken tea that I make up a batch of at the beginning of every grow season. I am however getting in to the worm farming for starting plants, seedlings and cuttings. also I just think its cool!!
It is very cool.. THANK YOU.
Sifted 17 cubic feet from my 1 year old compost heap. bigger chunks and lots of worms were thrown in new started adjacent heap. Ingredients were cardboard, paper towels, shredded paper, hedge and tree clippings, garden and kitchen waste (including eggshells and spend coffee grounds), also very old oats, baking flour, and even some unused paper based cat litter. Occasionally some diluted wee was applied. No bread, meat, fat and cooked food in order to keep rodents away. Heap was gradually build up during year and only once turned over in early spring and heated up a bit.
After filling my grow bags, I'm without compost. So in order to expand my no dig, raised beds with fine, poor sandy, water repellent soil, I now harvest weeds, add some bentonite clay, crushed basalt, dried cow dung and some unused cat litter, water it, mix it in, and top of with some old spend potting soil. Seeded now with Phacelia for building soil. In autumn I will slash it, add another layer of sand and put in winter rye. That will be slashed in spring and covered with some layers of newspaper, topped of with another layer of sand, plant bush beans and add some very old weed free compost. Just trying to build soil.
Next year compost harvest will be less, my wife snatches the coffee grounds, and suddenly applies chop and drop in her ornamental garden (can't blame her, already 3 months without rain).
Report back on earlier discussion: two beds with winter rye, both cut back to 2 inches, "harvested" material used for ground cover in ornamental garden, bed1 covered with layer of newspaper, both beds seeded with mix of carrots and radishes (bed1 2 weeks later after removal of paper). Both beds sprouted normal. Had to cut back winter rye in bed2 3 times, no regrowth in bed1. Harvest in bed1 was super, harvest in bed2 was poor. Conclusion: kill the winter rye before replanting.
Happy gardening, greetings from Holland.
very good video
just found your website, good video. I work with bioponics, aquaponics, and vermiponics. had worked with as many as a half a million worms on my worm farm producing about a cubic yard of pure worm castings a week. there are variables to everything, castings are no different; the castings will vary in quality dependent on what they are given to work with. you have used basically leafmold which is excellent, paper not so great. worm casting work well for cloning much better then mulch. it works magic with root crops that are on their last leg. the worms restore the health and vigor to them.
Seems like Mark is a famous name among CZcams gardeners. such as "Self Sufficient Me." Thanks Mark.
That is another great gardening channel that I love to watch.. Thanks You.
Two reasons for giving this a thumbs-up: 1) I'm in the same grow zone of New Jersey too, and 2) RAINBOW SPRINKLES! Now onto part II....
Life is like a Box of sprinkles. THANK YOU.
Funny.. this was the 2nd video I watched this week about vermicomposting in which a reference to sprinkles is made. In the other video, the castings of African Night Crawlers are described as looking like a bin full of chocolate sprinkles
awesome
I live in coastal Australia and the soil is terribly sandy. I have had the best luck with coco coir, worm castings, bio char & a clay compost mix to amend the soil. as for liquid fertiliser its either worm juice or seaweed solution.
Thanks for sharing.. That is so great to hear. Those are great items to use. Enjoy
Nice use of "jimmies" in your bacteria representation haha...im in 6b nj as well. Love the videos
THANK YOU. They where the right choice. Until they got wet.
I make a compost using shredded fall leaves and kitchen scraps. I use this as a mulch in addition to the cover crop that is chopped and dropped. I planted comfy this spring and will be adding to my mulch layer once it is established.
GREAT material to use .. THANKS
I've used those wire screen wastebaskets for years now to extract soluble nutrients (with water) from compost/worm castings. That way, the nutrients can be added at any time, regardless of composting stage.
Great tip and THANK YOU.
I have a compost pile in the corner of my chicken run. I throw everything in there, kitchen scraps, weeds, bedding from the coop, leaves, etc. The chickens (and worms) spend lots of time in there looking for goodies and break it down so much faster and other than going in and piling it up once in a while, the chickens do all the work. I am now harvesting it and spreading on my garden beds for next years garden.
That is so very GREAT to hear. THANK YOU for sharing.
If I have earthworms in my compost pile am I getting a combo of castings and compost? They occurred on their own. I didn’t add them.
Yes , you are getting the best of both worlds. Thanks for asking
Everything that is free and it helps business out and neighbours. Bit of time collecting. But good for keep up community. So landscapers trimmings, grass clippings. Coffee and food waste. Dog waste to give the wigglers a boost (only from my own dog's!) I keep them organic. Chemical wormers I assume would be bad. Natural one's so far so good.
That said if I felt that the soil needed enrichment quickly and had to pay. Seaweed extract and or chicken manure liquid if colder temperatures. For a quick answer.
Great work and appreciate all that you do. Schools and colleges should use your channel etc. Talking from experience.....hint. Thanks again!
Horse manure from my farm. Mainly without the bedding included. We put the damp bedding shavings on the outdoor riding space.
Nice to have your own animals to use their manure.. THANK YOU.
Great video
THANK YOU.
Nice
Hi Mark I love all your fabulous ytubes including this one . You are so inspirational and clever . Wondering if you can tell me what benefits worm wee provide ie composition wise if you know and perhaps also some comment on how it is best applied to plants ... diluted or not , weekly or monthly ? Many thanks for all your information .
Sorry. I never really got involved in making worm tea. Never had the need to.
Would love to see an update on this system. Do you find it easy using a system that is so big? Are there any changes you have made to the system?
I am looking to feed horse manure to earthworms. I am concerned that the medicines given to horses may kill off the earthworms. I have the manure in black plastic bags and left them in the sun for over a year. Also the hay that is the horses feed is being sprayed to kill off broad leaf weeds. Which limits the horses diet and may also effect the earthworms. I would greatly appreciate your opinion and view on this potential problem. Thanking you in advance, Tom.
Along with my worm castings I use dry ammendments such as alfalfa meal, ground oyster shell, Kobashi, which I'm going to feed my worms I just ordered. Amongst other things/I also like to use Nectar of The God's organic nutrient line. I do implement some" knf " into my garden as well
I do like that alfalfa meal also. Will be do a video on that looking under a microscope to se if I can find any microbes in it. THANKS for sharing.
I use chicken manure, mulch, and leguminous cover crops for my plant nutrition.
VERY NICE.. Thank You.
composted chicken manure, leave, and blended food scrapes. they love it.
Great combo.. THANK YOU.
I tend to use a lot of leaf mold, compost, fish emulsion and comfrey.
VERY NICE.. Great mixture.. THANK YOU.
Lorann Harris fish emulsion? HA, we catch fish from our pond and throw some of them to the chickens!!! :-)
One issue I’ve heard and it makes sense is worm castings depend on what they’re fed. One place in cali has played with different ingredients and proportions over years and tested the result. They basically said what you feed does affect the quantity and quality of the microbes and fungi in worm castings.
Quail manure is a great fertilizer, it can be used straight into the ground by mixing it with the dirt, or it can be stored in a container with water, then mix that dirty water before applying it to the root of the plants.
Thank you for sharing so much with us. I plan to do my own work bin, but in the meantime do you suggest buying worm castings?
GREAT PLAN & YES, the casting they sell today are very good.. THANK YOU
And thanks for the important information that I've learned from this video previous comment
Glad it was helpful.. Enjoy Gardening
Worm castings mainly but also composting. Thank you
I love the trash bin sifter!
THANKS
Mark. I can't wait for the next vid,
THANK YOU.
on the other side of ocean are many methods of composting , in september we do some beds 2 metres by 2 metres and about 1 metre tall , anything green or yellow added there until 50 cm tall , after added 1 kg of yeast 1 kg of sugar mixed in mild hot water and 500 grams of simple salt this added to 20-30 litres of water and added plus mixed very well with a fork ...after this we add manure of anything and put a plastic on top ...and 1 time a week, everything is mixed again , after 20-23 days you see worm casting and other small creatures ....when temp goes below 0 C we put soil on top of plastic and we mixing like 1 time a week...on march like 15-25 , mixed with some soil and used directly to planting in greenhouse for late april's crops...this mix is really good for tomatoes , we have like 1 kg of bull's heart type, giant bell pepper(less than 1 kg grow like 700-900 grams , seed pumkins like 20-40 kg ....compost or worm casting in both you have bacteria and fungus at worm casting you can use as it is without worry about but on compost if is too strong it's need to be diluate with some soil
We have no animals so we use only grass clippings and leaves for the gardens as both mulch and compost. We seem to find worms through out the gardens but I was wondering if it would make sense to add worms directly to the garden?
They will multiply on their own when the contains are right and only they can make it that way.. So hold off for now. THANKS
I use arborist wood chips, which has all the leaves and small branches. I also like manure, peet, coco coir, straw, and any fruit waste or rines the worms eat. I think a good mix of all of them work well. I also raise worms in the ground.
THANK YOU for sharing this great info.
I got goats and their bedding and putting it in the garden very early spring or this year I am covering my beds with both cow poo and goat poo and bedding. Next year I am adding the chicken poo, the year after the duck poo. I am hoping to get rabbits and quile as well and mix it all ! I am thinking of also using humanure on my walnut trees ! But I found out worms love my friends' horse manure so I will purchase 3 wagon full for this spring !
Lot of thx from APSL India👌👍
Very Kind of you to say.
I use fox farm happy frog fertlizer 6-4-5 and also and fish emulsion and of course castings and perlite for my potting soil specifically for veggies thats my recipe and it's been amazing for the vegetative stage on my veggies because of all the nitrogen especially
Very Nice to hear.. THANK YOU for sharing.
What about manure. Can I add manure to worm bin ? I also heard the moist on the bottom of wormbin can kill worms is this true. Thank u for colorful explanation
Hey Mark, my garden is 100% leaf and grass compost which turned to 85% worm castings. I made hugal mounds and started planting. Moles and voles have become an issue.
I had the same problem.. it you keep disturbing the holes they will move away. THANK YOU for sharing.
hi, new gardener here. My soil is terrible here so I'm going with a raised bed vegetable garden - 20 ft long, 4 ft wide and 30 in high to save my back and keep rabbits out. That's a lot of volume to fill. I found a rancher who will give me cow manure. It's a combination he scrapes up for me near the cow feed bins - fresh and old manure with some hay scrapped up with a bit of soil.
My question is how will I know when the manure has decomposed enough to add worms? And how many do I need to start with? Do I just get them from eBay or is there a better source? And will they all just freeze to death in winter and I will need to buy new ones each spring? Obviously I can't move my raised bed out of the cold and the temps get into the single digits in winter usually with snow or hail. And into the 90's in summer. The bed is made of wood so it has some insulating potential, but probably not enough to keep the bed from freezing like a block of ice in the winter. And is there any way to tell if the worms have digested enough of my soil/cow manure to start planting, or is it just trial and error? I appreciate anyone who can help me with answers to any of my questions. Thank you.
I'm brand new to all of this gardening,started 3 weeks ago and I feel it's all trial and error,my goal is to stay away from those expensive commercial fertilizers and just use our FREE NATURAL RESOURCES,cheapest top soil,worm castings or just kitchen scraps or both,leaves,leaf mold and grass clippings,good luck to you... New Jersey....
great video! Does the bacteria and fungi die when u dry out the castings? also do u put those eggs ito use?
They dry up into a sleep stage. Yes. All worm eggs go into the garden. THANK YOU for asking.
I make my compost from fall leaves, veggie/plant scraps, coffee grounds and sometimes horse manure. It all breaks down into a beautiful black compost with plenty of worms that find there way up from under the pile.
Totally off subject but I was wondering if any of your preying mantis eggs ever hatched?
Great selection of materials to use as compost... I am SORRY to say that they did not hatch at all. I do not know what the real cause was either.. THANKS for asking
i find that rabbitdroppings in your worm bins works great the worms break down rabbit waste faster and gives you a better super soil
Hi mark
Being from the west coast I use fish fertilizer and seaweed.
Jim
YES, Great source and product to use for a garden
If you are trying to build up soil, such as in a raised bed, you don't really need to sieve the material. Just let the worms break down a lot of the material so it has a lot of castings. Then attract out the worms like you showed. You won't get all of them, but that is OK. Then just put the remaining mix of castings and partially broken-down material to the bed. The breaking down will continue in the bed if the weather is suitable. You will transfer some worms with the castings and organics, but the worms will be good for the bed if you still have much warm weather left. I would not do this late in the season if you have hard freezes.
Great Advice...THANK YOU.
I use compos Rock Dust worm castings
Worm castings, azomite, coffee grounds and homemade compost.
GREAT combination...THANK YOU.
Azomite is great stuff! Gives them some grit, and trace minerals. Which get passed on in castings!
What percentage of castings do you put in your potting soil?
I have thousands of crickets in my garden so iam sure there's plenty of cricket frass, also me and my family gather wild rabbit droppings, and I compost everything I can find lol. That's about it . I already have corn almost 6feet high with tassles.
Rabbit dropping are great to use.. THANK YOU for you info.
Rabbit poo can be thrown in the garden immediately. No composting needed
I like the dry Fox Farm fertilizers
Glad to hear that is working well for you.. THANK YOU.
I keep a blender just for compost. I add paper to all the food scraps & the worms devour the mix with a burgeoning population. I have hard pan clay. I bury about ten quarts of the mix , cover it with a pot that drains which has a healthy number of worms, keep it wet and shazam! in less than a month I have real soil under the pot;) Then I move the pot over...
This works for me because I have a small yard. I blend the mix when the do dishes and have gotten pretty fast. No compost pile to mess with. No rodents. No smell. Nobody could believe how many worms are thriving! My grandaughters rescued local suicidal worms after neighbors fertilized. I think having local varieties helps.
That is such a GREAT IDEA... THANK YOU for sharing.. JUST AMAZING.
I have hard pan clay as well, do the worms break up any of the clay during this process, thanks
Just curious, what material did u use for the bedding when u first introduced the worms? Great informative video
Just Fall Leaves or leaf mold. They love it.
weed tea worm castings and compost. a lot of weed tea it is my favorite
VERY NICE... great ideal. THANKS