Why I Need African Night Crawlers- Carbon Eating Monsters
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- African Night Crawlers- They have become my carbon work horses eating cardboard like baby food
/ @plantobsessed
This is a complete reset of the system. Many of the original worms were lost when i was stuck out of town for an extended time. I have new big worms I bought from The Garden and Worm Lady. I have a plan to treat them like the breeders do with new bedding and food to promote the large growth.
AMAZON links Below to items I use for the Wormery
I am an Amazon affiliate. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The items below are the Amazon affiliate links for the items I use in my wormery. I have read and recommend these books. The cost is the same to you, but the channel will be get a small commission if purchases are made using the links.
Build a soil nutrient mix
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That was a quick video Ann. U are always to the point n brief. Take care
Thank you. 😂👍🏼🪱
I'm in the SF Bay area and keep the ANCs in my unheated garage. During our winter I keep heat mats under the bins. I just removed them because the weather has warmed up . Haven't had any issues with them climbing out of their mortar trays. Unlike the blues who run when we have winter storms, the ANCs aren't bothered. I'm in a quiet area. They have retained their size and their color is iridescent. Definitely my favorite worms.
I wish mine were as calm. They do an amazing job going through my Amazon boxes. It's interesting that the blues still freak out over storms. I guess my problem is really all the truck traffic on my road
Where can I buy them
So ive now had ANCs for almost a year. I live in upstate New York and i live not that far from route 55 which is a busy 2 lane road with constant truck traffic. The weather here is pretty wet. More so in the last 2 years. At first they tried to escape but now, i havent had that problem for months and i keep them in open red Husky containers. I think it maybe something in your bedding that makes them want to leave. I only use coco coir, a little pine shavings and a good amount of their own castings. When i harvest the castings ill use some of it to make new bedding with the other items. Seems to work for me.
Good to know. Thanks for the ideas. 👍🏼🪱😊
I agree, my ANCs are in microgreen trays grown on coco coir. They seem to be really happy in there, breed well in my bulk bin, and they really churn through material.
Nice endorsement for the VermiBag.. I'm sure Tom would approve 👍🏻 ...and hopefully Steve isn't watching :O Wormies did a great job breaking down all those Amazon boxes. Great check-in & discussion - thanks!
Steve is on an industrial manufacturing level, it is expected to see a reduction in quality. Tom makes them himself by hand and it shows. I make a living in the quality department. So it is super important to me.
Well put :)
What broke on your UWB?
@@dnt7805 the zipper, frame,.and lid fabric degraded in less than a year.
@@PlantObsessedHope these issues were addressed with the newer version releases.
Hi Ann, I have Red Wigglers, but those ANCs ❤🪱🪱❤️are monsters!
Is your MIL complaining about our heat yet? It was near 90°yesterday 😰
Happy Vermicomposting
❤Peggy❤
Lol nope. she is a snow bird and is back here for the summer.
My ANCs hav never crawled on the walls (these are in both one Vermibag mini and totes), but I'm in the sleepy and wet Pacific Northwest, and surely if and when "the big one" hits, they might do this! Indeed, they do looooove cardboard!
I'm glad your ANC are well behaved. Do you have the opposite problem with high moisture in the PNW?
My lb of anc arrived. Got them from Worms4Earth in N FL. I'm in zone 9b S of Orlando and have Perionxy and Fetida.
Had 2 runners 1st night before I put cover on 1 bucket that landed in a barely moist catch tray lid off a tote. Two 5 gallon buckets of different media and systems, no lid just moist paper and a cut out to ride just above. 300+ near adult worms in good health.
Give these guys a juicy forest floor and they will eat it. TY for the inspiration Anne 👍
They are big eaters for sure. Thank you for watching 😃🪱🪱
I'm glad to see AFC's thriving in the Midwest. 🙂
Live and learn.. I'm still learning 😃🪱👍🏼
Got my first ANCs this week and I'm happy to know I'm not the only one with rebellious wall climbers
I swear I have spent more money and gray hair trying to keep them alive. They are worth it.
Yay! ANCs are my favorite. 😊 They do love to escape. I'm running mine in three different 10 gallon totes with lids (with large vent screens in the lids), and they still manage to make it out. Clearly the lids don't fit snug enough to stop a detemined ANC. Somehow, they seem to settle in a little better when I give them a grocery ad to munch on and a layer of bubble wrap over top. I think they get distracted by the produce sales on the ad and the moisture that catches on the bubble wrap. 😉 But once we get a barometric pressure drop, they still try to make a run for it. Usually just one or two, but I did have a mass exodus event when I let them sit in their castings a little too long for their liking. But I just settled them into their new Vermibag totes, so hopefully that'll put an end to all that.💀
Excellent. I'm glad you found a good solution. They are good workers..it is a shame to lose so many.
Hi Anne! You make me want to give them a try!
If you can keep them contained and warm they are awesome.
@@PlantObsessed It was cool mid 50s while mine were shipped. Warm hands were a huge hit when they came out of that shipping box..
😎
WOW!!! Those worms sure do go through their food quickly. Just for the heck of it, feed them a flat of wheat grass some time and see what happens. The red wigglers take about 3 weeks to make it disappear.
Interesting view on a different worm.
Enjoy your videos! Stay Well!!!
I will have to grow some wheat grass. I'm sure they will, considering how they attack the other greens
@@PlantObsessed I always joke with people. I tell em, if you want to feel like a master gardener, just grow some wheat grass. It is amazing that within a week or so you have this beautiful tray of grass.
I am in Montana, and we get a fair amount of barometric pressure changes, and my ANC's stay put. I am not close to a major rode with truck traffic.
That is great. I bet it is the constant truck traffic over here. How do you keep them warm up there? 🪱👍🏼🙂
@PlantObsessed I have then in a heated basement. There is probably a certain amount of mass too. I have them in a 4x8x2 wedge system with a 2 inch piece of insulation on the bottom. I am a microgreens farmer, so the bin is always at least a quarter to third full.
I'll put a dollar on the on the back folks that have African nightcrawlers fuck with the light on
I have similar 'escaping' issues with my Red Wigglers. They are in an indoor tower Wormery, however, I'm seriously close to the water table, and we get a lot of storms blow through from the Pennines. Like you, I think a lot of this is also to do with vibrations, because I also live in a mining town. We have all sorts of nonsense goes on here that probably impact their little lives more than is understood! Lovely seeing your Night Crawlers though. They are some handsome worms.
I bet the mining has a lot to do with it. I spoil them with a good place to live to try and make up for it. 😊
@@PlantObsessed Yeah, I've been watching Patrick @ Vermicomposting learn by doing, and him just getting to grips with the UWB system. I can get one of those here in the UK, but I don't have space for it indoors at the moment, and don't have conditions for it outside. I've been debating still getting one whilst I can, at the price it is now, for future use, but then just saw what you said about them, so now I'm torn lol
ANC are the most kiddish worms I have ever seen😂 those that escaped tried to get into the litter box but their dried husks were all that was left.
The cats hidden stash of worm jerky 😂
I’ve found a worm farm in Ohio, that sell African night crawlers, and have been tempted to place an order, but I’m not so sure how well they would fair here in West Virginia. We had a polar vortex come through during the winter and for a few days the temps were in the negatives. With the heat I provided, it was still only in the upper 50’s to lower 60’s at best. Also, I really like your thermometer idea! That’s nifty!
If it was me I would not do it. They will die in the low 60-50s. Back when I first started with them, they were in the basement. I lost over half.
Oh man, I'm not sure how I missed this video when it came out!! Awesome information about ANCs!! I've been tempted to get them but we do have lots of storms in the summer, That is pretty amazing how much bedding they went through last month!! I was gonna ask what happened to your UWB but I just searched your channel and I see lots of videos for me to watch to find out!!! Fantastic video Ann!!🪱🪱🪱
The UWB had a short sad story that ended with a Vermibag. I admit I did not ask for a refund or replacement. I am not forgiving with badly made products.
@@PlantObsessed 👍I think they realized improvements needed to be made after some well deserved feedback! I see a VermiBag Lil Mammoth in my future...but it may be in my distant future if Autumn has her way...and she usually does😂🤣😂
Yes, I want to add worms to my patio garden and I raise plants year around. In the past I have added out door worms to my outdoor pots and I remix the soil a few times a year and add more organic matter. I live near Sacramento, CA we normally have only a few times in the winter when gets 32 F like four to six times a winter.
I know if I had Africaican and they excepted they could not live in the wild . I would like to have them also in my inside potted plants that I on a plant heat mat to be on the safe side in the winter that is how I winter my tropical plants.
I live off road and very isolated and normally no heavy equipment of any kind. We normally only get fall to spring rains and some years only four to six major rain storms. The Fall 2022/Spring 2023 we had non stop light rain for a few months. I was thinking I would not need to add a lot of worms per potted plant so the population would be low. Right now I do not know which worms or night crawlers would work for me the best in planted pots and planted containers?
The ANC will die out under 75F. I would go with red wigglers they are the most forgiving. Blue worms would be good too but they are hard to get a pure batch of.
Thank you .
I wonder if you know about these off white earthworms about 3X larger than regular red earthworm.
I've also seen centipedes a couple of times. Are they friends or foes in the garden ?
Also white fat maggots with lines across their bodies and their skins are tough . I smashed several of them and I find it hard to break or cut through them.They are about 1 to 1.5 cm long. I would find them in old coff- - grounds .
In the yard the big earthworms you see after a rain are not compost worms.they are solitary worms that live in about 6 foot deep holes. Here in the US/ Canada. I think centipedes ( round ish) are not good in a bin as they eat worms, the millipedes ( flat ish) are ok. The maggots or grubs won't hit the worms but they will steal food and turn into beetles or moths. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for watching 😃👍🏼🪱
The ANCs are looking good. I think you are right with a harvest soon. I really like the idea of adding the manure to the bin. Mg brother has a horse stable near him. I will need to see if I can bring some back up with me after I visit. Not sure if it was on my end or it’s not up, but nothing showed up on the end screen at the end of the video.
I'll have to look at the end screen thanks for the heads up. They say be careful if the horses are grazed on fields with certain chemicals that have weed killer. It persists through the horse and can hurt the plants you use castings. So weird.
@@PlantObsessed yes I have heard that as well. Trying to be careful. I know the last couple years that has been an issue with contaminated soil and compost.
Hi Ann. I noticed my ANC crawled away when they were kept in dark. Like under opaque lid. But once I change to transparent lid, at the top of the tower, even though they are down at the bottom, they are quite content. Not sure why.
My location is near to a heavy equipment warehouse. It is by belief that on days with heavy traffic they are disturbed and try to escape. The clear lid or no lid at all works for all the rest of my worms. My ANC are divas.🙂🪱👍🏼
Nice to see your ANC's thriving, Ann. Does your Vermibag have a bigger footprint than the UWB?
~ Sandra
Yes, my old UWB was about 2x2 this is more like 3x2
My ANC will be arriving soon... Once it warms up... My blues haven't made a run yet ever, so I'm hoping they won't either... Is the cardboard you added damp? If so what are you soaking it in?
The bedding is prepared with warm water and liquid kelp. I try to have it made ahead at least a week. It is about as wet as a wrung out sponge.
Ere can I source African night crawlers
If you are in the US the garden and worm lady is where I got this batch.
I,ve been raising red worms 4 while
Nice. Any ideas about getting ANC?
@Plant Obsessed no but sounds interesting maybe that's something to look into just been using composting worms (redworms) been teaching gardeners about them and their benefits