Shar, thank you so much for sharing this!! I appreciate your feedback! I love this! Thank you!!! Please let me know if I can support your endeavors in any way. Worm Bin Advanced Level: Optimize your DIY Worm Bin kzfaq.info/sun/PLJQ7A3Z50v5G9xnx4FaZ9-MvbgHgFLwF3

@@GardensofNewEngland Thanks Mr Cabas! I will now share your playlist. Happy wormin"~from Shar in Ontario Canada.

Thank you Shar!!

I saw that together its a bit too much but i found that making a medium size slow compster with really wet stuff makes great fly compster and they devuor a water melon in 12 hours i put in the morning and its full of larvae in the evening

Do you ship worms?

You are welcome! It is a great tip that saved my worms in many heat waves in Southern California!

Thank you Hazel! :)

Awesome Hazel. Thank You😁🙋

Unfair Hazel he is doing a good job explaining the elements and process.

Thank you so much for this explaination in transcript form. :) That explains a lot how my bin is very productive. Mainly humidity (lidded with limited air exchange) biodiversity and bedding of cardboard. Interesting that they need MUCH more of it though.

Yeah your fcking with the mans money Hazel. KZfaq pays off of retention to the video.

Evelyn! Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate the feedback. This was the first video where I invested a lot of time in the editing process and it paid off. I am learning a lot! Thank you!

Tony, thank your for the thorough explanation and contribution to the conversation!

Thank you Cathy!! What a nice message! Thank you!!

If you live in the forest, please do not introduce earthworms. They are invasive and destructive to the forest's duff layer and will greatly harm biodiversity. There is no way to just keep them confined to your garden, they WILL escape.

Thank you Terri! They are very adaptable!

If you set up your worm bin correctly, it can be amazing how long your worms will survive and even thrive despite neglect.

Hi Captain Matt, thank you for the message. They are incredible organisms. I love composting worms! Vermicomposting is such an amazing fertilizer.

Awww!! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you Marisol!!

Thank you!!

Thank you Melody!!!! I appreciate your feedback!! I put a lot of work into these videos and your appreciation is very encouraging!! Thank you!

Thank you Ed!

Hey! I know you! Yer famous!

Well done!! Thank you for sharing Marjorie!! What do you think has made the biggest difference for you? What was one big moment that made you a better farmer? Just curious.

@Gardens of New England probably when I did away with holes in bottom of top bin...in other words just using 1 bin and letting the moisture from fruits and vegetables soak into the dry carbon source. At first I did everything according to " uncle jim" ...there was leachate to deal with...what a mess and the worm bed tended to get sour. No more moistened newspaper etc. I control moisture by moving plastic sheet on or off and a burlap sheet on top of everything. And I don't add much peat..unless finishing off to use on low pH loving plants..potatoes or blueberries.

@@marjoriejohnson6535 Very cool! Thanks for sharing!!

Marjorie! Thank you very much for sharing 🎉

That is awesome! Thank you for sharing

Awesome! Thank you! I am working on the next one!

you could think about aquarium heaters to push down inside if you live in a cooler place.. that's what I do

@Day Trader we actually just went through double digits negative Temps, I buried it in a wood chip pile. Just checked it a couple of days ago, lots of worms, but ya totally agree with the benefits of your system. Thanks for the suggestion :)

Awww! Thank You!!!! Ask anything you do not see on the videos! Happy to help on your worm farming endeavors!

@@GardensofNewEngland Thank you so much 😁

Thank you GG!!

Glad it was helpful!

You are most welcome! Ask anything you need.

You are most welcome!!

Awesome!! Yes, frozen water bottles work too. Although, I think the icepacks are supposed to melt a bit slower. Both work well, specially if you get some of those long and thin water bottles. The plastic bag will keep worms out, because they LOVE to go right onto the icepack/water bottle.

Use terracotta pots to maintain moisture

Thank you!

Thank you!!

You are welcome!! Ask any questions you might have!

Thank you Nick!! I appreciate the support!!!

Thank you!!!!

you are most welcome! Thanks for helping the channel!

Thank you Iwona!!!

Thank you Moses!! Yes, I use the mesh divider to separate the castings. I have an earlier video where I explain my system in depth. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pdOlq6Wg07e5np8.html Thinking about making an update, so thank you for your comment.

Yeah!!! I love bunnies! I used to raise them. Best manure ever!

Be careful with manure. I used to get horse manure from a nearby stable and realized that since horses are given deworming medicine, these chemicals stay in the manure and will negatively affect your bin.

@@MariaLuciaGomezGreenberg Yes, I have stayed away from manure all together for this same reason. Unless you know what is going into the animals producing the manure, it is simply not worth it.

@@MariaLuciaGomezGreenberg yes 100% with you on that. But if you get a couple of bunnys they make so much poop it's crazy. And you know exactly what in their poop cuz you fed them.

Thank you!!!

Thank you Melanie!!

Yeah!!! Thank you!!

Very interesting! Will look that up!

@@GardensofNewEngland you'll find lots of videos about keeping BSF, that's the abbreviation you'll see. They're very good composters. And the adults don't have mouths, they don't care about your kitchen, unlike house flies. BSF larvae will keep house fly larvae away.

@@comfortablynumb9342 Very nice! Thank you!!!

Can you keep bsf larvae if your worm bin is in a cave?

@@barnabyvonrudal1 I don't know but there are lots of videos about them. I've had them hatch in my house from compost. So if they breed and lay eggs you can keep them going. The larvae will eat and grow as long as they're warm, moist and fed.

Robin, Worms are pretty resilient! add bedding and leave them alone for a couple of weeks. Hopefully they will bounce back soon.

You are most welcome Karl!!! I am glad you enjoyed it!!! Hello from New York!

Thank you! Glad you found it helpful!!

You are most welcome!!

Thank you AJ!! Coming from you that's a big compliment! I appreciate it.

Oh yeah! I used to live in South Pasadena and that's how I used to get through summers. Change twice a day and avoid feeding food that overheats, so focus on brown material and keeping things cool. I have another video where I focus on temperature beyond the ice packs. Here is the link: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bKtdda2A07uViIE.html

Thank you Sydney!!

A handful of soil is never a bad idea as it gives your worms a bit of grit to aid their digestion but the best bedding I have used (and still do although I haven't watched this video yet) is shredded cardboard and horse manure.

Hi there, thank you for watching the video! A couple of things, if worms have a good environment, meaning humidity, acidity and temperature are pretty good, they are much less likely to try to escape. So, I would focus on those three variables. I made another video on all three. The other issue is the type of worms you have. I hear blues like to wander, but even so, if your bin has optimal humidity and the outside environment is drier; they will be deterred. Some people like to put lights on top of their bin to keep them from escaping. But, I do not like that because if the bin is too acidic or hot, then you are forcing them to stay in an environment where they will not thrive. Another consideration is that if all the conditions in your bin are right, worms LOVE to graze on the walls of the bin. This might look like they are trying to escape, but they are not actually getting out of the bin; just staying on the walls inside. That often trips people because they think their worms are trying to escape. A good way to know is to leave the lid on top of them bin without closing it tight. You will see how worms never really get outside but they are all over the walls inside. The best thing to do is to give worms options to go to areas where there is not fresh food. Acidity and temperature go off, usually, when there is an abundance of fresh food and not enough bedding or carbon. If you create buffer zones within the bin itself and with a catching system with wood chips in the bottom, worms are more likely to stay within your system even if the area with fresh food goes too hot or acidic. I hope that helps!

Thank you!

Bokashi thrives in anaerobic conditions which is the opposite of what you want to foster in your bin. For your worms, you want airflow; for bokashi composting you want no oxygen at all. What I would do is to have a separate system for the bokashi to pre-compost your food scraps. Also, check the instructions on how to use the spray. I have not worked with liquid bokashi so I cannot speak to that.

Wow! That's pretty amazing!! Have you had issues with the water in the bin warming up? I know that is a common concern with the bin is wet and the temperature rises. Has that been an issue for you at all?

Interesting! I was thinking about duckweed this week! I know it sometimes shows up in ponds and I want to get some. I know folks feed it chickens. It is a great feed for animals based on what I have heard. Thank you for sharing! I will start looking at some local ponds to see if I can get some.

Howard, I have been thinking about the same thing for my orchard. In-ground systems give your trees fertility, gives your worms a way out, and the temperature is always better below heat and freeze line. So, I am all for trying. I am hoping to do something this Spring. My challenge is cold climate where I have my orchard. I hear you can top the bin with hay and manure to keep it warmer during the cold winter.

@@GardensofNewEngland I don't know a lot about cold winters since I live on the California coast. You can give it a try. I'm thinking the temperature below ground level must be a little higher than the temperature above ground in winter. Providing extra insulation would help I think.

@@howardhibbs124 I used to live in Humboldt County. Where are you?

@@GardensofNewEngland I live in San Mateo, CA (Northern Bay area). I have five active worm bins. I have a lot of kitchen refuse and have found over the years not to feed them too much or the bin will go anaerobic. This especially happens when the outside temperatures start to warm up and and there is not enough worms in the bin to consume the existing uneaten refuse. I have been adding a lot more dried leaves and other carbon material lately. That seems to help. It is quite a job to harvest the casings but the garden results are well worth it.

@@howardhibbs124 neat! I work for a company that is based in San Mateo so I have been there several times for trainings. Yeah, leaves help a lot!! I use the migration system to move worms from one side of the bin to the other and that makes harvesting seamless. I have another video where I cover my system in depth, and I explain how with a simple divider you can make harvesting so much easier. I also sometimes dilute worm castings into water and put whatever solids remain back in the bin--I do this mostly for watering of my indoor plants. Great chatting with you!

Jenap, I would do a catching system which is a second bin (of the same size) filled with wood chips. It works incredibly well, keeps the whole system odor free, and adds a buffer for the worms to go into if things get too hot or acidic inside your top bin. Picture two bins of the same size encased into each other. You fill the lower bin with wood chips--roughly half or 2/3rds, and put the top bin with holes on the bottom into it. It keeps your house clean, your worms happy, and your system odorless--because wood chips are carbon material that will absorb any odors. I have other videos where I go in depth on how I do it. But, it is very simple Top bin with holes on the bottom into a lower bin filled with wood chips acting as a catching system for excess fluids. I hope that helps!

Emily, welcome to the channel! I have not worked with these types of trees. Some trees like eucalyptus and black walnut can be toxic to other plants and folks stay away from them when working with worms. One thing is that what is often harmful is the oils in them. So, while using them "fresh" can be irritating and potentially harmful to your worms, if you age the wood chips for one or two years--do some google search here on how long it takes for natural oils to break down-- you can probably safely add to the bottom bin in a two bin system. Always in moderation. If you are concerned about burning these trees it is likely because of the resins in them, so I would pre-compost for over a year at least before bringing that into an enclosed bin system. So, if you have ample supply of these wood chips, what I would do is to keep them in a pile. After a year, you can also start to inoculate them with mushroom mycelium like King Stropharia to see if the mushroom takes on. If it does, they are likely ok to add in a lower bin not as a main source of bedding until you see worms are not bothered by them. I hope that helps!

How exciting Ralph! Suggestions: (1) do some market research to figure out what makes sense commercially. Depending on where you live, you might need to heat the place where you are going to have your worms. (2) Check out the work of Rhonda Sherman. I believe she has a book with Norman Ericon on Vermiculture at a commercial scale. I have not read the book but I have watched some of her webinars (3) keep having fun, there are many ways to create worm habitat. Explore, try different things, and once you have made some cool discoveries, share them with others.

Doris, I have not had snails in my bins but have tons in my garden. I do not think there might be an issue with both species coexisting but if the snails go after your seedlings, you do not want to start propagating them via your worm castings. What I would do to be honest, is maybe add more carbon material and bury the food scraps under a thick layer of worm casting when you add them. I think snails would have less appear if they have to dig for food. I would add food scraps less frequently until you have a healthy worm population. Also, winter can slow down reproduction. So, give them time and lots of carbon material. If you want to re-set to eliminate snails, I would hand-pick the worms and start a new bin. I hope that helps!

Ian, I grind the shells in a old food processor I bought at the salvation army for 4.00 dollars, 8 years ago--the smallest of the Cuisinart line. It works! I am not sure worms will swallow something that would cut them inside. I would trust their instinct to do the right thing. But, grinding the eggshells make them readily available because you bring them closer to bite size. I have also added crushed eggshells, which result in pretty big pieces and no issues there either. I hope that helps.

I have heard some folks used them but they take a long time to break down. You could start a regular compost bin with the needles and some green material to start the break down process. I personally have not used them as my main source of brown material. They do break down to a neutral ph. I would experiment adding some to a section and keep an eye out when folks rake their leaves in the fall. I get a few bags and keep them in a dry place.

Jeff, thanks for the comment! As long as the system does not freeze solid, worms will do ok. You could also put a bucket inside your bin with some fresh horse manure in it. It will heat up the whole system--so much so that you would not want to mix in with your worms.

Blues will do well in that temperature range. They don't do well with temps below 50s--as I understand. Are you having issues with red wrigglers? These temps are ideal for them.

I use only brown basic cardboard without inks or glossy pictures. I do not shred, I add big pieces on top and as they become damped and soft, I tear into smaller pieces and mix into the bin. Cardboard is not my main source of bedding. I use leaves. But, you could make it your main source of bedding and to make it easier you could shred.

Thank you Elizabeth!! Do you use the liquid in your garden? There is much debate about it in the community.

Both work well so long as they are totally dried and brown. Anything green will heat up and work more like nitrogen/food scraps than carbon. With Straw, grass clippings or hay you want to be mindful of seeds because they will eventually make it to your garden beds and germinate. One of the reasons why I like leaves is because there are no seeds. However, if you do not have leaves, hay, straw or even dry grass clippings will do the job! I hope that helps.

Welcome to vermicomposting!!!! That sounds right, always more bedding than food. Reach out if you have any questions.

How is your tower working? I bought one and will add worms tomorrow.

@@joelkibbie7818 mine has been doing well. Listened to most on here. Started with three tiers. Only fed top tier. Fed small amount, maybe cup worth twice a week, first month or two. Made sure most was gone before I fed again. Three months in, and starting to feed second tier, stoping on top so I can have my first harvest soon. Any other questions just ask.

@@joelkibbie7818 I use tote bins, not the tower systems. I love the bins, they are scalable and can hold a lot of volume.

Yes! I use the migration method. It allows the worms to travel at their own pace. It is not 100% effective at getting every single worm out, but if you time it right, you can get 90% of them to move. Timing is about stopping feed for a couple of weeks, then adding a substantial meal on one side of the bin. They will move there in mass. Here is a video where I explain how I do it. It is non-intrusive and you don't hurt the worms via sifting and all kinds of manipulations. It is practically no work on your part. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rbyWpah8xNe9Ymg.htmlsi=dFcC70vtrSPgw94p

Yeah. worms like to keep it cool! A good way to do it is to stop feeding them fresh food scraps when the weather gets hot and just add carbon material. Also, if you are going through a heat wave, you can cool off the bin with ice packs. When you are hot, your worms are likely hot because they have very similar temperature tolerance than humans.

I do not have experience trying to warm a bed with nitrate. Are you referring to nitrogen concentration? Too much nitrogen in the form of fresh food will cause acidity to go high and that will hurt the worms. You could try to surround the bin with something like horse manure to generate heat, but that can get too hot or not hot enough if it is very cold. So you would have to monitor closely. If you live in a climate where water freezes solid in winter, the best thing is to bring the worms indoors.

Arkinfire, thank you so much for your feedback! I appreciate that very much! I LOVE leaves! They are my favorite bedding material by far. It is free, it is natural, it is the actual bedding worms would seek in the woods, and they break down into trace minerals that feed your plants. You just cant beat those benefits. A couple of things: Do not collect leave litter that is already decomposing on the ground. That is how you can introduce other bugs--which I have done and it is not an issue. But, when you are starting, make sure you are getting brown dried leaves. The best time to save a few bags is when people put them in brown bags outside their doors in fall. I collect my leaves there and they dry over time and create the most amazing bedding. Be careful if you collect leaves around parks where there are folks injecting drugs. You do not want to stick yourself with a dirty needle. The main two factors as new worm farmer are: Air Flow and Carbon to Nitrogen ratio. If you get these two right your system can be more resilient. I hope that helps!

@@GardensofNewEngland Thanks a lot for the tips.

@@arkinfire anytime!!

@@GardensofNewEngland I also subscribed as a newly worm composter. I appreciate this question and answer! I was thinking of added the wet leaves found under the dry leaves but I will definitely just add the dry leaves hanging out in nooks.

@@dmac1106 Yeah, better that way! Keep an eye for leaves in fall!

Thank you, Sue!! I do not use DE at all. For grit, I like eggshells, biochar, bone meal, and even a tinny bit of sand once a year. I avoid DE because it is too fine and can form clumps. It is also something you have to buy, and not something worms naturally find in the wild.

Sherry, that is a good way to feed your worms but it is not a long term solution to lowering temperature because once the frozen food cools off, the nitrogen content in it will start to heat up the bin even more and humidity will also go up--which transmit heat rather efficiently. So, if the primary objective is to cool off the bin, I would do icepacks and focus on feeding the bin more carbon than anything else while the heat endures. You can take the ice packs in and out without adding nitrogen or increasing humidity. If you want to freeze their meal that is a great idea for fruit flies and to give them a cool treat, but it is not sustainable if you are going through a heat wave similar to the ones we had here in the US this summer.

Yeah!!! The more base vermicompost you have, the faster it will absorb new material. It is not just the worms but the whole ecosystem working!

This is a tough time to start a new bin due to the heat. Where are you located? I would suggest keeping it in a cool environment or potentially using ice packs to cool the bin. The best way to moist the bin is to control how much moisture leaves your bin. Food scraps will naturally generate humidity and sometimes you have to make sure there is drainage to let excess fluids out. That said, at the very beginning, you do have to moist the bedding. I would focus on damping the bedding before you add it. You want it moist or damp, not dripping wet. Then add it. I usually put cardboard on top of my bin to keep the humidity in the bin. But, make sure you allow for air flow. So putting a piece of cardboard that covers the surface but does not totally seal the bin might help. Escaping worms could be heat, acidity or they are eager to explore. Blue worms tend to wander a lot more than red worms. I hope that helps!

There is nothing wrong about worm balls around food scraps. They're attracted by the food which is far different than running away from something toxic. When they've finished happily ridding the food scraps, they should then disperse and find something else to do. It's also expected to see worms trying to escape a new bin until they get used to the environment by created their first castings. Probably best is to increase the wetness until the bottom is close to sopping wet (IMO) and give them enough food to eat to keep them busy. They should probably settle down a week after the bin is started.

Kathryn, This is a controversial issue for many people because we do not know exactly what is in the materials that people use in cardboard so it comes down to level of comfort. I personally struggled with this idea for awhile. But, now I feel comfortable using cardboard that does not have any ink on it because at the end of the day it is mostly plant cellulose and glue. Usually those materials do not have toxic chemicals, specially heavy metals added to them, simply because there is no need for it. When it comes to color inks and glossy surfaces, that usually has chemicals like cadmium and I would not use them in my garden, not even as mulch. I try not to use paper because of the inks also. What might help you is to dive a little bit deeper into ingredients in cardboard and the glue they use to bind it together. Then, you can present that to your fellow gardeners. What you have to be concerned are forever-chemicals because they do not break down. Remember, your worm system will break down everything, including most chemical compounds into their basic ingredients. What you do not want to use are things that contain chemicals that are toxic or substances that will not break down. If you focus on identifying those, you'll quickly realize that cardboard does not have them. Also, I make leaves my main source of bedding and only use cardboard as a supplement and to avoid sending it back into the waste system.

Thank you Rosario!

Billy, the quickest way is to uncover the bins and let the surface dry. Mites need very high humidity to be able to breath. However, ongoing mite population explosion is usually a sigh of high acidity in your bin and not enough carbon to off set both acidity and humidity. I would try to get to a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 70% carbon / 30% nitrogen or food scraps. Here is a video I completed on mites: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a5h8oLCrrLmpZHU.html

Elizabeth, if you are starting, I would go heavier on the brown material until your system's biology gets going. Think 50:1 ratio. Once you have a lot of activity, you can do more food scraps. The way to measure health is really by paying attention to your worms. Are they active? Are they staying in one area? Are they trying to scape? Are they laying eggs? These are questions to keep in mind. You could have sections to your bien where you do not add food scraps. That gives worms buffer zones where acidity is more neutral. Also, roll come cardboard and place it vertically from top to bottom, that contributes a lot of air flow.

Main problem is what I just posted to another comment also about his 5 gallon bucket of worms... Be careful how you feed your worms or the bucket will go anaerobic and kill your worms. Never throw food scraps into your bucket. When you feed your worms, dig a hole down one side and place the food in the hole(and optionally cover to keep the flies away) That will enable your worms to have adequate ventilation on the surface to live.

Red Wrigglers!

People do. I haven’t because I like the airflow leaves create. Just make sure they are only wood no other chemicals.

First, if it is working, I would keep on doing it and experimenting with adding carbon rich materials at the same time. My top choice is leaves! It also depends on what is your goal for the worm system. If you want to generate more compost, I would play with making leaf compost and using that as bedding. I guess, when I think vermicompost, I think getting compost at the end is the main goal, so using already made compost as bedding doesn't seem necessary. But, like I said, if it works, it works. There is no one-way to do worms. You also want to keep in mind that you want your bedding to be carbon rich materials to create food for microbes--which feed your worms. I hope that gives you some ideas! Thank you for your comment!

Inside the bin. The bin is often likely to be warmer than outside temp. Best time for reproduction is when weather is cold, but not freezing around the bins.

I collect the leaves that people put in brown bags outside in the fall. Make sure they are fully dried before using them in your bin if you are worried about bugs. Also, any insect that lives in the tree canopy is very unlikely to survive inside a worm bin. It is just a completely different habitat. What you don't want to do by accident is collect leave litter that might already have worms in it. Leave litter are leaves that are already half decomposed under ground and are being colonized by soil microorganisms. Something that also works really well, is collecting enough leaves to have extra for the next season. That way you are storing your leaves for almost a year before you get to use them. If you do this, put your leaves in a plastic bag so they do not get wet. But, truly, so long as the leaves you find are fully dried, you probably do not have to worry about bugs.

@@GardensofNewEngland Thank you! That is really very useful information, I appreciate it very much, thanks for sharing!

Lucinda, what makes you think your bin is alkaline? Why would you want to neutralize the ph? What problems is your current system having that you think you want to increase the acidity level? Food scraps decomposition runs acidic. If you want more acidic, I would consider trying bokashi fermentation. However, your worm bin is not your soil. In your soil, you want the ph to be neutral to make nutrients available to as many plants as possible. However, most organic matter tends to decompose to a neutral ph. So, by the time your Vermicompost is done, it is probably closer to a neutral ph than when decomposition is at its peak. In a sense, think about your worm system as the stomach of your garden. It is helping you break things down to make nutrients available. The ph in our stomach is probably VERY different than in the rest of our bodies. What I would be watchful over is making sure the ph in my bin stays within worm-health range. But, the ph in your bin will likely fluctuate due to all the activity that is going on there--which is good! This is why having areas without food scraps is good, so if the ph goes out of range, worms can have safe places to go. What would make your bin alkaline would be things like excessive wood ash or something of that sort. Also, adding lost of carbon material can help you stabilize ph. I hope that helps!

If you're not feeding your worms alkaline stuff, the worms will naturally bring the pH back to normal. It's one reason why vermicompost is so great... You never have to worry about burning plants because the pH is wrong so you can mix concentrations of very little vermicompost to growing plants in pure vermicompost. Those are things you never can do with chemical fertilizers.

This is tough if you have an outdoor bin. What is your set up?

Thanks!

Thank you Tara!

Sherry, yes, I would be careful with eucalypts leaves and would also do a pre-compost to get some of the oils out and exposed to microbiology. I would not do a bin with only eucalyptus or any other tree with similar properties. However, I think if you make leave mold with the leaves you can test how your worms react to it. They are pretty good at staying away from things that do them harm.

Did you try using pre-decomposed eucalypt and bottle brush leaves?

Robert, Bokashi is a method of composting--actually fermenting food scraps. It is highly efficient and can be completed in 10 days. I feed that material to my worms. However, you do have to manage acidity, because of fermentation the material is more acidic. Bokashi increases microbial biodiversity, kills fruit fly eggs, and eliminates excess fluids. So, for indoor composting and vermicomposting is a very very good thing. Here are more resources: What is Bokashi: kzfaq.info_hQiFiDCD1c?feature=share How to use bokashi as worm feed: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pdOlq6Wg07e5np8.html

Thank YOU!!

For composting, you use composting worms. There are only a few species of worms you can use for composting, red wrigglers being one of them. People often refer to composting worms as just worms. When someone is talking about a human-built composting system involving worms, they are usually referring to composting worms. I believe there are approximately 1000 different species of worms and less than a handful can be used for composting.

Luke, a couple of things: 1. Manure from poultry is already rich in nutrients so you can just compost it by itself to generate high quality fertilizer -- if that is your main goal. Worm castings are essentially a form of manure. 2. Nitrogen rich manures will heat up as they break down, which can cause a worm bin to overheat and kill the biology inside, including the worms. Therefore, if you wanted to use the duck manure, I would start by pre-decomposing it first. Either way, add lots of dry leaves and you will get a ver¥ high quality product at the end.

1. Using anything that has been touched by animal waste comes with a risk of contaminating your worm casting with e. coli and salmonella, particularly from birds. So although the risk is relatively small, it's an unnecessary risk if you intend to use your worm castings to grow crops intended for human consumption. 2. Unless wood is dust, there's a very low surface area to mass ratio which means that any wood shavings will take a relatively long time to decompose. If you don't mind wood shavings in your castings, then it can be considered but most people avoid this and prefer coconut choir instead (which is sustainable) or peat moss (which is unsustainable since what we humans destroy today won't be replaceable within the expected lifetimes of all humans on earth).

10-24C (50-75 F) approximate

VavrMar, my first thought is too much food scraps and not enough carbon material. Think about the ratio 1:50, 1 part food scraps for 50 parts carbon material. You can push that ratio, but if you go too heavy on the food scraps your worms could be drowning in food. I would check that first. Next, I would look at temperature and acidity level, which are also impacted by the carbon/food scrap ratio. A couple of things I do: I bury excess food scraps directly into my garden beds during the non-growing months and late in the fall after crops are done. I also keep a regular compost pile for excess food scraps during the growing season. I need approximately 3 large worm bins to keep up with my food scraps because I eat mainly vegetables. So, because I do not want to have 3 bins at home, I find other ways to compost the food scraps without compromising the carbon/nitrogen ratio too much. That ratio is the foundation of your system. I hope that helps!

@@GardensofNewEngland Thank you for your answer. You're most probably right as it's really full of "food" and not much soil/carbonated substrate. Unfortunatelly in flat I cannot have separate pile or conventional compost. I'll probably have to buy multiple wide stashable boxes instead of deep bucket.

@@VavrMar Try finding a community garden where there is a compost pile. They often allow folks to dispose their food scraps in their compost.

I can say with certainty it starts with using a tall pail as a bin. That can be done and one of my bins is a typical 5 gallon bucket so I'm not a stranger to this... The first thing to know is that any bin that's tall with little surface area can easily become anaerobic, this happens when material decomposition happens without adequate air. This exacerbates the worm environment because it's not just aerobic bacteria that is consuming all the available air, it's also stealing air your worms need to live. So, the first thing to do is to stick your hand in the likely gloppy material and mix it up to allow fresh air to activate the right kind of microbes in your bucket. You might have to do this several times, maybe a couple times a day until the sour smell dissipates and then you'll know the environment is right for your worms as well. That should take care of your emergency situation so that your worms will survive, and that step (mixing air into the bedding/food/castings) is what I would recommend for any anaerobic situation in any bin. Now, to prevent the problem from happening again, You have to feed your bin correctly. You can't just toss food into the bucket, the decomposing food would again steal all the air on the surface turning everything beneath it anaerobic and killing your worms. Instead, dig a deep hole down one side of your bucket and place your food in that hole. The result is that as the food decomposes there is still plenty of surface area for your worms to get fresh air. Note that a 5 gallon bucket is not the ideal shape for a worm bin and it'll also fill up with castings pretty quick if you have a decent worm population. You should look for a replacement container immediately and what should you be looking for? It's everything opposite of a bucket, you'll want boxes (preferably plastic or wood) that is short and wide(or long). Like one of those underbed roll out drawers. Or even a drawer from an old dresser being thrown away. You can also use a tall and wide (or long) storage bin like a 15 gallon tote, but use only the bottom 6" or so and don't fill it any higher... That gets you short/shallow with plenty of surface area, too. There's plenty of options when you know what to look for in an ideal worm bin. But whether you're using an ideal worm bin or something more difficult to work with like a bucket, always feed your worms the right way and you won't likely be seeing worms die.

vavrMar , I have seen a video kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d6xjdpV6tZOrqYU.html on making a worm farm with two 60 litre plastic garbage bins and a 395mm plastic strainer. I am building a stand from old wood pallets at the moment. much better than a bucket . Cost at Hardware shop $26 for two bins, $6 for bin lid and $12 for strainer a couple of dollars for a maze worm farm tap and zero for pallet timber

Michael, dog food is likely meat, bones and some type of starch. I like to stick to a vegetarian feed because in nature they are not really exposed to a lot of meat or dairy. But, I do not think a small amount would hurt them, so try it! Worms eat primarily microorganisms that feed on carbon (mainly the bedding). A safer trial could be pre-composing the dog with leaves or brown material and see what type of material you get. If it smells bad, it is likely not a great choice. You want wet forest floor type of smells.

June, what bedding are you using? Are you adding wood ash? You could add some soil amends that increase acidity but I would be very careful with that. Usually organic bedding and regular food scraps do not cause high Ph numbers so I am guessing one of your inputs is throwing things off in your bin. What are you using for grit?

leaves and red wrigglers! Best combination. I am finishing a video on bedding. I will send you the link tomorrow.

Patricia, here is the bedding video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mrB8ktmDvNiVlmw.html

Yeah, I agree! 70 degrees is a pretty sweet spot for reproductive activity and health. I notice I get more cocoons in the spring than in winter.

The earth worms make the cacoon? What does that look like?

I use leaves! You can shred them. I would not use peat or coco coir for cocoon because one can be acidic and the other one high in sodium. I do not separate the cocoons.