Hello! Welcome to the Castings Crew! You explain the warmer water phenomenon perfectly 👍Thank you for that 🪱👍🪱

Hello! Some of them are quite big! Loving that! Thanks for watching!

good luck to you in our hard work !

Thanks! That really nice of you to say. Don’t have worms? If so, what species? 🪱🪱🤩

Hi Jim! Thanks and welcome aboard! Using the BBQ! That’s great! Never entered my mind to do that 😎. I use a cooling oven and I have that often 👍. No additional energy used. The blender at an angle I can see how that would help move the shells thru the blades. I don’t think I could do that with my vitamix. They’re pretty heavy and it would be super awkward. Maybe with the bullet blenders? What type of blender are you using exactly? So glad to hear your process!! ❤️🪱

@@RockinWorms The blender is a older 14 speed Hamilton Beach it holds 5 cups. I have a small mixing tote that is just at the height that I can lean the blender container on it , this makes it manageable to hold on to it. It’s also helpful if the blender container locks on to the base of the blender . It’s a 5 dollar thrift purchase but it works great. I’m not sure what a” cooling oven is 🤪oh I think I just got it it’s cooling down after you cook something else ! Sometimes it takes me a minute 😎 however now that you mentioned it I might build a small simple Solar oven to bake the egg shells. Thanks for the inspiration and all the time and effort you and your husband spend sharing great information. Have a good evening.

@@jimwyatt6652 Yeah I don’t think my vitamix would be happy. Good $5 find! I love when that happens 👍. Another commenter said he uses a solar oven to dehydrate veggies to make veggie powder. So you could use it for both shells and veggies! Yes, an oven that is cooling down after I’ve baked something else. 😍. I tried a heating up oven once but that was a burned mess 🙄🤣. Cooling works great and no worries about forgetting it. I’m glad you’re finding our content helpful. 👍❤️🪱

@@RockinWorms I think my Solar oven project just got a lot bigger and better! LOL🙏🏻

@@jimwyatt6652 let us know how it goes! 👍🪱

Hi Serdal! Thank you so much for watching! I appreciate your time and hope to be of some help 😊🪱

Hi Joe! Thank you! That’s the best thing someone can say to me - that they learned something from me. It makes my day! There’s so many ways to raise worms. You know what the best way is? What is best for you and your worms! Not my way, your way. Don’t worry about finding the perfect method. It doesn’t exist. Start and make changes as you learn. It’s that simple. Thanks so much for watching and posting. I really appreciate both!

Oh, and let me add: I started with a handful of worms, a used 5 gallon bucket from the chicken area (it had holes in it which was key!) and a $1 reusable shopping bag from Walmart. I was so uninformed that I didn’t know I was essentially making myself a vermicomposting bag system for less than $5! And those buckets and bags were my system for 7 months! And my worms did just fine. In fact I’m thinking of bringing the system back as cocoon hatching buckets. The point is, it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. The worms don’t care one bit 😊

@@RockinWorms I got an old cooler a big one. I drilled holes through the top area and a hole for drainage. I put a layer of rocks and a sheet of weed barrier to separate the bedding from clogging the drain. I have chickens too. So I know I'll feel responsible for their safety too. My concern is I want to make sure I don't hurt them. I'm setting them up under a small cedar hopefully it won't get too hot. I saw where people added a frozen milk jug of water to cool it down. Winter time I have a couple heavy blankets and a water proof tarp.

@@guitarguyjoefry It sounds like you’re ready to go! I’ve considered using a large cooler too! It’s already insulated so that will help moderate temperatures. I thought about using a drain box with super mesh screening over the drainage hole. I haven’t come across a large cooler for free yet but when I do…? Especially one with wheels! Oooh yeah🤣 Be careful with blankets and tarps that you don’t restrict air flow too much. Worms and chickens eat the same stuff so it’s easier keeping both 😊. Where you’re set up post back and let us know how it goes

Hello PLS mention the all materials that you added in worm bin one by one to do as you said in our worm bin.. 2nd: I have some flying dark insects in my bin like banana insects when it get dark Thank you

Hi Patricia! Welcome! Yes I do have a video on making my work chow 😎. It’s more of a survey on lots and lots of ingredients you can use and encourages you to use what you have or what you can get cheap. Hers the link: My Worm Chow Recipe for Happy Chonky Worms kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pKp5ndSJz83YlWQ.html Be sure to ask any questions you have! 🤗🪱🤩

Hi! Nice job! I do want to give you a warning however. There’s been reports that pre-compost that heats up too hot - say over the thermophilic threshold of 133F can have a negative impact on the worms when the cooled compost is added to the worm bin. It’s not clear as to why that’s happening though. But to be on the safe side I’d stay below 133F. If you do happen to go above that temperature for any length of time I’d very much appreciate you sharing your experience with it!! 🪱🪱

Interesting that this would be a problem. Do you know why or have a link to any research? Just curious since mine runs around 140F (when it gets higher I add more carbon since I’m doing this in a compost tumbler inside and we don’t want the extra heat). I haven’t had any issues when I use it mixed with sifted horse manure, shredded leave and some dolomite lime.

Hi! It’s been awhile 😊. How are your worms doing?? You know, I bought a used coffee grinder and tried it and I couldn’t get it to feed the eggshells. 🤷‍♂️. I couldn’t figure it out 😩. So I bought the used nutribullet and that’s worked great. What do you think I’m doing wrong with the grinder? 🪱🪱

Hi! Welcome! Thanks for the kind words ❤️. I recently bought a grain mill and that’s been a game changer. I can grind oyster shells with it as well as all the stuff for the worm chow. SO much better than the vitamix. I bake my shells in a cooling oven to dry them 👍 Captain Matt uses a garbage disposal too but his is to a sink. I love the bar stool idea!! I do think I have an extra sink though - what I need is the mount for it and the disposal 🙄🤣. I haven’t put my mind to it yet to get it out together but I need to soon. Thanks for your ideas! Thanks for sharing them with everyone 👍🪱❤️

Hi Charles! I got your email - thanks! Your garbage disposal set up is clever! I’m showing it to hubby 👍. I’m super frugal too 🤗. I like taking throw aways and making a new useful item. So fun! Thanks again for sharing what you’ve done ❤️🪱❤️

@Maxennui I just bought a used coffee bean grinder off marketplace as an after Christmas gift for myself 🤣. I have eggshells ready to powder. Excited to give it a try! 👍🪱🪱

Good for you! I used mine yesterday for the dozen or so eggshells we had. Works great!

@@Maxennui I have a grain mill that I love. Super great for making work chow!! But doing small batches in it, like one tray of eggshells, is kinda of a pain. I haven’t run the shells thru it yet as I got it yesterday but it’s on my ‘fun’ to play with this weekend ❤️

Hello SWF! I have not yet kept my worm bins/large worm totes outside yet during the summer. I’ve moved some of them out into the screened patio the last month or so. The humidity hasn’t been an issue and I don’t expect it to be one. It’s been crazy rainy the last month and it’s been fine in the worm totes. They are sheltered. The summer heat coming does have me a bit worried but I’ve decided to cross that bridge when I get to it 😜🪱 Thanks for watching and I hope you’ll find my content useful! ❤️🪱

Hi David! It’s an iPhone 12 mini. Nothing special. It’s all in the camera work my cameraman does 😍. In fact the phone speaker recently broke and he’s getting a new phone soon so we’ll see how the new phone’s camera stacks up. Thanks for watching!!

Hello! Thank you for watching!

Hi 0:09 0:09 @Breeding-of-California where in California are you?

Hi Handy Geek! I used to feel the same way when I saw all the cocoons other people got. What was I doing wrong?! The main thing I learned was to mix a decent amount of food - worm chow, pre-compost bedding with lots of microbes, manure, leaves - into the bedding right from the start in a very moist substrate. Then LEAVE the worms ALONE! Every time we dig into a breeder bin it costs us cocoons. Once I started my new process the number of cocoons I got skyrocketed! Try it!

@@RockinWorms honestly the proof is in the pudding lol, I’m already trying new ways and I’m using buckets right now and I found a good supply of rabbit manure. So trust I’ll be experimenting lol it’s fun fun so I love to see results like yours so I know what’s possible. I’m using buckets because I can stack them in a small area and breed a lot more, so I’ll see how it turns out lol. Fingers crossed because I don’t have a lot of space, but I’ll be making vids about it so stay tuned.

@@RockinWorms btw this is my first time trying to breed worms lol, I waited for @thegardenandwormlady to start selling her reds lol. So my first 3 breeder buckets had worms from her, Vee is a really cool lady we been talking since last year I’ve learned a bunch from her. Also thanks for the nice long reply’s you do lol, you really do try to give complete explanation and it’s awesome👍🏾

@@ThehandygeekGA It sounds like you’ve got a good thing going! I actually started in 5 gallon buckets too - and used them exclusively and successfully for 6 months. I’ve been thinking about using them as cocoon/nursery bins in order to save space. I’m not out of space yet but I can see the day coming 😆. We can always use more worm videos!

@@ThehandygeekGA I think you made a good move waiting for guaranteed red wigglers vs the mixed breed ‘red worms’ other sites sell. I hope to be a respected red wiggler seller by the year’s end 😎. Fingers crossed on that! I love learning from all different sources!

Hi Matthew! Welcome to the comments section 🤗. While the exact time needed for pre-compost to become pre-compost will vary depending on the exact ingredients (you have several options here to fit your availability), ambient temperatures (the hotter it is outside the tote the faster decomposition happens inside the tote), how fast your heat and cool cycles happen, etc. I’d say count on 5-7 days for the first cycle and another 5-7 days for the 2nd cycle so it gets to the place where using it in your worm bins gives you great results. I suggest you watch the playlist I have on making it fro start to finish plus a few mentions and examples (!!) of what can go temporarily wrong 😳🙄😆. Here’s the link: Indoor Table Top Pre-Composting Bin kzfaq.info/sun/PLUW0xTNzqrJp2nsLeHt-8OKFqP9XEZ-PE As for how long the pre-compost is good for - that’s one of the best parts! It’s not good until you use it up, it actually gets better and better as it ages into true full compost! All you have to do is keep it barley moist and have a bit of air flow. While I now use my pre-compost rapidly, in the beginning it took several months to use up the first tote. It’s was beautiful compost by the end and the worms chewed thru it so fast! There’s at least one video showing and talking about that too 👍. Thanks for watching and asking your questions 😊❤️🪱

Hi Eric! Congratulations ! You’re in for a fun adventure 🪱❤️. You have several options and you just pick the one that best fits your goals. The worms in the mixed bin will breed but not as prolific as a single species bin. Also some species breed faster than the others and may out breed the others and kinda kill them off 😳. Some have reported that the mixed species ‘take turns’ out breeding each other so they all live but you have more of some at one time and more of another at another time. If you want to ‘wing it’ and see what happens then leave them alone as is. If you’re more interested in having thriving, growing populations of any or all of the species you have then separating them into their own bins would work best. The red red wiggler and euro adults are cousins and have the same tell tail (!!) characteristics of bulgy clitellum and yellow tails. The Indian blues have smooth to the body clitellum that is close to their head. Now the problem is this is easy to see on adults and you can separate them out at that point. The juveniles aren’t so easy to tell apart and any adults you miss will breed more cocoons and the cycle continues. However given the breeding incompatibility and slower reproduction rates due to the mixed bin you may be able to separate out the adults fast enough to get ahead of replacement babies, eventually getting the mixed bin down to a handful of worms. You don’t say how many worms you have. It’d you have alot it’ll be easier to pull out a fair number of adults of each species and start dedicated bins. But it’ll take longer overall to reduce the number of worms in the mixed bin to a low number. If you have a modest number of worms it’s easier to go thru them all but you’ll have small starter bins. Given that I started with 2 small handfuls of worms and they’ve grown A LOT in numbers I’m ok with small starter bins 😊. Of course you can separate out worms AND buy known red wigglers. Just be careful who you buy from. Some sellers are a little fast and loose with their species terms 😡. My bins are about 25”x15”x6”. From Walmart. Sterlite brand. Less than $6 a bin. Thanks for the compliment!! That’s sweet of you. I appreciate the support! ❤️

@@RockinWorms, thank you so much for the information!!! I ordered 600 worms when I started in May. I have seen cocoons and babies. I am going to try sorting them out into their own bins.

@@EricBlackmon-ju9bq Hi Eric! I’m so sorry - I’m just seeing your comment now 10 months later! 😳🙄. Initially get notified of a comment but this one slipped by. Have you had success separating out your red wigglers from the Indian blues? 🪱🪱

Hi Wayne! I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking. In my standard bins approximately 800 adults breeder red wigglers will turn about 3 gallons of breeder bedding into 2.5 gallons of castings that will sift thru a 1/8” sifter. All of it will go thru a 1/4” mesh sifter though. Is that what you wanted to know? 🪱🪱

Hi Peggy! Thanks! The worms seem to be enjoying their new bedding mix :) It retains moisture really well, much better than the old stuff. I have to re-learn how to maintain the moisture levels at the appropriate levels for the different bins. It’s always an adventure 🤣.

@@RockinWorms Well, you've learned well! I hope the Palm Beach crowd is getting into Vermiculture. Won't it be great if Florida could brag about being the largest Worm producers! Even several small to medium operations like Captain Matt up in New York. He sells locally and is doing a booming business this season. Do you sell locally or online?

@@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920 a small to medium operation is my goal. Income supplement for retirement. I’m not selling yet - still setting up and figuring it all out. Hopefully this fall 🤞. Totally would be awesome for Florida to take a lead role in worm and casting production! I’m eager to do my part 👍

@@RockinWorms Good for you 👍

Hi Kathleen! I pick up cardboard boxes and cardboard sheets when I shop. Grocery stores, warehouse stores, etc. As long as it’s clean and dry and not too thick. I also get ones that don’t have a lot of tape or stickers on them simply for ease as I remove those. I have a used 12 sheet table top cross cut shredder I bought off marketplace for $20. Love it. I’m thinking of giving a micro cut shredder another try. I’ve bought 2 over the last several months (used) but they each stopped working (won’t feed going forward, reverse works fine). Grr. I shred in the evening mostly after dinner as a way to relax - 🤣

Hi again! I almost get too many! All those wisps need a home very quickly. I’m hoping the website gets me some sales so I have room for more babies 😆🪱❤️

Hello! Welcome! Are you talking about the bedding? It’s what I call basic bedding. It’s pre-compost made from shredded cardboard, coffee grounds and veggie slurry/liquid. I have a series of videos on how to make it. I mix it with sifted cow manure. When combined it’s my basic bedding mix. If your asking about the additional additives the first thing I add after the basic bedding is work chow. It’s made from ground oats, wheat flour or bran, bird seed or similar, animal feed, dried herbs, beet root, etc. it’s a changing list of ingredients 🤗. On Tuesday I can try to add German to the subtitle options if you’d like…?

That is not a dumb question. It’s actually a great one! Seriously. Worms can actually locomotor in both directions and do so all the time. The yellow end is indeed the tail end. Worms are individuals. Some have just the smallest yellow tail tip and others seem to be half yellow! I don’t have blues so don’t have personal experience with them. I do hear that they are fierce composters though! I also understand that the ratio of red wigglers and blues can fluctuate a great deal during the year and the temperatures also change. Obviously way less if the worms are kept in a temperature controlled area. Red wigglers and blues do not procreate (different species) so you’ll have a different population growth. If you desire to have a bin of just red wigglers there’s ways to do that that don’t require excessive work but do require some time commitment. We can talk about that if you’d like 👍🪱🪱

@@RockinWorms I would like to talk about that!! I have 3 bins right now, 2 that are a mix, and one that Im pretty sure is only red wigglers, as Ive been spending a lot of time sifting thru my mixed bins and pulling out what Im fairly confident are red wigglers. I do want to eventually just have red wigglers, so Im slowly picking out blues (my chickens say thanks!) and moving the red wigglers to their own bin. I had no idea worms could go backwards! That sure explains a lot.

@@katiem9644 Ah, you are already doing most of it! Nicking out any red wiggler cocoons you see. They’ll be the good sized ones, yellow if fresh and darkening as they age. This will speed up separating them as you won’t have as many wisps and juveniles in the mixed bin to deal with. There’s a more radical way to rid a bin of Indian blues more quickly but you’ll have to email me to discuss it. 😎🪱🪱

@@RockinWorms So I spent some time today picking thru one of my mixed bins. Funny how the more time I spent at it, the more it was easier and easier to discern between the two. Probably the most remarkable difference is how they move. The blues are definitly active and want to run away. The reds just chill. Noticeable difference there.

@@katiem9644 Hi Katie! Yes that is one of the traits that people say is the easiest to spot - how the 2 worms move very differently. I also find that whatever I’m doing worm-wise becomes easier after I get ‘my eye in’. I often open a bin and don’t see many cocoons for example. Then once I’m in the bin several minutes it’s like oh, there they are and the bin has plenty! The more you can stay on top of picking them out, the sooner you’ll have your pure red wiggler bin 👍🪱🪱

Hi Amber! I haven’t done that so can’t give any direct experience on the effect on the worms or the biosphere of the worm bin if you use the veg or fruit juice directly. I think you could use some - because the frozen fruit and veg defrosting gives off juice anyway - but I wouldn’t substitute it for a large portion of the water/use very little so maybe not even worth the effort. Also it may not be worth the risk given all the unknowns. The veg and fruit is usually fed in a zone - even if that zone takes up most of the surface area. The worms would have lots of other space to move toward or away from the feed and juice drip area. If you mix the juices into the bedding then it’s everywhere and the worms can’t escape if they want/need to. Also worms breath thru their moist skin. I don’t know how much veggie and fruit juices may coat the skin and clog up breathing. 🤷‍♂️ You’d also be adding more nitrogen and probably acid into the system and you’d have to manage that as eventually the pH would start to slide toward acidic - not good for the worms but good for all the bin companions you only want in moderation. I prefer to use the juices in the pre-compost bin where the bacteria and fungi can process any acids and chunks into food that’s worm safe and use clean water or very lightly molasses water instead directly into the worm bin. I do like the thinking of using waste in new ways! But this might not be the best idea. If you do decide to give it a try, please report back! We’d all benefit from your experience whatever the outcome ❤️. Thanks for watching and asking a great question 😊.

@@RockinWorms Thanks for the quick response. I definitely will keep this in mind if I try it out. I really injoy your videos. I have learned a ton.

@@68Ambermw I’m so glad my videos are helpful! Yes please do post back on your experiences ❤️.

Hi Ian! I’m would be concerned about the nitrogen concentration in the used fish water going directly into the worm bin. It may cause heating/hot composting as it interacts with the carbon materials. I also don’t know if there’d be any other nutrients or wastes that would negatively effect the worms when ‘fresh’. Here’s the thing with water based additions: it goes throughout the bin. Worms have no way to escape or get away from it if they wanted/needed to. So here’s a way to test if the fish water is ok to use directly in the bin: wet a small handful of bedding with the fish water. Place in a corner of your bin and see what the worms do! Do they beeline to it? Does it sit there for X number of day and then the worms get into it (aka biota has broken down the fish water bedding to the point worms can eat it and be in it safely) or does it never get touched by the worms (doubtful - I think they’ll go for it at some point, it’s just a matter of how soon). FYI - I’d definitely use it to make pre-composted bedding for the worms! I love the idea of using the fish water in some capacity for the worms - a great way to use that resource!! It’s just a matter of figuring out the best way to do it. Good thinking!!

Breeder bins are bins where 100% of the worms placed into the bin are adults. Mother Nature says it’s their job to perpetuate their species. And we bell them do that by giving them the best environment for them to make cocoons in. That means very moist bedding, easy to eat food, lots of possible mating partners and no-few obstacles in their way to romance 🤩. Does that help you understand breeder bins? 🪱🪱🪱

Hi! Welcome to the Castings Crew! To be clear (haha!) do you mean the worm bins? I share my thoughts on that in this video: A New Breeder Bin Set Up Plus Clear Bins Yea or Nay? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hs17kpCIxtK2iIU.html I think one point on clear vs colored bins that I may not have mentioned is that colored bins tend to be heavier duty, which can be a plus. If you didn’t mean the bins, please clarify for me 😊. Thanks for asking a question! 👍🪱🪱

Hi Paul! They are Sterliite brand in titanium grey. 23 1/2” long by 16 7/8” wide by 5 7/8” tall. I got them online from Walmart. They were cheaper online than in the store. The 8 pack of bins was the best deal, at least when I ordered them in late February of this year. Thanks for watching and asking!

Hi Bev. No it’s not. But they are ‘use adjacent’. Dolomite lime is ground/powdered limestone. That’s pretty much it. Some has magnesium in it too. Azomite is also a type of rock dust but is from a specific quarry in….Utah? It has a long long list of micro elements/minerals in it. So many of the trace elements that are good for just about every growing organism (including humans!) is in azomite. There’s been scientific studies showing that adding azomite to chicken feed results in larger, healthier chickens. Plants need trace elements too. In fact many expensive fertilizers will have trace elements added as well. I guess the real question I have is can I skip dolomite lime and just add azomite? Probably. But dolomite is so cheap - $4 for 50# that lasts 8-9 months with a lot of bins seems worth the $$ to me. Sand is a good grit to use. Basically there’s some overlap in what each product will add to a well functioning ecosystem that a worm bin should be. Some of these products can be eliminated from use and no harm done. But no harm is not the same as saying optimal conditions are provided either. You have to look at why you have worms and what use you plan for them and their castings in order to make the best choice for yourself. Haha! A much more in depth answer than you were expecting, eh? ❤️🪱🪱

@@RockinWorms It was a very long but very informative thank you. Thank you so much for your information. I’m loving all your videos there great …. I’m on my third months as a worm person and I’ve really got the worm bug. 🪱

Hi Sandra! YES! Rabbit manure is great to add into the worm bedding! It’s the only manure identified as not needing aging before use. I have read that some people in an abundance of caution will rinse the rabbit manure before use in order to remove any excess salt. Lucky you to have it! 🪱❤️ Thanks for watching 👍

Hi Daniel! Really? I never watched the show but of course know it’s premise. Your use of ‘tail’ instead of ‘tale’ as in the real title of the show cracked me up! Was that intentional?!

@@RockinWorms It wasn't but yeah it fits xD

Hi Debbie! That’s weird! Where is it in the heat/cool cycle? Do you have a shredded dry cardboard top layer? Just as a first reaction I’d say ramp up the heat and cook those things! 👍

Hi Overthinker! I use cow manure out of my own fields. I know that there’s no spraying 😊. As for dewormers, yes the cows get worked on a regular basis for their health. However the dewormer breaks down and becomes inactive quite quickly once it leaves the animal’s body and is in the open air and sunshine. So aged manure will be ok to use. Forever chemicals are a whole different beast. That’s why I’ve moved completely off using straw and other bedding materials that may have been sprayed. And you’re right - who really knows unless you have complete control and that’s virtually impossible 😬 A friend of mine is concerned about residual chemicals that may be on cardboard boxes that sit in delivery trucks as the trucks may have been sprayed with bug killer. It’s a real concern. Each of us has to make our own decision as to what we’re comfortable with when it comes to what we expose our animals too and, ultimately ourselves. I sift in order to make it easier to use in my bins. Big hunks of cow manure are awkward for me to work around in a bin. Certainly sifting is not required 😊. I hope you have or will find a balance that works for you so you can have or enjoy your worms ❤️

Hi Tony! The cow manure is older and dried out. Not composted. It literally comes from the field and I sift it. You can do the same with horse manure if it’s been aged a bit as well. Obviously if the animal hasn’t received any medicines in several months it’s better to use. Dewormers will inactivate in air and sunshine rapidly but best to be on the safe side. FYI the ‘reconstituted’ cow manure does not smell! Hopefully the horse manure won’t either 😳.

@@RockinWorms Thank you for your reply. Composted horse manure smells like the forest floor and looks like black gold to me. When i ask people to smell fresh compost without telling them what it is, they always say it smells like fresh dug up dirt. When i tell them what it is they never believe me at first. I have to prove it to them. Getting back on point, yes I pick up weathered manure from time to time. I was not sure if it may still contain pathogens that could be harmful to worms. Great channel.