I have one of these ordered. One tip, be careful about using soil directly from your garden or anything that is outside. My first experience with worm composting, I accidentally introduced slugs and pill bugs and could not get rid of them so had to start over. They are harmful to a garden. So, I will probably use starter soil from a bag from the nursery to hopefully avoid that again. Also will surround the feet with diatomaceous earth to keep other bugs from crawling up and in.
I have one of these. Its a good unit. Easy to use and maintain as showed in the video. However I did notice one design flaw. The holes berween trays are relatively small. This means two things happen. First, worms were being trapped and killed in the holes. Second, as worms grew too large to pass through, they were trapped in a tray without food and starved. This problem is easily overcome. Use a drill to enlarge every second hole in alternate rows to about 8mm. This takes about 5 minutes per tray but allows the worms to move to food without sacrificing the required strength. I contacted the manufacturer with this suggestion recently but have not yet heard back yet. This difficulty aside, I found it to be a good system.
Rob Brumby they may have done that to prevent the worms from going between trays. I have a worm tower and the darn things never stay put. They land up in the sump area or crawling out completely. It was a waste of $100.00. My bins work the best and I can do migration feeding to get the castings out without worms. Don't think they have that one in US.
This is interesting. I started mine a few months ago, following the instructions, and now noticing the population of worms seems to be shrinking. My suspicion is they are not making their way up from the sump. Not sure how to fix this. Am starting to not be a fan of these tiered tray designs very quickly. May make some major modifications if keeping it.
I bought one which will be delivered in 2 days. Great video as I feel confident as to how to set it up now. My concern is where to put it. I don't want to put it in my garage. It is dark in there which would be great but it gets very hot. In the back yard I can place it under a tree where it will get morning sun but evening shade but still the temperatures can easily get up to and over 100 F. I am interested more in the tea for my flowering plants but also the castings. The video didn't touch on how to harvest the castings but then again this video is more about setting up and rating the product.
Thanks for comment Michael. All kitchen food scraps except onions and citrus peel but paper and cardboard is good providing its torn up into small pieces and soaked in water first. Cost of running set up is almost nil - costs only if you use the conditioner (and thats only needed you use acidic scraps like onions). Trays fill up because the food gets turned into worm castings - not because they cant eat it quickly enough. The second tray is to transfer a few worms into when the top tray fills up with castings - well half full is enough to warrant emptying it. Then that spare tray takes the top spot while you dispose of the castings, wash it all out and have it ready for your next changeover in a few months time. * Its also worth changing the lower tray every 6-9 months too but be careful not to jettison too many of your worms. Add some new soil into the lower tray and reintroduce your worms.
Yes Myles, I've also noticed other variations - but in making this clip I followed the instructions as printed on the packaging when I bought it - so I guess the others must be unapproved variations (not wrong, just different).
So he started with two working trays straight away. I got one the other day,... But, as we follow a plant based diet, we have quite good amount of green waste from kitchen. What I started doing, is taking the brown stuff already half processed by worms from the tumble bin compost and pass it to the worm farm to finish the product. We will see how we going
Hmm, the second tray, Christine, is a spare to swap out after the initial tray fill up - and yes it takes around 3-6 months for it to fill up. This video clip has been seen by Tumbleweed management and they rather like it, I'm sure they'd have let me know if it was not 100% correct. But thanks for your comment - I hope this clears up the issue.
Just a couple of things that would be useful in description, types of scraps and what not to use, cost of running this setup, if the other two trays get changed at anytime . So the tray fills up due to worms not breaking it down fast enough? What can the full tray be used for? Cheers
Hardest part is buying your first lot of worms....my first 3 boxes had 3 worms in them total - but the box says 500 in each. Hardware stores are forgetting to check the "use by" dates
Bob! I bought one of these today and got half way through your video before realising it was you! Will need to pop over and chat worm farms next time Will is home! Thanks for the video - very helpful. Quick question - I do not think I have enough in my bottom tray (where the worms are) for them to reach the tray above. Should I just put the food scaps in the bottom tray until it fills up? Then what do I do!?
Am a bit late replying Lawrence but good on ya for getting one. P.S just raise the level of the bottom tray so the worms are closer to the grid - they wriggle through.
to help maintain moisture in the worm cafe what is the minimum amount of water to pour onto to I often end up with over supply pouring 1-7litres weekly before dilution
The third tray is a spare - swap them over when the top one fills up. Fills up with what? Isn't the top one where all the vegie scraps go? I am confused. I do have this product and assure you that I have not been using it correctly at all! So the worms go into the bottom tray and the vegie scraps into the top tray. So the worms climb up into the top tray from the bottom tray to eat the vegies? And somehow the top tray fills up and is swapped with the spare empty tray. What happens to the contents of the filled up top tray that is being replaced with the empty spare tray? Where are the worms?
the top tray will slowly fill up as you add more scraps and the worms eat them and turn them into worm castings the middle tray is where the worms live and the bottom tray collects the worm pee
Hi mews56 - because its a good draining design you cant really over do it as any excess will always drain through to the trough underneath and out through the tap if you keep it open with a bucket under it (which is a good idea). Worms just like to be kept moist e.g. not dry out so I just give them around five seconds spray with the hand held hose that has a fine spray rose attached. I'd be surprised if thats any more than one litre. But they will also be getting extra moisture in the scraps you feed them them, so I wouldn't worry too much.
When you say you replace the top tray when it gets full with he spare 3rd tray? what do you exactly mean? do you add the 3rd tray to the worm farm as well or do you completely remove the full tray?
Just start with one tray. When it is full, add the second tray, the worms will advance up when hungry. Then when the second is full add the third and continue on. When the third is full, by then the first tray should be full of worm free castings for fertiliser. Add this empty tray to the top and this is your scrap tray again. Works well.
Well guavaburst there is no information anywhere about that just - "Specially selected blend of natural minerals to neutralise the ph of your worm farm.' But as you say thats probably largely lime.
yeah I bought one 2nd hand as well Good question anad one I thought I was answering by just using good organic compost to bed the new worms into - hope this is ok? Also what else can you use as the top mat - is old carpet ok?
order coconut coir online, comes in a brick, expands dramatically. get one without SALT; organic. got an 11 pound brick of organic on amazon, expands to 2.2 cubic feet! this helps with pH, moisture, & they love it. also, dampish, plain, brown cardboard (4x6 inch pieces) is a mating sanctuary; they exchange sperm & egg externally by slithering past one another, & they love to mate & hang out in the corrugations. yes, it gets soggy & collapses, but they love being in between the layers, still. &, they will compost it eventually. this will explode your population in no time, & is also a great top cover. sand/grit is also important; this is a digestive aid. without this your composting will happen much more slowly. azomite rock dust is perfect; filled with minerals that keep microbial activity high & is a soil amendment for plants, anyway, so a perfect processing item.
no, no! carpet is full of chemicals that you don;t want to eat; neither do they, & this will harbor mold & fungus. it will hold water to an imbalance & really not be able to ever break down, especially the synthetics. the chemical situation will interfere with your naturally occurring & compost-boosting microbial action inside. only exception would be handmade jute fiber mats used as rugs or an unprocessed cotton or felted wool mat.
Good question. In Australia you have to be careful walking over lawns as they've been known to suck you down into the soil. We've lost a few kids that way.(It's okay, we didn't like them). Still, they aren't as bad as the Drop Bears. (But a good Skyhook operated with a left handed spanner usually sorts them out).
I've read in many places the liquid that seeps out is toxic to plants and is NOT worm tea, its leachate and not recommended to use to make actual worm tea for garden. Its steeping the actual worm castings,,then adding oxygen to the mixture is the way tp make fertilizer from a worm farm. And that's quite a process in comparison to what's suggested here. . Leachate - The liquid run off that settles at or below the vermicompost or worm castings. 2. Worm Tea - The end result or product of suspending worm castings for extracting in highly oxygenated wateri think think this video is misleading.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I have one of these ordered. One tip, be careful about using soil directly from your garden or anything that is outside. My first experience with worm composting, I accidentally introduced slugs and pill bugs and could not get rid of them so had to start over. They are harmful to a garden. So, I will probably use starter soil from a bag from the nursery to hopefully avoid that again. Also will surround the feet with diatomaceous earth to keep other bugs from crawling up and in.
One of the older videos online for the Worm Cafe, but the most informative and easy to follow.
I have one of these. Its a good unit. Easy to use and maintain as showed in the video. However I did notice one design flaw. The holes berween trays are relatively small. This means two things happen. First, worms were being trapped and killed in the holes. Second, as worms grew too large to pass through, they were trapped in a tray without food and starved.
This problem is easily overcome. Use a drill to enlarge every second hole in alternate rows to about 8mm. This takes about 5 minutes per tray but allows the worms to move to food without sacrificing the required strength.
I contacted the manufacturer with this suggestion recently but have not yet heard back yet.
This difficulty aside, I found it to be a good system.
+Rob Brumby Cheers for the tip, I'm doing the same.
Rob Brumby they may have done that to prevent the worms from going between trays. I have a worm tower and the darn things never stay put. They land up in the sump area or crawling out completely. It was a waste of $100.00. My bins work the best and I can do migration feeding to get the castings out without worms. Don't think they have that one in US.
DRill a couple out!
Thanks for the tip as I am about to set up mine 👍
This is interesting. I started mine a few months ago, following the instructions, and now noticing the population of worms seems to be shrinking. My suspicion is they are not making their way up from the sump. Not sure how to fix this. Am starting to not be a fan of these tiered tray designs very quickly. May make some major modifications if keeping it.
I bought one which will be delivered in 2 days. Great video as I feel confident as to how to set it up now. My concern is where to put it. I don't want to put it in my garage. It is dark in there which would be great but it gets very hot. In the back yard I can place it under a tree where it will get morning sun but evening shade but still the temperatures can easily get up to and over 100 F. I am interested more in the tea for my flowering plants but also the castings. The video didn't touch on how to harvest the castings but then again this video is more about setting up and rating the product.
Thanks for comment Michael. All kitchen food scraps except onions and citrus peel but paper and cardboard is good providing its torn up into small pieces and soaked in water first. Cost of running set up is almost nil - costs only if you use the conditioner (and thats only needed you use acidic scraps like onions).
Trays fill up because the food gets turned into worm castings - not because they cant eat it quickly enough. The second tray is to transfer a few worms into when the top tray fills up with castings - well half full is enough to warrant emptying it. Then that spare tray takes the top spot while you dispose of the castings, wash it all out and have it ready for your next changeover in a few months time.
* Its also worth changing the lower tray every 6-9 months too but be careful not to jettison too many of your worms. Add some new soil into the lower tray and reintroduce your worms.
Thanks for the clip, I will be following your instructions in our School Garden program with very excited primary school students!
Yes Myles, I've also noticed other variations - but in making this clip I followed the instructions as printed on the packaging when I bought it - so I guess the others must be unapproved variations (not wrong, just different).
So he started with two working trays straight away. I got one the other day,... But, as we follow a plant based diet, we have quite good amount of green waste from kitchen. What I started doing, is taking the brown stuff already half processed by worms from the tumble bin compost and pass it to the worm farm to finish the product. We will see how we going
Bought one of these today. Seems to be just what I was after. But I guess, we will see for sure in the next couple of months :)
Hmm, the second tray, Christine, is a spare to swap out after the initial tray fill up - and yes it takes around 3-6 months for it to fill up. This video clip has been seen by Tumbleweed management and they rather like it, I'm sure they'd have let me know if it was not 100% correct.
But thanks for your comment - I hope this clears up the issue.
This was excellent. Clear and in real time, the steps. Thanks
Thanks for the tips for this product, I have one and this episode is very helpful. 🙂👍🏾
Just a couple of things that would be useful in description, types of scraps and what not to use, cost of running this setup, if the other two trays get changed at anytime .
So the tray fills up due to worms not breaking it down fast enough? What can the full tray be used for? Cheers
Hardest part is buying your first lot of worms....my first 3 boxes had 3 worms in them total - but the box says 500 in each. Hardware stores are forgetting to check the "use by" dates
Omg. I had to laugh. But a very good tip. Thanks
How do you get the worm castings out of this for use in the garden?
I have some Richgro Natural Garden Lime. Can I use this instead of immediately purchasing the Worm Farm and Compost Conditioner?
Bob! I bought one of these today and got half way through your video before realising it was you! Will need to pop over and chat worm farms next time Will is home! Thanks for the video - very helpful. Quick question - I do not think I have enough in my bottom tray (where the worms are) for them to reach the tray above. Should I just put the food scaps in the bottom tray until it fills up? Then what do I do!?
Am a bit late replying Lawrence but good on ya for getting one. P.S just raise the level of the bottom tray so the worms are closer to the grid - they wriggle through.
to help maintain moisture in the worm cafe what is the minimum amount of water to pour onto to I often end up with over supply pouring 1-7litres weekly before dilution
What minerals are in the conditioner?
I'm guessing it's lime for at least some of it. Anything else?
i would just sub with azomite rock dust. full of minerals & physically a digestive aid. normally a soil amendment for plants, anyway. (:
The third tray is a spare - swap them over when the top one fills up. Fills up with what? Isn't the top one where all the vegie scraps go? I am confused.
I do have this product and assure you that I have not been using it correctly at all!
So the worms go into the bottom tray and the vegie scraps into the top tray.
So the worms climb up into the top tray from the bottom tray to eat the vegies?
And somehow the top tray fills up and is swapped with the spare empty tray.
What happens to the contents of the filled up top tray that is being replaced with the empty spare tray?
Where are the worms?
the top tray will slowly fill up as you add more scraps and the worms eat them and turn them into worm castings the middle tray is where the worms live and the bottom tray collects the worm pee
These steps are quite different to what is in the package instructions.
Ah, but did they work?
yes!!!! I am going to have to adapt my set up
What's that conditioning powder added.
Lime
Hi, Sorry may be I missed but can I please know in which tray to put the coco peat brick ?
In first tray to live worm .
Hi mews56 - because its a good draining design you cant really over do it as any excess will always drain through to the trough underneath and out through the tap if you keep it open with a bucket under it (which is a good idea). Worms just like to be kept moist e.g. not dry out so I just give them around five seconds spray with the hand held hose that has a fine spray rose attached. I'd be surprised if thats any more than one litre. But they will also be getting extra moisture in the scraps you feed them them, so I wouldn't worry too much.
Great video. How do you keep the cunts from going out the bottom?
When you say you replace the top tray when it gets full with he spare 3rd tray? what do you exactly mean? do you add the 3rd tray to the worm farm as well or do you completely remove the full tray?
Just start with one tray. When it is full, add the second tray, the worms will advance up when hungry. Then when the second is full add the third and continue on. When the third is full, by then the first tray should be full of worm free castings for fertiliser. Add this empty tray to the top and this is your scrap tray again. Works well.
@@waratah166 I've read in some comments that the holes were too small. Did you find yourself having to make the holes bigger?
Well guavaburst there is no information anywhere about that just - "Specially selected blend of natural minerals to neutralise the ph of your worm farm.' But as you say thats probably largely lime.
In nature, there is nobody to sprinkle pH-altering powder. Why is it necessary here but not in nature?
Because humans do daft things like adding acidic items to compost like onions and citrus.
How to order replacement parts for your wormfarm or additional parts?
Just click here (or paste URL into your browser) : - www.gardensonline.com.au/Shopping/GardenShop/Show_5503.aspx
I bought this unit second hand and it no longer has the coir bedding to start it up. What can I use instead? Shredded newspaper?
yeah I bought one 2nd hand as well
Good question anad one I thought I was answering by just using good organic compost to bed the new worms into - hope this is ok?
Also what else can you use as the top mat - is old carpet ok?
order coconut coir online, comes in a brick, expands dramatically. get one without SALT; organic. got an 11 pound brick of organic on amazon, expands to 2.2 cubic feet! this helps with pH, moisture, & they love it. also, dampish, plain, brown cardboard (4x6 inch pieces) is a mating sanctuary; they exchange sperm & egg externally by slithering past one another, & they love to mate & hang out in the corrugations. yes, it gets soggy & collapses, but they love being in between the layers, still. &, they will compost it eventually. this will explode your population in no time, & is also a great top cover.
sand/grit is also important; this is a digestive aid. without this your composting will happen much more slowly. azomite rock dust is perfect; filled with minerals that keep microbial activity high & is a soil amendment for plants, anyway, so a perfect processing item.
no, no! carpet is full of chemicals that you don;t want to eat; neither do they, & this will harbor mold & fungus. it will hold water to an imbalance & really not be able to ever break down, especially the synthetics. the chemical situation will interfere with your naturally occurring & compost-boosting microbial action inside. only exception would be handmade jute fiber mats used as rugs or an unprocessed cotton or felted wool mat.
@@yva1118yva A couple of hanging basket liners should do the job safely.
can i put 2000 worms all at once?
Thats a bit overkill - they'll all be fighting over the same scraps. Better to use a smaller amount - 500 max.
What type of worms is inside the starter box?
Compost worms, they are usually red.
What if a worm bite me ?
Good question. In Australia you have to be careful walking over lawns as they've been known to suck you down into the soil. We've lost a few kids that way.(It's okay, we didn't like them). Still, they aren't as bad as the Drop Bears. (But a good Skyhook operated with a left handed spanner usually sorts them out).
Ross, your cheeky answer deserves a free gift. We will be sending you a spare bubble for your spirit level ASAP.
شكرا .. استفدت
Для чего нижние ящики? Непонятно.
Здесь живут черви - они движутся вверх, чтобы поесть объедки, а затем возвращаются в почву в лотках ниже.
awesome! thanks
No worries
do you know if raccoons would smell this and turn is upside down
Its why you put a brick on top - just hope you don't have overly muscled raccoons in your neighbourhood.
Yo Bob take a look at this
I've read in many places the liquid that seeps out is toxic to plants and is NOT worm tea, its leachate and not recommended to use to make actual worm tea for garden. Its steeping the actual worm castings,,then adding oxygen to the mixture is the way tp make fertilizer from a worm farm. And that's quite a process in comparison to what's suggested here. . Leachate - The liquid run off that settles at or below the vermicompost or worm castings. 2. Worm Tea - The end result or product of suspending worm castings for extracting in highly oxygenated wateri think think this video is misleading.
Gotta love the flat earthers.