Turning A Wicking Bed Into A Worm Farm, Nothing Else Like It
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- Опубликовано: 19 ноя 2024
- Hallsome farm practices sustainable farming methods, in this video we show how we convert a Wicking bed into a worm farm. Nothing else like it anywhere. This is a game changer now everyone can make their own worm farm for the garden
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I've found that the best way to check the water level on a self wicking tub, is an old cork on a small dowel. The cork goes down into the filler pipe. The dowel sticks out the top of the filler pipe. You can tell at a glance what the water level is in the bottom by looking at how much of the dowel is sticking out of the pipe.
Great idea! :)
@@martatustanowska4178 Unfortunately it wasn't my idea. I got the idea from a youtube channel, I think it was called LDSPrepper. He had a lot of good ideas.
Excellent idea. Dave's warter also.
I've done something similar in an old bathtub we had laying around. It wasn't a wicking bed with a false bottom though. But what I did was filled the bottom 5-6 inches with twigs and tree branches that would slowly break down but also provide better drainage and covered those with a layer of egg cartons and cardboard boxes flattened. Then I layered in my goat manure and old hay, kitchen scraps and weeds from the garden and wood mulch from the floor of the wood shed (tons of worms were already living in that and the bark helps keep them cool and moist) and covered everything with old newspaper and a piece of scrap plywood on top with a cinder block to keep out the raccoons from eating all my worms. I had it set on some blocks and a bin under the drain to catch the worm compost tea. That worm farm worked like a treat! Everything was recycled materials so it cost me zero to build. The worms I added were leftover bait worms from our fishing trips I'd toss in to start my colony since wild night crawlers are notorious for escaping lol.
Sounds perfect. .. I had no idea a worm bin would of interest to raccoons. Thx for your comment.
@@dreamingrightnow1174 in southwest Missouri we had quite a problem with raccoons and opossums eating all our worms and looking for food scraps if we didn't put a heavy cover on top of the worm farm. We also had armadillos that loved digging up the garden searching for worms and grumbs.
I'd recommend an upgrade suggested by VergePermaculture: Use drain tile pipe for the fill pipe. It's larger diameter and already has holes in it, so that makes it easy and fast to fill.
is incredible how people take they valueble time to teach other . I just want to let you know I m one of those people that realy apreciate what you do for us . I watch all your video love it
Thank you very kind of you to say. Thanks for watching
Hallsome Farm - thanks for the reply much appreciated.
ok i think what you are suggesting is that i take my watering can to the wormery and give it a gallon evenly spread over the surface.
I dont think that would hurt the worms. This is how i harvested worm tea with my 'can o worms' set up. However your ;tank o worms; is on a much bigger scale and i cant wait to get started with this new method.
Even the big worm farmers in Australia are going to be impressed with this discovery.
Thanks for sharing as this has given me a new lease of life.
Jordie0001 has
@@HallsomeFarm Okay so do you only get a 'bottle's worth' of Worm Tea because I'm thinking a tote that big (happened to have just brought one for storage) and the way Worms 'multiply' you would need a BIGGER item to catch the tea.
@@Ms.Byrd68 the run off isn’t all tea it’s good to put in the compost, mostly I use the castings as fertilizer
Add some coarse sand to the feeding mix! The worms don't have teeth but a gizzard and need the tiny rocks to grind up their food. This process also adds the minerals from the sand to the castings as an extra benefit. 😊
Thank you Mr Hall
I built a 3x5 x18 inches high. I did what you taught me and I must say that this bed works wonders. I have produce several gallons of vermi-compost in this wicking bed design. Happy growing
If you will lightly sand or scuff up where your painting your paint will stick alot better and last longer!
Or use the plastic spray paint - I redo my faded flower pots in coordinating colors instead of buying new - also protects from the sun in southern climes.
This is an amazing setup.I have 4 bathtubs that I use for raising worms and producing compost-I will start converting to this as I also do wicking beds.THANK YOU.
Mr. Hall, thank you for sharing this.
Definitely, that will make my garden more productive and save me tons of money.
Thank you, Sir.
YAY! This is fabulous!!! I understood the importance of worm castings but haven’t tried “the warm farms”. I have been hesitant because they do look as though they take some particular attention. This is going to be world changing for me. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.!!!
Glad you are excited about raising worms
Awww let your dog join you and be a part of the family and the garden beds. They are a gift from God and its time people realize that
My son has been doing this method for years now with success, thankyou for sharing to people great gardening ideas with easy to understand instructions.
Thanks for watching
This was totally amazing to me. We've been using piles for composting....this would be a back saver for us!!
Everyone that disliked this must be getting paid off by Big Worm.
been checking a bunch of different builds, this is my fav video so far i think
Thanks
Using your measurements, I had to tap the fittings together to exactly reach the bottom with no room to spare. Nice to see it work out as intended!
I absolutely love this idea, and will certainly try my hand at it. Yesterday, I stopped a fishing tackle and bought a few cans of red wigglers. I wasn't sure if I would do things properly. Once I can tell it's all working out, I'll convert to the wicking bin. Thanks so much. BUT, I do have a question: Did I miss how we collect the castings? I call myself rewatching a few times and never understood how to get the castings out for the garden.
Me too...same question.
He said to just add compost material to one side and collect dirt from the other side of the bin. He mentioned you will probably have a few worms in your scoop. Throw them back or into your garden. They will reproduce anyway.
Thankyou so much for sharing your knowledge and experience! Really appreciate this and the fact that you’ve taken time make this and share. Gratitude from Australia:-)
Been wanting to do a worm farm.. this will be so easy to do! Thank you!
Hey! I love your videos, everything is clear and simple. Just one thing, could you up the volume a bit? Even at the highest level I can't hear your loud enough. thanks!
I’m working on it thanks for the tip
I agreed. I’m having a difficult time hearing you in this video.
It can happen, what i do is have an amplifier external of my computer. There will be other people and other vids that can be hard to hear, but not with the external amp. But to be honest, this video is not that bad, i didn't even need to turn the amplifier on. But my desk top volume had to be on 100%(10).
@@TheRebelmanone trust me, when you don't have an amp and you got my laptop, it's pretty bad :)
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Thank you so much for taking the time to share this. We have just put in 6 raised beds and are so excited to get these bins going to help. We are in the Pacific Northwest. Love your videos!
Thank you
Such a great idea! Thanks for sharing this idea,
Would it be better to use Sphagnum moss instead of peat since sphagnum is ph neutral and peat is acidic?
I have heard that you can add corn meal and rolled oat cereals for a dryer feed for worms, along with kitchen
Scraps, for a balanced ph for your worm diet.
Great revolutionary idea , I live in a very dry part of Australia where summer days are well over
100 Fahrenheit ( or 45 deg)
I seem to cook my worms in every medium iv tried. This looks like the water below may help to regulate the temp above for worms.
It does and here in Texas we get over 100 as well, but shade is a must or they will get too hot ever with the wicking
Even, sorry spell check. Let me know how it goes for you.
Hallsome Farm today I received the clay balls to use in the bottom of Toat ( storage container) as the medium. I think I will make the fill pipe at same hight as Toat so can use lid to close it off. Will update as I go along this path.
Thanks again
Ps. Our summer temps have cooled down now but I notice ants are still a problem so I’ll need to set up a moat around the base.
The Naked Lumberjack any pics of your setup and is the cooling element still in operation ?
Bob
Wow Cooked my worms( 45 °Celsius =113 °Fahrenheit outside at present) in the
"Urban Worm Bag Worm Composting Bin" i had.
But luckly iv also a Toat (storage container) set up (your plan) which works a treat so im going to do another Toat (storage contaainer) worms are happy in the Toat it seems to keep much cooler in the hot summer than any method iv tryed. i do add a bottle of frozen water to the toat each day as a little treat for the worms. thanks
Hi, where I’m it gets to 30 below 0. What would you do with the worms for the winter? Thank you for your time.
My father in law dug a hole and laid an old refrigerator back side down in it and raised worms in it
Brilliant. I've been researching expensive purpose built wormaries which in the UK are around £70. So going to have a go at a smaller version of this (we are only a 2 person household with a tiny garden). I'll let you know how I get on. But just wanted to say thanks so much - easiest one I've seen so far and am feeling inspired.
Great, thanks for the post and yes let us know how it works out for you.
i created a wicking bed in a 300 gal horse watering trough, with an overflow spigot on the bottom. and left it outside under a shade tree, with just dry leaf mulch over a food base of about 4 to 6 inches of coffee grounds, with topsoil and coir mix for bedding above the 4 inch water/rock and pipe base. I work in the oilfield so i was away from the system for months at a time, but it worked excellently, thru this past Texas summer. all the food was turned to castings, so now I need to clean it out and replace the casting with new bedding and food. I did get some black soldier fly larvae, which is great in a compost/chicken food respect, but not being there, it is causing a management problem with protecting the red worms, because the bsf larvae outcompete them for food that I put in there. my refill spout cover came off in the wind, and some frogs set up in my refill spout, so, shows its a healthy system, at least. I really like this system and want to expand it into grow beds with worms , to try and build a complete system for growing food, with a high water efficiency. as my property is heavy clay and sand stone soils, so they are going to need a lot of work to get them up to speed for growing anything besides the cedar and cactus that currently thrive there. I am also in a poor area for water, so water efficiency is of the highest concern, due to having to ship in or capture rainwater, for all my irrigation needs, right now.
Currently buying materials right now! Going over your vid to double check, thank you!
You're right. That is revolutionary!! Deep respect to you for sharing this one.
Great technique It would also work well using a broken chest freezer Which are cheap and insulated and white
I'm so glad you made this video. I've been looking for videos on wicking beds because I made a vertical
worm farm out of 5 gal buckets. I didn't have a drain on it, so I put lava
rocks in the bottom bucket to keep them from drowning and noticed a couple of
weeks later that these tiny bugs formed in the rocks. Red wigglers won’t eat them,
but the earthworms will. So, that’s how I found your channel and I see that you
have a lot of other great videos. Thank you, I’m subbing.
Thank you for watching and commenting
What prevents this from freezing in the colder climates? excellent video, Thanks Bob and company
Found your video and am amazed. Can you give me an update on any improvements, other lessons learned int the time since this was posted.
I'm sure it's different depending on the climate, but here in the pacific northwest, I just dump grass clippings in a shady corner of my yard and the redworms show up, so I stock the box with them. The soil around those spots is great too.
I have been vermicomposting in-ground for many years. But the hot Texas summers require a lot of watering from above, and my worm population decreased last year probably because they dried out too much. So I ordered 500 mixed red wigglers from Jim's Worm Farm and divided up half to the in-ground worm bed and half to an indoor two-layer worm bin. I figured I could access worms better indoors during the winter and just put thick mulch over the outdoor ones and they could munch on one or two feedings until spring. Hopefully they are good with that! I do check them every once in awhile. I think they dive down more outdoors than the indoor bin ones. Or maybe they gravitate to where I last piled some kitchen scraps. But it is true you have to water them outdoors more and not forget them especially in the summer. I like your big bin setup. I will consider that to replace the in-ground system should my in-ground ones decline again. I have just the right amount of shade so they won't get too hot. Thanks for the video! I loved all the details, especially about the pH-neutral rock test.
You could sand around where the cap fits on to make a loose fit.
Sure
thank you sir for this valuable information. just bought the bin and pcv pipes and fittings. waiting for spring to order the red wigglers...don't want them to freeze in transit. once again thank you.
I live in East Texas where you can just pile up leaves and have worms . I think I will try that bin.
Great, I like your name
That’s interesting. I’ve always thought about doing something like that but that one looks easier thanks.
Thanks Mike for the excellent informative video. I have learned a lot from you.
Thank you so much for sharing, regards from Brazil !
Hi = l have been looking all over = Utube for the best way to produce worm castings = l could not come up with anything l was very happy with = And l did look at Dozens of different designs = Well Buddy l will have 2 of these bad boys built within a week = And from the looks of things l can do this from my garage = l live In MINNESOTA = and l have a heater that will keep them warm enough in the winter = l leave the THERMOSTAT ON 50 degrees anyways to keep my to HOTROD CARS warm and Cozy when the TEMPERATURES DROP = I REALLY WANT TO THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR WOUNDER IDEA WITH EVERYONE OUT HERE IN GARDENING LAND = THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE SEEN YET... LET US KNOW IF YOU FIND ANY ELSE THAT = CAN HELP MAKE LESS WORK FOR MY 60 YEAR OLD BACK = AND BEAT UP BODY = I WOULD APPRECIATE IT = THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME I SEEN YOUR CHANNEL = I AM NOW A SUBSCRIBER = GOD BLESS PAUL M.
Thank you Tracy for your kind words, I too have a 60 year old back and my channel is all about easier ways for us to garden. Glad to have you on board, a couple of days ago I published a video on how to harvest worm castings.
You look like a guy I worked with at rrisd.thanks for video good job on wicking worm beds I will give it a try.thanks again
Wonder if you stuck a 6" PVC tube with drilled holes down in the middle of the tote and used that tube to put your food scraps and leaves into the tube the worms would come in and eat and then go out and poop in the soil. That would make the harvest just the liquid gold worm juice which is the stuff that is like super vitamins for your plants.
Instead of using toxic paint for the inside of where you're growing food, you could cover it with mulch or cover the entire top by cutting the lid in half and you can slip it on and off of each side of your plant stalk. You can cut channels out of the lid where it slips around more than one plant.
Great video.
I am an avid user of wicking beds, and I have more food scraps than my chickens will eat.
I plan on using a derelict fridge for my wicking worm bed.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
or an old bath?
I found this useful. Thanks to you and you're wife for the information. I'm going to build this in the spring of 2019, zone 7b, and zone 10 in the winter.
Great good luck and thanks for the feedback
Thank you so much for sharing! Do you think it would be possible to even grow some vegetables (like watermeon or cucumbers ) on top of the worms? It would grow in the middle so there still will be space to bury some food for them but also they would get some shade from the plant? I've heard somewhere those worm don't eat living plants so I'm worndering if it would be possible. If so, that plant would be in nutrient heaven :)
That’s what I’m here plotting right now.
I’m thinking Find a way to get:
1. Food worms.
2. Worms away from that pot once cast has been made.
3. Worms new source of food in next plant pot.
I’ve seen others have containers/openings placed in their garden beds to drop food in for the worms while their plants grow around.
In the ground the worms are able to leave the container and return as they please. They’ll always go to the source of food.
I can’t think of a way to get the casting out with the plants in pots, since it’s not healthy for the worms to stay in casting for long.
Let me go do some brain work.
There must be a way to have pots attached so worms can get to other pots and out of casting.
Ohhh!! Maybe have plant in a pot in the bin with holes or mesh at the bottom/ sides of that pot, and place in bin. Add food scraps around the pot. The holes will help the plant wick up the tea as well.
If you try you should let us know. Please.
I’m in Alaska and grow my worms in my garage.
I have an old bathtub I can convert into a worm farm.Thanks for all of your good info. God bless you.
Thanks you too
I am thinking about putting a plexiglass viewer in the side of the bin so I can see the water level better and just for fun.:) But Im going to try this on a smaller toe first,to see how it goes
Good luck
I just started my Vermicompost for my garden. You are inspiring and I love all your videos! Thank you for sharing your tricks and tips.
Thank you
My daughter decided she wanted a warm Farm. She gathered her material list for a wooden structure (from the internet) and enlisted her father to help her build her starter Farm. We dug worms and populated the farm. It was a nightmare and all of the worms died and we more or less had an ant farm. My question is... Will ants be an issue in this type of setup? I don't want to invest another $100+ in something that will attract more ants.
BTW: I really liked your video so I shared is with friends. I'm so hoping that ants will not be a problem.
I had ant problems myself, but then I started blending up the food scraps before feeding the worms and the ant problem went away
New way to do the worm casting - EASY to do ! Anyone CAN do it who is a garden enthusiast ! Thanks
Simply wonderful. I haven’t the space for something this size. However, I’ve got all the upcycled materials to make a 5 gallon bucket version. Thank you!
Great
Very nice video!
Thanks for sharing! I shared it with my friend as we were just talking about wicking beds AND worms! What a timely blessing!
Great that’s why I make the videos
Do you think lava rocks would work? It's light weight and passed the vinegar test.
Also curious why you only drill holes in 1/2 the pipe in the bottom. Why not all the pipe in the bottom?
I put a foam bowl of worm in the fridge after fishing one night and forgot about them for 3 months and wen opened up the lid it was packed with huge worms still alive!!!
Thank you, Bob. This is a wonderful idea. I'm grateful that I found your channel. I subscribed.
So excited I found your channel. Thank you 😊
Stupid question probably but I don’t understand how rock can wick moisture through the soil. The stone isn’t porous so wouldn’t the soil just dry out once the water falls below the top just a little? Seems like there should be a soil pocket, of sorts, that would let a portion of the soil always remain wet and therefore allow it to constantly wick. But you said that this has been working for you for 2 years so obviously it works. I just don’t understand how. Thank you so much for your time, energy and knowledge. It’s a true gift you are sharing. Keep up the great work! I’m hoping to make one of these with my 12 year old.
The surface tension of the rock wicks the water and the media in the tote will continue to wick up to 12”
Video ended a little early for my understanding: so, do you cover the tub (to prevent flies gathering (and scavengers rummaging)? Do you continue layering soil and kitchen scraps till you get to the top? (I'm doing something similar a la Ann Wigmore, indoor-composting in 40-50 gal. garbage can with drilled holes up the sides, layering dirt from outside with chopped-up -- easily compostable -- kitchen scraps, stirring every layer, worms purchased once, seemingly renewable, my main purpose being to keep the most kitchen scraps that I can out the garbage and landfills, and making good soil.) Thanks for your video, knowledge, and enthusiasm. You're right: your practice could renew our soils and help our landfills lighten up, not to mention produce more nutritious vegs. (I like your anti-work ethic, too. Looks like you have a wonderful set-up going! Lucky wife/family!)
At 30:18 he mentions using a shade cloth (and a net) I think.
Earlier he mentioned putting foods scraps in alternating corners.
That way when the worms are done with one corner you’re able to add food to the other side of the bin, and collect and use the cast from the previous side.
Sometimes there are still a few worms in the previous corner but not much. Best way is to stop adding food to the old corner so they’ll move to the other side with food.
Great video. Thanks for making it. Great info, it's on my todo list
This is great and you're a great instructor...Thanks
Appreciate that
That sounds like a very good idea but I’m wondering if I could go one step further and add compost all the way to the top and plant some vegetables
Sure I put worms in my garden wicking beds
You said you have another tote of worms, can you show it and how you harvest the worm castings please
I will make another video showing the casting process very easy. The other bed is at Frank’s House not that close to me.
I’m 65, and like you, would like to miniseries work and save money. But I’m a reluctant gardener. It’s not something I truly enjoy. But I want to know what I’m eating so I practice organic growing. I do have a worm factory 360 and yes, it’s too much work. I now use just one tray and that’s perfect. Except. It doesn’t produce as much as I’d like. I love your idea. I live in TX hill country and summers are hot and buggy. I don’t like bugs and my worm farm is indoors. I’ve had one fruit fly explosion from over feeding just before leaving town. Not enjoyable. We have all kinds of pests here. How do keep pests and creepy crawlers out. I actually think the worms themselves are creepy but I deal with it. I don’t want to deal with roaches, scorpions, grubs and all the other creepiest that live outside. I don’t have space for your setup inside. Any suggestions? I could use the lid but my worm factory has a lid. I use it. Still got fruit fly explosion. I dealt with that and were happy again. If I use a lid, I’d need air holes and things can get in. I container garden now, some wicking beds. Three had fire ant colonies at end of winter. I dealt with that. Basically I want all the upside with none of my perceived downsides. Yes, I’m a big ninny. I a,ready know that. Thanks for the video and any info you can share with me
So at first I had bug issues too mainly fire ants. I live in Georgetown Tx, to solve the problem I got an old blender and now blend all the food I put into the worm bed. Bugs don’t eat stuff when you make a worm smoothie out of it but the worms love it. Give it a try.
Hallsome Farm amazing. That’s what I do now. I guess that’s why I have only had to deal with fruit once and nothing else. I started blending cuz I didn’t like the thought of food rotting in my laundry room and was afraid it would smell. So I’ve been blending everything and freezing excess in baggies. I feed every day usually, sometimes every other day. Only time I had a problem was when I headed to NC for over a week and didn’t want them to starve. That’s the only time. I forgot to add browns with the food and things were too wet and when I got back I had worms everywhere, a smelly laundry room and when I opened the lid fruit flies everywhere. Awful. Almost quit but started a fres tray, moved the worms, went back to daily feedings, and they’ve been happy since. Didn’t realize bugs done eat blended food though. Guess I’ll try one outside. Don’t like the design of worm factory. If you use multiple trays, they get heavy pretty quickly and I think they squish the worms. I fluffed every day but still it looked compacted before it was ready to harvest. So now I just use a single tray and I don’t get enough for my expanding garden. Thanks so much for the kind response.
Unless the county recyclinv center has free plastic bathtubs, this is the way to go.
Either way the procedures, pa
Planning and i.plimentation perfect. Thanks for sharing the best method possible!!!!!!!
Thank you starting my first garden this spring , I have hens and compost the shavings I use in their run and coup but would also like to have worm castings .
Thank you so much for this! I was wondering what to do with my old SIP’s!
Great info Will have to listen again Not sure which end to put food What if i don't have straw with rabbit pellets what can I use all peat moss or potting soil.
Shred newspaper, egg cartons, cardboard, leaves etc.
Decomposing veggie matter, corrugated cardboard, autumn leaves, etc.
There are MANY videos here on RUclips showing you what worms eat.
I buy my Red Wiggler worms at a fishing bait store here in Atlanta.
BTW, worms also love oatmeal and cornmeal - plain, not the instant kind.
Save your breakfast egg shells, bake them in the oven to sterilize then grind them to powder to feed to your worms.
VERY INFORMATIVE.. I PLAN TO TRY MYSELF THX FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE...
Thanks for the info. I built 2 from your video using a 55 gal drum. I put a tee and a couple caps on the end to keep it stable and drilled holes along the tee. Everything else is the same, except I didn't have rabbit poop, I used plain old compost. We'll see if it works as good as yours.
I’m sure it will, thanks for sharing
Thank you so much for this very helpful tutorial. It's inspiring and I can't wait to do this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. God bless you!
I have a lot of wicking bed & have been toying with this idea for a while just for my garden bed. I once grew tomatoes in worm castings, it was was staggering how well they grew the first year. This way the rats wont get to the worms either. Gr8 video. Have you thought about going WFPB or vegan. You will have lot mo re energy. You are puffing a lot today just sitting down and using arms.
Yes that’s why my videos show how to garden easier because my health is not the best
How do you separate the worms out of their castings for use in your garden? You didn't tell us that part-- or I
missed something important. Do you leave the lid off ,even in the Winter ?
I had same question - listened again and at 27:26 he describes what to do when he wants to collect the worm castings -
Thank you for sharing time and knowledge on a subject I would like to try. You said you are in Texas where the tempture can get up to about 100 at times in the summer. Do you think the worms would hold up in Phoenix where 100 is considered "cool" weather? We have periods of 110 to 125 in the summer. Thanks for your knowledge. 8-)
Yes I grew up in Chandler the worms should do fine as long as you shade them
I have found red wigglers living in my pond filter, totally submerged. So I don't believe you can get them too wet. I have put drip irrigation on my worm factory (TM) bin on 100 degree days to keep them cool, no problem. I do have a grate bottom so the water drains freely. When the bin is wet I have gotten black soldier fly larva in it, which isn't much of a problem IMO. Fire ants in the bin is a problem. Keeping the bin 18 inches off the ground a keeping it on the wetter side tends to work for me. I got a wicking bed from Sam's a month or two ago and put worms in them. I drill tiny holes in the side for extra ventilation. And I agree, it is pretty handy for keeping worms. I put a lot of cardboard in mine and vegetable waste. I also put a few sealed coke bottles in mine to moderate temps. I also find the worms like to live in my dog poop composter. They just show up. As far as this video going viral I think you need to cut it down to 15 minutes.
Thanks Joan great input, thanks for watching.
Thank you so much for sharing this very helpful information.
Thank you for your kindness in sharing.
Do you put a top on the bin if it is going to rain?
No let it rain on the worms
I'm in England and going to try this will let you know my results
Great appreciate that
Thank you!!!! I will be settling one up for sure!
They also absolutely love old jack-o-lanterns aka pumpkins.
Great video! Why cap bottom and drill holes in water tube? Can bottom of tube be cut on an angle instead?
It could but over time it could clog up with rocks and debris, the cap just keeps things cleaner. Great question
Thank you so much for posting this. I'm going to ask some questions because I'm planning on using this idea not only for worms, but for vegetables too. First, I understand that the chemical makeup of plastic vessels is important when considering them as planters. Apparently there are certain plastics that leach toxins into plant roots. Is that an issue with these containers? How would one even find out which chemicals to avoid and which ones are actually in a vessel? It reminds me of folks who use IBC totes as planters: They all say to use only the ones rated "food grade" because those not rated that way have contained things like paint or worse.
Second, I'm guessing the enamel paint, too, might contain harmful chemicals that might not be something one wants worms or vegetables absorbing. That got me to thinking whether there might be a more healthy way to cover the black edges of the container. I wonder if burlap might work? I also have some cotton duck cloth and might try that. The trick would be how to keep the edges of the cloth from fraying without spending a lot of time sewing up the cut edges.
Thanks again for posting this, @Bob Hall!
You could solve both problems by using a galvanized horse trough.
Loved your video. It was not too long. I am in the process of making a worm bed. I am unable to find the Shale. Where can I find it? I also purchased a black cloth, is that going to be an issue as you had white. Thanks for your contributions.
Sandra
So do you get the worm castings out? Do you just scoop it out and seperate the worms and fill it back up with peet moss and other stuff?
Liked your video and want to build a bed now. You painted the top 4" of the inside of the tote, but you left the level about 6-8" below that. Did you finish filling to the 16 inch mark right then or does it fill slowly over time as adding feed? If you filled it, what did you fill it with? If you didn't, why didn't you paint a little further down or is it not exposed to much sunlight below there? Also could you not have just added more depth of rock and raised the overflow to pipe to be able to fill closer to the 19" top of the tote?
Another question, or ten about feeding. Do you always place the scraps where they are visible so that you know when to feed again?
great system, but just wondering why you use the PVC pipe to fill the wicking bed. Is there a reason why you don't just water it from the top and allow it to overflow through the overflow tube?
You could but the pipe is much faster
Great instruction. Thanks for the help.
Thank you so much for sharing your fantastic idea. This is a great project to do with kids - I have an 8 year old in my life who I hope will dig this.
Warmest regards
Jennie
You can also sand or scrape the side and top of your fill tube to make it slightly smaller than the plug. To make it easier to remove.
True, but I found the yield still not great even though watering was improved. I now prefer wicking beds. Have you tried one yet?
@@HallsomeFarm no but I have my bins to start a few beds in spring.
@@HallsomeFarm I was talking about the build. Sanding the pipe to make the cap come off easier.
@@HallsomeFarm I live in southern Alabama so figuring how to not drown plants is more important than how to water them.
That’s a good idea
Fantastic information... Making plans for our 2021 Garden. Thank you for sharing your knowledge
I just went and got materials for my wicking worm bin. I have plenty of river rock... Passed vinegar test
Question. Is it possible to use some perforated 4 inch pipe in the bottom to make the container lighter?? Maybe on the inside circumference and add stone in middle. Also do I need to secure weed cloth??
Sure that’s a great idea, should allow for more water too
Great video Bob! Good tips. I’m in Fl ….. wondering if Spanish moss could be substituted?
Those weeds are sure growing in your backyard!!!
Excuse me if this is a dumb question but I am a total NEWBIE to gardening.... I am trying to educate myself so I can start trying to grow a few things in a raised wicking bed. My question is: Once you make this "worm home" can you plant veggies in this same tote or is it not ok to put the worms into the same tote you plant in. TIA
Are you only harvesting the juice?
How/ when are you capturing compost?
So how do you harvest the castings? Dig em out or just use till full then fill again?
I love this idea! Thanks for taking the time for sharing the details you have here!
Great work, didn’t know the soil was that bad
I live in Austin and east of the Balconies Escarpment is clay soil you could make bricks out of and some limestone. West of that is dry rocky caliche. Both are very high pH but low fertility and low organic matter so soil is compacted and useless for growing veggies or even most flowers. More east of me is some good farmland with rich soil that used to be part of an inland sea back in dinosaur days. They just add water and boom they can grow so much more in-ground than here. I do best in my location using highly amended soil or raised beds or even big grow planters. But I only plant trees in the ground here and I make sure to yearly topdress with compost or vermicompost! I am blooming where I am planted!