Advanced Pre-Compost Making with Questions and Answers
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- Hi! Making pre-compost is fairly straightforward in that it uses 4 ingredients to make: carbon, nitrogen, liquid, and biota. But the process to get the best balance of these ingredients can lead to questions. In this video I address some of the questions I get on how I make my pre-compost.
Come along to either up your pre-compost making game or get started for the first time. Either way, your worms and plants will love you for it!
I currently have some beautiful chunky red wiggler worms looking for new homes as well as a couple of bins full of fresh cocoons 👍🪱. If you’re interested, please check out my website at
www.RockinWorms.com
Yours in the dirt,
Jayne
The cameraman is doing a great job. I think he deserves a nap! ;)
I’ll tell him you said so! Heck, we ALL deserve a nap! 😆🪱❤️
Thanks for being a part of this wonderful community 🥰
Hey Jayne, great tips. In my next Worm Science video, I will cover the science behind spent coffee grounds and composting/vermicomposting. However, I have a miserable cold at the moment so no voice to do videos! I wish I could breathe in some of that lovely Florida warm humidity right now.
~ Sandra
Going to love that one Sandra!!!
Oooh! Can’t wait to see that video! I’m sorry about your cold 😑. I’m still dealing with the darn ear infection 😡. But it is indeed lovely right now! 🪱🪱
Small batch hot composting, excellent idea. Too many people think they do not have room for a lot of things, like raising worms or as in this case, pre composting worm bedding.
There definitely is a learning curve to any kind of hot composting, but one will never learn unless you try.
I do as many as 4 hot compost piles a year, last year only 3. The finished product is the main ingredient in my potting mixes I am using right now.
I will be using mulch from the garden I put out last fall to add to my CFT bin this week. I added a layer of alfalfa pellets to the soil before I laid shredded leaves over the winter. The material is not completely broken down, it will be up to the worms to finish it off.
Stay Well!!!
Hey Brian! That really was the idea behind this topic and series of videos. Bringing better worm bedding to regular worm wranglers thru an attainable process. Low cost, low work/time commitment, low space requirements. Yes there’s a learning curve as you point out. Absolutely. But what doesn’t have a learning curve?? And let’s be frank, this isn’t rocket science as the saying goes 🤣.
I’m really very happy with the number of worm wranglers - and gardeners can jump on this bandwagon too! - that are now making pre-compost. The benefits are wide ranging. ❤️🥰.
Thanks so much for watching and chiming in 😍🪱
Hi Jayne, another good video. I'm hoping to have a go at doing my own pre-compost soonish. Have fun, Mark : )
Hi Mark! I hope you can give it a try 🤞. It really is fantastic bedding and food for the worms at a low low cost of both money and time. 🤩🪱
Outstanding. I really learned a lot from this video. Cheers from Ottawa, Canada🍁
Hi! Welcome! I’m glad you found the information helpful. So you have worms? Are you composting or planning on giving this a try? 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms I have about 400 worms right now but I am planning on a big expansion. We sold our family business and I wanted to take time off from everything but I LOVE gardening and I'm getting a bit restless so I plan on starting a small business selling worms and worm castings. I collected many bags of leaves from my neighbours last November and I am composting them. It's so much fun!😀
@@gioknows Very cool! I wish you the best of luck with starting the new business 🤩. I hope you keep us informed on that - there quite a few Canadians watching my videos 🤗🪱🪱
Good morning, Jayne, from Windermere, Florida zone 9b 🇺🇸
Excellent advice 👌
Advanced Pre-compost🪱💪💩💪🪱
Hi Peggy! Thanks! I’ll have more questions and answers coming soon. I’m thrilled that so many worm wranglers are trying this method.
Of course you have your geo bins 👍😎. Have you fed any of that compost to your worms yet? I bet that would make a good video topic for you 😍
@@RockinWorms that is an interesting idea💪👍💪
Great way and easy to do methods to composting. 👍
Thanks! And thanks for watching 👍🪱😊
This is EXTREMELY helpful! Glad I found you!
Hi Michele! Welcome! I’m so glad you found it helpful! Do you have worms? Are you planning on making some pre-compost? 👍🪱😎
Hi Jayne, quick update from me. Today I emptied my CFT and put a solid bottom in it. I removed about 55 gallons of bedding, worms, eggs everything. Before I put anything back I sieved most of the contents using a 1/4" sieve. From this got about 50 gallons of rough castings that I'll either put through the 1/8" sieve or they'll go directly into my soil. There were thousands of worms and eggs, so many I don't know what to do with them. I'm now using a wedge system and I'll see how that goes. I was at my small allotment this evening and in 50 years of gardening it's the best soil I've ever had. Thank you Jayne for your continued help and support, keep the videos coming.
Hi Bill! Thank you for the update! I love hearing how everyone is doing ❤️. You are going gang busters! I know the feeling of sometimes having too much of a good thing! I just in the last 2 days took out 30 gallons of castings out on my worm bins, all at or under 1/4” sifting, depending on dampness of the castings. You can’t sift mud as cameraman says! 🤣.
I just bet your soil is fantastic! Are you gardening? Have trees?
Why did you change from the CFT to a solid bottom?
If you have a set worm space size the worms will equalize in that space over time and your population will stabilize. That’s one way to keep from expanding your clew beyond what you want 👍❤️🪱. Thanks again for sharing. Seriously. I like to hear updates and I think it also helps other worm wranglers too! 🪱🪱
Bill, we sound like we are in the same boat, we want the castings, but not the huge worm population. I’m trying something new this year in my garden, I installed a worm tower. I made the tower out of a cat litter bucket, drilled a few holes in it, and buried it in my raised planter. I put a fair amount of shredded cardboard in the bottom, some food and overs. I only put in a handful of worms, you know, incase I do something wrong. While I’m weeding, or trimming plants, I put that in the bucket too. I neglected a bucket of pre compost and it went anaerobic and the gnats got into it. I wasn’t going to move that back into the house, so I filled the tower to the top with some of that. Yesterday I saw that some of the worms moved up into the pre compost, so they’re still alive! 😅 I bought a temperature gauge, to use in the soil, just for this tower. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this tower, but if it all goes well, all my raised planters will be getting their own worm colony.
@@peggywaters2589 Thanks Peggy for adding to Bill’s post/story 🥰.
Garden worm towers are a favorite of Sandra @nanasworms. I haven’t done those yet myself as I generate so much castings that I need the garden to be needing them! 🤣.
I hope you’ll keep us informed on how your new garden worm towers work out! 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms Ah Jayne, I should have clarified. Worm towers outside, don’t count. The only worms that I’m concerned about, are the worms that add to my tub population in the house! 😮😂
@@peggywaters2589 Of course they count! They may not get the same pampering as house worms but they’re still doing a fantastic job for us and Mother Earth 👍😍. No disparaging them allowed 🪱🪱😎. 🤣
Another great video Jayne! Such good information. I think I have pre-compost envy looking at all your active bins.😂
Hey Marva! How are the cocoons doing? Well, most are probably hatched by now 👍. Have you started making pre-compost? A couple of 18 gallon totes and you’re off to the races. No need for envy - it’s easy and so rewarding 🪱🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms The worms are doing great! I do have a couple of bins of pre-compost going but just don’t have the space for much more than that right now.
@@happyworms Yea on happy healthy worm babies!
Any pre-compost is better than none 👍. We do what we can with what we have 🤩🪱
Great video Jane, i recently started doing this after seen ing yours and love it, I run 2 ASP systems for the larger bins.
Hi! Welcome! How large are the larger bins with the perforated pipes for airflow? 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms I have (2) I made out of shipping crates that were going to be discarded. They are 2’x4’ . I compost wood chips, coffee, cardboard, leaves, brewery waste and manure. I really like them because they are faster than a standard practice and you don’t have to turn them due to the airflow.
@@nusoilwormfarm7980 That’s a great list of composting materials 😍. What are the shipping crates made from? Repurposed is the best! Good on you 🥰
All the brewery waste by me (not many) are already spoken for 😩.
I seem to either have these table top pre-compost totes/troughs OR the big piles of nursery waste out in the yard/field. I could add perforated pipes to the troughs but honestly, don’t find the need to do so, at least right now. Bit for others making ore-compost, it’s good to know about the pros of adding additional airflow in order to speed up the process when desired. Thanks for sharing that! 👍🪱🪱😎
@@RockinWorms they are wooden crates. I try too use whatever I can come across!!!
@@nusoilwormfarm7980 Me too! I drag stuff home all the time 🙄🤣. I love hearing about people using free stuff, garbage stuff, repurposed stuff, etc. I really do 😍
I add salt to my pasta water and my boiled potatoes. Will the salt hurt the worms?
Hi Steve! Salt can retard biota growth but we’re talking a MUCH greater quantity than what you’re adding to cooking water. So no, the salt will not harm the worms. The biota in the pre-compost bin will process the salt anyway, down into compounds and those compounds won’t hurt the worms either. The same goes for canned vegetable water that has salt added (which is what I buy and eat). There’s not enough in there to be any issue at all. Thanks for asking! 👍🪱🪱
Just found your page and loving it! I'm wondering about the cooking liquids... Where are you cooling them before putting into the milk jug? I would love to save them but I think my family will object to SO many containers around, getting smelly
Hi Linda! Welcome to the Castings Crew!
I let the cooking liquid cool down naturally before pouring it into used water jugs. Any jug is ok - I’d rinse out milk jugs first though.
By the time we’re done eating dinner and back to cleaning up the kitchen, liquids are cool enough. I store most of the jugs in the garage fridge. They do not smell. If you have a cool basement area you can use that instead. If you’re not refrigerating the liquid or slurry then give it some space at the top for gas expansion. Also consider releasing the tops for a few seconds every few weeks to release any gases. If you’re making pre-compost on a regular basis you’ll be using up/rotating that liquid and slurry pretty quickly anyway 👍🪱
Hi Jayne. I really enjoyed this video. Plain and simple to follow and work with. Hoping to do this soon. I'm not sure if I missed out, but how frequently do we turn the compost and approximately how long before we can add it to the worm bin. One other question. Can we make holes in the tote lid and keep that on to keep unwanted criters. Must we only use shredded cardboard or are there other items that can be used to make precompost. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Bobby! You can turn the compost once the temperature starts dropping. Then turn it every 3-5 days depending on how temperature changes or frankly, your time availability to do the turning. I’m turning less and less as I make more and more pre-compost 🤣. But I’m doing much bigger batches than I started out doing too.
How long each batch takes varies. Each batch will be somewhat unique. But generally w, if you do a one heat cycle it can take about 10-14 days start to finish. This gets the temperature under 90F. If you do a 2nd heat cycle that will add on at least another 7 days. At least. Could be 10+ days. A lot depends on your bin size and how much mass you have. The more mass, the more the mix breaks down faster but it does hold the heat longer too.
So unfortunately it’s not a cut and dried answer. You’re basically turning as you can or every 3-5 days for the first 2 weeks at the end of which is can be ready for use. From there you assess and adjust 😊👍🪱
Really good tips Jayne. Im been fooling around with making some pre-compost in totes, and its a struggle getting the ratios just right so that it will heat up. Im finding its easy to get too much liquid, or too much nitrogen per carbon source. Im working at adding more carbon to try and get the balance just right so I can see via the thermometer that its working. Who says entertainment costs a lot of money!
Hahaha! You’re right! This stuff is fun to mess with!
Yep, I found I could back off the liquid quite a bit as I became more experienced with the ‘recipe’. I’ve not had issues with too much nitrogen yet - I guess I haven’t pushed that boundary yet. How much do you think you’re adding per unit of carbon? I’ve seen people do 50:50 but I stay a bit under that. 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms I think I started out with well more than 50% of nitrogen. Im using whatever coffee grounds I save at home plus horse manure. That plus the moisture just made a mess. Im now adding cardboard shreds every day as I get them (c'mon Amazon!). I think (hope) Ill be able to salvage this bin with adding more and more browns.
@@katiem9644 Oh my! How is the smell?? Heavy nitrogen plus lots of moisture equals smelly often. Yes keep adding in the carbon! The biota need the carbon for food as well and not having enough of it is slowing down the aerobic bacterial growth.
Do you have a local grocery store? I can get boxes from my local grocery stores by just asking. They’ve all been happy to get rid of them. I do have to watch to stay with the thinner boxes though. Some are quite heavy cardboard and that doesn’t go thru my shredders. 😎🪱🪱
My bins are outside on the porch so the smell isnt as bad as it would be....but its definitely bad. I have piles of cardboard boxes here in the house, Im just slowly getting to shredding them. Im so amazed at what I threw out before I started "worming". I hate to think how much cardboard is in the landfills, realizing how much I unfortunately contributed before. I also have piles and piles of live oak leaves, but Im not sure they would contribute much since they really dont soak up water, they just get slimy.@@RockinWorms
@@katiem9644 Get shredding! 😆. It takes some time so I get having to slide it in. I often cut cardboard into strips one night and then shred them here and there during the next few days as I walk by the shredders.
I’m glad the smell is outside!!
I too have regret about all I threw out over the years, including food scraps, refrigerator accidental science projects (😳), etc. BUT we are doing what we can now and it means a lot!
I have live oaks too. I let them compost on the ground in place. Where I live in the farms I don’t have to rake or manicure my yard so leaves can stay in place and nourish the ground. But yeah, they are waxy and tough and take longer to break down. If you wanted to use them I’d suggest adding fungi (baking yeast is an easy choice). Fungi loooves the lignin that these tough leaves are high in.
Thanks for having this convo with me - I think it’s given good info to anyone reading these comments 👍🪱🪱
Hi Jayne, a fist reaction from me. Peter. I watched your videos for a few weeks now. I live in a small town Heerhugowaard in the Netherlands and I am jealous of you’re lovely space or living grounds or how you call it 😂.
I started breeding a few weeks ago with red wigglers and have a lot of cocoons waiting to hatch. I started a week ago with pre composting and got a temperature about 102 degrees F.
Ad first it didn’t start so well so I added some of my lactose acid bacteria LAB to it. About halve a liter. That really boosted it.
Now my question. When do you decide if the precompost is ready to use? Is there a basic composting time you handle? For now that’s not clear for me.
Ohh, I just bought the carbon cutter you tipped on in your video! Great tip! Thanks. Hopefully you continue making videos! Love them. Greetings from the Netherlands to you and of course you’re cameraman 😉👍🏻
Hello Peter! Welcome! The Netherlands- awesome! I’m honored to have you join us 🥰.
Yes, I am lucky to have all this space and land. We love it! We have lived in big cities and apartments and suburban neighborhoods too - the whole range of living spaces. But this is our favorite by far 😍.
Congratulations on your breeder bin and cocoon success! 👍🪱. I look forward to updates.
It took me several cycles of making pre-compost to get the ratios better and therefore the heating up (biota growth) on a much better place on the range of temperatures we want. So be patient with yourself and also do what you’re doing - play with it and see what ratios and ingredients work best for you. LAB, yeast, etc are great biota boosters (being biota themselves) and reproduce rapidly once in the right environment. Good job! 👏
Also remember that temps on the low end of the 100F range are working - just slower than if the heat was higher. I addressed this in my most recent pre-compost video. Here’s the link if you haven’t watched it yet:
More Advanced Pre-Compost Making Questions and Answers
ruclips.net/video/V_PmdjFcVt4/видео.html
The electric scissors are great aren’t they?! A real time and elbow saver 🤣. Worth the price ❤️. I’m glad I could let you know about them.
As for when the pre-compost is ready to use, it’s ready when you want to use it plus it’s cooled down to below 90F so it won’t be too hot for the worms.
The longer the pre-compost cooks or the more heat/cool cycles you put it thru (although I never do more than 2 as it doesn’t seem to make a material difference in my worm bins, so why do the extra work??) the more the carbon and nitrogen break down into particles the worms can consume easily. Basically by pre-composting we are turning bedding into fast/faster food for the worms. so having less ore-composted material simply means that it’ll take longer for the worms to eat it and make castings out of it.
That’s the only difference - how long does it take for the worms to eat it and turn it into castings. And you get to manage that by choosing how long to cook your pre-compost. Ok? I hope I’m make this clearer and not more confusing 😊. Let me know as I’m happy to try again as you’re asking a good and common question 😎.
I’ll tell Cameraman you said hi! 🪱🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms Thanks for your extended answer. It’s clear for me now. I suspected what you answered also sins I watched your videos but now I am sure. Thanks again and I will let you know how the cocoons are doing.
Peter
Great job! Question: are you using the pre compost as food for the worms or for bedding?
It’s both! A true two-fer 🤩.
Worms eat their bedding, which in nature would be leaf litter, micro particles from plants and animals, etc. The biota that is attracted to and living on dying organisms is also worm food. Pre-compost is loaded with biota as well as many micro particles from the cardboard and coffee grounds and veggie liquid used to make the pre-compost. A worm smorgasbord 😍👍🪱.
Do u worry about the coffee grounds having black fly larvae? As the grounds I get they are always in there! I am in SE Queensland?
Hi again Francke! To be honest I’ve never even given that a thought! I get the used coffee grounds directly from the store and they’re bagged. Sometimes the bags get a little ripped open and I suppose bugs can and do get in there. But, and this is important, the pre-compost heats up and I dare say most if not all of the bugs will either die or vacate. Cold composting is different and bugs will indeed make a cold pile their home. I just last night saw a small beetle in one of my pre-compost buckets as I was making basic bedding. The pre-composting is no longer hot at this stage and it must have crawled in when I wasn’t looking 😳🙄.
BSFL are not known to be harmful to worms but I’d still either pick them out or use the hot composting process of making pre-compost cook them and become part of the end product that feeds the worms. Ok? 🪱🪱
I wanted to save canned veggie juice but a lot of it had salt. Is that ok ??
Hi! Another worm wrangler asked this question earlier today 👍. Here is a copy of my reply:
Salt can retard biota growth but we’re talking a MUCH greater quantity than what you’re adding to cooking water. So no, the salt will not harm the worms. The biota in the pre-compost bin will process the salt anyway, down into compounds and those compounds won’t hurt the worms either. The same goes for canned vegetable water that has salt added (which is what I buy and eat). There’s not enough in there to be any issue at all. Thanks for asking! 👍🪱🪱
what is the purpose of the bedding in the screen material on top of your pre-composting bins??
Hi! The dry shred on top of the screening does a few things. The screening makes it easier to remove the dry shred (I use a burrito wrap method). Others are using pillowcase types of bags (breathable!) to hold the shred in place and not make a mess. The screen is also very fine meshed so keep insect and creepy crawlies out of the bin. The pre-compost is very attractive to many creatures!
The cardboard shred helps keep heat and moisture in the bin mixture. Biota needs and loves high heat and damp conditions to grow and reproduce. More biota means more composting happening👍. The dryness and deepness of the shred also helps keep bugs out - like ants. The shred will start to get damp over time as the biota aspirates. When it gets quite damp I replace it with dry shrewd and use the damp shred for the next batch of pre-compost! It also can be added directly to a worm bin as it’ll be along the lines of prepared bedding (a little broken down with some but not a lot of biota in it). Everything gets cycled thru the system in some manner or another 😍. 🪱🪱
Thanks for watching and for asking 👍
I'm having trouble getting mine to heat up enough. I'm stuck at 80-90 * F.
Ok let’s figure this out. What’s your ambient temperature? What general ratio of carbon to nitrogen did you use? Have you checked for dry pockets? I had that on the first videos in pre-composting 🙄. Stuck the thermometer into a dry pocket and didn’t have any decent temperature increase. That could be what you have. Is the mix very moist but not drippy wet throughout? Did you add an inoculation agent (some form of bacteria or yeast or fungi) to jump start the process? Do you have good air access so the biota have air to breathe? Do you have a breathable cover to not only let the air in but keep any heat generated on the pile/tote?
Let me know! 🤩
@@RockinWorms I have checked most of the things you suggested and I did add more yeast today. No dry spots and not dripping wet, uniformly moist throughout. I inoculated with aged horse manure. I may have had it too well covered . So I fixed that too . I may also not have had enough nitrogen compared to the carbon. I'm hoping these suggestions get it heating up and breaking down. Thanks so much for your help. I'm really glad I found you. The precompost seems like the perfect bedding for me to start with.
@@traceybier1128 Great! Let’s give it a few days and see what happens. Let me know! 🪱🪱👍
Can the bins be covered with the bin lids?
Hi Jeanne! Yes you can if you have plenty of air holes drilled into either the lid or the upper sides of the tote and there’s empty head space between the pre-compost and the lid. The bacteria need the air exchange.
Technically a lid or cover isn’t required at all. That said, I do much prefer to use a screening with shredded cardboard when possible. The shred allows better air flow while the pre-compost is cooking and also discourages bugs from deciding to use the cooling pre-compost as a home or food source. Using a sheet of plastic as a covering didn’t work at all for me fyi as it vastly restricted the air flow.
I should also mention that depending on your exact mixture and volume the pre-compost can get pretty darn warm/hot and trapping that heat in with a lid, even one with a lot of holes, may not let excess heat escape sufficiently. I haven’t used a tight closed lid before, only a loose one laid on top over the shred, mainly to keep the shred from blowing around, so can’t really say what would happen with a tight lid and trapped heat. 🤷♂️. If you do it this way, please keep an eye on it and also let us know how it goes! 🤩🪱👍🪱
Is canned beetroot juice too acidic even if diluted, and is so, should a little cornflour or egg shells be mixed in ? Like the tip about rubbing to ease finger fatigue.
Hello! No it’s not. With all the carbon and nitrogen it’ll be fine. The other thing to keep in mind is that this is hot composting. It can take a lot of different ingredients and make it all work 👍😊🪱
Thank You.
I've worked my way through the pre compost bedding vids. 2 possible ingredients I would like to know how you might approach adding into the mix. I have access to about 8 cu feet of rat bedding mostly pine shavings and whey from making kefir cheese.
Hi Ted! Welcome! I haven’t used either of your ingredients so had to do a little researching. Seems the whey is pretty much right on for a decent carbon to nitrogen ration. However your whey is more acidic than neutral for pH but not crazy acidic so the composting process could very well end up balancing the pH out into the neutral zone. I assume you’re using the whey as the liquid to there’s a natural limiting to how much you’ll put in - compost should be damp not soaking wet and certainly not in standing liquid. I’d give it a try but have a back up of carbon ready to mix in if there’s any sign of anaerobic conditions developing.
As for the rat bedding, if it’s mostly the shavings with some manure in it, it also should be fine as there’s both carbon and nitrogen being added to the composting process. Pine shavings from what I read have almost 3 times the lignin that cardboard does. That means it takes longer to break down. I’d consider adding activated yeast into the pre-compost mix as yeast/fungi is super good at breaking down lignin.
In summary, these ingredients are fine to add to the pre-compost mix as a general rule but you’re going to have to do some experimenting to get a good balance. I’m sorry can’t help more but I’d sure like to hear back from you on what you do and how it works out! 👍😎🪱
Hey Jayne!
Charlotte here
I am a complete new worm composting person, but I wanted to pass along something that may be just luck.
I followed your series very closely. I am enjoying it!
Two things may have made a difference.
First, the coffee grounds that I got from a smaller company had been sitting around for a bit. There was already a bit of orange and bluish green bacteria/fungus on the top.
I started the precompost as per your videos in a 27 gallon bin and within 24 hours my temps were 120!
I did a second and third round over a couple weeks with very close to the same results!
Then, I started a second precompost bin. I used the very same ingredients and mixed and turned the same. I still got 110-112.
Does 120 vs 112 matter? I do not know.
However, what I realized, and I think maybe made the difference is that I had the first bin inside of a second bin of the same size. Do you think that just the extra insulation let it maintain heat as if it was a larger "pile?" Maybe there were additional factors.
Anyway, I find your videos relaxing and informative.
When you have down time, let me know what you think.
Happy Mother's Day!
Hi Charlotte! Welcome! New worm wranglers are the best 😍.
I love having older moldy coffee grounds! Talk about jump starting the biota 🤩. It’s chock packed with it. 👍
Each batch will be unique no matter how much the same we think they are or should be. Different starting biota loads (maybe the 2nd batch wasn’t quite as moldy), different humidity levels, ambient temps, and then there’s the carbon amount never quite being the same. Did one have more or less liquid added in the beginning? You get my point 😊.
There’s more activity and therefore material breakdown at the 120F vs the 110-112F vs say 102F. Does it matter? Depends on how much of a rush you’re in. Depends on how broken down you want that pre-compost to be before going into a worm bin. Those are all personal preferences and needs. Are the actual biota different? Well, they’re all mesophilic in that total temperature range. Are individual numbers of specific biota different at small temperature increment? My guess is yes but does it really matter for what we’re doing and trying accomplish? I’d say no. It’s all good! Let’s not get so picky and detailed we miss the forest for the trees. Pre-compost is amazing just about any way you manage to make it. Fyi I’m not saying you Charlotte are being picky 🤗.
That’s a really interesting idea/observation that double totes might hold heat in and boost biota action. Hmmm. It could make a noticeable difference during cooler ambient temperatures. I think that would be the best time to test that hypothesis- during cool weather. Which I am fresh out of, it being freaking hot yesterday and today and probably every day for months 😳😬😩. Is there a melting human emoji?? 🤣
I’m glad you’re enjoying my content! I won’t lie, it makes me feel good 🥰.
I hope you’ll share your worm news with us as you go along!👍🪱🤩
@@RockinWorms Thank you!
Hi, Jane, what kind of microcut shredder do you use, and can you post a link to it? I believe use did mentioned it, but I can't remember 100%.Thanks. I need to start back precomposting. Your precompost looks so good! I get excited every time. Vermicompostjmg is addictive! 😊
Hi Ruth! Sorry for the delayed response - I overlooked your comment. I have the Aurora brand micro shredder. 12 sheet capacity. I bought it off marketplace for a good cheap price. Works like a champ so far!
Here’s a link to it:
www.amazon.com/Aurora-AU1210MA-Professional-Micro-Cut-Continuous/dp/B07CX4DZ4Z/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=2G4XTVBH4CW56&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KdkGy_QH0m68aPvudD8DZj9NE3B7IW7Na8q_iWxisrtU6eo0wPsIQLrMK-JbaPj3RMlj-iOkKuVs6Gecs0Rg0vbJ_KNp-lGg5J21nEKxvQJizuTrRZEm8ywdYLiI6kP0gdh_pC97weJYOzWC8gcgQt10exAyhuDGfbheb3fnA5eMw6m3dsFQ_NYbFKEewlqL0ovNrmMfVWVffLJTCwLBxg.ymm1Sn6K9ElV3IC62mE9qfm37cMRVllxbo7RmGeAY-8&dib_tag=se&keywords=aurora+microcut+paper+shredder&qid=1710292178&sprefix=aurora+micro%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1
The Amazon basic is supposed to be very good too.
I’d suggest trying to pick one up used if you can. Be sure to test it shredding before buying with the type of cardboard you normally use. The feed slot size is NOT standardized at all 😡.
The pre-compost is amazing stuff! I totally agree. And so cheap and relatively easy to make and super easy once you get the hang of it 👍🪱😎
@@RockinWorms I have the Aurora 16 sheet Micro shredder, works great on cardboard
@@louisvello2513 Louis! How are you? I’ve been thinking of you lately and wondering how your back is…?
Nice! You’ve got the 16 sheet! I do really like my 12 sheet, especially for the price I got it for 👍❤️🪱
How would u translate that 60-40 ratio to gallons, i have 3 gallon carbon to 1 gallon nitrogen, from your previous precompost videos, thanks.
Hello! Welcome to the Castings Crew!
The original ration you cite is 75% carbon to 25% nitrogen. It’s a little bit on the low side of the standard 70:30 ratio. But it’s a good starting point for the beginner.
The 60:40 is a 3 gallons of carbon to 2 gallons of nitrogen. That’s 60% carbon to 40% nitrogen. This ratio tends to make the composting process faster, especially if you’ve got good biota to jump start the cycle.
Ok? 👍😎🪱
@@RockinWorms perfect, my math was good then, but u confirmed it, thank you.
I heavily salt my pasta water to give the pasta flavor. I’m guessing that salty water isn’t great for this process bc salt is not good for worms or the garden.
@@debbyd5729 Your heavily salted pasta water probably still isn’t enough to kill off the biota. If it’s several tablespoons of salt you may be approaching the limit for the size of the totes we’re generally talking about here. 18-20 gallons of material. A little salt is ok but not pounds of it. I guess it depends on exactly how heavily salted that pasta water is! Only you know that. If you think it’s too much then by all means don’t add it. There’s lots of alternatives 👍🤩🪱
@@RockinWorms Thanks! I guess I can always dilute it. And you’re right. I make lots of beans, so there’s liquid from that.
@@debbyd5729 That’s right - you can dilute it and spread it over a few batches of pre-compost. I didn’t even think of that 🙄. You didn’t need me at all! 🤣.
I hope you’ll share you pre-composting adventure with us so we can all learn with you 👍🪱
Maybe I missed it but I watched a couple of times, in case I missed it, can you advise besides cooling below the 80ish degree marker, if there is an approximate timeframe we need to wait before it is ready? Or is simply temperature based? I watched a video recently and the lecturer stated we should wait 6 months. (My husband will kill me).
Hi! It’s below 90F but to be super safe get it closer to mid-80s before adding to a worm bin.
I can’t of course know what the speaker was talking about but ‘standard’ outdoor type compost piles take that long or longer.
What we are doing is a stripped down, not messing around, version on a smaller scale. My pre-compost gets used at times within 2 weeks of when I first started it and sometimes even a few days before that. That’s for a one cycle batch. It is temperature driven. Additional time lets the biota continue to work at a slower lower pace, edging into cold composting (where composting takes place but at a slow rate that doesn’t cause heat rise) although my big composting totes can and do hold solid heat for weeks.
The main difference between one cycle and 2 cycle pre-compost (or more but I don’t think more is really necessary, just saying you could do more if you wanted to) is how broken down the mixture gets. The more broken down it is the faster the worms can eat it and make castings. When I use one cycle pre-compost in my breeder bins (not often but it happens) I’ll still see quite a bit of recognizable shred at the 21 day mark. If I use 2 cycle, it’s all been processed to at least the point where it’s not recognizable.
Was that helpful at all? 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms
Very helpful, all your comments are well thought out and explained ... and I love the details !!
I've just made or actually making my first batch ever, never really composted before except to dig some scraps directly into garden.
I'm excited to say I felt heat in my pre compost .... I don't have extra cardboard shredded so just put cardboard on it directly and then the tote lid on but very loose.
The lid had lots of water on it and the temp was an incredible 120 F in the middle and 98 in the corners. I've mixed it up today ( day 2 ). Its in the garage where the air is around 60 F so am totally amazed. Tote is sitting on cardboard too after I realised it was on a cold steel shelf the first night.
I really enjoy all your videos and want to say Thank Y😂ou for all the very valuable info, and a Shout Out to the Camera Man who has a steady hand and excellent zooming & camera movements ... Your videos would not be the same without him, your both The Dynamic Duo 🎉❤
Hi, Jane, I can't recall if I ever asked, but do you keep your precompost bedding bins outside to get sun? That worked for me to help it heat up more, but i had to move it daily which was annoying sometimes.
Hi Ruth! I keep my pre-compost bins on the patio under the overhang so little to no direct sun. I’m in southeast Florida so getting heat up from the ambient temperature usually isn’t a problem 😂.
The boots will generate its own heat but a sun boost could help as long as the materials don’t dry out too much.
There’s no way I could move even my smaller 18 gallon totes unless they were on wheels. And then they’d be low on the ground which makes working in them harder for me.
How do you manage to move your totes? 🪱🪱
@@RockinWorms my husband made a skate board like pully thing out of pallet board and wheels with a cord to pull it around. Can't remember what's the correct name for it. That was extremely helpful though. I live in the Caribbean so we have lots of sun this time of year.
@@ruthsolomon-thompson293 What you’re describing is like a heavy duty furniture dolly. Something that can take the weight and still roll. The area I have that is suitable for such a device is quite limited 😡. Its a great idea though - maybe another worm wrangler can use it 👍🪱
@ RockinWorms. A high tabletop outside would have been nice where it could be stationed permanently and I didn't have to worry about if rain fall it will get wet, but I dont have that so that was the next best thing.
My compost won’t heat up 😭 but it’s also in my garage so I think it’s too cold in there for it to heat up
Hi Ariel! If you’ve got your mix right and you’ve got some mass and depth, it’ll heat up at least in the center. What size and shape of container are you using? What’s your carbon to nitrogen ratio? Did you add an inoculate?
We will figure this out! 👍🪱😊