Simple, Sensible, and Economical Worm Food
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2022
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Out of all of the worm videos I’ve watched in the past year you are the only one that breaks it down in the most simple way. Everyone else just wants to add special this special that.
I’m a simple guy… what can I say? 😊
I agree!
I cant find corn mash. Ive called tractor supply & a feed store & they don’t carry it but they do have crumbles. Where can i find corn mash?
Do you think it's better to bury the liquid food if it's a smaller bin?
@@user-yn1cb2di5nblend the corn crumbles
I absolutely love Captain Matt’s videos! I was on the couch sick all day a while back, and watched all of his videos. They are so detailed, so informative and helpful, and he is such a friendly guy that’s a pleasure to watch! Because of the inspiration I got from your videos, Matt, I started raising my own worms. Due to your detailed instructions, my worms thrived and multiplied like crazy! I’m up to 3 big bins now and I have lots of wonderful compost. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion, and putting so much value into the world for others! ❤
Chicken feed, then ground egg shells from the hens. Partially composted leaves and wood chips for bedding, all you need. All the rest comes down to feed to bedding ratios, everything else is superfluous.
Percy, I like your style. You speak like someone who has had hands-dirty experiences for years. Agreed fully on leaves and wood chips… that’s all I use and it works - why complicate it? Would love to discuss more - drop me an email at matt@captainmattsworms.com
How can we just say "THANK YOU" Your passion and love of sharing encourages others to do the same.
Thanks for the encouragement, Renea! Seeing others do the same is thanks enough!
It is truly amazing how much those little buggers can eat!
Great video, I'm in Niagara Falls Canada, 74 years old and worming. Keeping the African night crawlers will be a challenge over the winter. without breaking the bank with a heating bill. I use heating mats and have found that I need to crumple brown paper on the top of the bin to maintain a 80 degree temperature. In 5 days I will do a reset of all my bins and Im going to try and implement a large coleman cooler and see if this will allow the heat to stay constant. If it does I will build a 4 foot continuous flow bin and insulate it, I will likely enclose the bin to reduce the cost of keeping the worms over the winter and put a small heater within the enclosure - as I understand that not only when breeding but also when growing out the ANC's prosper in 75-80 degree environment. We have friends in albany and would love to come and visit some day
Thanks for all you help - this keeps me young tom Mcivor
Tom, Come visit us when your in the area
5:20 actually the bacteria multiplies with sugar(sweets). The Worms eat the bacteria. For example a ripe banana is high in sugar and we all know how worms love sweet banana IE bacteria.
Yes, that's why you add sugar to yeast for making bread. The yeast/bacteria need sugar to react.
Great advice, Captain Matt 🌿🪱🌿
I have subscribed to your newsletter and it's always lovely to see you and Jude.
Nice video, thanks for feed mixture. Like the new racks for the bins. Great way to keep food from getting hot.
Sunday night at midnight and I am watching Captn Matt feed his crew. I am a #AWormPeople. Great channel.
My favorite worm channel on RUclips! Thank you so much for the great tips. God bless you and yours❤️
Captain Matt I’m so grateful I found your channel 🙌🏻🦋🙌🏻 You have a very handsome helper 🤗🤗 Love & admiration from Kentucky 🦋
I've been watching your videos for the past couple of hours. I've watched others on RUclips before finding your channel (tonight). You are by far the most detailed in your presentations.
Oh and I can’t wait to try this food mix, it should make things even easier! 😊
Hi! Just want to let you know I’ve watched a few of your videos and really appreciate the content! I started my own small worm bin a few months ago. I still have a lot to learn but your videos are a wealth of information! Please keep ‘em coming!
So great to hear, Ashlee! Your encouragement helps me keep going!
I grind up the laying mash (crumbles) with a hand grain grinder (bought at a flea market). They eat it more readily without molding before they eat it. Also I cut up the sides of the woven plastic feed backs. Seems to be breathable and holds moisture. Not to mention that's free.
Great video. It's fun to observe what others feed their Worm buddies.
Thank you for these suggestions and details. Recently I’ve been wondering what you feed them from your garden… and this video answers that question.
This winter I built my first flow through worm composting bin primarily from wood from pallets. I coated most of it with boiled linseed oil and the bottom parts with two part epoxy to prevent dry rot.
Thank you for all your advice, suggestions and ideas.
You’re welcome, Floyd. I love the ingenuity of your bin approach
Great video and feeding recomendations.
Helpful, clear, and encouraging video, Capt. Matt! There is so much free worm food available to me that I haven’t given much consideration to buying ingredients. I have just eight small bins as a hobby. Was there a time when you only fed your worms free stuff? If so did you notice better results after optimizing your ingredients?
You are awesome, capt. Matt!
Thank you so much Captain Matt!!!
You’re welcome, Aaron!
Very cool to see the before and after videos...and all in the same day!!!! Those worms love your mix!!🪱🪱🪱
Love your videos! Learning so much from you. Thank you..
So glad to hear, Carol. You're welcome!
Great info !
As I have a large pond on my place, I grow duckweed, harvest it to dry and mix it in same manner you do with the spent flowers/ grass clippings. My (tested) duckweed has almost 30% protein content and seems to be working verywell with the worms...
That's fascinating, John. I'd love to chat further about your drying process... the prospect of year round free food (outside of the labor) is intriguing. Could you drop me an email at matt@captainmattsworms.com - I'd love to discuss.
How do you dry the duckweed?
Nice work
I love watching your videos. They have inspired me to worm farm!
Thankyou Captain Matt i am only just starting and I am very excited after binging on your videos, I noticed an electric lead from the wall into your large Bins, is that a heat mechanism for constant temperature ? Its fairly cold in the southern states of Australia at the moment and im struggling to maintain your recommended temperature range.
i really appreciate your common sense aand practicle advice so thanks from N Z
Enjoy watching your videos, what is the Corn mash you mix in with the chicken feed?
I love your worm food. Thanks for sharing!
But Mike… you’re supposed to feed it to the worms 😂
Worms are going crazy, thole little piranhas are always hungry LOL
I try to keep it simple. The grain feed I use and worms love it, 2 parts oats, 1 part cornmeal plus ground egg shells. They seem to eat this mix as fast as I give it to them. Have tried alfalfa meal, verdict still out on that one. I may try chicken crumbles see if they will eat it. Still give them a bokashi mix which my worms have been raised on.
Great job 👍 good set up !
✌️🤓
Do you know of any sort of comprehensive list of common farm, homestead and garden plant matter that worms like eating?
I doubt I would have thought to feed them ground up sunflower heads, but I will have an excess of them, and this will allow to stretch out my alfalfa meal, and other more expensive feed. Super helpful.
really great info
I am doing this and have a lot of tiny pot worms eating mine… is that OK?
Great content as usual 👏🙌👏🙌👏🙌👏🙌
I'm loving your videos!!! Question...what purpose do the flourescent bulbs at each end of the beds serve?
I believe it’s to keep the worms from crawling out of the top. The worms don’t like light so then tend to go down in the soil and stay there rather than crawl up and out of the bin.
What does your grinder look like?
Is mash just corn thats crumbled? The chicken crumbles we have locally have all sorts of vitamins and amendments. is that good for them? Do you have to powder the crumbles?
Matt, did you ever try using spent brewing grains as food? I do homebrewing, and I'm about to start my first vermicomposting bin for the garden. I know that the spent grains are awesome in regular garden compost, but they do need a large amount of dry carbon material to balance all the nitrogen and excess moisture. They also turn highly acidic due to the presence of lactobacillus, but adding crushed eggshells helps resolve that for me.
Hey Captain Matt!!!
Love your channel. Can I use garden lime or Dolomite lime in this recipe?
Huge fan from Australia 😊
Yes... agricultural lime is good.
Please explain your continuous worm bin
Man this was awesome… I’ve just got a small container with maybe 60 worms in it but I have cocoons already after just a couple weeks! Maybe one day I’ll have a bigger worm bed… Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.
You're welcome, Jimmy. I look forward to hearing about your success.
I'm in the same spot as you, about 50 or so worms. Can't wait to grow the population.
What is corn mash and do you make it or purchase it from where/
Great job!!!!!!😊
Where do you buy corn mash? Or do you have to grind up whole corn yourself? My area farm supplies only sell Crack or whole corn
I do love to learn from you, thank you! Please show how you grind up the flower tops. I would love to know what works best? Do you add rice water and milk to the sun flowers like the Koreans? Thank you for sharing your information.
Hello Hilary! Here's a video where we're grinding up stuff ruclips.net/video/zveGMOLx0bg/видео.html
Thank's for your shared Videos with the ton's of information ... very impressive ... i would to know, what shredder do you use for your greens as worm food ... best greetings from germany ...
Look at summer slaw video
can you use ground up shells from eggs? can i also use horse poop? I live in Arizona
Do you feed the worm chow year round with the greens?
Can ground egg shells be used in place of the quarry dust? What about sand?
Would sand work instead of rock dust? Or is the sand to big?
Great video I have a question. I have found the chicken crumble but the corn mash I can’t find. Where would I buy that and is it called something different?
Hey Amos... look for crushed corn or flaked corn... key is to get corn that is a bit more pulverized than cracked corn so the worms can get at it easier.
what exactly is corn mash?
Can i ask what the stone dust is for
How do I subscribe to the newsletter?
Thanks for talking about worm chows. It is recommended to never top feed more than the worms can eat in a 3- day period. I feed mine once a day (bed-run) which means I never put down more than can be eaten in a 24-hour period. I have found when doing every 3-days the worms will pull excess chow down into the bedding which can randomly sour a bin. The most important thing when top feeding worm chows is not to water it into the bedding. Great use of the sunflower heads. Your worm chow has everything the worms need. You mentioned worms and a sweet tooth, and I thought about worms running.
Another excellent video Captain Matt
Have a wonderful Day!
Is worm chow crucial for worm health and good castings? How much of a difference does it make to their health and the quality of the castings?
@@Beartriple7 It depends on what you are doing with your worms. If you are using worms for reducing household waste and are using food scraps and wastepaper's and also using the castings in your garden it is not crucial at all. If you have more worms than you have household waste, than it is absolutely necessary.
When using compost, peat, peatmoss or coco choir and only worm chow for feeding worms, one has to use other sources of controlling moisture (pressure sprayer) or set and forget 14-21 days. Which in return gives the caretaker of the worms 100% control over moisture which is very crucial to the worm's health and also to harvesting castings with machines.
On the quality of the castings, they may or may not be a better quality it is up for debate, but they will be a consistent quality and contain no seeds that would cause volunteers (unwanted plants in the garden), so they are safe to give or sell to other people for their gardens (without giving worm castings a bad name) and are better for plant starts when made with worm chows. You can use seed size to determine what goes to the worms, as tomatoes and pepper seeds will fall through an 1/8" screen.
My question would be what your priority is with the worms, is it to reduce waste or is the priority taking care of the worm's? If the priority is taking care of worms and producing consistent quality castings than worm chow is a must and absolutely crucial.
Have a great Day!
@@wormsforlife7352thank you for your insight, my priority is to take care of the worms and to get good castings, you a have a good day to:)
Hi there! I've been reading your comment thread on Captain Matt's video on breeding bins and have found it very informative. Thank you! I'm only about four months in to my worm farming with two 27gal tote bins each containing around 4lb of worms. Once I get the basics down I plan on using breeding bins to really increase my population. I have a question for you about feeding worms, if you don't mind. I do not fully understand the role of compost in my worm bin.
My worms bedding is cardboard and compost, completely mixed together. The cardboard was ran through a paper shredder and I made the compost using leaves and grass clippings this spring. I know that worms consume the browns sort of passively over time and that they require more than just bedding so I have been doing pocket feedings using vegetable scraps. I feed them once a week while doing my best to maintain moisture. I do this because I thought that it would make my worms the happiest.
My question is: when it comes to a large bin like this (as opposed to 2.5gal of compost in a 5gal bucket) would my worms prefer to have bedding that is 100% compost with top feedings of worm chow?
I collect about 100lb of vegetable scraps from a restaurant every week. I freeze some that will be fed to the worms and the rest goes into a compost pile. They eat about 4lb and the other 96lb goes in the pile. I've stockpiled maybe 4 yards of compost so far. If the worms would prefer partially-finished compost and worm chow top feedings more than green veggie scraps then I'll transition towards that.
Thanks again!!!
@@CamOfWorms1 Hi Cameron, I am only new to this as well, but from what I've read and watched the whole key is to create a thriving, diverse microbial life in the castings, that can be then introduced to your garden soil to improve its diverse microbial life and all the benefits of that. So, the role of a nearly complete compost being used adds more microbial life and some diversity and more breaking down of the compost and even more microbial life as it exits the worm. The different types of compost and composting techniques can have different types of life thriving in them, so that can be considered to(so far sounded like slowly aged(years) non pine wood chips was one of the best sources of compost for certain reasons). The age of the compost and what stage it is in is a factor as well for worm farm enviornment. A variety of food/bedding sources, given that the sources are safe, would in theory give a diverse microbial life. Being that there are so many organic things that break down to choose from, most people use what they can get a reliant reasonably cost/sometimes free source from, which is good, but from what I've found out in the last month or so of researching, is that you can do even better for your worms and the castings they produce if your willing to spend a little money(not necessarily a lot, and maybe none if you have what you need already) and have the time and possibly the space to do so(if composting your own), as not all worm castings are the same due to the inputs. I saw several videos showing 'side by side' comparisons of plants using different worm castings, as well as worm tea from different castings and there was shown that there can be quite the difference even though both were using worm castings, mainly due to the what the worms were fed as inputs, some showed drastic differences(ie doubled produce), but all the examples that I came across showed a noticeably difference, so my take on it was that if you want to put the extra effort in to what the worms get, then that will translate into whats available for the plant. Many places besides compost also used manures of one type or another, or manure alone, which again he manure source has different guts that it has passed through and different life in it, but it looked like they were all aged except rabbit from what I gathered, and also their specific sources had to be determined if safe. The specifics of what was in the different worm chow recipes out there varied a bit, with each component having a purpose, whether it was for protein, grit,for ph balance, for calcium or other nutrients, or for minerals, or other things I am sure I have forgotten.
It sounds to me like your doing allright by your worms so far, and like worms for life said I think it depends on what your overall plan is to do with the worms.
Good stuff once again! So, when will you tell us your plans for the new rack of trays? ...or did I miss it?
Details to come, Cuznclive. Ramping up our capacity to supply worms locally. It's the big winter project!
I thought I missed it too! Waiting for the vid on this subject Capt. Matt.😊
@@CaptainMattsWorms Perfect!
Is corn mash the same as corn meal or is this something different? Thank you so much for all the wonderful info and videos. I have so enjoyed watching!
Hey Amy... corn mash is a crushed corn - goes by a few different names. less processed than corn meal.
How do you make your corn mash fine from stock of crushed corn as that is not as fine as corn meal or polenta even. Can you share where you get your corn mash? Would be helpful if that’s what your able to use ready to consume faster as is right out of the bag?
Thank you for the informative video! Do you or anyone else here happen to know how to get rid of Sap Beetles in my worm bin? Last year, I fed my worms a bunch of Jack Fruit and before I knew it, my bin was infected with tons of these beetles that I had never seen before. I didn't suspect the Jack Fruit at the time, but now I'm pretty certain that that's where they came from. Any ideas on how to get rid of them completely, because I can't use my worm castings now, as I'm afraid that the beetles will take over my garden, as they like fruit, tomatoes, etc.
I'd suggest freezing greens and sterilizing any browns before introducing to your worm bin. I recall there being discussions about this in the forum at community.wormpeople.com/ When you go there, do your best to search for existing topics as opposed to asking new questions until you are sure you’ve uncovered all you can by digging in.
What is rock dust? Is it sand? What is in corn mesh? isn’t that for alcohol like moonshine?? I’m confused…please someone get back to me this is an old video and I’m just finding it.
You said corn mash or mesh? Because I can’t find it anywhere in the 3 big farm stores around me. Only thing I found that maybe close is the omega laying blend that is very fine powder
That will do, check for antibiotic and harmones
can you use ground oyster shell instead of the of stone dust Hugh
Hi Anne, Yes oyster shell would provide both grit and calcium. I like to use stone dust and lime so that I can control the grit and calcium inputs separately.
WOW KNOXVILLE , TENNESSEE !!!
Wondering about biochar mix in the worm chow, yea or nay thx
I use ground up barbecue bricketts added to my kitchen garbage to feed worms in my composting bin. I soak the bricketts in water for a few days, then grind them in a blender and add it to the garbage. I am making compost, not worms, but the worms help.
Because the solution is live, how long can you store it in bottles?
I have some leftover medicated chick starter crumble. Can worms have a small amount of that?
I wouln’t risk it with medicated feed.
Have you ever used comfrey I have a lot of it and was wondering if it would hurt the worms?
We have not… sounds like a good experiment - perhaps try just some leaves as greens in the bin.
Like a lot of others, I can't find corn mash or crushed corn. Can you just grind up cracked corn or scratch grains?
Yes… the smaller it is the faster it can be consumed.
thx captain! can I use that food also for wormbreeding? greetings, Rob
Yesthere
Sorry
Yes there are many ideas for feeding breeders
@@CaptainMattsWorms thx sir!
Hi, in case of chow only bins. If a bin has 2 pounds of red wiggler worms. Are they supposed to be fed 1pound of Chow daily? Someone told me that they eat half of their body weight daily.... bcos vegies are mostly water where as chow is dense... thanks!
Start with small amounts and as they eat it start giving them a little me…..everything should be eaten in two day or your feebing too much
The idea of 'half their body weight per day' is only under laboratory-grade conditions, which most people never achieve. Their body weight per week, is more realistic.
What are ingredient in mesh mixture for worms pl tell us
It's crushed corn... goes by different names.
QUESTION:
Is corn mash the same as corn meal?
Is there anything else in it or straight corn?
Really any grain will work - the smaller the more easily processed by the worms
Just an FYI for you Captain, research cabbage before adding to your worms. Great info videos ❤
Thanks for the tip!
When you say you slowly build the bed layers up over time...how many days go by before you have to add another layer of bedding
Varies by population, bin size, etc. You'll get an eye for when more is needed as you fluff the top bedding - since you'll start seeing more and more castings.
Captain Matt, I know you are busy! I use a mix of chook pellets (I crumble them, but even then the mix ferments and flies are a problem) and some lime. I was thinking of using pollard. Any thoughts? thanks Jeff
Perhaps grind it up smaller and only feed what the worms want to eat in a day. You’ve got to listen to the worms - they are a better teacher than any book or expert! A spritz of molasses water would likely help as well.
@@CaptainMattsWorms Thanks Captain Matt. I'm checking the worms almost daily and now under-feed mostly. But it is a pain grinding up pellets for nearly 150 tubs of worms! Also, that wheat grass is fantastic! Aerates the farm as well.
How big is the scoop you're using for the lime?
It's eyeballed... just approximate the ratio and you'll be fine - as long as you monitor PH levels. Start lower and work up to optimal.
I guess I am missing something. What is the corn mash that you are using? Is it the same as ground corn kernels (corn flour)? Or is it connected to the alcohol making industry?
Chicken food
What is stone dust or quart dust, what type of stone is that made from. Is this the same of azomite or glacial rock dust? All the places I’ve called say you want lime? I’m asking for quarry dust or stone dust. Is it something from a builders supply masonry type store or an actual quarry? Could use some details here was just too vague the video info to communicate it well to places I call. Thank you
The worms just need grit - I use stone dust since can get it easily nearby at quarry - you could also use crushed oyster shells or egg shells
What are the names of this raw materials? My english is not that much good l couldnt understand please give me details about feeding process 😊
Chicken feed, stone dust, and agricultural lime
Thanks but are you safe with that cord going across all that wet food and stuff? Gotta be careful and it's so cool to see a young man helping, that's so great to get them learning hands on!
Thanks for watching out for me, Samantha!
I have lived in Mexico for forty years and I don`t understand What chicken crumbles or corn mash are?
Ditto on the chicken crumbles; my local feed store had no idea what I was talking about when I ask them. I googled chicken crumbles and got some sort of chicken pot pie recipe - go figure!
He's referring to chicken feed.
You can get it in two different forms crushed or pellets. Crumble is manufactured from whole pellets. They are cracked or rolled using a "crumbler" until they have a softer consistency and a smaller size. Chicken feed comes with a lot of protein powders and other essential nutrients
I've been sprinkling cheap crushed up dog food on top of my worm bin and the worms seem to love it as worm chow.😊
Dog kibble is full of nasty shit there's a reason most dogs only live 8 years and not 18 like they used to, I wouldn't feed it to anything I didn't hate😂
@@ottoflouer1750 I get the vegetarian brand now, plus when I feed it to them I pulverise it into a powder then I mix with cornmeal oatmeal oyster shell and alfalfa meal( but majority powdered dry dog food ) they blow up quickly on this diet ( look up the ingredients in dog food, the regular and vegetarian,, its basically worm chow)..
PS. Reg dry Dog food in the garden place there before spring works great also it grows huge tomatoes cucumbers squash etc, probably because of the alfalfa meal soy meal bone meal and Meat meal in it .🤷♂️
Capt Matt, is it ok to feed pineapple to your worms?
Thank you for the lovely video... I am from Kanyakumari, India. Am going to start my first vermicompost tank day after tomorrow. I have been filling the tank with layers of dry mango leaves and then fruits/ vegetables for more than a 60 days. I have made 6 layers till now. After each layer I add diluted cow dung on to the layer. I am going to introduce the worms day after tomorrow(African). My question is do I need to add work chow for my tank? Is it mandatory?
Hey Karthik - manure has alot of nutrition, so your worms will do well. Supplementing with a grain based chow can help sometimes though.
Purina worm chow and Purina rabbit feed are very similar.
The rabbit chow is cheaper too.
Nice… thanks for sharing that info, Greg. I’d love to see the labels of each for comparison.
Matt, you are looking good. Looks like you lost some weight. In better shape now. Praise Father Yehovah. May He Bless you and your family and keep y'all. As soon as I come up with $50, I'm going to get in your worm course. I'm super excited. I have been wanting to do this for several years and I'm getting ready to order some worms from you as well. 2,000 red wigglers to start with.
Thanks, Jeremy! Feel free to apply for a scholarship as necessary, I’m giving away 10% of courses to folks in need - see details at learn.wormpeople.com/course/learn-to-worm
Feed the rock dust to the worms. I'd never heard that. I think it is a great idea, then spread the castings and the plants take the minerals right in. I will try that and let you know.
Interesting following the whole journey of the castings, Joe. Yes, beneficial all around!
This channel has taught me more in minutes than others entire libraries
Are you using corn meal? Chicken scratch food?
Yes… layer crumbles
Look at that shelf over your left shoulder.
Do you kill the corn mash and crumbles? What are you calling corn mash…just basic hen scratch or chicken feed?
Just a rough crushed corn... goes by various names it seems.
@@CaptainMattsWorms do you use the corn rough cracked or do you grind it finer ? V
To be safe Matt put you a GFI outlet put in .
love ur videos Thanks for the info! U got a sub out of me :)
Pl write all ingradient of worm food separately
Where would i find chicken crumbs?
what is corn mash exactly?
Edit: is it just cracekd corn?
Yes any farm store should have it
Crushed corn, big difference
@@CaptainMattsWorms thank you, sir
@@CaptainMattsWorms i will say, googling crushed corn got me no where. I’m guessing you run cracked corn through your grinder at home. Thanks for the recipe, i’ve taken to growing microgreens for my nitrogen.
It’s called chicken mash
I cant vind wheatgrass seeds
In South Africa
Hey Philip - any seed that can be sprouted will work.
We'd like to invite you to join the forum over at community.wormpeople.com/ There’s tons of information and experienced Worm People over there who support each other on their journeys.