Harvesting 150 POUNDS of Worm Castings A.K.A Black Gold!

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  • Опубликовано: 9 янв 2025

Комментарии • 495

  • @UhapiBeauty
    @UhapiBeauty 8 лет назад +309

    If someone was seriously arguing about the terrible "living conditions" or even the quality of life of worms used for worm castings, I would literally laugh. People will tear each other apart over the welfare of a worm, but won't help a neighbor in need. Come on people....

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +22

      +Jane Doe (Uhapi Beauty) I completely agree. Sometimes you just have to say it how it is.

    • @deadfred821
      @deadfred821 5 лет назад +30

      Those are the same people who are quick to pull out their phone to record a beating or killing, but won't use that same phone to call an ambulance..... #HumansSuck

    • @lloyddavies9683
      @lloyddavies9683 4 года назад +5

      Would like to point out you don’t have to stop caring about humans to start caring about non human animals. Worms may not be intelligent but there’s no reason for them to live uncomfortably unnecessarily. It doesn’t take much time out of your day to think, hey is this kinda unnecessarily cruel? Yeah? Okay I’ll alter it to make it more ethical. No? Okay cool I’ll carry on as I am

    • @quintadababilonia6445
      @quintadababilonia6445 4 года назад +5

      @@lloyddavies9683 they're pointing out the hypocrisy. We are talking about animals and plants that were bred to serve men. They would not exist otherwise. Sure there is unethical farming in some places, and industrial scale pig farmed meat for example is not the type of food you should think of bringing you positive karma in life. And this is not it. Just ask a worm born in a grass field what the odds are it will reach maturity and reproduce at all, perhaps only to be eaten by a hungry crow or perish during winter or a draught. Still, look at 2020 and the insanity we are living, and unless you stick to local farmers and ranchers, your veggies kill just as much, if not more life. Including destroying the soil, wild life, squirrels, birds, insects, yes worms and native plants and trees home to huge life diversity that would be living in the thousands and thousands of acres taken to grow crops. The vegan-religion dogma types that advocate "ethical farming" while signaling how moral they are based on their social media posts are full of hypocrisy. All food is life, all eating means killing, life is taken every time you take a bite. Just because trees and plants cannot scream and run for their lives, doesn't mean their life is less important.

    • @danielwalker2381
      @danielwalker2381 4 года назад +1

      Literally people on IG when they see a video where an owner is handling an animal and they think they were doing it in a way that made them feel unsensically triggered, saying “tHat’S aNimAl aBuSe” when it literally is not. People need to just chill. 😩😩🥶🥶

  • @differentkim
    @differentkim 6 лет назад +8

    Hi there! Thumbs up to anyone vermicomposting! Here's a tip for you: take a section of window screen cut to the size of your totes. A few days before your next harvest, lay the screen inside of your tote, on top of the castings and, put fresh leaf bedding a little manure and their favorite food on top of the screen. Put the lid back on. They will crawl through the screen to feed and then, you can just lift them off and spare them all the tumbling as you sift your castings. Thank you for taking the time to tell folks about this awesome resource.

    • @elizabethhendriks9030
      @elizabethhendriks9030 2 года назад

      wow that is nifty, I am definitely going to try this as I too would suffer neck and back issues like Luke. Thank you for sharing this wonderful method!

  • @SarahHafley
    @SarahHafley 7 лет назад +15

    When I worked in archaeology, we used screens that had a pair of legs on one end attached by loose bolts, and handles on the other. Took a lot of the pressure off of our backs and still left quite a bit of range of motion. It's still a work out especially when you're dealing with damp or wet heavily clay soils.

  • @christinedavis3417
    @christinedavis3417 3 года назад +5

    As an organic gardener, every spring when I get out into the garden I see how incredible it is to see all the worms piled up in the vegetation that I cover my garden with. They break it all down and they all seem to stay together and so the point is, I think that they don't mind being in a bin because they do that naturally in the garden!

    • @jimfixer9589
      @jimfixer9589 3 года назад

      You should take some LSD and ask them how they feel.

    • @tracycrider7778
      @tracycrider7778 2 года назад

      @@jimfixer9589😂😂😂😂

  • @dustman96
    @dustman96 8 лет назад +6

    To make sifting various materials much easier I built a fairly long sifter, about 5' long and 2' wide, with an open end, then I set it up against something at about 45 degrees the long way, then I throw the material at the top and it rolls down the screen, all the smaller stuff falling through and larger stuff rolls to the bottom, so you end up with 2 piles, then you simply scoop it into your containers. In about 90 minutes I sifted enough soil to make an adobe wall about 10' long by 4' high by 8" thick; that's a huge pile of dirt. I use this method on all kinds of materials. You can play with the angle and screen size to get the desired result. This has saved me so much energy it's.....it's.....ridiculous... The first time I used this method I was just so joyful, it actually made the process pleasurable.

  • @SusanSmith-hl3iv
    @SusanSmith-hl3iv 2 года назад +2

    I love that you include the WHY in your videos. In this one I appreciate that you explained that worms are decomposers. I was fascinated by the worm egg. I hope you come up with a method that will be easier on your back and neck. I am so interested in starting worm bins, but I would not be able to sift it this way. I’m hoping some of your viewers will share their methods. As always, this was a well done video and quite motivational and informative.

  • @TERRIVERT
    @TERRIVERT 8 лет назад +63

    cracking me up about the conversation: If I were a worm.......

    • @KennyInVegas
      @KennyInVegas 7 лет назад +6

      If I were a worm..... I'd compost in the morning..... I'd compost in the evening and all over this land. I'd compost for Pelosi and Warren and all my brothers and Shuster.......... all over this land. Worms of America............. wake-up and take-back the Democrat party!

    • @sassygil6675
      @sassygil6675 4 года назад +2

      @@KennyInVegas Bwahahahaha Loved your poem!!!
      You get to exercise your right to have get worms, use them for fishing or harvesting for use in your garden. We won't impose any restrictions on this. 😏
      #Worms2020
      😂😂😂😂

    • @dana102083
      @dana102083 3 года назад +1

      @@sassygil6675 lol...

    • @readwisetoo5207
      @readwisetoo5207 3 года назад

      @@KennyInVegas not related but I agree!

    • @createartmarxs7705
      @createartmarxs7705 3 года назад +1

      @@sassygil6675 😂😂😂😂

  • @dnaauao
    @dnaauao 8 лет назад +9

    I was at a friends house & she has a worm bin. I think I'm going to start a worm bin also. She told me it's great stuff. Can't wait I'm so excited.

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +3

      +Danielle Naauao We are super excited for you too, you will surely enjoy it! :) - Sindy

    • @armyguy9735
      @armyguy9735 7 лет назад +4

      My Grandfather used the grandchildren's swing set to sifted soil.So you attach string to the strainer to the swing set and swing back and forth. Just an old timer's trick

  • @jeeppayton
    @jeeppayton 5 лет назад +4

    Great video! Was thinking about the shaker. Cut 2 circles of wood and roll the wire around them like a bingo tumbler and screw a wood handle to one end. you can put in wheel barrow and turn

  • @johnknowles6520
    @johnknowles6520 2 года назад +4

    Hi Luke i have a suggestion on helping you with sifting the worm castings when I was young we had a coal furnace and to get the cinders from the ash at that time was a tool called a Banner rocker. This rockers bottom shaped like a rocker on a rocking chair and we would stand up and rock it from side to side and the dust would separate from the cinders and drop through the screen and settle in the lower part of the container. When spring came along and dad would get a load of top soil we would take it out of the basement and use it to sift the soil to get stones pieces of wood or clumps of dirt that was not real top soil. now the grid size of the whole was 3/8s of an inch so you would have to put in a smaller size of hardware cloth. this banner Rocker was all galvanized metal. consisted of a lid, the tray with with the screen and a container to catch the ashes in the your use the castings and worm eggs. You could build it out of wood. I also ran a fishing tackle shop and sold worms. and I had a tumbler like the farmers use in the farming industry to separate the dirt from the worms eggs and castings. I thoroughly enjoy your worm video's. I have thought about worm farming a few times and I am going to set up some worm boxes in the spring. I organic garden and I will have 5, 25 X 4 foot raised beds this coming growing season. I haven't grown a garden for the past 3 seasons since my wife passed away because I was growing the garden for her but I think the desire to grow a garden is returning. Gardening has been a love I have had since I was a child. Continue making your videos for all of use to enjoy. God Bless you and Your family.

  • @dogswoodrandom3996
    @dogswoodrandom3996 8 лет назад +71

    if people thought putting worms in a box was bad they have never gone fishing

    • @lloyddavies9683
      @lloyddavies9683 4 года назад

      Can’t you think more than one think is bad?

  • @giovannigiorgio4622
    @giovannigiorgio4622 5 лет назад +5

    Im Australian so things that you take for granted we just dont have, I brought some Tomatillo seeds lloking forward to them. i did 2 square ton of soil in my 4 raised beds, used my existing garden bed to make an outdoor worm garden, using ideas and things you have shown me. you have inspired me to get back into my garden and do the old worm farm and start composting again, grown my own veg, might even get an Australian native bee hive going. Cheers mate. Also only very silly and weak minded individuals would question your worm raising credentials i give you a 10/10. Made my worm bed about 150kg out door and my Parrots and fish tank waste will feed them nicely.

  • @bcphantom
    @bcphantom 8 лет назад +7

    Best line ever, "the caviar of compost". Thank you for your videos they are always informative.

  • @VeonySyndrome
    @VeonySyndrome Год назад

    luke this has got to be my FAVORITE video of yours now. not just because youre so informative but so funny while you do it. The worm egg being the caviar of worms XD haha and the whole bit about being a worm had me rolling. i have yet to see a gardener on here as funny as you!

  • @Me16768
    @Me16768 4 года назад +1

    I have a long bed and pull from one side and feed the other. Switch as needed. If it ever gets a bit soggy, just add some paper and hold food.

  • @margaretrosin7853
    @margaretrosin7853 8 лет назад +4

    I love using worm castings, but I live in the desert, so it gets too hot for worm bins. I find cultivating them in my raised beds works great. I have to use a very thick layer of mulch to keep the soil cool and moist ( for the plants as well), and also feed them like you would in the bins. They reproduce so quickly, and I don't have to worry about harvesting castings. I put them all over my garden and in my containers as well. They help me have beautiful healthy plants.

    • @lauriekrebsbach8190
      @lauriekrebsbach8190 Год назад

      Thank you for this tip Margaret! I was wondering if it would work to try putting them directly in as long as they were given food. I’m going to try that I have veggie scraps daily that I can bury I just need to spread them out so the worms do the entire garden. Lol

    • @ebradley2306
      @ebradley2306 Год назад

      I put worms in my grow bags and feed them bananas every so often. Their castings get deposited amongst the plants' roots. Win, win. Found out they thrive in the grow bags after I dumped out a bag of soil that I had added castings to. Make sure I have rotting leaves in the bottom of the bag and as mulch to keep up the organic matter supply.

  • @scottkeen69
    @scottkeen69 5 лет назад +2

    Luke, to save your neck and back from leaning over to hold the sifter, you could use a campfire tripod (or make a gantry frame with 2x4s) to suspend the sifter from a chain or rope over your wheelbarrow. Then you just sift as normal, without putting any weight on your back. Thanks for the videos!

  • @rhondamariep
    @rhondamariep 6 лет назад

    I love your videos Luke. I just got my Hot Frog Worm farm in the mail yesterday and have been watching your videos like crazy to make sure I'm doing it all correctly. I very much appreciate your enthusiasm for worm farming.

  • @gwendaajay
    @gwendaajay 7 лет назад +22

    I didn't realize some folks oppose raising worms in totes or beds! Might help to share that worms are like people, if they don't like their environment, they move. In raising worms I have learned that when they are unhappy they congregate atop my totes and beds and attempt to escape. Your worms looked mighty happy and would attempt to crawl out of your tote if not. Thanks for your videos, very helpful... Doc Smith

    • @tombeeks3406
      @tombeeks3406 7 лет назад +2

      im rich i have just created a worm toilet, i just put a sack over the toilet to collect the castings, i rolled up grass so they can wipe their bums, they are well happy

    • @vlonevlone2319
      @vlonevlone2319 5 лет назад

      tom beeks lol

  • @recharge5620
    @recharge5620 2 года назад +1

    I enjoyed how you troll people over worm feelings 😂 brilliant

  • @kater4052
    @kater4052 6 лет назад +15

    Your comment about the "worm empathizers" reminded me of a time when a friend of mine from India who is of the Jane religion was helping me flea comb my dogs. She very carefully put the fleas in a coffee can and put the lid on quickly each time she cleaned the comb. My husband came home just as we finished. He took the can and went into the bathroom. We heard the water running and then the toilet flushing. She ran in screaming, "What are you doing? Stop! You're killing them!" Turns out she was planning on letting them go outside. My hubby just looked at her astonished and said, "Not in my yard. Here they get flushed." She cried for an hour over those fleas!?!

    • @k.p.4818
      @k.p.4818 6 лет назад +6

      'Jain' religion. And yes, it is a religious thing for them to not hurt any living things.

    • @lloyddavies9683
      @lloyddavies9683 4 года назад +10

      May be controversial for me to say here but regardless of what you thought it was rude and disrespectful to do that in front of her. It’s a different matter if she’s not around but it wouldn’t have taken anything away from you to let her take them away from your house and release them. And they’re not going to survive without the dog host so all you’re doing is feeding some birds or whatever and you haven’t made your friend cry for an hour because you’ve disrespected her beliefs and ignored her feelings

    • @notafan6
      @notafan6 4 года назад +1

      Awe! That poor girl. What an interesting belief system.

    • @kater4052
      @kater4052 4 года назад +5

      @@lloyddavies9683 The thing is my DH was completely unaware of her beliefs or what she was planning to do. Before we knew what was happening, as we had gone out in the kitchen to make some tea, he had picked up the can and flushed them. His response was just off the cuff because he had never heard of this sort of belief system. I assure you once he was clued in, he did apologize to her.

    • @jessicalafrance7933
      @jessicalafrance7933 3 года назад

      OMG. NOT FLEAS!

  • @guyjones4936
    @guyjones4936 8 лет назад +2

    Try hanging the sifting box over the wheel barrow on chain or rope and bolt on a motor with a wooden flywheel that is mounted slightly off center. You have then created a vibrating sifter like the big companies use! It does work, I've done it myself!

  • @kdjscoots
    @kdjscoots 8 лет назад +1

    Put a eye-hole-screw in each hole. tie a cord through the eye screw. and hang it like awing on a swing set. Throw cord over top pole of swing set. Tie the cod through the eye screw on the same board. Repeat for the other side. The sifter supports itself by the cord

  • @toamaori
    @toamaori 5 лет назад +1

    as an idea you could put some hooks in the corners of the sifter, then hang it from a beam with rope than all you need to do is shake it forward and back without having to hold all the weight.

  • @dustinwbergman
    @dustinwbergman 7 лет назад +1

    First, I wanted to say that I really enjoy your channel, thank you for all you do! Secondly, you may well have found a solution to your conundrum of sifting over a wheelbarrow by now. However, I thought I would offer my experiences! I apprenticed at an organic CSA farm and we sifted their compost through a screen much like yours, but on top of saw horses over a tarp. Then transferred from the tarp into bags or buckets for storage. This was still a workout but definitely possible to slide the screen back and forth, making it at least marginally easier. Additionally, you are standing which would potentially reduce some of the neck and back strain. Hope this helps! Thanks again!

  • @ilikeplantsandvideogames8625
    @ilikeplantsandvideogames8625 8 лет назад +1

    Have you read Mary Applehoff's book called Worms Eat My Garbage.
    She has a method of harvesting that uses a light to drive the worms into the bottom of the soil as she scrapes away layer and layer. Have you tried that? It might be easier than having to manually sift your worms, before you sift your castings.

  • @nickiequinn2135
    @nickiequinn2135 4 года назад +2

    An easier way to sift will be to us a grizzly sifter. It is pretty easy to make your own.

  • @pagefour6498
    @pagefour6498 8 лет назад +17

    how about an old base cabinet for screening. use the track to go back and forth and put your container under the sifter inside the cabinet. just a thought..

  • @duckyluver12
    @duckyluver12 5 лет назад

    Your rant about not identifying with the worms because you can't know how the worms feel completely made my day. Great video, thanks!

  • @AlvinaRayne
    @AlvinaRayne 7 лет назад +1

    Wonderful video Luke, thanks for all you do! God bless you and yours!

  • @maggier5519
    @maggier5519 7 лет назад

    Your videos are incredible helpful!! I love your channel. This is my second year gardening at my own house and I dont have a very big garden (6' X 6' raised bed, plus some pots). I try to grow as much as I can in my small area and your channel helps out so much! it gives my great ideas and so much information/how to's which make it so much more easy on me because i dont have to browse the internet for hours researching the ideas. Instead i get to spend more time in my garden and i love it! thank you so much!!

  • @kylarichardson4
    @kylarichardson4 8 лет назад

    Great video and tips on how to start a worm bin. I now know why my worm bin didn't take off immediately. I didn't have the 2 gallons of dirt/ worm castings for them to live in. Now after 2 years my worms are content and multiplying.

  • @smillingassassin
    @smillingassassin 7 лет назад +3

    Hi Luke,i see this is an old upload, but just a quick. simple and cheep idea would be to drill holes in the corners and hang it with rope from the garage ceiling. you could angle the sieve and leave one end open to make tipping out the leftovers easier. keep up the good work!

    • @sleepless4truth
      @sleepless4truth 6 лет назад

      LMAO, Sorry, i had same idea, after you, didn't see your earlier post.. thx!!!

  • @jessicalafrance7933
    @jessicalafrance7933 3 года назад +1

    If you make a surface larger than what you're sifting in, then make a box that has a larger area than the screen, put the wheels on it... you can just roll it around over it.

  • @simonsuppertime2589
    @simonsuppertime2589 2 года назад

    Now that is a garden stud right there

  • @kyarasolorio3849
    @kyarasolorio3849 7 лет назад +1

    Caviar of compost, black gold😍
    I love it !

  • @immoral_clarities6511
    @immoral_clarities6511 7 лет назад +1

    make a large mesh bin and roll it with a handle. Or use the rocking method with a long screen and put a bar in the middle holding it up. Rock back and forth.

  • @DebOfAvondale
    @DebOfAvondale 5 лет назад +2

    Hi Luke and Sindy! I moved from CA to PA last summer and my new home has 21 6 foot garden beds!! In preparation for our new home and new gardening adventure I have been studying your videos. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of the information you provide. I have learned so much. First thing I did was start my worm bin and I am so impressed with how amazing they are doing! I cant wait to harvest the castings and start a second bin. I wonder... do you at any point discuss a white residue that sometimes occurs? It's happened a few times and I thought it had to do with my PH. I have been more mindful of balancing what foods get put in (like coffee grounds with ground egg shells for better PH balance?) It seems to have helped but I wonder if you have more information on this.
    Anyway... thank you again for your years of knowledge. I've enjoyed watching Luke and your family grow along with your gardens over the year I've been watching. :) Blessings!

  • @genesiscranston8933
    @genesiscranston8933 8 лет назад

    a composter i watch had a huge pile and sifted it by placing a wheel barrel under a tripod that supported a similar sifter that you made. love you videos! please keep up the work!

  • @Klink52
    @Klink52 5 лет назад +1

    My neighbor uses a stainless steel wire fry basket for separating the worms from the castings.

  • @tommymckiddy7872
    @tommymckiddy7872 4 года назад

    Putting reason into an argument before starting it. Well said. I wish everyone thought like that.

  • @iamsource4me
    @iamsource4me 6 лет назад +1

    G Forbes
    I am a newbie and one of the articles I read offered a reasonable sounding method of harvesting the castings and I would like your opinion on it. He suggested creating a "box" with a window screen bottom and place it atop the composted material in a mature worm bin. On top of the screen set up an environment as you would in the worm bin with newspaper bedding and vegetable materials. Add food to this setup. As the food runs out in the mature bin the worms will migrate to the new environment leaving the lower bin worm free for harvesting. Relocate the contents of the box to a newly established worm bin.
    I questioned the use of window screen, because I felt the hole size was only large enough for infant worms. I thought that perhaps 1/4" hardware cloth would provide easier passage. Your opinion please.

  • @KathleenJean53
    @KathleenJean53 7 лет назад

    I started my red wigglers in some moistened coconut coir, damp shedded newspaper and minced food scraps. They are doing great. They are so clean and shiny and wiggly. As for health and happiness I think we can go by smell in the bin. If it is like fresh earthy forest soil, I am considering their environment perfect. The trick is not to overfeed, not too wet, not too dry. My system has trays so I can harvest a tray and incorporate an fresh one into the system, they can come and go and get used to it. They move through the two or three levels as they wish. So far so good.

  • @628DirtRooster
    @628DirtRooster 8 лет назад +28

    I couldn't have had a worm bin when my son was growing up. All my worms would have ended up on hooks. :)

    • @rustyonlife
      @rustyonlife 8 лет назад +4

      +628DirtRooster My kids want to start a worm farm for that same reason, so I have to keep mine hidden. :o)

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +4

      +628DirtRooster haha well why not raise your worms, use them for fishing and the compost to raise your wife some food. ;)

    • @jhodnett2
      @jhodnett2 7 лет назад +3

      Thats exactly what grandad did for us when we young. BTW, if he used an old (50s) refrigerator on its side. If we wanted castings, he'd put feed on one end. Once the worms migrated, he would dig that end out for whatever he needed. Very few worms in the castings when he was digging.

    • @Boomer8789
      @Boomer8789 6 лет назад +1

      We use them for both.

    • @brhtuseasonone3628
      @brhtuseasonone3628 6 лет назад

      628DirtRooster hhhahahHha

  • @COAST21BECKY
    @COAST21BECKY 7 лет назад +11

    I speak worm lanuge and the worms said "You're cute" lol

  • @Darkfalz79
    @Darkfalz79 8 лет назад +1

    Best time to harvest for me is winter (multi-tray setup) - almost all the worms are near the food, because its decomposition provides heat as well as food. Other times of the year there are just too many worms hanging out in the castings layers doing who knows what.

  • @sigurdhaugan4763
    @sigurdhaugan4763 2 года назад

    I was just harvesting my castings earlier thinking if i was a worm id be living the dream in this bin. Im throwing in pounds of organic produce everyday, certain things like banana's just get covered in worm they love it. Its probably easier for them to live in the bin than in the wild where they may not have such an abundance of food, plus the safety as well.

  • @sleepless4truth
    @sleepless4truth 6 лет назад +1

    IDEA FOR SCREENING, cheap!: using your GREAT box from scrap materials, and some type of rope: maybe heavy "eye" hooks to hold rope, screwed into all 4 corners, and run the rope through them and then over something overhead (maybe need rope to go through 12" cut section of garden hose, so as to not tear from friction, rubbing on eaves?), like the eaves in garage, and you could then SIT in a chair & SWING the screen back and forth over wheel barrow or tarp? The WEIGHT is completely supported by ropes, I THINK. Just a quick thought. Grateful for all your offerings! God Bless, namaste

  • @marvin-zindlers-favorite-b6957
    @marvin-zindlers-favorite-b6957 4 года назад

    9:10 Look at this guy, sneaking incredible life advice into the video!

  • @jkjourney8592
    @jkjourney8592 5 лет назад

    Great information. Thanks! I'm pretty sure some of our worms would be fed to fishes, but I'm excited about starting a worm casting box for the garden I really want to start in the spring. I've heard that there aren't pain nerves in worms, just automatic reactions. If people are worried about worm welfare, they may have issues with people putting them on a fish hook. This is a great video about getting great material for the garden, which exactly the purpose of the worms.

  • @ingalls73
    @ingalls73 8 лет назад

    I just started my worm bin last month.I bought them locally and the farmer gave me a two gallon pot of their habitat to add to my worm bin. My worms must be happy because i haven't had any escape.

  • @georgecarlin2656
    @georgecarlin2656 8 лет назад +10

    9:01 "..I would love to eat where I poop, unfortunately I'm a human.."
    Don't tell that to your psychiatrist.

  • @BrittanyDaine
    @BrittanyDaine 8 лет назад +3

    Wow, when you said that some people have a problem with this, I rolled my eyes so hard haha.
    I've been interested in the idea of vermiculture but I am afraid that I would forget about the worms and they'd end up dying.

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +1

      +BrittanyDaine They won't die on you. They are super hardy and you will be fine!

  • @BenjasUberHobby
    @BenjasUberHobby 8 лет назад +3

    Attaching 2 x 2 extending a foot or so past the sifter might help you. You would then only have to pick up 1 end leaving the other end to glide on the wheelbarrow. You would still have to push and pull fast to get the casting to move around but I would think that should help. You could also pick up 1 side and drop it on the 2 x 2 and then lift the other side and drop it. Wish I could explain this better. You would probably want to have 1 long 2 x 2 board per side. So it won't catch on the wheelbarrow when you are sliding it.(front to back) If you are lifting the left side and dropping it and then lifting the right side and dropping it then it would not be as big of a deal :) Hope this helps!

  • @aadoggo
    @aadoggo Год назад

    Awesome video - - I was looking for an alternative way, and this is great, but there is a MUCH easier way if you have more time and sunshine: lay out a large tarp, and place piles of the unfiltered worms all around, separated from each other, and make into a (loose) pyramid or cone.
    Let them sit awhile on a warm day and the worms will naturally migrate down, so you can check that & and lift the top part of the cone away, then gently form another cone until you basically have several piles of worms to start over with. Much easier for anyone with mobility issues also.
    Thanks for the entertaining dialog-I’ve heard those arguments Re not treating worms well and I appreciate your intelligent (and funny) response!

  • @Bradenthor
    @Bradenthor 8 лет назад

    Blake Kirby's channel has a great compost sifting tutorial with a nice suspension system for the compost/castings screen. Thanks again for another great video.

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад

      +LearEric I will have to check it out!

  • @charlesnorman4676
    @charlesnorman4676 6 лет назад +1

    build a frame for your sifter and as the train does its wheels, use a drill to move your sifter over your container.

  • @rondacorkhill1654
    @rondacorkhill1654 5 лет назад

    Wow, there are times you have to ignore the trolls. Worms aren't that cognizant. I thank you for doing this and sharing. You are feeding them and they give back to you for it.

  • @silvertopaz72
    @silvertopaz72 8 лет назад

    Thank you Luke, great video, a lot of information. All your time and work is appreciated.

  • @circularpizzabox2134
    @circularpizzabox2134 2 года назад +1

    If I was a Worm, I would definitely be happy I was at a worm farm, in a bin, being cared for, and not a Bait worm.
    Those type of people should consider aiming their opinions towards the life of bait worms 🤣

  • @williamseymour4479
    @williamseymour4479 8 лет назад +1

    Enjoyed your video. Thanks for posting.
    Idea: To help you "work out" less sifting the compost, perhaps you could construct a heavy frame in which heavy duty drawer slides are mounted. the sliding part is mounted to your sifter. Below the sifter is a drawer which catches the compost/worm castings. Using your sifter is then as simple as sliding the sifter/drawer in and out like a drawer and catching your castings/compost below in a "drawer." Pull that bottom drawer out (also mounted on heavy duty drawer slides) and empty it into your wheel barrow. Finding a heavy chest of drawers that has heavy duty slides would be a boon as only a slight modification of the drawers would be required.
    Keep posting. God bless.

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад

      That is a good idea. Thanks Bill!

  • @Nurse_Nuggets
    @Nurse_Nuggets 3 года назад

    My plan was to raise my worms and create more bins for a full year before using the castings. After watching this, I think I’ll make a similar sifter to yours but maybe make it a little bigger and suspend it from the ceiling to save my back and shoulders.

  • @stevescott1032
    @stevescott1032 7 лет назад

    LOL'd 7:52 "you are doing the worms harm" MI Gardener was effectively trolled.

  • @DeepSouthHomestead
    @DeepSouthHomestead 8 лет назад +6

    Was thinking you could build a frame to push the wheel barrow up into and sit the sifter in it to slide back and forth so the castings would fall into the barrow and save your back and neck the pain. Good job

    • @MordecaiAliVanAllenOShea
      @MordecaiAliVanAllenOShea 8 лет назад +1

      9:55

    • @Wiggles435
      @Wiggles435 6 лет назад +1

      Zane Greene I built one lol! Mounted skateboard wheels to the side rolls back and forth nicely.

  • @MickyELee
    @MickyELee 7 лет назад +1

    put wheels on the bottom and attach to a large sping on one end. Then pull it away from the spring and let go. Repeat.

  • @joaquin698
    @joaquin698 7 лет назад

    Great VID... NEVER MIND BAD COMMENTS... You know your stuff, thanks girl the vid 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

  • @TsetsiStoyanova
    @TsetsiStoyanova 6 лет назад +7

    I love this episode!

  • @ladymorgonna
    @ladymorgonna 6 лет назад

    I just started a little "worm farm" a few days ago (my first one ever).... first I put in peat moss.... then some dirt from my garden..... then the worms..... then some blended food scraps & leaves and such..... and then more peat moss..... I hope the worms like it... I guess we shall see

  • @mgoh1984
    @mgoh1984 2 года назад

    Most of the info I have seen says each cocoon produces an average of 3 babies each. Worms may try to initially leave when placed in a new environment, but cover them from light asap and if they find their new home has everything they need and then some they will not want to go anywhere.

  • @sharonhampton5173
    @sharonhampton5173 4 года назад

    I built a sifter that has a frame that sits on wheel barrow, one sifter has casters and 1/4 “screen another fits on top and has 1/2 “screen works great. Hope this helps. I find you don’t have to screen just let worms work it longer

  • @tomm2812
    @tomm2812 8 лет назад +1

    Thinking about a worm farm. However I would have to store it outside in a shed. Will our local Michigan winters kill worms held in the tub? Best

    • @tomm2812
      @tomm2812 8 лет назад +3

      Had to dig a bit (pun intended) on the Internet to find my answer. Here at Latitude 42° in Michigan night crawlers will worm (Hehheh) their way down below the frost line 48" normally to 60" in a real cold winter otherwise they will freeze and die. Other worms will weather the winter near surface ... research needed as to which type. That shoots down my idea to raise night crawlers in my unheated shed. Thought was raise the worms for fishing and garden. Hate spending $4 on a dozen or so for fishing. Best

    • @flanmaryj
      @flanmaryj 8 лет назад +1

      I think I've seen somewhere that insulation boards or reflective wrapping was put around the bins to keep them alive.

  • @pennypenny2588
    @pennypenny2588 5 лет назад +2

    Where do you store your worm castings and do you just mix it with your regular gardening soil or is there a ratio?

  • @brendapoulsen
    @brendapoulsen 8 лет назад +1

    this is very interesting....what would I do with my worms and bins in the winter? do they hibernate when it gets cold? Do they need food?

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +1

      They hibernate.

    • @brendapoulsen
      @brendapoulsen 8 лет назад +1

      so if I put them in my cold room they would survive till next spring? I live in Denmark so I am not talking -40 or anything...maybe -10 or so...would they survive that in the plastic containers?

  • @virginiahorvath7595
    @virginiahorvath7595 5 лет назад +1

    Can you feed your worms grass clippings (untreated of course)? All the videos I have seen focus on fruits veggies and paper some fine wood chips but I can not find anything about grass.

    • @philpetersen4477
      @philpetersen4477 5 лет назад

      Yes but balanced with other types of food. Too much of one thing is bad.

  • @graciegordon6552
    @graciegordon6552 8 лет назад

    Have you tried Patrick at one yard revolution's method of harvesting castings? It seems pretty easy to me. What I do though is just place a framed screen over a 5 gallon bucket and move the castings around with my hands, they'll fall right through.

  • @KyAl2
    @KyAl2 7 лет назад

    Amaco Wireform Mesh artist mesh has 2 types that are 1/16": Contour Mesh and Crafter's Mesh plus several that are 1/8". Dick Blick's carries it.

  • @cindyurban4162
    @cindyurban4162 7 лет назад

    You crack me up..of course, I'm not worm, but you actually made me laugh out loud.

  • @mickmage91able
    @mickmage91able 7 лет назад +1

    have you ever thought of flow through worm bins made from containers the same size as you have now?

  • @jamestomlin5525
    @jamestomlin5525 3 года назад

    Really loving your videos

  • @lcm0578
    @lcm0578 2 года назад

    Bahhahha love your worm thinking!!!

  • @nguyenquocdutien4202
    @nguyenquocdutien4202 5 лет назад +1

    Hello, I am thinking about buying a worm bin. How do you keep them alive in winter time? is it ok to keep the bin in an unheated attached garage? Thanks.

    • @dunestaniszewski2300
      @dunestaniszewski2300 5 лет назад +1

      Nguyen Quoc Du Tien- I have videos about it on my channel... worm soil should be kept at 40-80. A garage should be alright, but if it gets to cold you might wanna cover the bin with a blanket. Like I said before, I have a video about it on my channel, and more to come!

    • @nguyenquocdutien4202
      @nguyenquocdutien4202 5 лет назад

      than you very much@@dunestaniszewski2300

    • @dunestaniszewski2300
      @dunestaniszewski2300 5 лет назад

      No problem!

  • @starcatcher3691
    @starcatcher3691 4 года назад +1

    That was fun. As for whether it's right or not, I don't know but in my case, I didn't bring the worms to me, THEY came to ME. I have two off the ground Tumblers. I was trying to compost the regular way adding leaves and vegetable matter. Well, in time I realized red worms somehow infiltrated all of my bins (four separated bins) and were seemingly doing well! I had to re think things. If it's a worm bin now, and not a tumbler, what do I do? And thus I am here. To take care of the worms that came to me.

  • @davidvasquez4259
    @davidvasquez4259 4 года назад

    PREACH!!!!LOVE IT LOVe ALL THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU PROVIDE.

  • @edgeofthelawngarden3496
    @edgeofthelawngarden3496 8 лет назад

    Thanks for the worm farm starter tip. I'll remember it when times come to start a worm farm.

  • @polkadottedpolak
    @polkadottedpolak 8 лет назад

    I haven't tried it myself yet (apartment life) but I've read that you can just put worms in a compost pile outside and add the fresh materials to the side of the pile, so the worms naturally migrate toward the fresher food, leaving behind the castings (and eggs). After a certain length of time, you can just shovel out however much black gold you need.

    • @MIgardener
      @MIgardener  8 лет назад +1

      You can totally compost in an apartment still :)

    • @polkadottedpolak
      @polkadottedpolak 8 лет назад

      I've looked into the vermicomposters that aren't supposed to smell, but it's not worth it in my situation. The apartment is tiny, so I barely have enough room for one little basil plant in the west-facing window sill. (Everything else gets very little light.) We're saving up for a house, though, so I WILL get my dream garden within the next few years! And I'm a vegan, so I'll be able to compost nearly all, if not all, of my food scraps and waste.

  • @nelsonolivera8059
    @nelsonolivera8059 6 лет назад +1

    It is the first time i watch one of your video and am able to add an informed practice. I just have two worm bins side by side with a metal mesh in the middle. I feed them for sometime at the same time. Then, i feed just one side and they automatically move to the side where the food is. Then, i reverse the feeding area. I also place food on a tray with small holes and the worms that come to eat there i move them to other areas of the garden. I never touch the worms to get them to move! It is gentler just place the food where i want them to go. I have a question: What shredder could i use to shred restaurant buckets of food? Thanks for your videos! Nelson

  • @julieannyalung5760
    @julieannyalung5760 6 лет назад +1

    How about making your screen round and add a stand where you spin it around and the castings fall free .

  • @vajra0765
    @vajra0765 8 лет назад

    Also please sell some worms in your store Luke.Its pricey out there and received seeds from store for 2017.Can't wait for spring.

  • @veronicawilliams2612
    @veronicawilliams2612 5 лет назад +1

    Got my worms had them sense last year this year I'm keeping them n doors.

  • @jenniferw8963
    @jenniferw8963 5 лет назад

    I'd probably make a lightweight 18" square sifter. Have everything at table/workbench height. Sift into small square container (then dump from that into wheel barrow). It would take longer but wouldn't hurt my back/neck that way.

  • @casper130rocks
    @casper130rocks 4 года назад

    Make a round tumbler sifter with a stand and crank handle makes job super easy

  • @dammyonweaver458
    @dammyonweaver458 7 лет назад

    You have gave me my LAUGH for today... Thanks lol you you're killing me addressing the worm advocates lol good job!

  • @acetech82
    @acetech82 8 лет назад

    Not sure if you got your sifter on tracks of some kind but I am thinking of building one of these and putting it on a desk drawer track like you would get from Ikea and mounting that on to 2x4 with clamps to clamp to something like a wheel-barrow.

  • @kwhitfield5346
    @kwhitfield5346 6 лет назад

    Have you considered a suspension for carrying the load while you jiggle it back and forth - perhaps from an overhead branch or the garage door rail?

  • @PinkChucky15
    @PinkChucky15 8 лет назад

    Great video, and I'm with you on the worm argument. They ARE decomposers and that's what they do.

  • @crusaderI969
    @crusaderI969 6 лет назад

    Those are some happy worms right there

  • @danielwallengren2564
    @danielwallengren2564 7 лет назад

    hi Luke if you wanted a finer screen then you could have just overlapped it, and secondly to save your back and neck just rest the sieve on the wheelbarrow and just ran your hands through it to push the castings through and you wouldn't be lifting something that heavy.

  • @ankfa1
    @ankfa1 8 лет назад

    I was thinking you could put the sifter on top of a large garbage can that's on a coaster . I'm pictures one of those large coasters people put under a large house plant if that makes sense .

  • @HighDesertGarden
    @HighDesertGarden 8 лет назад

    Nice harvest of castings

  • @TressieHintonHanford29
    @TressieHintonHanford29 7 лет назад

    OMG!
    If u are really spending time thinking about what worms are thinking... YOU MUST HAVE THE PERFECT life. Congrats.