What to do When your worm castings dry out
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the host checks on their Louisiana swamp worm tower, observing the worms' health and discussing their composting process. Despite challenges with sprouting avocados and overly wet bedding, the worms are reproducing well. The host adds new bedding and food, including shredded paper, kitchen scraps, and eggshells, to maintain the worms' habitat. The video emphasizes the importance of monitoring and adjusting the worm bin environment to ensure successful composting. The host shares tips on worm care and invites viewers to subscribe for more content.
Takeaways
- 🌱 The video is about checking on a Louisiana swamp worm tower and the progress of the worms within.
- 🐱 The presence of the speaker's daughter's cat is mentioned, indicating a homely and personal setting for the video.
- 🥑 The speaker discusses the sprouting of an avocado and the challenges of planting them successfully.
- 🌿 The worm bedding is described as very thick, with many small worm babies, indicating a healthy population.
- 🌑 Dark castings are observed, which is a sign of healthy worm activity.
- 💧 The speaker notes that the bin is running very wet, with water coming out of the spigot, suggesting a need for adjustment.
- 📦 Shredded paper is introduced as a new bedding material for the worms, which they seem to enjoy.
- 🔍 The speaker mentions the worms' similarity to red wigglers in behavior but notes their darker, maroon color.
- 🍌 The video includes a variety of food items for the worms, including a used tissue, kitchen paper towel, eggshells, and fruit peels, despite some being considered 'forbidden foods'.
- 🌱 The importance of the worms' composting ability is highlighted, as they are used for composting food scraps.
- 🕳️ The speaker digs a hole to add new food and bedding, showing the process of maintaining the worm tower.
- 🔄 The need to dry out the bin is emphasized, as it is too wet for the worms' comfort and for successful harvesting of castings.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is the care and maintenance of Louisiana swamp worms, also known as Swampers, in a worm tower for composting purposes.
What does the speaker observe about the avocado sprouting in the worm tower?
-The speaker observes that the avocado is sprouting, indicating that the worms are doing well, but also notes that the bedding is very thick and wet, which might be affecting the worms' health.
What is the significance of the dark color of the castings mentioned in the script?
-The dark color of the castings indicates that the worms are healthy and the composting process is going well.
What issue does the speaker identify with the worm tower's bedding?
-The speaker identifies that the bedding is too wet and cakey, which could make it difficult to harvest the worms and might be too wet for their optimal health.
What action does the speaker take to address the lack of food for the worms?
-The speaker adds shredded paper to the worm tower to provide the worms with more food.
How does the speaker describe the behavior of the Louisiana swamp worms compared to red wigglers?
-The speaker describes the Louisiana swamp worms as being very similar to red wigglers in behavior, but with a slightly darker, almost maroon color.
What type of food does the speaker mention feeding the worms, and why is it considered a forbidden food?
-The speaker mentions feeding the worms orange peels, which are considered a forbidden food because they can be too acidic and slow down the composting process.
Why does the speaker microwave the eggshells before adding them to the worm tower?
-The speaker microwaves the eggshells to kill any bacteria that might be present, making them safer to add to the worm tower for grit.
What is the speaker's approach to managing the moisture level in the worm tower?
-The speaker plans to dry out the worm tower by fluffing the bedding daily and leaving the lid off to allow for better air circulation.
How does the speaker describe the worms' behavior when it comes to moving between trays in the worm tower?
-The speaker describes the worms' behavior as unpredictable, with worms choosing to stay in areas with more microbes even when food is available in other trays.
What advice does the speaker give about interacting with worms in the worm tower?
-The speaker advises that worms should be interacted with daily, emphasizing that they are like pets and that it's important to check on them regularly to ensure they are healthy and happy.
Outlines
🐛 Checking on the Louisiana Swamp Worm Tower
The video begins with the host welcoming viewers back to their channel and introducing their Louisiana swamp worm tower. The host discusses the excitement caused by a sprouting avocado and the challenges faced with planting avocados. They examine the worm bedding, noticing it is very thick and wet, with numerous tiny baby worms present. The host explains the necessity of adding more bedding, particularly shredded paper, to manage the wet conditions. They introduce various types of food for the worms, including eggshells, orange peels, and avocado skins, and describe the benefits of Louisiana swamp worms for composting.
📰 Maintaining the Worm Bin
The host discusses the importance of using shredded newspaper as bedding for the worms and reminisces about their early days of worm raising without a shredder. They describe their routine of checking on the worms daily, ensuring everything is in order. The host mentions the necessity of drying out the overly wet bin by fluffing the bedding daily, a process that can take over a week. They also explain the behavior of the worms, which sometimes prefer the lower part of the bin due to the presence of microbes. The host highlights the unpredictability of worm behavior and the need to adapt to it.
👋 Conclusion and Next Steps
In the final part, the host continues to fluff and dry out the worm bin, emphasizing the importance of airflow by leaving the lid off. They share their experience of raising worms for 21 years and reassure viewers that daily interaction with worms is beneficial. The host encourages viewers to subscribe to their channel and turn on notifications to not miss future videos. They conclude with a promise to bring viewers along for future updates on the worm bin's progress.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Louisiana swamp worm
💡Composting
💡Bedding
💡Casting
💡Sprouting avocado
💡Shredded paper
💡Grit
💡Forbidden foods
💡Spet
💡Fluffing
💡Breeding bins
Highlights
Introduction to the Louisiana swamp worm tower and checking on the worms' progress.
Observation of an avocado sprouting, indicating the worms' activity.
Discussion on the bedding thickness and its effect on worm health and harvesting.
Assessment of the worm bin's moisture level and the presence of water.
Mention of the worms' reproduction and the need for more bedding.
Introduction of shredded paper as a new food source for the worms.
Description of the worms' behavior and comparison to red wigglers.
Explanation of the worms' preference for certain conditions and the difficulty in harvesting.
Demonstration of adding a used tissue and kitchen paper towel to the bin.
Use of eggshell for grit and its preparation method.
Inclusion of forbidden foods like orange peels and banana skin in the worm bin.
The importance of the worms' role in composting food scraps.
Technique of transferring worms and bedding to a new tray with damp newspaper.
Observation of the worms' preference for the castings-rich bottom tray.
Strategy for drying out the bin to facilitate worm movement and harvesting.
Emphasis on the unpredictability of worm behavior and the need for adaptation.
Daily routine of fluffing and drying the worm bin for optimal conditions.
Advice on leaving the lid off for better air circulation and drying.
Invitation to subscribe and enable notifications for future updates.
Transcripts
hey guys welcome back to my
channel this is my Louisiana swamp worm
Tower and we're going to check on
it you can hear my daughter's cat in the
background he hears Grandma so he's
excited
but look at this
avocado isn't it cool when you see an
avocado that is
sprouting but you know every time I
plant these they just I don't know they
don't do well I don't know what I'm
doing
wrong this is all looking okay
though their bedding is
very thick like but there's like a lot
of
babies like we're talking teeny babies
in
here look how dark the castings
are that's amazing
but they're doing well I just feel that
they need more bedding see how cakey
this is that means my bin is running
very wet when I see water coming out of
the
spet it's
wet but you know the Louisiana swamp
worms at least from my experience some
people call them Swampers I think that's
a cute name they kind of like it like
that but this this bedding like this
would almost make it impossible for me
to harvest I'd have to dry that out
thoroughly but I like to look at them
and check and just see how they're
doing everything looks okay they're
reproducing that's for sure they don't
have any food left
though other than that avocado so we're
going to give them something this is
shredded
paper so let's spread this out this is
that rag that um that I had put in here
and they like it look at the teeny
babies right
there I mean they're
tiny so let's bury it and
see I had put some yarn in
here I don't see
it still got little bit of a banana skin
there so I'm just going to put this
paper in here cuz it's
wet and I'm going to get their new
food and then we're going to give them
more shredded
paper
so oh look at this
bundle they're very cute they're very
similar to a red wiggler they're a
little darker in color almost like a
maroon and but their behavior is very
similar I've never had a problem with
Louisiana swamp hor
they're excellent for
composting they do a great job they
really
do so let me dig a hole
here so I know that there's a lot of
forbidden foods
but I feed my worms everything like they
literally eat everything so here's a
used
tissue I got shredded up
um kitchen paper towel
roll I got
eggshells for grit I microwave them for
a minute after rinsing them and then I
just put them in here like
this now you could grind it up into a
powder but right now I didn't feel like
getting my grinder
out if you ever want to see me grind
worm Chow in huge quantities go to my
other
channel yeah you're going to be floored
orange peels they're forbidden food you
know in small quantities I've never had
a problem here we got
banana the skin of an avocado we eat a
lot of avocado this is another avocado
seed right
here more
eggshell you know I use my my worms and
my towers for my composting ability my
compost ing of my food
scraps because well I cook a
lot so there's all the
food right I'm going to go like this I'm
going to take a little bit of the
bedding with a couple of worms in it I'm
just going to go like that it kind of
like gets them
started we're going to put Mr avocado
back being that he's so happy
and we're going to add
some damp newspaper now you can use a
shredder for your newspaper and I have
one in my office but you know when I
first started raising
worms um I didn't have a shredder so I
just used my hands and I ripped it and
basically my Towers that's how I run my
Towers the same way they're my pets I
play with them every day I look at
them I just like to make sure
everything's okay with
them
there that'll keep them happy for a
bit all
right and then I'm going to take their
newspaper their cardboard that they were
already on and I'm going to go like this
so this bin I noticed that there's water
coming out of the spigot so I'm going to
um I'm going to have to dry it out a
little bit like I'm not going to add any
additional water to this and they'll be
okay so as you notice when you start
getting castings in a bin like this your
bin starts getting really
heavy and look down
here there's more down there and if they
want to go down there it's perfectly
okay with me
[Music]
okay so I removed the tray let's see
what they're doing down
here
okay this down
here is pure castings
and even though the worms have food in
the tray I just worked
with they still just want to hang out
down here and I don't know why probably
because of the amount of microbes down
here and you know if they want to move
up to the next tray where the food is
they
will but right now this is their
choice and you just have to go with the
flow
believe me I wish I could convince them
to do what I want but it's not always
going to happen worms will always do
what they want you just have to learn
how to
adapt cuz their behavior could sometimes
be very
unpredictable so if I wanted to harvest
this I would put this on top of the
working tray which is the tray that I
feed and work with and I would start
fluffing this and drying it out we're
going to start fluffing this up and
drying it
out so that they can
move time to dry this bin
[Music]
out you see this is way too
wet it's like
soppy and drying a a tray like this out
it Tes Tak days like we're talking a
week or more of doing this every day but
every day when you notice it's going to
get crumbler and more
crumbler and then before you know it
it'll be workable because the drier this
gets the worms are not going to like it
and they're going to go
down so why don't we just do this in
this video then since I'm already
fluffing it up so my breeder bins I
don't fluff them up because when I fluff
them too much they don't breed as well
for me but worms my pets like I don't
care they I play with them every day so
you can play with your worms every day I
hear people tell other people they can't
you can I've been raising worms 21 years
and I my worms my pets I I touch them
all the
time so this is what we're doing
so we're going to keep doing that every
day I'm going to leave the lid off
because it needs air even though that
gets air with the lid on but I not
enough to dry it in my
opinion so I'm going to leave the lid
off this and every day we're going to
fluff it and I'm going to bring you
along so you can see the
difference as I do this all right guys
if you haven't pressed that subscribe
button yet go ahead and do so
and don't forget the little bell
notification so you don't miss one of my
videos and I will see you next time take
care
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