How We Are Worm Farming Indoors And It Keeps Growing

Summary

In this video, Tim and Debbie from Homesteaders Discovery demonstrate the care and feeding of their worm farm, showcasing their new shelving system that has significantly improved worm health. They discuss the use of egg cartons for moisture retention and share tips on worm food preparation, emphasizing the benefits of worm castings for their garden. The couple reflects on their growth from 500 worms to an estimated 5,000 in a year and their plans to expand the worm farm in their future homestead.

Takeaways

• 📅 The video was recorded on Sunday, June 17th, 2018.
• 🌱 The presenters, Tim and Debbie from Homesteaders Discovery, are discussing their vermicomposting setup in a spare room.
• 🐛 They are feeding their worms with a homemade worm food mixture and using egg cartons to maintain moisture in the bins.
• 💧 They use tap water that has been aerated for 24 hours to remove chlorine before spraying it onto the worm bins.
• 🔄 The couple is transitioning from a horizontal migration system to new shelving units to improve worm health and increase capacity.
• 🛒 They purchased new shelving systems from Lowe's or Home Depot to expand their worm bin capacity.
• 📦 The new bins use peat moss as bedding, which seems to be working well for the worms.
• 👶 They are carefully managing the worm population by removing adult worms and allowing cocoons to hatch in the old bins.
• 🌿 The worm castings produced are being used to enrich their garden, showing the beneficial cycle of waste to resource.
• 📈 The worm population has grown exponentially from 500 worms in one bin to approximately 5,000 within a year.
• 🏡 They are planning to move and possibly expand their worm farm to a garage on their future homestead property.

Q & A

Who are Tim and Debbie from Homesteaders Discovery?

Tim and Debbie are the hosts of the Homesteaders Discovery channel, who share their experiences and knowledge about setting up and maintaining a worm farm in their spare room.

What is the primary purpose of the egg cartons in the worm bins?

The egg cartons are used to maintain moisture in the worm bins. They soak up water and slowly sink into the bedding, keeping the area moist and providing a beneficial environment for the worms.

Why do Tim and Debbie let the tap water air out for 24 hours before using it on the worms?

They let the tap water air out to allow the chlorine and other impurities to evaporate, as these could be harmful to the worms. Rainwater or well water would not require this step.

What is the advantage of using the new shelving system for the worm bins?

The new shelving system allows for increased capacity by enabling the placement of two bins on each shelf. It also helps to better manage the worms' environment, leading to healthier worms.

How do Tim and Debbie manage the moisture content in the worm bins?

They use a combination of methods, including soaking egg cartons to sink into the bedding and spraying the bins with water. They also monitor the moisture levels and adjust as necessary.

What is the significance of the worms' color changing from dark to pink?

The change in color from dark to pink indicates an improvement in the worms' health. Dark, dehydrated worms suggest poor environmental conditions, whereas pink, lively worms indicate a healthy environment.

How do Tim and Debbie feed the worms in the new system?

They use a homemade worm food mixture containing cornmeal, wheat flour, eggshells, oyster shells, and oats. This mixture is sprinkled on top of the bedding material in the bins.

What is the role of the paper towel in the worm bins?

The paper towel serves as an additional food source for the worms, as they consume the cellulose in it. It can also help maintain moisture in the bin, although it dries up faster than egg cartons.

How do the worms contribute to Tim and Debbie's homesteading goals?

The worms produce worm castings, which are an excellent natural fertilizer for their garden. This allows them to grow their own food more effectively and sustainably.

What is the long-term plan for the worm farm as mentioned in the script?

Tim and Debbie plan to transfer and possibly expand the worm farm system to a garage on their homestead property when they move out of their city house. This will allow them to continue producing worm castings for their garden.

How has the worm population grown over the course of a year?

The worm population has grown exponentially from 500 worms in one bin to approximately 5,000 worms within a year, thanks to the implementation of new systems and learning from past mistakes.

Outlines

00:00

🐛 Worm Farm Update and Feeding Routine

In this segment, Tim and Debbie from Homesteaders Discovery provide an update on their worm farm setup, which has evolved from a simple rack system to a more organized arrangement. They discuss the importance of feeding their worms with a mix of warm food and dry worm chow, ensuring the worms are well-hydrated. They also demonstrate the use of soaked cardboard from egg cartons to maintain moisture levels in the bins. The couple highlights the benefits of their new shelving system, which allows for increased capacity and better worm management. Additionally, they explain their process of removing adult worms from a horizontal migration bulk bin to encourage the hatching of cocoons and the growth of the worm population.

05:02

💧 Improving Worm Health with New Shelving Units

The second paragraph delves into the improvements observed in the worm's health after transitioning to the new shelving units. Initially, the worms were dehydrated and dark in color, but with the new system, they have become pink, lively, and thriving. The use of peat moss as bedding is discussed, along with the technique of rotating an egg carton to allow worms to feed and create castings across different areas of the bin. The paragraph also touches on the worms' consumption of paper towels for cellulose and the importance of maintaining a moist environment for optimal worm health.

10:33

📦 Efficient Moisture Retention with Egg Cartons

This paragraph focuses on the use of egg cartons as a superior alternative to paper towels for retaining moisture in the worm bins. The narrator explains that while paper towels dry up quickly, egg cartons maintain moisture for extended periods. The video script also includes a demonstration of how the worms are consuming a paper towel, indicating their need for a variety of food sources. The presence of baby worms in the bins suggests a healthy and reproducing worm population. The narrator also shares the process of harvesting worm castings using bags with small holes for aeration and moisture retention, emphasizing the castings' effectiveness in gardening.

15:36

🌱 Worm Farm Expansion and Castings Harvesting

The fourth paragraph discusses the expansion of the worm farm from a single bin to multiple bins over the course of a year. The narrator shares the process of moving worms into new bins and harvesting castings from older bins. They describe the difference in moisture levels between bins with and without egg cartons and the importance of providing a healthy environment for the worms. The paragraph also covers the top-feeding method to attract worms to the surface for sorting and the anticipation of cocoon hatching, which will contribute to the worm population's growth.

20:37

📈 Planning for Worm Population Growth and System Expansion

In the final paragraph, the narrator outlines the plans for accommodating the growing worm population and the expansion of the worm farm system. They discuss the weight capacity of the new shelving units and the potential to double the capacity by adding more bins. The paragraph also touches on the preparation of a large batch of worm food, which has helped reduce the insect population and maintain a balanced pH level in the bedding. The narrator concludes by emphasizing the benefits of worm castings for their garden and the farm's growth from 500 worms to approximately 5,000 within a year.

Keywords

💡Worm Farm

A worm farm is a system designed to house and breed worms, primarily for the purpose of composting organic waste and producing nutrient-rich worm castings. In the video, the creators describe their worm farm setup in a spare room, emphasizing the importance of a healthy environment for the worms to thrive and reproduce, which is central to the video's theme of sustainable homesteading.

💡Composting

Composting is the process of decomposing organic matter into a nutrient-rich material that can be used as a soil conditioner. In the context of the video, the worms are integral to the composting process, breaking down food scraps and other organic materials into worm castings, which are highly beneficial for plant growth.

💡Worm Castings

Worm castings are the end product of the worm composting process. They are rich in nutrients and beneficial microorganisms, making them an excellent natural fertilizer. The video highlights the use of worm castings in the garden, showcasing the positive impact on plant growth as a key benefit of maintaining a worm farm.

💡Moisture Content

Moisture content refers to the amount of water present in a substance. In the video, maintaining the right moisture level in the worm bins is crucial for the health and survival of the worms. The creators discuss the challenges they faced with the horizontal migration system due to low moisture content and how they addressed it with the new shelving units and egg cartons.

💡Egg Cartons

Egg cartons, made of cardboard, are repurposed in the video as a means to maintain moisture in the worm bins. The cartons are soaked and placed in the bins, where they slowly break down while helping to keep the bedding moist. This creative use of egg cartons is an example of the resourcefulness demonstrated in the video.

💡Shelving Units

Shelving units are used in the video to expand the worm farm's capacity by allowing for vertical stacking of worm bins. The creators purchased these units to increase the number of bins they can manage in their limited space, showcasing a practical solution to scaling up their worm farm operation.

💡Peat Moss

Peat moss is an organic material used in the worm bins as bedding for the worms. In the video, the creators mention using peat moss, which helps retain moisture and provides a suitable environment for the worms. The script also discusses the challenge of distinguishing between the castings and the peat moss.

💡Cocoons

Cocoons are the protective cases in which worm larvae are enclosed during their development. The video script discusses the importance of allowing cocoons to hatch within the bins to continue growing the worm population. The presence of cocoons and their successful hatching are indicators of a healthy worm farm.

💡Pump Sprayer

A pump sprayer is a device used to disperse water or other liquids in a fine mist. In the video, the creators use a pump sprayer to water the worm bins gently, ensuring the worms are not harmed and the bedding remains moist. This tool is part of the worm care routine described in the script.

💡Worm Chow

Worm chow is a specially formulated food for worms, typically consisting of a mix of ingredients like cornmeal, wheat flour, eggshells, and oats. The video script mentions making a batch of worm chow to feed the worms, which has helped reduce the insect population and maintain a balanced pH in the bedding.

💡Homesteading

Homesteading refers to living on and managing a house and land, often with an emphasis on self-sufficiency and sustainable practices. The video's creators, Tim and Debbie, are from Homesteaders Discovery, and their worm farm is part of their broader homesteading efforts to produce their own food and resources, as indicated by the quote 'it's not how much you make it's how much you keep that matters'.

Highlights

Debbie and Tim from Homesteaders Discovery demonstrate their process of worm care and farm setup.

The worms are fed a homemade worm food mixture that includes cornmeal, wheat flour, eggshells, and oats.

Egg cartons are used as a moisture-retaining layer in the worm bins, which also helps to keep the area moist for the worms.

Tap water is aerated for 24 hours to remove chlorine before being used to spray the worm bins.

The introduction of new shelving systems to increase the capacity of worm bins and improve the overall worm farm setup.

A method for sorting worms by using a pump sprayer and the top feed technique to draw worms up from the bin.

The use of peat moss as bedding material in the bins, which helps to maintain moisture and is a good environment for the worms.

A comparison between the health of worms in the new bins versus the older horizontal migration system, showing significant improvement.

The worms' preference for paper towel as a food source due to its cellulose content.

The process of harvesting worm castings using bags with holes for aeration and moisture retention.

The observation of worm reproduction and the growth of the worm population from 500 to approximately 5,000 worms within a year.

The impact of worm castings on garden vegetables and plants, showing positive results.

The transition from feeding worms vegetable scraps to worm chow to reduce insect populations and maintain pH balance.

The importance of maintaining a proper moisture level for the health and reproduction of the worms.

The strategic planning for future growth of the worm farm with the inclusion of a garage in homestead property plans.

The overall goal of the worm farm is not only for the production of worm castings but also for sustainable gardening practices.

The conclusion of the video with a reminder of the importance of sustainability and a call to action for viewers to like and subscribe.

Transcripts

oh hi all right it is Sunday June 17th

2018 and if you've seen some of our

other videos you saw how we had our run

farm setup in our spare room this is Tim

and Debbie from homesteaders discovery

and today debbie is going to be taking

care of any worms and we've had to make

some arrangements here these are the

bends we pretty much started with back

in the day on this rack system here and

today we are taking a look at our worms

and there's no food so we're gonna feed

them they pretty much go through their

food now in about a day to two days at

the most so we take our warm food and we

just our warm child they go down and we

kind of let them go down a little bit

first just so that that we don't

sprinkle this dry worm Chow on them they

appreciate that the other thing we do

while we're waiting is we go through a

lot of eggs so we save these egg cartons

they're cardboard and we just soak them

down and they tend to sink down into the

bedding of the bin and it keeps that

area moist

let's see they're almost all down there

[Applause]

so we sprinkle them with some food and

we spray them with some water and what

we usually do is we use tap water and we

let the water air out for 24 hours

typically just to let all the chlorine

and whatnot get out of the water if you

were using rainwater or well water it

wouldn't be an issue and we want to use

rainwater eventually and test that but

for now we don't have the rain catchment

system that we need to get set up and

then we just spray the egg carton which

pretty much acts as a collector for the

water and then there's spaces where the

egg just looks it and then it slowly

soaks up the water and then sinks down

and wicks down into the bed these are

our new shelving systems that we bought

I think we got these at Lowe's or Home

Depot for about 40 bucks there are five

shelves each and they will hold two bins

so right now we just have one bit on

here and we'll eventually be able to put

a couple of little 1by boards on top of

each one of these and slide another bed

on top of that so we basically can

double our capacity of our warm bins on

these shelving units so we bought three

shelving units and we're using one for

our storage for our supplies and we have

our old horizontal migration bulk bin

over here which we are slowly removing

the adult male worms or I'm sorry the

adult worms out of this bin and letting

the cocoons hatch and then we'll just

keep harvesting those worms from those

from the bedding as time goes on and

we'll hopefully get some castings out of

that but the main thing is we wanted to

be able to salvage the cocoon so that we

can continue to grow a warm population

okay so Debbie's over here doing another

bin

[Applause]

[Applause]

just using the pump sprayer down here

that would happen and we only put water

in and you can see how easy it is to

manage the warm bins just reach in grab

a bend put it on the table and look at

those healthy happy worms these guys

were looking pretty bad at one point

which prompted us to do what we're doing

with these new shelving units they were

starting to escape out of the horizontal

migration system then that we had and we

believe it was because the moisture

content was was a little too low

actually is a lot low and we just

couldn't keep it moist enough so we

decided to go to this new shelving unit

and get new bins and so far that worms

have actually improved I would say 200

percent I mean at one point they weren't

pink they were they were dark and they

were dehydrated and now they're they're

pink and they're lively and they're

staying in their bins

so we believe we're onto something good

here with our new system

[Music]

we still throw paper towel in here for

now they do eat the paper towel so

eventually if the food gets lower

whatever they'll start eating the paper

towels but so far they haven't really

done much to these and these have been

in there probably for a couple of days

[Applause]

now another thing you can do with this

system is because this egg carton while

it's still in one piece

eventually it will break down you can

feed one area set the egg carton on top

of it and let them feed in that area and

create their castings and then you can

always slide it over to the other side

and feed that area and you can rotate it

back and forth which allows them to make

their bedding and make their castings

throughout the whole bin instead of just

one location within the bin and as you

can see we just basically sprinkle the

warm food that we make on top and

Debbie's just covering the nozzles so it

doesn't spray too hard down on them she

doesn't want to hurt him

now we've used just peat moss in these

bins and so far that seems to be working

out pretty good

sometimes it's a little difficult to

tell the difference between the castings

and the and the peat moss but you pretty

much know when you have good casters

when everything is a nice dark color and

we'll fill you one of those here a

little bit so today we're timing how

long this takes us to do this process

so while Debbie's doing it I'm filming

so we're trying to figure out what it

would take time-wise

to maintain all of our bins at one time

and that pretty much means just the food

and watering however when you're sorting

the worms depending on how much you have

that can be a multiple day project we

took a whole weekend maybe even an extra

couple of days in there to set up all

these bins and these are some really

healthy worms and you can see that

they're doing really well

the peat moss the bedding feels really

moist it's almost a perfect consistency

for them

they have a nice pink color they're

lively and moving around so over there

they're happy

[Applause]

[Applause]

[Applause]

these egg cartons hold moisture pretty

good we were just using the paper towels

at one time but they tend to dry up

really fast but these egg cartons I

think are exactly what we've been

looking for for keeping the moisture in

the bins for a longer period of time so

I'm gonna go ahead and let Debbie finish

doing what she's doing and then I'll

come back with some of the older bins

that are over here and show you the

castings and you'll see the difference

between that and the peat moss okay real

quick guys want to show you what I mean

by them eating the paper towel so you

can see how they've been munching at

this paper towel here which is fine

they love the cellulose and no big deal

paper towel is not expensive and it

provides them a food source just in case

they need it and they need a variety of

sometimes so that's what they did to

paper towels we have not seen them do

anything with the egg carton yet but

their cartons are a little too thick

and they take a while to break down now

this bin here is a in question we don't

know how many is left in here but we

aren't seeing any after lifting off the

hill here's this very small and yet see

oh there's a bunch of babies in there

there are and that's why I'm I'm letting

them so we're just letting them be and

letting them do their thing there's

probably cocoons in here that need to be

finished hatching but when you're seeing

babies like this you know this bin is

and it's in the process of repopulating

all right so we're taking out the older

bins now these are some of the brands

we've had going for quite some time

actually the one she just took out maybe

not may not be that old yeah this is one

of the newer ones

yeah you can still see the peat moss in

here pretty good so this is not the one

I want to show you okay so this bin here

is the bin I really wanted to show you

guys

we started this bin with pretty much

just paper and you can see from some of

the previous videos I've done what it

looked like and you can see how low it

is now but all of this has been turning

into just worm castings we're almost

down to nothing left in here and we're

gonna have to get these worms out of

here or add more bedding one of the two

it's feeling pretty dry but this paper

that's in here is helping keeping it

somewhat moist but this was pretty much

all paper there wasn't hardly any peat

moss I think I put maybe a quarter of

this bin was peat moss it was filled all

the way to the top with paper newspaper

and they've broken that down to where

it's at now and we've had some really

good results there are a lot of babies

in here which means there's a lot of

cocoons and which also means they are

very happy

so and then what we do is we take our

castings

and we have basically taken bags that we

save from our medication or whatever

that they put their prescription pills

in or whatever and they have little

holes in them which helps it aerate but

it also helps hold in the moisture and

I'll get this up to the light a little

bit you can see how dark that is really

good-looking castings and works wonders

in the garden and we've had great

results with the vegetables that we've

grown with it in the plants and we're

real happy with the castings that were

that are being produced now we're gonna

do the this leftover stuff that was in

the horizontal migration system we're

gonna see what we've got in there and as

you can tell it's pretty empty but we

thought it was completely gone a worms

but if you look right through here you

can see that we have worms coming to the

top and we're using the top feed method

to give them food and draw the worms up

from the bottom and from other locations

within the bedding to be able to sort

them and get them out of here and into a

new bin look at the moisture difference

where you could tell that's where the

egg curtain was and that is what's not

so this is powdery dry almost and where

the egg carton is is I could I could

make a ball out of that it's moist

enough but I just don't want to squeeze

it with the worms in there

but you know brings them all to the top

and we can just lock them out of there

and as the cocoons continue to hatch

okay I have they'll continue to they'll

continue to hatch and move to the top

but if you notice one thing this guy's a

little lively here but these look a

little darker they're not pink and

healthy looking like the other ones and

that's because they're sitting in their

castings and they're not in the best

environment so that's what we're trying

to do we're trying to get these worms

out of here and into a healthier

environment and then harvest the

castings or whatever's in here and but

we got to wait for the cocoons to hatch

there's a teeny one in here I can't even

find him though there's some teeny-weeny

ones I don't think I can get this to

work without it being right there's a

little one here too blurry yeah very

very small ones in here but this is

gonna take some time this might take a

couple of months before we can really do

anything with it because it takes a

while for those cocoons to hatch

meanwhile the adults will continue to

have to continue to reproduce and make

more cocoon so we need to pull the

adults out of here and put them

somewhere else in another bin and let

these cocoons continue to have so we can

harvest these castings

so we started this process this farm

worm farm with one bin a year ago now

granted we've made some mistakes along

the way and we've learned from those

mistakes and we are now implementing new

systems but within one year we went from

500 worms and one bin to approximately

5,000 in one year and yeah one two three

four five thousand yeah because you've

got them over here too yeah so we have

we have about 500 no no less than 500

and each one of these they will continue

to reproduce and our population of worms

will grow exponentially providing

they're in the right environment which

we hope we've provided to them these

bins over here they we don't know how

many is in there we probably have close

to I would say probably close to 2,000

just in that bottom bin the middle one

probably has a good 500 or a thousand

and the top one probably has 500 or a

thousand and then there's probably

another 500 and this easily not counting

the cocoons that are gonna hatch so we

are planning ahead for the growth on

this and that's why we went with these

shelving units because we can fit two of

these plastic tubs in one on one shelf

these shelves hold about I think 750

pounds or something like that so we

don't want to overload it too much but

we believe one of these bins probably

weighs close to I don't know 50 pounds

so I think we have plenty of room to to

go on the weight limitations on this and

we're not even using that top shelf all

the way yet

and we still can add another one at the

top of that so that is our new worm bin

worm farm setup they seem to be doing

well got a storage unit there and we

decided to go ahead and make a lot of

worm food at one time so we bought a

bucket and we took our ingredients of

the cornmeal and the wheat flour and the

eggshells and the oyster shells and the

oats and mixed up a whole batch of this

substance

it's just worm shell and they seemed to

be loving it and the the insect

population in here it has been reduced

significantly when we were feeding them

vegetable scraps which we would do if we

were doing this outside we started

getting a lot of mite and we started

getting a lot of other insects trying to

get in here and through our pH off a

little bit on the on the bedding but we

went to this worm chow and it's fairly

inexpensive and if you're wondering why

are we doing all this first of all we do

get a product out of it and that's the

worm castings the worm castings we use

our garden to grow our food so it's not

like we're getting nothing out of it and

so far it's been a pretty simple process

to take care of them we still have some

things we need to tweak out as far as

our systems go and eventually we're

going to run out of room in this spare

bedroom that we have in our city house

but we're drawing our plans for our

cabin out on our homestead property and

we have now included a nice-sized garage

and those plans so we will be able to

transfer this system and possibly expand

two other methods when we get out on the

on the homestead more permanently so

that's it for today folks just wanted to

show you how our warm farm was coming

thanks for watching and don't forget

it's not how much you make it's how much

you keep that matters and don't forget

to Like and subscribe and we'll see you

in the next video