Harvesting Worm Castings

Worm composting is not only a great way to reduce waste, but it also provides a valuable byproduct: worm castings. Worm casting make a terrific soil amendment, improving soil structure by providing tons of beneficial micro-organisms.  The castings also increase water holding capacity of the soil, attract earthworms already present in the soil, and work to ward off pests and disease from nearby plants. Now that we now that this is REALLY great stuff, the question is how can I harvest the castings easily?

There are several ways to harvest casting (i.e. separate the worm poop from the worms and non-composted materials).  A few suggestions include: sorting the worms and non-composted material by hand, the pile and light method, using a tray system or flow through reactor, a worm tumbler, or any number of variations. I will cover each method in a little more detail below.  Choosing which method works best for you depends on the amount of time, effort, money, and size of worm bed you have.

Hand Sorting

For those of us with a small quantity of worms either hand sorting maybe the best bet as it is the cheapest (FREE).  This method involves dumping out your worm bin into a pile, then sifting through the pile for worms and non-composted material. After emptying the contents of the bin I would recommend starting with some fresh bedding and then adding back worms and non-composted material as you sift through your pile.

Another similar approach is dumping out the contents of your bin and using a light to encourage the worms to burrow down into the pile.  After you have given the worms a couple minutes to burrow down you can scoop off the top layer of material (which by that time should be clear of worms).  Keep scooping until you reach the worms.  Give them a couple minutes to borrow down away from the light again and repeat the process.

Both of those methods require a little patience to sort the worms from the compost, but the end result is worth it.  Also, if you don’t do a perfect job separating the worms from the castings that’s OK (worms mixed in with the castings can goto work in the garden).

Now for a couple easier approaches: a multi-tray worm bin or flow through reactor.

Worm Bins

The idea behind the multi-tray worm bins is that the worms and the food waste start in the bottom tray, as the worms start to turn the bottom tray into compost more food can be added to the tray above it.  Once the worms are done with the food on the bottom tray, they will migrate up through holes in the tray above.  The worms will always follow the food.  That will leave the bottom tray full of worm castings.  This method makes it very easy to harvest the bounty.  Having a few trays allows you to have room for more worms and doesn’t require you to harvest the system as often.

Flow Through Systems

A flow through reactor applies a similar methodology to harvesting casting. The idea goes like this: you start with a container and add food waste and worms, as the worms turn the waste into castings you add more food on top. Eventually the container fills up with worm castings and food waste and worms, with the bottom being all castings and the food waste and worms near the top.  The castings are then harvested through a hole in the bottom of the container and everything in the container slides down a bit opening more room on top to continue the process of adding more food.

Tumblers

The last method that I will describe today is a worm tumbler.  This is a common method used by large worm farmers.  The tumbler is a large cylindrical apparatus made of a metal mesh like material.  The worms and the compost are dumped into the cylinder which is constantly spinning.  The castings drop through the holes in the mesh cylinder, while the worms travel the length of the cylinder and are collected on the other side.  Don’t worry, while the worms may be a little dizzy they come out unharmed.

Those are a few of the most common ways to harvest your worms and worm castings.  If you have a better way to do it I would love to hear about it and I’m sure all the other readers would too.

Composting with worms

Adding red worms to your compost pile is probably the easiest way to get started composting with worms. There are no bins to make no special bedding required. All you have to do is add a bunch of composting worms to your compost pile and you are done.

To the left is a picture of my ‘compost pile’. I’m not sure it really qualifies as a compost pile since all it really is is a pile of dead grass I pulled up when I was tilling my garden. It also has some leaves and a small amount of kitchen scraps. It has been very neglected.

Today I decided to check on things and see how it was doing. The pile has been sitting there for a few months. I have not turned it or added much to it. I did add some worms to it a while back also.

Let me preface this by saying it is winter here and we just had a big snowstorm (well big by southern standards). When I went to check on the pile, I kind of expected not to see much. It has been getting  down into the teens some nights and I was very afraid that all of the worms would be dead.

To my surprise this is what I found:

There was actually a good number of worms in there, still alive! They were moving a little slow, probably due to the fact that it was about 25F outside! This just goes to show you that red worms are very tough. They have been out there all winter and I haven’t done a thing for them. Once it starts to warm up around here, I plan to start adding more organic waste to the pile and see how quickly the worms multiply.

After taking the pictures, I put all the worms back in the pile and went it, since it was terribly cold outside! Most of winter is already over, and i can’t wait until spring to start my garden again!

Feel free to contact me with any worm questions. I like to blog, I just have trouble thinking of post topics. If you email me, I’ll answer your question on a post so everyone can benefit.

Compost Worms vs. Soil Worms

If your like most people you probably never knew that not all worms live in the soil. Below is a question we received on the subject:

I’m desperate. I’ve read you can and you can’t put red worms into flower beds. I’m needing help with some landscaping I had done on my home back in May. My landscaper used TERRIBLE soil. I have a ‘gillion’ red worms on my compost pile. I’m also collecting five gallon buckets of coffee grounds from a local coffe shop. If I add food to the area can I add red worms to my shrub beds and expect the worms to survive? I’ve read that red worms have to be ‘grown’ for their casts AND I’ve read that you can put them in flower beds. I’m confused, but I don’t want to put the worms in my shrub beds only to have them die. Thank you-in advance-so much for taking the time to answer my question. Keva

Worms fall into a couple categories: Soil worms and Compost worms. Red worms are compost worms. Well what does it mean to be a compost worm? A compost worm requires a high concentration of organic material in their habitat to survive. As a matter of fact they can eat up to half of their weight in food every day. Also, compost worms are epigeal or top feeders. They live in the top 6 inches of the organic material where they feast.

Soil worms have different needs from compost worms. Soil worms don’t need as much food / organic material to survive. Also soil worms like to burrow deeper into the soil. Soil worms don’t produce as much vermicompost, but they do provide aeration for the soil.

So to get back to the question at hand: Can you add red worms to your flower beds? The answer is that it depends. If you provide an ample amount of organic / compost-able material then the worms will survive. Often times it is just easier to maintain a single compost pile or compost bin, and then add the vermicompost to your plants as needed.

If you do choose to use worms in you yard or garden you do not need to worry about them eating the roots of your plants, worms only eat decaying organic matter. Compost worms including red worms, European Nightcrawlers, and African Nightcrawlers all need sufficient organic material to survive. Soil worms such as Alabama Jumpers, and Canadian Nightcrawlers don’t need the high concentrations of organic material, although they still need some.

The soil worms will provide aeration for your soil, while the compost worms offer the benefit of more vermicompost. Knowing a little bit more about these worms should help you make an informed decision about which will work best for you. If you still have questions please post your comment below or send us an email.

*Photo by beemsicle

Common Composting Problems

Today I want to take some time to discuss some of the common problems that most people new to vermicomposting run into.  Also, I will explain how to fix the problem and better yet how to avoid them altogether.  If you encountered something that I left out of this article please share (we can try to help you work through it or perhaps you already have corrected it and can help someone else who has the same problem).

• Problem:  Worms Trying to Escape
• Solution:  This is a very common problem especially at the beginning.  * If you have just added worms to your bin then there is no big cause for concern, the worms are probably just getting settled in.  Try leaving a light on over the bin (worms don’t like light and should burrow into the bedding).  * If you have had the worms in the same bin for awhile and they start trying to escape you have a problem in the bin.  One of several things could be the problem: too much food, too much water, not enough water, not enough food, too hot, or some other problem.  Try to dig around a little while trying not to disturb the bin and figure out what is going on.

• Problem:  A Smelly Worm Bin
• Solution:  The root cause of a smelly worm bin is anaerobic bacteria.  This bacteria growth is due in part to a lack of air flow through your bin / bedding material.  A lack of air flow is usually due to the bin being too wet, which causes the material to clump.  To fix the problem try leaving the lid off the bin and mixing in some dry cardboard or coconut coir.

• Problem:  Fruit Flies in the Worm Bin
• Solution:  I found a great article here for getting rid of fruit flies.

• Problem:  Mold in the Worm Bin
• Solution:  While the mold is not harmful to the worms you probably don’t want it in your bin (it could be unhealthy to humans particularly puffballs – which is a type of fungus).  Anyway this problem is usually caused by overfeeding.  So either remove some of the excess food or let the worms catch up before adding more food and don’t put so much in there next time.

Again these are common problems to most people when they first start vermicomposting, so don’t get upset.  Try to find out what is going on in your worm bin whenever you encounter a problem.  Some time or another, you encounter some of these problems and now you should be informed and prepared to fix them.  If you have any questions about your worms or worm bin post your comment or send me an email and I will try to help you work through it.