In this post you will see some of my worm beds, and how I harvest my worm castings.
Here is one of my Worm Beds. It is 8′ long 3′ wide, This bed is used for Worm Castings production for the most part. These beds are harvested and rebedded on a monthly bases. The bedding is pre-composted, These beds are housed with Red Wigglers and European Nightcrawlers.
I take the used up Vermicompost and screen it through a 1/4″ screen, which seperates all the larger worms from the small worms and worm cocoons(worm eggs)and the worm castings.At this point the larger worms go back into this same bed to produce Worm Castings and alot of egg cocoons to be harvested again in another month.
In this pic you can see the Vermicompost on the floor after being screened through the 1/4″ screen.
The pile on the floor, as I said before is all the little worms, egg cocoons, and the Worm Castings that were in the 18 cubic ft worm bed.
At this point this pile of vermicompost is left to sit for a week or two before it is moved out to the Old Fanning Mill, to produce the final product (Worm Castings)
Here is the link to my Harvesting video.Over at my Worm Farmer friends website www.redwormcomposting.com.Harvesting Worm Castings
Here is a picture of my Worm Castings after they go through the old Fanning Mill, Bagged up and ready to be sold to you people to make all your plants grow like never before. Check out my PROMO ITEMS at the top of the page.
Written by Jeff on July 21st, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and Videos and Worm Stories.
The Slogan (it’s a EUROPEAN you’re A SEEIN’ That’s catchin’ all the FISH!!) Was created by my wife Lorie. In an effort to bring attention to this very NEW to North America, Fishing and composting worm The European Nightcrawler. (Eisenia hortensis)
Mass of European Nightcrawlers(Eisenia hortensis)
I have been raising The European Nightcrawler for 4 years now, In the past 2 years I have raised two breeds, The European N/C and the Red Wiggler (Eisenia fetida).These two breeds mixed in large composting beds work very well at producing quality worm castings, My beds are 8″-12″ in depth, the reds are the top feeders. example ( the reds are composting in the top 3-4″. The Euros are composting from 4-12″ levels of my composting worm beds) Both these breeds work very well on their own as well, at all levels of the composting bins. I have also been told by a number of people, that the Reds will take over the beds( out number the Euros ) over time, I have not seen this happen as of yet, This past spring I would have said those people were right, I had greater #’s of reds and less Euros, In the last month or two now, the euros have came back in big #’s and there is now more euros in the beds then reds. Yes readers now you will think I have just been picking out the reds, this is not the fact. These beds are for producing Worm Castings, I harvest the worm casting and I return the stock of worms from each bed back to their same beds,To compost the new bedding I have just added.
As far as taking care of each breed, All I had read about the euros, and their want to crawl, out of the beds, bins etc. Is wrong in my opinion, I have had alot more problems with the Red Wigglers crawling, then I have ever had with the European N/C. On another note: It is hard to kill Euros, and in the last few years I have found my self a couple of times trying to keep the reds alive. example, The Euros take change in their environments better then the Reds do. I am not sure why the Red Wigglers are still known as the best composting worm in North America. I am sure in the not too far future we will see the European N/C gain alot of ground in the composting field. There is also Millions of Fisherman out there that think the Reds are just not big enough to use for fishing. Where as the European N/C can grow to 5″ very easily, in a composting bin, and close to the size of the Canadian N/C if the Euro has space to grow.
These worms produce quality WORM CASTINGS
Please Check out the Promo I have going at the moment on these quality Worm Castings.
The Friendly Worm Guy
Written by Jeff on July 18th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on About Earthworms and Composting with composting worms and Friendly Worm Guy Store and News and Worm Stories.
