Wanna have fun? Wanna have BIG fun?

17 years ago

For about four hours today I separated worms from castings. Loved every minute! Starting about two weeks ago I did the watermelon rind way of separation, which worked Ok. Got lots of worms out, but far from all. I did it three times, and still there were plenty of worms left. Then I did the method where you take a plastic bag and poke holes in it then lay it across a second bin, and then spread some worms and castings from the first bin on top and they zoom out of the light down into bin #2. That worked OK too, but it left bin #2 with too much moisture, didn't want to start a mite problem, so I didn't do it over and over.

Needling to get compost, TODAY, for my big tomato pots, I took it all outside and made pyramid shaped piles of it, as I had seen done somewhere, and they did do as expected and scurry downwards and I was able to take castings off the top and sides. But that TOO took a while, they go down into the dark of the pile slower than one might think, so mostly I ended up doing the separation as I've done before, by hand. Which I do find fun and meditative. I bet those Disturbers Anonymus understand..

Only one problem, never enough yield! I always want more compost! I now have three bins, small but, still three bins, one of which I harvested today, but when it comes to Tomatoes and Roses, there is never enough!

Hope bins #2 and #3 get themselves ready soon.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

susanfromhawaii
17 years ago
Try 'sifting' them. I've got a grate with about 1/4 inch holes and it lets the VC through and keeps most worms in. I just taped the small grate to the bottom of a small cardboard box and shake it. Those with large enterprises have big automatic systems- kind of cones that rotate, but it's the same principle. Also, since I started using a flow through, I haven't needed to sort worms from compost. Not everyone's flow through keeps 100% of the worms out of the bottom stuff, but I've been lucky. I also leave it in there until I need some, so it stays there for a long time.

Even so, I'm still a member of disturber's anonymous.
wriggler
17 years ago
I have to agree with you. I love to seperare worms from castings. I even pick out any capsules I see. When I seperate it usually takes a week or so because I do it over and over tying to get all the baby worms that just hatched. When I do use the pyramid method I use a bright light shining on the pile and the worms scurry away quite fast. Another method I use is to push all the castings to one side and put fresh bedding in other side. I then stop feeding on the casting side and just put food in the fresh side. It does take a long time for all the worms to migrate over. Please explain the watermelon rind method, Thanks
Related Professionals
Rome Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Oneonta Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Harrisburg Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bridgeport Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Carbondale Landscape Contractors · Williamsburg Landscape Contractors · Boise Landscape Contractors · Washington Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Somerset Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Rocky Mount Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Oklahoma City Stone, Pavers & Concrete · New Braunfels Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Rochester Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Lake Havasu City Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Toronto Stone, Pavers & Concrete
beth_monsterworms
17 years ago
Hi anewgarden, I flew by Brooklyn today. It looked like a nice day down there.

What kind of worms do you have? We have the Eisenia fetida, the European nightcrawler (Eisenia hortensis), and the African nightcrawler (Eudrilus eugeniae). We find that the Euro and especially the African put out more castings and faster than the red wiggler.
Beth