“Rotline” Question of the Week: What is the best way to harvest my worm bin?

The best method of harvesting varies depending on the type of bin you are using. Some bins, such as the Wriggly Wranch Worm Bin, are designed with two tiers so the worms climb to the next level. This tends to work really well but for bins without an extra tier or for bins with worms that just won’t migrate here are a couple of harvesting methods our Master Composters suggest:

1. Fruit Method: Worms go crazy over avocado and melons. Place the food on one side of your bin. Within a couple of days the worms will swarm over to the food. Then, you can either collect the castings behind them or physically move them to another tier. This method is especially helpful if you want to start another bin.

2. Relocation Method: Move all of the contents of your bin to one side. Add a new layer of bedding on the far side of the bin and begin feeding in only that area. See photo above.

3. Cone Method: Place a tarp on the ground in a sunny area. Dump the contents of your bin onto the tarp. Build cones with the contents of the bin. Because worms do not like the sun, they will move towards the ground and you can collect the tops of the cones. You can continue creating cones until you have the amount of vermicompost you desire.

4. Slurry Method: Dump the contents of your bin into a bucket filled half way with water. The water will help separate the worms from the vermicompost and you can reach in and go worm fishing!

5. Screen Method: Use a 1/4 inch screen to sift the vermicompost. The vermicompost will fall through the screen and the worms will remain on top.

Can’t get all of the worms out of your finished vermicompost? Don’t worry. Worms reproduce very quickly (8 redworms can produce up to 1,500 babies in just six months!).

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“Rotline” Question of the Week: Why do my worm castings look different than commercial castings?

Problem: My castings are very wet and when left to dry out they solidify into cement hard pellets. Why aren’t my castings dry and fluffy like commercial castings?

Commercial vermicomposting facility

Answer: Commercial worm castings are coming mainly from windrow operations which are usually being feed manure. There is a certain amount of fiber in the manure that is never completely digested by the worms–mainly because they are not left in it too long. They are constantly moving into fresh food. In the windrows, as the worms work their way through the feedstock/bedding, the finished material (worm castings) is allowed to dry out slowly as the worms move on into fresh material. The resulting material is perhaps not as rich as what you may be producing in a small worm box.

In the classic home worm box, the worms are living in a confined space and often end up living in their castings a lot longer. The worm castings can actually become toxic to the worms if the castings are not harvest often enough. New bedding material needs to be added with the food and the worms need to be encouraged to move up into new habitat.

As the worms digest the food and produce new young they excrete a certain amount of mucus that can make the castings sticky…. and thus very hard when dried. The solution seems to be keep the worms moving to fresh material and then remove the castings as soon as possible as they move out. Another solution maybe this. Once you remove the castings add some neutral material to thin them out a little…. perhaps some coir, finished compost, vermiculite or any combination of these or similar things.

- Master Composter Pete Ash

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“Rotline” Question of the Week: How can I harvest castings from my worm bin?

There are a number of ways to harvest castings from your worm bin from adding another tier to dumping the contents on plastic in the sun. Some of our  Master Composters even recommend adding some melon that the worms will migrate to. Depending on the type of bin you have, you may find some methods are more effective than others. What do our Master Composters suggest?

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