Northwest Redworms - Redworm/castings table harvester

[dhunter48951]

how did u make that? i am thinking of doing this

[luke3rdb]

I have a good mind to call the SPCA.

[phbsdkfsduhf]

I wonder how many worms had little heart attacks in that thing

[Tewrobert]

@phbsdkfsduhf I bet they got DIZZY.

I would like to buy one of them Casting Harvesters,,,,,,

[conteras123]

I recommend you take the worms out first because they hate vibrations

[PoliceStateIsHere]

looks like it makes a mess.

[ColeFried81]

@PoliceStateIsHere Anything related to gardening is a mess so hopefully you're not a gardener or you're pretty much screwed... Dirt makes a mess, that's all there is to it.

[PacoBell]

@PoliceStateIsHere You could probably add a large trough below the harvester for ease of collection. I don't know if the cocoons are less dense than the castings. If they are, you can probably even further refine the castings by rapidly vibrating the trough and collecting the cocoons that potentially rise to the surface.

[BigTexWorms]

Excellent video, I had my husband build me one just like it and it works great.

[HiWay69s]

your hurtin' them dammit

[bontromium]

do the worms get disorientated ?

[paulgem123]

I had some leaves composting for about a year and decided to do worms. I had a old bath tub and added all the suggested things. I wonder if the tub has enough air circulation and I noticed when I put a thermometer in it its not very hot. Any suggestions? Thank you.

[NWRedworms]

@paulgem123 Worm composts are not supposed to be hot and the air circulation should be great with the leaves as a bedding.

[paulgem123]

@NWRedworms Thank you! They are actually cool. I like the thing you made.

[BlackyFive000]

worms: can you stop for a minute @_@

[NWRedworms]

I have used 1/8" screen and it does help get castings without cocoons, but you also don't get out as much castings. I pick the cocoons out when I see a bunch.

[urapigg2]

how about harvesting the eggs. i dont want to lose a whole lot of the eggs, tho i dont mind losing some you can't help it cause they are so small. i usually take some time to pick them out. i don't get crazy about it. but i like to save what i can. i hear 1/8" screen is good for that.

[Nataarci03]

It's that bad for the worms?

[deasttn]

@Nataarci03

Huh?

The worms will be just fine.

[mostrico]

wow excellent idea!! thank you!!

[welkinator]

Don't the worms fall right through a 1/4" mesh? Especially small young ones.

[NWRedworms]

@welkinator some redworms fall through, but only a small percentage. I would say about 3%. Almost all of the worm egg coccoons fall through.

[MrJimbobwae]

wouldn't the worms get cut up by the mesh or beat up pretty badly?

[kimball5455]

Does anyone know the best way to seperate your baby worms from the adults?

[TheShhiiiiiiiit]

This is the awesomest most useful thing I have seen for the backyard redworm enthusiast. I would really love to make one of these. I am sure to watch this video a lot.

[ironlionkalo]

seem like the worms wouldnt like that idea to much

[TheJmz1983]

very good



[Mike82ARP]

I like your DIY rig. It looks like you used 5 gallon buckets cut, then the 1/4 in wire wrapped around the bucket and held in place with a lower piece of the bucket. Then a frame built to hold the assembly. Very cool.

I think it would be easy to build a casting catch bin and mount it directly to the frame. It would make it a lot less messy.

[NWRedworms]

@jayjay556

This is a tumbler, so the redworms tumble through the harvester. i use this tumbler all the time and the redworms continue to do well after they have gone through this.

I would like to know what idea works for you.

[btexasjbc]

Nice small harvester. Do you have plans on how to make one?

[NWRedworms]

I have not written the plans yet, but I do plan to soon.

[kevbro321]

@NWRedworms do you have the plans for the plans you plan to make?

[TheJohnseymore]

poor worms.  that wire dont cut them? what is it

[NWRedworms]

1/4" hardware cloth.

[NWRedworms]

Worms are tough, but we do lose a few.

[mrSugarglider]

do any die?

[HomeworkHelper1]

RPMs= revolutions per minute.

[stonerj0e]

don't the worms get dizzy in there ?

[NWRedworms]

Yes, they get a little dizzy, but they recover quickly and go right back to work. It is more stressful for the redworms to be table harvested since it can take hours.

[mgcnrgy]

Hey just so you know, worms don't like only coffee grounds.Actually you shouldn't add more than 10% coffee by volume.. The rest should be partially composted food waste or animal manure from grass eating animals like horses cows and llamas.. A balanced diet is important to any living creature to some extent.. Worms don't eat the food, bacteria do inside thier stomachs.Similar stuff happens in our intestines.. The resulting worm manure is high in easily usable nutrients and beneficial bacteria.

[NOSMOJEFF]

Yes you are right, I used 100 pounds of used coffee grounds on a 15x 20 garden in about a 6 month span and the soil is teaming with worms this year more than ever. 18 years ago it was clay now it is biological life and organic matter. Of coarse there is sheep compost and compost tea,decayed nutrient cycling and rain water along with the coffee grounds. Oak leaves,maple leaves and grass clippings as well all have made for a real nice soil that is retaining moisture very well.

[NOSMOJEFF]

I am still not sure about something, if I make something like and get the castings to come out how will I know if some of the castings are nothing more than the old coffee grounds I put in the worm the bin way back when?

[NWRedworms]

Coffee ground break down quickly and become a healthy part of the compost humus. coconut coir on the other hand takes a long time to break down and it will usually come out with the castings.

[PacoBell]

@NWRedworms Which is not to say that it's bad to have coir mixed in with the castings as they provide a nice moisture buffering component to the overall compost.

[chowtv]

Cool video!