separating worms

kenr1963

13 years ago

Folks how do I divide my worms without having to dump my compost I need about three lbs.of these worms.

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Comments (12)

smalltowngal
13 years ago
Put a couple pieces of cantaloupe in and grab the worms when they all huddle around the food?
mendopete
13 years ago
You could trap them in burlap, orange, or onion mesh bags. Fill with your worms favorite food and bury into the bed for a week or two. I made a tumbling sifter out of two 5 gal. buckets and 1/4" hardware cloth that tumbles the worms(and unfinished materials) out when I harvest. How many worms do you have? What will you do with the 3 pounds?

Pete
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I really like rickd presentation and photos. Im an absolute newbie here and looking for advice. I first thought I would use the 5gal bucket system but then got the idea the worms [red wigglers] like to stay only in the top 3" of soil so it seemed so much would go to waste. So I switched my ideas to the more flatter tub system found these at rural king. 24"x18 x 7" got two one for leacheate or however you spell it. In the bottom I have cut up cardboard an wet peat plus shredded paper , coffee grounds and a thick layer shredded paper on top, holes in the bottom of bin for drainage plus airation holes all around and in the lid. When I added a little food today I noticed some warmth coming from underneath. Is this a good thing or something that may cause me a problem.
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11otis
13 years ago
3 lbs. is a lot of worms. How many do you figure are in your bin? What size of bin and how long have you had it?
Shall I give you my adress? LOL.
kenr1963
Original Author
13 years ago
otis11 I'm just guessing but I'd say around six lbs.My bin is a plastic tote that is huge its not one of those that you can get at wally world I've had my worms in this tote since the second week of april.pete these worms go to my manure pile I had 12 tons delivered last week on top of what I had from the winter feeding.I was going to put all of them in the pile but the bin was nowhere close to being done.
randomz
13 years ago
Ken, How about just divide the bin contents down the middle and put and put half of everything on the pile?

It would save you a lot of messing around and you can refill the bin at your leisure and as the population grows again.
mendopete
13 years ago
I innoculate new compost piles with the burlap bags covering my in-ground bin. I have about 6 layers and the worms love to to hang-out between layers. They breed and leave many cocoons.I lay the burlap on the compost pile and cover with straw. Another method I use is to fill a milk-crate with worm bin contents and set it on a new pile. In about a week or so it dries out and the worms move down, leaving nice dry siftable VC.. Good luck!

Pete
kenr1963
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the imput everyone.
11otis
13 years ago
Wow, I can't imagine how big a pile 12 tons of manure look like.
If your area has worms anyway, they will come to your pile in no time. That heap will attrack worm a mile away, LOL.
kenr1963
Original Author
13 years ago
Not that many manure worms but I'm hoping to change that.I have plenty of nightcrawlers but not that many manure worms.Also on my pile I'm throwing cardboard and wood chips on all that I can reach the added carbon is sinking so this is for now almost a daily thing hopefully it'll keep most of the manure fixed so that it doesn't leach out.
PRO
equinoxequinox
13 years ago
mendopete, "fill a milk-crate with worm bin contents and set it on a new pile. In about a week or so it dries out and the worms move down, leaving nice dry siftable VC" That is what I like. Letting the engineering and time do the work for you.
newmocha
13 years ago
I started a worm bin a few months ago using red wigglers. The worms were doing very well until Memorial Day weekend after I fed them corn cobs from my BBQ. I noticed a few days later that some "critters", not red wigglers, were eating away at the corn cob and other scraps. These critters made noise as they moved around and ate. They are wormy lookin, short and have an outer skin similar to shrimp. I don't know what they are and have not been able to find any pictures.

I checked out my bin every few days and seems like these critters have take over the bin! The wigglers did not mingle with the critters, instead, they hovered together away from them. Just this morning, a bunch of wigglers migrated away from the pile onto the newspaper I keep on top of the pile to keep flies away.

Does anyone know what these critters might be? Are they harmful? If so, how can I get rid of them and save my wigglers?
PRO
equinoxequinox
13 years ago
You may be blessed with Black Soilder Fly Larve. People buy them just like worms. The combination of BSFL and compost worms is very efficient especially during the summer when lots of kitchen waste is produced. When they have fully eaten and grown thru their stages they will walk out of the bin to find a place to turn into a non eating non disease spreading non bothering people fly. Many people purchase these to compost, feed to pets and chickens. If you are a wild bird watcher BSFL would be handy to attract them. The worms will eat the BSFL castings. Everybody is happy. The BSFL will even keep the worms warm in the winter. I don't have them but I sort of want them. It is a stretch because I do not even touch the worms. And even the worms give me the shivers sometimes. An outdoor bin might be a good option for BSFL. Did the BSFL eat all of the cob or leave the less tasty parts? They will not hurt your worms.

Other people may feel differently about BSFL and have different opinions. That is ok with me. Everybody gets to run their own worm bin their own way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bioconversion