Timing is crucial when it comes to harvesting worm castings. I am happy to inform you that it's time to harvest our worm castings. To encourage the red worm population to move towards the food source, I have been strategically feeding them at one end of the tub that houses our worm farm.
Now that the worms have migrated towards the food, the next step is to extract the worm castings from the vermicompost. I will place the vermicompost on a tarp and make small cone-shaped piles. Then, I will place a bright light over each pile, which will encourage the worms to move towards the bottom of each mound as they prefer darkness. This process usually takes around 10 minutes.
Once the worms have moved to the bottom of the mounds, I will gently scoop the worm castings off the top of the piles. The result will be a nutrient-rich organic compost that is perfect for gardens and potted plants.
The next step is to remove the vermicompost and place it in clean 5-gallon buckets. This will be used in my garden areas this Spring. I will then gather the worms and add them to the new worm bins prepared 2 days in advance.
Note: I will add about 2 cups of the vermicompost to each prepared worm bin. Adding some of the existing compost to each bin will help with composting, as it is loaded with the microbes that aid in the process. With the worms sorted and added to each bin, the cycle of composting will begin again!
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