As the Worm Hut system starts to settle, the castings begin to drop to the bottom of the cone shaped bag. The worms generally stay in the top portion of the Worm Hut (the feeding zone/sweet spot). They usually are not even disturbed during the ten to fifteen minute harvesting process.
• Top layer: Bedding material (shredded paper & cardboard) 2-3" deep.
• Middle layer: Buried food scraps and the majority of the worms (feeding zone/sweet spot).
• Bottom layer: Casting/vermicompost accumulation. This is the material that is harvested from the bottom of the Worm Hut every 3-4 months.
*Wait four - six months for the 1st harvest for enough castings to accumulate in the bottom of the bag for the first harvest.
• Stop watering the system for about two weeks before you plan to harvest to let the bottom castings to dry out a bit.
• Feed the worms really well during this time to try and coax as many stragglers as possible up into the feeding zone.
• Place a dish pan under the bottom of the Hut.
• Simply untie the bow, pull the toggle open and pull out the vermicompost.
• Stop and pull the toggle closed and retie the bow tightly when you see a fair bit of unfinished material or too many worms falling out.
• Return the unfinished material and any obvious worms back into the Hut.
-
You can use the vermicompost right away howver the level of nitrogen in the compost increases substantially if you let it sit in breathable buckets for a number of months. The longer it sits the richer it becomes. Any cocoons, babies or worms left in this soil will be there when you go to use it.
-
REMEMBER this is living soil so it needs oxygen. It is a good idea to drill air holes in the top of 5 gallon pails then you can stack the pails onto of one anther to save space, or you can just cover the top of the soil with a piece of newspaper or cardboard.
-
Don't let this soil freeze in the winter/keep moist/let the soil breath.
FAQ What about the worms that fell out with the harvest?
You can return the obvious worm to the Worm Hut. I tend to leave my buckets sit for 3-4 months. This does not harm the remaining worms - they actually continue to process the compost! When I go to use the soil in the spring, I empty the bucket into a wheel barrow and let the dirt sit in the sunlight for up to fifteen to thirty minutes at a time. I then skim the top layer of dirt off and return it to the bucket. Worms hate sunlight and will head downward to the bottom of the wheelbarrow. After getting to about one inch from the bottom of the wheel barrow, I gather all this remaining dirt containing adult worms, babies and cocoons and return it to the Worm Hut. This takes a lot less time than manually trying to rescue the worms by hand!