Coots uses gypsum and oyster shell flour to “lime” his mix. That along with the glacial/basalt rock dusts.
Vermicompost is naturally high in calcium, so I’m not sure if those amendments are needed?
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Yeah I’m more or less going on Bro Science (I have a Doctorate of Bro Science DBS). Figured if I’m using peat and it is acidic…I would want to buffer it. Probably wouldn’t hurt either way. Just how I did things in the past.
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IMO EWC dont need ph adjusted IIRC WC are near ph of 7 … tried to put more acronyms in this post but the was the best I could do! Lol
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I sorted through the bin today and pulled 4 or 5 gallons off my worm bin. The screen worked well but tons of worms went through. So I’m gonna try and grab a bunch out tomorrow since I fed them
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Worm poop is covered in a slime of calcium carbonate. It is the carbonate molecule that does the ‘liming.’ So I think you would be ok to not add osf (I usually don’t).
My 2¢… 
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Do your sifting as normal than break the pile into smaller piles and either put a bright light on them or out in the sun a bit they then congregate in dense piles underneath to where you can just scoop them up as scoop away the castings .
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Hi OG worm farmers!
I have this homemade bin running for five years: I have now the diet, feeding/bedding and the bug/worm ratio under control but since I had the idea to add the beach sand found in the bottom of a bucket to the top of my bin I have a weird fungus growing .
I added very little, just a few spoonfuls on top of a 25L bucket thinking of adding grit and minerals… But soon after, related or not , the whole top bedding was covered by a white fungus. Not the nice Santa beard you can expect but a slimy white fungus colonizing very fast.
I did not really liked it by the way it was spreading very fast, it colonized the whole top of the bin in a couple of days, so I removed the top of the bedding and discarded it.
I added some more bedding and some crushed charcoal that I sometimes add and left the bin open to dry a little bit.
It is not colonizing as fast as previously but I can see it reoccurring on some spots, here it is what it is looking like:
I keep it under control by sun drying the top layer of bedding every other day .
Does any of you already faced such a fungus?
Any idea what it can be?
Thx.
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It looks a little like a slime mold…
Cheers
G
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Hmmm that’s weird my first hunch would be mycelium but it doesn’t look quite right for that either, do you run slot of woody material in you bins as well? When’s the last time you harvested? Looks like it could of been done awhile ago from what I’m seeing.
It could maybe slime mold not sure pics of slime Iv seen in looks like Fido tossed his lunch on the ground .
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@Gpaw, I think you are onto something with the slime mold, thank you!
Some pictures from the Google search are really spot on and from what I read slime mold should not be a big issue and disappear.
@Tinytuttle, beside plant stalks I don’t run anything woody, indeed I need to harvest it, I stopped feeding the Worm a few weeks ago. I like to let them recycle everything until the last bit of bedding and then harvest.
I was a bit concerned before harvesting and then using those castings by fear of propagating a crazy fungus strain in my soil. It is a bit worrying when it is looking like trying to escape the bin!
From what I read it looks like a common mold strain, just a rare expression of it so unless somebody else sees any issue I will soon re-amend my soil with the casting.
I will keep you updated!
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I’ve ran pine bark fines as a aeration. In fact… I forgot about this because it was like 5 years ago. I used pine bark fines from home depot for extra aeration. It was all I had and it was for a 6 month plus static bed. I wanted to extend the bed and I was hoping the wood shavings would help. Another grower on Grasscity was doing it so I tried it. It made amazingly fluffy castings. I think I was at like 20% or so in the MIX. Worms love the rotten wood.
I’m kicking myself for not doing this again now. This also make amazing mulch on outdoor no till beds. My rice hills blow away outdoors.
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So I am new to vermilife for you folks using like totes or big pots as opposed to the “worm bin or farm” with like multiple layers how do you harvest the castings thanks folks
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Feed on one side. Worms will migrate. Scoop out from side they were in. Add new bedding to that side next feeding and add to that new side and then harvest the other side.
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That makes total sense I appreciate it now to convince the lady to let me keep them inside and I’m golden any tips on that
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Dont feed more they can eat so food doesnt rot and they dont smell and no ones any wiser
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I have like alternating pots I go about 3-4 months when the material is mostly broken down I then tip the pot over into a tarp make small piles then scrape of the mounds they ball up in mass at the bottom of the pile … sometime I bait them with a net pot and transfer them that way also
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Hi @cannabliss!
I have a tote that I harvest by unmolding it like a cake!
When I need castings I juste turn my tote over its cover and lift it… like a cake! Then scrap the top layer (bottom of the tote)!
Last try was a bit messy because of a thick layer of perlite! A lot of it ended up on the kitchen floor:
And then return everything back in the tote and start feeding again!
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thanks folks all great advice and im just going to order thē worms she can’t get that mad right
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Buy her some flowers 
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She gets all the “Flowers” shes going to get out of me
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