Urban Worm Bag FAQs
The Urban Worm Bag debuted in January 2018 as the newest version of the home continuous flow through design. In March 2021, we launched our most updated design.
Supported by a sturdy iron frame, the Urban Worm Bag is a breathable system built with 900 Denier Oxford fabric, with easy feeding through the top and simple harvesting through the fully-removable bottom.
Compared to stackable tray systems like the Worm Factory 360, the Urban Worm Bag is large, capable of holding over 5 cubic feet of vermicompost within a footprint of approximately 26 inches by 26 inches with a slightly cheaper price. And compared to another home flow through called the Hungry Bin, the Urban Worm Bag is downright cheap at nearly one third of the cost.
What Are the Specs on the Urban Worm Bag?
- Width (including frame): 26 ¾ in (68cm)
- Length: (including frame): 26 ¾ in (68cm)
- Height: (including frame): 30 ¼ in (77cm)
- Bag Only Height: 22 in (56cm)
- Bag Only Width:2 4 in (61 cm)
- Bag Only Length: 24 in (61 cm)
- Weight: 7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)
- Volume at Max Load: 5.3 cubic ft (122 liters)
- Fabric: 900D Oxford with a polyurethane coating for moisture resistance
- Frame: Lightweight iron frame with plastic 3-way connectors
- Zippers: Marine-grade #8 heavy zippers
How Long Until I Can Begin Harvesting Worm Castings?
If you start from scratch, it should be about 4-6 months before you should expect to make your first harvest. And that first harvest may include some amount of unprocessed bedding.
You can reduce this time (and better ensure a happy home for your worms) if you start with an existing amount of vermicompost as a starter material.
How Do I Maintain Proper Moisture in My Urban Worm Bag?
Because food waste is so high in moisture, a well-fed Urban Worm Bag should not need much additional water, if any.
If it’s too wet, add some dry bedding and stop feeding for a few days. Consider leaving the top of the Urban Worm Bag open.
If it’s too dry, use a spray bottle or spritzer as needed to maintain appropriate moisture levels.
What If My Urban Worm Bag Has A Foul Smell?
A properly-maintained worm bin should not smell bad.
More than likely, the bin is over fed, too wet, or both. Remove any excess food, add bedding, and monitor conditions.
How Much Vermicompost or Worm Castings Can the Urban Worm Bag Produce?
Your results are dependent upon too many variables to give you a good number.
However you can use commonly-known rules of thumb to get a very rough estimate. Conservatively, worms can eat 25-50% of their own weight per day and at maximum density, you will have around 2 lbs of worms per square foot.
The Urban Worm Bag has roughly 4 square feet of surface area. So an Urban Worm Bag stocked with 4lbs of worms may be able to process roughly 1-2 lbs of food waste per day under good conditions, roughly 50-70% of which will exit the worm in the form of worm castings.
How Many Worms Should I Purchase for My Urban Worm Bag?
At full capacity under optimal conditions, the Urban Worm Bag could conceivably hold 8 lbs of worms.
But we recommend no more than a 1-2 lbs of worms to start with. The worms will multiply quickly and the population will eventually grow to the capacity that your conditions allow.
Go here to buy discounted composting worms!
How Heavy Will the Urban Worm Bag Get?
A full Urban Worm Bag can weigh 125 lbs.
My Urban Worm Bag Is Dripping. What’s Going On?
Your Bag has been overfed or overwatered.
A properly-maintained Urban Worm Bag, or any worm bin for that matter, should not be draining an excess of water, also known as leachate.
How Can I Use My Worm Castings?
This is up to you!
But most people prefer to use worm castings and a soil amendment at a 10% substitution rate or apply it directly to the base of their plants as a top dressing. Note: This will not burn the plants.
You can also brew worm tea by mixing water and a compost tea bag of worm castings at roughly a 1% concentration and apply as a soil drench or a foliage spray using a handheld low-pressure sprayer. This is an incredibly economical way to use worm castings.
Can I Use the Urban Worm Bag Outside?
Technically, yes, but the worms won’t be able to tolerate extreme hot or cold temperatures and should be protected from direct exposure to sunlight and precipitation. It is highly recommended that the bin be kept indoors.
NOTE: The Urban Worm Bag’s frame MUST be kept on a level surface.
Won’t the Castings Just Fall Out?
Despite the heaviness of vermicompost, it is also slightly compacted towards the bottom of any worm bin and will experience “bridging” where the vermicompost doesn’t necessarily flow to the lowest point like water or dry sand.
This is how industrial-scale continuous flow vermicomposting systems can feature a mesh bottom that is four inches long by two inches wide, but yet the vermicompost does not fall through the mesh.
Can I Get the Owner’s Manual?
Absolutely! Click the image below!
Can I Use the Bag As Part of a Commercial Operation?
The short answer is “yes,” but the Urban Worm Bag is designed more for home use.
You could use several Urban Worm Bags to create “small batch”-style castings with different feedstocks to create different vermicompost (ie, fungal-dominant rather than bacterial), but a mid- to large-scale operation should be considering an industrial-level continuous flow-through system like the Wormgear CFT.
Why Doesn’t the Urban Worm Bag Have a Tap for Leachate Like the Worm Factory 360?
A properly maintained worm bin should not be producing leachate and adding a tap to the product would suggest that it should. Leachate is often anaerobic and/or pathogenic and presents a risk to your plants if you choose to treat them with it.
The Urban Worm Bag’s depth and breathable fabric construction reduces the likelihood of conditions that would result in leachate.