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One of the many topics I see posted on various social media channels is the screening of worm castings.
Many people ask this question…”How do I screen worm castings?”
This question is asked so many times, it seems like most people feel it is a necessary thing to do so.
But do you really need to screen your worm castings?
Screening your worm castings may be a personal preference or a necessity, depending on what the purpose is.
People don’t seem to ask the appropriate question…”Do I need to screen my worm castings?”
Instead, they are given answers on how to screen them rather than if they need to screen them or not.
There is a big difference and could save you a lot of time and headache if you don’t need to screen them.
I think if people realize they might not have to screen their worm castings like everyone talks about, they may be a little more inclined to keep up with worm composting, or at least give it a try.
A lot of people do not have much time in their lives to add something else they may feel is a chore.
Worm composting is probably one of the easiest ways to compost once you figure out the appropriate method for yourself.
For me, the most time consuming part of worm composting is harvesting the worm castings…but that is a choice I have made for myself over the few years of worm composting.
It has got a lot more simple for me over the years once I figured out what was import to me.
A bigger part of that is due to all the reading I have done on how to harvest worm castings, which may have brain washed me a bit in thinking that you need to screen the worm castings.
The necessity of screening worm castings isn’t exactly completely true.
So, lets try to figure out what is your intentions with worm castings and see if you can find out what will work for you.
What does screening your worm castings do?
Screening your worm castings allows you to screen out all of the larger stuff that hasn’t broken down yet.
It can also help you separate the worms out from your castings.
Some people are also concerned about screening out the worm cocoons from their castings.
I personally have not found an easy way to screen out the cocoons from the worm castings and have chosen to leave them when they pass through the screen.
The cocoons are barely larger than the castings themselves and I have found that it would be very time consuming to make sure they have all been filtered out.
In most cases, it is not necessary anyways.
Don’t be fooled by those who say to use ⅛” mesh to screen out the cocoons, because some cocoons will still make it through. I have experienced this first hand.
Screening your worm castings will allow you to have a beautiful harvest, which would be great if you are looking for aesthetics or for selling.
How do you screen your worm castings?
When I screen my worm castings, which is most of the time, I use screens that are a diamond mesh of approximately ¼” and ⅛”, depending on how moist the worm bins are.
You do not need to spend a lot of money for a metal diamond mesh bin that costs $20-$30 when you can buy one on Amazon or your local office supply store for almost half the price. Get one here (Affiliate Link)
You can also make a custom sifter for a few bucks if you have a little bit of DIY ability. Check it out here and give it a try.
The holes are a little bigger than ⅛” and works great.
You can use this idea and make your own style to your liking.
Another that I have made that was fairly inexpensive is a trommel using a metal waste basket.
This one requires a little more DIY experience, but is still pretty easy to make and is fairly affordable.
The holes on this one are closer to ⅛” and creates a nice fine harvest of castings.
Who should be screening their worm castings?
If you are like me, you may want to screen your worm castings for aesthetics.
I prefer my castings to be fairly clean of larger chunks and fewer worms.
Having some worms in the sifted castings is perfectly fine for me if they are staying outside in the garden.
It just looks good and is easy to broadcast into the garden beds.
Those who plan on selling their worm castings should screen the castings for the same reasons I just mentioned
If your castings will be going in indoor potted plants, you may want to consider sifting them and pick the worms and cocoons out that make it through the sifter.
Do You Really Need to Screen Your Worm Castings?
If you are not selling your worm castings and just don’t want to take the extra time to screen them, then don’t.
It isn’t a big deal and is not a complete necessity.
You can open the lid of your worm bin (if you have a lid) and let the worms wiggle further down to escape from the light and then you scrap off the top layer of worm castings and use them as is.
It is simple, quick and perfectly fine to do.
The decision is completely up to you and depends on what you intend to do with the worm castings, worms, and cocoons.
You need to determine the outcome you desire.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself to determine if you need to screen your worm castings:
Are you going to be selling the worm castings? If so, then you may want to consider screening them to make them more appealing to your customer.
Do you need to remove the larger chunks that haven’t broken down yet because you are putting the castings in indoor potted plants? Then you will probably want to screen them to make them look good if you can’t pick out the chunks easily.
Do you want to screen them to separate the worms and cocoons from the worm castings? If they are going in your outdoor garden, why not leave a few in your castings? They will create a new home there and multiply, creating more castings right in your garden. They will probably be just fine in your indoor potted plants as well. The only benefit I see with separating the cocoons from the castings and leaving them in your bin is that it will allow the worms to multiply faster in your bin. In reality, this is a mute point if you have a healthy bin as they will multiply quickly compared to how often you would screen your castings.
Bottom Line
Do not make it too complicated and just use your castings!
Have fun doing it and don’t make it a chore.
