Here’s a method of harvesting castings that’s much simpler and easier than any method you will likely read about anywhere else.

There are many ways to harvest castings, but what makes this method easy is that there’s no set-up, and it’s incorporated into the feeding process.   You can use this method after the bin is at least 1 year old, and you’re no longer adding bedding because the bin has been entirely converted to castings, and you’re burying the food scraps in the castings.

When I harvest castings, I do it just before feeding, not only because of the convenience of combining the tasks, but there’s another efficiency, as you will see.

First I note which zone is up next to be fed - by checking my notebook where I record feeding dates.  The idea is to harvest from an area where there are the fewest worms; the zone which was fed longest ago will be least attractive to the worms.

From this zone, I push aside the leaves exposing the castings, loosen them with a claw cultivator & remove the castings to a 5 gallon bucket kept next to the bin.  It works out nicely because in doing this, you’re also digging a feeding hole just where it’s needed.

I scoop up both hand fulls & let it sift thru my fingers, checking for worms before removing it. I crumble any clods so I don’t take any worms. There will be a few worms, and an occasional avocado pit that I toss aside.  And in a few minutes I have 2-3 gallons of castings.  My experience is that once down into the bottom half of the hole, there will be many worms, & this is where I stop harvesting.  It’s too time consuming to pick out lots of worms.  I then finish digging the feeding hole, mounding up the castings & worms to the side.

I only recently became curious about how much castings I take out.  Now I keep a 5 gallon Harvest Bucket near the bin,  record the date in my feeding notebook when it’s full,  then replace it with an empty bucket.  I have lids marked Harvesting and Using, to distinguish the two.  The lids also serve to preserve moisture.

It’s really not important to track which zones get harvested, or when.  Following this method will let you take out finished castings on a regular basis.  And when feeding the bin, if you dig down to the bottom, making a fairly clean hole, you’ll keep everything circulating nicely.

One more thought about harvesting:  I’m amazed at how long I can go without removing castings - worms condense down food scraps tremendously.  But at some point you’ll want the payoff of this great soil amendment - or you’ll need to because the bin’s getting filled up to the top.