Anyone grow worms?

[Spudgunr]

Just curious? I just took a bit of a census of my worms to see where I was. About weeks ago I ordered a pound of red wrigglers and a pound of european nightcrawlers. I wanted both to vermicompost as well as have some worms for fishing.

I just counted around 150-200 or so fishing size worms, and I didn't get them ALL out. I got all the easy to get ones, estimating around 50-65 percent. Basically, I have as many as I started with. Not surprising, I didn't really think I'd have hatched out and had full grown worms, just wanted to check. I really didn't see as many red wrigglers as I thought, and they haven't really seemed to grow much if any either.

I have my worms in the basement, which is pushing 50 degrees, so its definitely cool for them to grow optimally, but the wife will NOT want them upstairs I'm sure! I am considering separating out SOME of the euros into a smaller bin (around 1ft square or so) and taking them to work where I can keep a decent eye on them (a couple times per week) and where it'll be warmer than the basement.

So, anyone else into this hobby? If I can grow enough euros to keep me in worms for fishing I'll be more than happy. I would probably need around 200 a year. Buying by the pound would be cheaper than buying from the store, but I'm hoping I'll reproduce enough to cover that.

 

[Pinchaser]

Yes and no. We have 6 catalpa trees and they all produce pretty well later in the summer months. We haven't for years but we used to sell them locally to guys who wanted worms for fishing.

In your case, you'd likely be better off just to buy the worms when you need them.

 

[parson]

I have a small elevated garden that always yields a couple of dozen worms with a few turns of a small spade.

I tried the red wigglers in the basement a few years back, but through my neglect, they all perished!

 

[Spudgunr]

I have a small elevated garden that always yields a couple of dozen worms with a few turns of a small spade.

I tried the red wigglers in the basement a few years back, but through my neglect, they all perished!

Fortunately I did the same thing on a smaller scale than I have right now, I had them in a bowl that was too closed up. Also, no drain holes, mine all turned to mush because I had too much water. I have definitely learned a larger scale is MUCH easier because there is a lot more buffer, I can easily go a week without checking.

Lessons I've learned: Don't put too much food in. Less food is less growth. Too much food is rotting food and death.

Don't make it too wet. A drier end and a wetter end can let the worms go where they want. Too wet and they turn to mush or drown. Too dry and they start to dry up, but you have time to get them SOME moisture.

Have a light at the top of the bin! The red wrigglers all kept going to the top of the bin until I put a 15 watt bulb at the top of the bin AND a layer of dry brown paper (they don't like they dryness AND they don't like the light), that keeps them down where they belong. Before every day 5 would have escaped and a TON were chilling out at the rim of the lid trying to escape (not sure if it was to get oxygen or just because they wanted to move around)

 

[shawnba67]

I raised some in an old bath tub in the basement(make sure your basement is racoon proof or this is all for nothing). Worms love rabbit poo, the poo doesnt stink hardly at all but their ammonia ridden pee is horrible. They should grow good at 50 just need some time to do so.Farming takes time, they breed in the rain and wet so top has to occasionally be wet enough for them to get at it.

 

[bstewrat3]

I have been growing them in my elevated garden boxes involuntarily. I did a plant in a bag garden last year and dumped the bags at the end of the season and have been putting my rabbit manure, egg shells, shredded brown paper(toilet paper rolls), and straw on it all winter and turning the ground with a pitchfork everytime it has warmed up and have a lot of worms. I took one pitchfork full and counted them in a bucket and had around 150 assorted worms from 1-2" red worms to 8-9" nightcrawlers.

 

[Shootin'IN]

I have good fishing worms on my property my kids called them snakes, they are the dia. of your little finger & about 10" to 12" long.

 

[jbell_64]

My grandpa would always go out after a rain and pick up the nightcrawlers off the concrete drive. He kept them in 5 gallon buckets of soil and shredded newspaper in the shed. Toss in a few hunks of potato every so often and he seemed to always have plenty of worms to fish with.

 

[Spudgunr]

It sounds like a lot of you guys have easy pickings as far as worms go! Here in NWI 4" down is solid sand, my subdivision used to be sand dunes. The dirt we do have was imported and pretty much sucks. Also, I have very little organic matter available. The only trees I have are a few blue spruce trees. There is a giant oak tree, but it isn't in my yard (it is positioned so it provides no shade to my house whatsoever, but it does shade most of my yard for hours of the day making it hard to grow a garden).

I do see some worms after rains, but I am not sure they are thick enough to get on a hook. I WILL have to check again after some rains to be sure though. Since we don't have any sub-soil I am unlikely to get any night crawler type worms, likely only red wrigglers. Still... if I can get enough to fish with that would make me happy.

In the mean time, I've made a smaller worm bin to take some of the euro's to work and grow out. I think I saw a single egg capsule in there which may be euro, may be wriggler. I'll give it a few months and see where I'm at. I should count how many full size worms there are so I have a baseline.