Raising Nightcrawlers and Red wigglers
Raising Nightcrawlers and Red Wigglers - This may be a lengthy read, but please take the time. Alot of people want to sell you books on the secrets to raising nightcrawlers and red wigglers. Before you buy any printed material, check your local library. Most material is 30-50 years old and these older books discuss raising earthworms outdoors. Save your money or be sure you're buying updated material. I hope the information here will be of some help. You want to know what the secret is? It's called "common sense." Plus, food with the proper vitamin, mineral, and protein content. If you can make a pot of coffee, there's no reason you can't successfully do this.

1) The basic worm bin should be about a 12 gallon plastic tote to start with for 1 lb of worms. You can also use a black mortar tub from Home Depot or Lowes. The tubs are 28"L x 20"W x 6" deep and cost about $5. Visit my Worm Blog to see photos. It's better to have more surface area than depth due to the oxygen needed by wigglers & nightcrawlers. These earthworms require more oxygen than a burrowing worm. I prefer the mortar tubs because of the surface area and the depth is only 6 inches. People are always throwing away things that could be used as a worm bin. DO NOT DRILL HOLES IN THE MORTAR TUBS! Drill some 1/4 inch holes in the tote bottom and 3/8 inch holes in the lid and within the top 3-4 inches of the bin lip to allow for ventilation. Instead of drilling holes in the lid, place the bin on the lid to catch any leachate that may exit the bin. A piece of cardboard works fine as a lid. If the nightcrawlers or wigglers start to crawl due to moisture, slide the lid off a little to allow some moisture to evaporate.
2) The bedding can be moist coconut coir, peat moss, newspaper, or a combination. As a beginner, I would use peat moss. Peat moss is acidic(about 3.0) by nature and should be neutralized prior to using by adding hardwood ashes or ashes from your grill. This is a powder as you know, and a little goes a long way. Coir is a 100% natural and renewable resource that has a high cellulose content. Coir is the coarse fibers extracted from the fibrous outer shell of the coconut. Peat moss has no nutritional value whatsoever. Any nutrients in peat were leached thousands of years ago while in the bog. Plus, peat is not a sustainable or renewable resource. If you use newspaper, do not use the shiney or coated paper and invest in an average paper shredder from wally world. Also, stick to the black and white print. The colored inks in the comics, etc. may contain chemicals harmful to the worms. If you know for a fact the colored ink is soy based, it's okay to use it. Cut the paper into 1 inch strips and shred. To moistened the coir, peat, or newspaper, get a 5 gallon bucket and put in the peat/paper and fill with water. Add the ashes to your peat at this time. Coir can expand 5 to 7 times in volume, so make sure you have a large enough container when soaking your coir. I usually let the paper soak for a few days. Peat can take longer(minimum of 48 hours) due to the amount of water peat fibers can absorb. You'll probably need to add water to the peat. Peat will tend to float. So, force the peat into the water with your hand and break up any chunks. You'll get the hang of it once you see what I'm talking about. Use rain water or filtered water if possible. If you use tap water, let it sit for 24 hrs. to allow the chlorine to evaporate out.
3) Drain the paper and squeeze any excess water from the peat. If you squeeze the peat and get a couple of drops, that's fine. The paper may be a little packed together so fluff the paper and peat when adding to the bin. Bedding should be at least 6 inches deep. The moisture content should be around 70-75%. The earthworms live in the top few inches. Throw in a handful or two of garden soil for grit for the worms to aid in digestion. Yep, they have a gizzard like a chicken. At this point, you can add or bury some food scraps to start decomposing.
4) Earthworms can be fed apples, pears, banana peels, strawberries, peaches, all melons, beans, cabbage, celery, carrots, cucumbers, all greens, corn, corncobs, squash, bread, coffee grounds with filter, and eggshells. Coffee is acidic, so feed sparingly. Fruits and vegetables with a high moisture content will increase the moisture in the worm bin. If your worms start to crawl because of this, leave the lid off the bin for a few days. Worms also love baked potatoes. Microwave the potato until done, and let it cool. Cut in half length wise, and place in the worm bin with the peeling up. I normally put the fruits and vegetables in a mini chopper. If you have a juicer, feed the left over pulp to the worms. Grind the eggshells in a coffee grinder. Calcium is VERY IMPORTANT for maximum cocoon production. Do not feed citrus(due to acidity), anything in the onion family, greasy foods, or meat products. Do not bury cooked oatmeal or any grain, cooked or not. It will sour. Earthworm feed should have a higher cellulose and carbohydrate content than protein content. If earthworms do not seem to gain weight and size on a particular feed, it is probably because they are not receiving enough nutrition from that feed. Try something different and monitor the earthworms. Rabbit feed is excellent earthworm feed, not to mention rabbit poop. Worms love rabbit manure. If you do feed your worms rabbit poop, be sure the rabbit has NOT been given any de-wormer. It will have an adverse effect on your worms(possibly death). Rabbit feed generally contains 15-20% protein and a large amount of convertible cellulose and all necessary vitamins and minerals. Alot of people will soak the rabbit feed, then feed it to the worms. You can mix the eggshells with the rabbit feed. Top feed only. The worms will go crazy for the stuff.
Please Note: Make sure that any purchased rabbit or poultry feed is non-medicated. Ask for non-medicated feed!
5) The average PH reading of the bed/bin should be between 6.5 to 7.0. 7.0 is neutral. Adding finely ground eggshells will help to maintain a neutral pH balance in your worm bin. Calcium carbonate(agricultural lime) can also be used to control acidity in bins/beds. Do not use hydrated lime as it will kill the worms. Dolomite(calcium magnesium carbonate) can be added to lower acidity and as a magnesium source. Acid is not only harmful to the worms, but invites pests, like red and white mites or white worms(Enchytraeus albidus), that thrive in acidic conditions. I have experienced both. You can get a ph meter from a garden center, or you can use litmus paper from a pharmacy. The pharmacist will help you. Just ask. I don't worry to much about the ph. Acid is caused, or created, by the bacteria that multiply in the bedding. Acid is a natural phenomenom that occurs when large masses of vegetable matter are brought together. Hardwood ash or ashes from your grill will reduce the acid level. Peat moss is acidic by nature and should be neutralized prior to using or adding to the worm bin. Aerate the bin on a regular basis. This prevents the bedding from becoming packed and enables oxygen to get into the bedding. Make sure no grain is turned into the bedding during aeration as the grain may tend to sour causing problems. If in doubt, let the worms consume all food prior to aerating the bin. It's better to have hungry worms than an acidic bin! The worms will let you know if something isn't right. This is a situation where you learn from the worms and not vice versa.
6) When you get your worms, they will probably be in a wodded up pile like a worm ball or something. Some people will tell you to "untangle" the worms. Wrong! Just place the worms and any bedding that came with them in the bin. The worms will know what to do. You may need to keep a light on overnight to drive the worms into the bedding. Sometimes worms will want to crawl when first put in their new environment, but settle down rather quickly.
7) Get Ready! If you started with 1000 breeder worms and had ideal conditions and temperatures that allowed continous breeding, you would have more than 1 1/4 million worms and cocoons within 1 year. That's if each worm lays only TWO cocoons per month and each cocoon only hatches TWO worms. That's alot of worms.
8) If you need dimensions or info for an outdoor worm bed, call or email me. If I'm busy, please leave a message.
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