worm beds?

[mike rowden]

I was just wondering how many members have a worm bed or farm? I do and like the rewards I get in worms and fun.

[Derek Sutherland]

i think that would be a great way to save money. how would u start one?

[robert b reid]

its easy to do. just do what i did. i got myself 2-36gal rubbermaid tubs the blue ones and drilled holes in the bottom of it for drainage and on the sides and top for ventaultion. put some mess screen in the bottom of it. coverded it wih 2" of peat moss and soaked it down before adding the worms to it. and then mixed in the rest of it with cow manure and peat moss. and then added the worms. i feed mine evey saturday with yellow corn meal. some folks and chicken mash with it. and i check the moister content everyday to see if it needs water. also i know one guy who feeds his cheap dry dog food.. its better doing it this way and now i dont have to pay high prices for worms they were running around 4.00 bucks for the small container with the red tops.

[mike rowden]

I also started with a rubbermaid tub but now I have built one made from 1x12 pine. The boards in the floor allow drainage to prevent the worms from drowning. I too mixed my soil with peat moss and cow manure. BE SURE YOUR COW MANURE IS NOT FRESH. It must be seasoned or it will kill your worms. Also be careful not to over feed protein as it can kill your worms. Too much kitchen scraps will compost and the heat buildup will terminate your crawlers. I did not buy my worms but dug them from my property. They are accusttemened to you area and cost friendly. A healthy worm can lay up to 900 more worms per year.This is the main basics. Research the web to learn all you can before hand but do build a worm bed. It's very rewarding.

[Michael L Rogers]

Hi mike rowden,

I was wondering if you keep your worm bed's inside in the winter,like your home ?
and how offten do you chang thhe bedding.Also how you keep the bugs out.

[robert b reid]

well so far i havent had any problems with the bugs or ants. i did find a small black frog in one of them yesterday. i guess he is going after the skeeters they are awful were i have my bins located at. and when it turns winter here i will move them to the shed i have.

[mike rowden]

I'm in Mo. and I have to bring mine in for the winter. I still have to water but, on the warmer days I plan to leave a furniture flat under them and roll my bed out on the drive until the beds drip dry.As long as the bed stays above freezing you should be ok. Ideally the worms like to be between 40 & 90 degrees. Also you wont have to water as often as summer. I haven't had an insect problem if I bury any produce I apply. The worms love coffee and tea grounds but don't over do it for they raise the acidity/ p.h. of your soil.

[Billy Fason]

I have been raising my worms for several years and use a very large igloo ice chest, with a mixture of sorgham peat moss and a littl potting soil. I wet the peat down and let it soak for two days and then drained it until I could squeeze it and only a few drops would come out. Then I put in the worms and feed them a mixture of calcium, (ground fine), and dry worm food. They grow fast and large. My grandkids love digging their own worms and fishing with them in our pond. I have drilled holes in the bottom of the ice chest, sitting it on two by fours with a drain pan under it to catch excess water and monitor the water. I built a table with a flood light on it to allow me o put the dirt on the table and slowly remove layers of dirt. The worms avoid the light and go deeper until I have a large glob of worms after removing all the dirt. I then use these worm casings in my garden and it really works wonders for our plants. Though they are great for composting I refrain from giving them anything execpt the worm food prepared for them, and have never had a problem with insects, larvae, or other unwanteds in my bed. I never remove over half the casings at a time and replace what I remove with prepared peat moss. Has worked great for me with minimum time. No smells to deal with as it sits in my heated and cooled garage.
Raising worms. grankids, and my pond,......doesn't get any better than that.

[Billy Fason]

Let me try this again. To correct my previous post, my worms are in a 150 quart Coleman, not igloo, cooler with the lid kept closed. Numerous holes drilled in the lid and a "few" holes drilled in the bottom to allow excess water to drain.

[Jeremy R. Mayo]

Man yall got ya self one of them there BI-O-la-GE projects goin on there. I just throw my ole table scraps, beans, the crusty corn bread parts, burnted up chicken pcs, or the stuff thats been in the fridge for more than a month out there on a pile of leaves. Now I get momas and my neigbor throws out there to and it seems to be workin perrrrrty good. All the fish guts go into it to(GILLS CATS BASS etc.etc.).What I dont use for catfish chummin. Now I will admit I got a few other critters in that ole pile of leaves but it aint nuttin a 22 winchester caint handle. Guess you could say ima huntin over a baited field. EMMM them coons love the fish guts and well...... Lets just say its good for keepin the overpopUlation of wild kitty cats from bein a hassle. I giver a lil spray bout a couple shotgun lenths from pile bout every few weeks when im bored and got me a cold beer and nothin to do of that DIE- AZZZZ-Non creamer liquid stuff. Works perty good fer keepin all the ants away. Grass is kinda brown though so dont put it A-round yer perty flowers. We got a youngen that loves him some nanners so we make a trip out to the pile every day to throw our peeelins in it. Believe it or not. Them sweet ole nanner peels will make them ants slip up and fall cause what few get past that DIE-AZZZZ-non...... well they dont want nothin to do with them nanner peels. Its good fun for the youngen to go dig up some worms put em in his paint bucket (We use a paint bucket cause it comes with a handle) and go fishing.

Take ya youngens fishin!
Mayo

[Billy Fason]

I also keep a large pile of leaves moist during the summer and get a ton of night crawlers for my catfish. From time to time I will sprinkle corn meal on the leaves and turn them over. Night crawlers seem to love this. Talk about some lively critters, those night crawlers move like they are drinking chicory coffee.

[Billy Fason]

Have put my worms in my garage, (heated), however when I feed them I notice a fuzzy fungus growing on the feed. Any ideas why this is and what I can do to stop it?
Thank you

[Billy Fason]

Pretty simple really. Get some sorgham peat moss, wet it down until you can grab a handful of it, squeeze and just get a little water to come out. Don't want to drown your worms. Put the worms in and you can feed them corn meal, coffee grounds, (not to much coffee grounds as it will cause your soil to become acidic), Chicken feed, but not any with dewormer in it. There is also a worm feed you can use and I usually grind up some calcium for mine in the feed. You can also feed them things like lettuce, cabbage, etc. To harvest your worms is simple. Put a light above a table top, dig out some worm dirt and slowly take dirt off the top, the worms don't like light and will go to the bottom. When you finish you will have just a pile of worms once you take off the dirt. Worm casings are great for your garden too. I have mine in a 150 quart coleman cooler. Holes drilled in the top and a few holes in the bottom to drain water. Watch your soil and keep it most. Also you might want to keep the lid on as they will crawl out. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you want and I will do my best to answer them. I raise red wigglers and my grandkids love to fish with them.