Worm Man's Worm Farm

Archive for the ‘Beneficial Insects’ Category

I get many questions about how often to water worm beds during throughout the year.

1. If you have a bed that has good drainage then I suggest watering daily if it isn’t raining
2. If it is cold and the ground is frozen I would only water weekly when the ground is not frozen. If you fed and watered your bed prior to the first freeze then leave the worms alone. They are fine.

3. Worm bins are a different story. Plastic bins or bins with poor drainage should not be watered until until they dry out a bit. If the bedding is damp but not wet and you can’t squeeze out a couple drops out of the worm bedding then it is time to water your worms.

If you are using big beds and want to grow commercially then watering daily is important for optimal growth.

I’ve compiled a list of facts based upon questions that I receive from people that stop in.

1.  How long until baby red worms become breeders?

Baby worms mature in about 4 to 6 weeks and live for about a year.   This means that you will have mature breeders about 6 weeks after your red worms hatch from the capsule.  You can see how this would exponentially grow your worm population.  The time frame and life expectancy is based upon a proper environment.

2. How many worms can come from 1000 worms?

We’ve heard all kinds of estimates about how many worms will come from 1000 worm and we get questions all the time from people worried that their worm population will explode and spill out of their compost bins.  This will never happen unless you want it to.  The carrying capacity of the bin will dictate the amount of worms your bin will sustain.  More food and space will mean more worms.  If you take 1000  red worms and move the breeders to a new bin every month it is possible to end up with roughly 1 million worms in about 2 years.  This is an estimate based on the very best worm husbandry procedures.    In a normally maintained bin with food added weekly you will never grow 1000 worms exponentially unless you move the breeders to fresh bins every month and care for the bins containing the babies.

3.  Can I use regular dirt from outside for my worm bin?

You cannot use regular dirt from outside for your red worm composting bin.  Red worms require a good bedding made from shredded paper, cardboard , peat moss or coconut fiber.  The food should be manure of food scraps.  The best bedding is a mixture of all of the items listed.  The bedding must be light weight and not compacted so that the worms can move around.  The bedding must also be able to have air flow so that anaerobic activity does not take over the bed.  Common dirt will not allow for any of this and your worms will soon die.  This is why red worms are not good for lawns and gardens on their own but their castings are fantastic.  A handful of dirt in the worm bin will help your red worms digest the food you provide so a little dirt won’t hurt.

That’s it for now.

Have some fun facts or questions?  Post them here or send them to me and I’ll add them here.  Thanks!

Ken

I get many questions about this or that type of manure and which can be used fresh and which one has to be aged first. This is a quick post to help sort that out.

Chicken Manure:
Chicken Manure should never be used fresh. Chicken manure can be acid, can heat and can cause issues like protein poisoning where the worms develop sores and wither, writhe around on the top of the bedding and die. This is cause by anaerobic bacteria in the bedding that causes acidic conditions. This same condition can happen if too much corn, bread or too little air is present in a bed.

Age chicken manure for a couple of months. Wet it down and let it heat up and when the heat drops it can be used on the beds in small patties to feed your red worms.

Horse Manure:
We use horse manure for our worm beds. We age most of it by mixing fresh manure with straw, leaves and shredded paper, wetting it down and mixing it as it heats up. When the straw is brittle and black we know it’s ready to feed our beds.

We do use small amounts of fresh horse manure to top feed our red worms, Euroworms and African Nightcrawlers. The African Night Crawlers love it. You can use fresh horse manure as food added to the top of the bed to feed but don’t mix it in. If it heats the results can kill your worms and worm capsules.

Rabbit Manure:
Rabbit manure is just about the best manure you can get for your worms. It is in a state that is ready for feeding and it is packed with nutrients that make the end product (sorry for the pun), the worm castings a potent natural fertilizer. You can age it if you wish or just mix it with peat at a ratio of 50% manure and 50% peat or coir.

Dog and Cat:
We do not recommend composting dog and cat poop. They feces from these animals can contain organisms that are harmful to Humans. Using your hands in a bin of this waste is disgusting and could harm you. Worms will eat dog and cat poop but do not use the castings for anything except maybe trees and bushes. You don’t want to use the castings from composted cat and dog poop for vegitables.

Human:
Human manure can also be composted. You should also not use it on vegetable or edible plants. There may still be organisms in the compost that can cause illness and there may be a build up of led and other chemicals in the compost that will be transferred to your food. If you have a composting toilet or need to compost Human manure then use it on trees and shrubs that will not be consumed by people or pets.

I hope this helps. Please post questions and I will answer them.

Thanks!
Ken

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Many Benefits of Making a Wormery (blisstree.com)

[ReviewAZON asin="B000MR6WRG" display="fullpost"]

[ReviewAZON asin="B000MRD5JO" display="fullpost"]