Worm Man's Worm Farm

Posts Tagged ‘Compost’

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

San Francisco has enacted a new law that is stirring up some you know what. Citizens of San Francisco must compost certain items or face fines. This is the first mandatory composting law that I’ve ever heard of.

Here is the story.

I don’t know how I feel about this. I believe in freedom and I believe in personal responsibility. I believe that if you don’t practice personal responsibility you will relinquish your freedoms a little bit at a time. The government must step in to fill the void left when people become irresponsible. I’d love to see everyone composting. Not just because I am a worm farmer but because it is great way to conserve resources and create natural fertilizer that beats the pants off of chemicals.

How do you feel about this? I’d Like to hear your thoughts.
Ken

Moles can be a huge problem in worm beds and gardens. The burrow into worm beds and eat worms. They will make a home in the worm bed in colder climates and ride out the winter with a smörgåsbord of worms.

Prevention is the way to go and I have a post(Mole Prevention Post) about preventing moles in your worm beds. This post focuses only on getting rid of them.

How do you know you have moles in your worm bed? You may have seen them. That could be why you are here. They will scare you half to death if you are digging through your worm bed and all of a sudden a rodent springs out. If you don’t drop over from fright you must take action.

1. Disturb the bedding. Turn the entire bed.
2. If you see a mole try to catch it. If you can catch it and it escapes then turn the entire bed and make sure there aren’t other moles.
3. If you catch a mole. (Don’t use your hands. Yuck!) Move him far away or kill him/her.
4. If you have a recurring problem you may want to use a mole trap or poison. Be very careful that you do not poison your worm bedding with chemical poisons. You will poison your worms and yourself if you are using the bedding around food plants.
5. Seal around the beds with hardware cloth and be sure to use something under the bed to stop the moles from coming up.

I recommend catch and release of moles using traps. I also think that building beds on top of industrial landscaping fabric is a cost effect and mole proof way of protecting your beds and worms from pesky moles.

There are some products that you can check out that can help. Please remember that poison should be a last resort and you should check with local officials to see if poison is even lawful to use in your are.