Raising Red Wriggler Worms
Want to live green? Like to fish? It might be time to start a worm bin. People who practice vermiculture, raise worms, can tell you that red wriggler worms are a dual-purpose worm. These worms are widely used as bait worms and can be purchased in small quantities at your local bait shop, or young red wrigglers can be purchased by the pound from professional worm farmer. Red wrigglers are also used as a compost worm to turn plant and vegetable waste into nutrient rich fertilizer.
There are several options for worm housing. While if you live in the country you may use a compost heap or trough, but most city residents choose a bin. A serviceable bin will have ventilation and drainage, but a good bin will also have a cover or screen of some sort to keep the worms from escaping (they can crawl right up the sides). There are really two choices when it comes to worm bins. You can buy one or you can make your own. Commercial bins come with their own instructions and are readily accessible. You can make your own though with an inexpensive clothes storage bin. You will need to drill holes toward the bottom to allow drainage, but do not drill them on the bottom surface or they may become blocked by the pressure of the bin on top. Instead, drill them along the sides at the bottom facing outwards. Some old screening can be placed over the top to make an effective cover. If you are keeping an indoor bin, you may want to put the container in a bigger container so that any drainage does not spill onto the floor.
I have always started worms with shredded paper bedding. Newsprint has the best absorbency and is easy to keep at the right dampness, but I have given red wrigglers all types of paper as bedding. You will want to include a small amount of sand or gritty earth. They use this to help them digest food. It does not need to be special sand, but it should be free of pesticides. The paper should be wet and then wrung out so that it is damp to the touch but not wet. The worms can eat the paper and will eventually turn it into castings which are used as fertilizer.
Red wrigglers are a very hardy worm, and can survive a wide range of temperatures, but you should protect them from freezing temperatures. They will die if their bedding is too wet or too dry. They should not be fed animal products. When you feed them vegetable waste put in on the top of the bin covering it slightly with bedding. You should never bury the food deeply. Red Wrigglers come close to the surface to eat, and if you bury the food to deeply, it may rot and poison the bin. If you feed your worms acidic vegetable waste, you should balance it by breaking up some eggshells in the bin. Eggshells are a base so don’t go overboard, but a few shells from some boiled eggs now and then will keep your worms happy and healthy.
Worms don’t need a lot of attention. They don’t need to eat every day. They do help reduce the amount of trash that we throw away by recycling waste fruits and veggies and releasing their nutrients back to the soil. They also make great bait, and once your worm bin is thriving you have a virtually limitless supply for fishing.
Categories: Raising Worms
