I started a worm farm

[Saltwater60]

I bought a pound of European nightcrawlers for ice fishing and since that’s delayed I decided to set them up to grow the worms out. I’m feeding them some fruit and veggie scraps and I have them in some recycled containers right now. They are growing a bit slow right now because they are in my basement and it’s about 55 degrees there now. I have seen about 6-7 agh casings that have hatched in about 3 weeks now. I’m sure there are some casings I haven’t seen as well.
I’m doing this for worm castings for my plants and to grow them out for fishing. I’m not expecting much but just looking to have some fun.
if it goes well I may buy a vertical growing container for them but I should ent gotten that far yet. My son seems interested since he’s doing the environmental studies program now as well.
Anyone have experience with this and have any pointers?

 

[Doc8404]

Yes.
don’t overfeed.
They like moisture.

 

[Tisto]

I feel obligated to do this.


Actually, I'm surprised nobody else did this yet.

 

[Acer-m14]

oh crap ..


raids the worm farm lol

 

[Acer-m14]

worm castings

shhhhh there top secret .. hydroponic food too .. maryjane lol

 

[Saltwater60]

Yes.
don’t overfeed.
They like moisture.

I feed a bit of banana or a few strawberry tops per week. If they get moldy I remove them. They eat a lot and pretty quickly. I have about 500 worms right now spread out over 3-4 containers. The 4th container has much less worms in it and is transportable for fishing. I put 3-4 small banana slices in each container, the smaller one gets a single slice.
As for the water I’m keeping them wet and in covered containers to keep the level constant. I did read they like to be on the wet side so I added a bit more water the other day.
I think I need to go back to just two containers. I split them more because they were all balled up But they seem to like that more. I’ll keep playing and see where it goes.

 

[Saltwater60]

I feel obligated to do this.


Actually, I'm surprised nobody else did this yet.

Well that’s frightening

 

[CNYJohn]

Do you wear bib overalls and a straw hat when worm farming?

 

[Doc8404]

I feed a bit of banana or a few strawberry tops per week. If they get moldy I remove them. They eat a lot and pretty quickly. I have about 500 worms right now spread out over 3-4 containers. The 4th container has much less worms in it and is transportable for fishing. I put 3-4 small banana slices in each container, the smaller one gets a single slice.
As for the water I’m keeping them wet and in covered containers to keep the level constant. I did read they like to be on the wet side so I added a bit more water the other day.
I think I need to go back to just two containers. I split them more because they were all balled up But they seem to like that more. I’ll keep playing and see where it goes.

i used a large styrofoam cooler for mine.
Had them from Jim’s Worm Farm.

Unfortunately I bought red wigglers expecting them to be big enough for pan fishing. They weren’t.

eventually just dumped them in the garden.

might try again with nightcrawlers since we buy so many.

it became another thing I would forget to do.

they loved avocado skin. They would ball up right inside.

 

[JohnD13]

Anything food scraps except for meat goes in the "farm", coffee grounds are good, sugary stuff doesn't get in there either. The "Product" gets any of there plants growing in good order. Cheap fertilizer.

 

[stokes]

I split them more because they were all balled up But they seem to like that more.

How do you know a worm "likes" something? Do they smile more? Do a happy worm dance?

 

[Defilade]

Do you wear bib overalls and a straw hat when worm farming?

Certainly isn't a suit. That's for pencil pushers!

 

[Doc8404]

How do you know a worm "likes" something? Do they smile more? Do a happy worm dance?

they cuddle the food with all their friends.
No joke.
Then again, I would just ask them and many days they would answer me.

 

[stokes]

they cuddle the food with all their friends.
No joke.
Then again, I would just ask them and many days they would answer me.

I assume they talk more when you smoke the dried worm feces?

 

[Saltwater60]

How do you know a worm "likes" something? Do they smile more? Do a happy worm dance?

They ball up and eat more when together. They do t mind being close to each other. It seems like being close together makes them stay higher up and eat more. Eating more would mean to mean they are happier and would breed more. I’m just guessing as I’ve been at it for 3-4 weeks now.

 

[Saltwater60]

Do you wear bib overalls and a straw hat when worm farming?

Negative.

 

[Saltwater60]

i used a large styrofoam cooler for mine.
Had them from Jim’s Worm Farm.

Unfortunately I bought red wigglers expecting them to be big enough for pan fishing. They weren’t.

eventually just dumped them in the garden.

might try again with nightcrawlers since we buy so many.

it became another thing I would forget to do.

they loved avocado skin. They would ball up right inside.

Check out european nightcrawlers they are less picky and fish love ‘em. They do t need to be refrigerated either.

 

[Tisto]

they cuddle the food with all their friends.
No joke.
Then again, I would just ask them and many days they would answer me.

How did you determine that they are cuddling the food with their friends ? It seems to me that it is much more loke a rugby scrum and everyone is trying to grab the ball.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

Where does one buy enough bulk worms to start a worm farm?

 

[Doc8404]

Where does one buy enough bulk worms to start a worm farm?

Jim’s worm farm.
or you can reach out to

Fishing Bait | | Fishing Bait For Sale | Shop Bait Online | Morgan's Bait

We provide fresh fishing bait including night crawlers and spikes to fisherman across the country. Our bait is packed for guaranteed freshness. Shop now!

morgansbait.com

 

[stokes]

Not sure, but I think they ball up like then when "mating"

 

[Deplorable Me]

I use to put expired milk & yogert in my tomato garden as compost. Burried it and in time worms would be massing on it. Good tomatoes and good worms.

 

[Saltwater60]

Where does one buy enough bulk worms to start a worm farm?

I bought mine from best baits on Amazon. You can buy direct but they didn’t have a live arrival guarantee if you bought directly from them so I bought on Amazon since on there it said they would guarantee them. I received them and sorted through the package and I found 6 dead worms out of about 500 so I was pleased. They don’t come with much bedding so you’d better have the stuff on hand.

 

[Saltwater60]

I use to put expired milk & yogert in my tomato garden as compost. Burried it and in time worms would be massing on it. Good tomatoes and good worms.

Worms are great for your garden and they make quick work of what you feed them.

 

[Doc8404]

Not sure, but I think they ball up like then when "mating"

Mine are celibate.

 

[Acer-m14]

Found a new Worm for ya ..

 

[S&W Fan]

As kids we raised worms for sale to locals and for fishing since we lived within walking distance of the Seneca River. We raised night-crawlers in styrofoam coolers in the basement. They loved all kinds of fruits and veggies and For the bedding we just used coffee grounds and shredded newspapers.That held the best amount of moisture that they like. As it composted down we just added more.

 

[Chris1389]

I would love to raise bloodworms but i never seen them for sale. They get huge and are very expensive to buy at the baitshops. Killer for striped bass an catfish. Guys really break their back gathering bloodworms. They wait for low tide an just start flipping rocks knee deep in muck.

 

[S&W Fan]

I’ve never purchased worms my entire life.(. 60 yrs. and counting) Even now when I want worms for fishing I just go out at night after a good rain fall with a low beam flashlight and pick all that I need. I can easily get a couple dozen or more in an hour .

 

[Saltwater60]

I’ve never purchased worms my entire life.(. 60 yrs. and counting) Even now when I want worms for fishing I just go out at night after a good rain fall with a low beam flashlight and pick all that I need. I can easily get a couple dozen or more in an hour .

There aren’t so many by me anymore. I used to do that as a kid but last few times I looked they are very sporadic. I wanted to get my youngest to do it with me as I used to have a blast grabbing them.
Coffee grounds are a bit too acidic for these worms so I ordered a ph meter becuase that’s about the only thing you need to monitor with them. Of course you have to feed them and water them but ph is the only trick to em.