A Day with Worms

How do I get started raising worms?

Of course most of us have some knowledge of worms.  And I as many have long aspired to raise worms for sale and pleasure but was forever delaying the project until one day as I was helping a friend move from a cabin to a house, she asked if I would like a bin of Meal worms that she grew in a tub beneath her bed for lizard treats.  I accepted them and from then until now (over the span of 18 months) have consistently maintained some type of worm population here at the market.  And though I am not currently raising Meal worms, I do have a population of Red Wigglers as depicted in the photo.

What type of worm would be good to start with?

Having learned much on this subject from various sites and visitors and having handled the Meal, Earth, and Red Wiggler, I discovered that the latter is, for me, the easiest to manage because I could use a shallower bed of soil for better access compared to night crawlers which burrow deep though special care should be taking in the winter as the Reds prefer the top three inches of soil and are comfortable between 50 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit .  The Night Crawler species burrow down to six feet deep and has a better chance of surviving the permafrost.

What should I keep them in?

Currently I have my population in a metal bathtub (non insulated) and anticipate this winter's experience to develop the skills needed to maintain a year round colony.

A plastic or wooden container is a better choice than iron but if I must I will wrap my current bin in R11 insulation scraps that I have stored in the barn from our room addition to this house (converted shed) we built upon moving here some four years ago.

What do I feed them?

Beside the kitchen counter where we prepare our food I have a small bucket lined with lined with a plastic bag in which I dump the daily (choice) trimmings to be carried to the bin.  Acidic and dairy matter is not recommended.  I also use coffee grounds and mowed grass, and as you can see from the photo, rabbit pellets.
Though my endeavor has been successful to date, I do have much to learn and hope to share that with you as my experience develops.

State of December

We transferred the worms from the bathtub to an old refrigerator that sits face up and horizontal in a small building attached to the barn.  The bin is on blocks with the doors still attached and vented.
Concerned with below 40 degree temps, I stacked old straw from the chicken coop atop the worm bedding.
Checking the state of the worms days afterward I noticed that the worms had multiplied, were vigorous but all streaming along the bedding edges.  It was hot, very hot in the bin due to the decomposing of the straw and insulation of the fridge so I cleared a straw-free surface circle to allow a heat release so that the wigglers could move to a cooler spot if desired.
I also moistened the bedding after noticing that it was a little dry.  Later I will check to see if the worms are still pooling about the edges.
days afterwards I dumped the entire bin, piked and held most of the worms in a reserve bucket, chose the fine bedding and placed it back in the bin along with the worms.  A heat lamp is keeping them worm and the light from it prevents them from crawling out.  They are doing fine.
Since then I ordered 250 crickets, built a bin for them and am now spending time studying how best to manage them.
The bait shop evolves with knowledge and work.
Still thriving and growing, the worms are cozy in there heat-lamp warmed fridge bin.  The crickets are doing not as well.  Many were DOA, but I am struggling the elements with techniques learned day to day from web research and nature to bring them through the transition.  At least they are laying eggs in the moistened sand bed provided.

Christmas Past

The cold snow came suddenly, plunging the bait shop into the teen degrees yet the heat lamp buffers the chill and the worms are well.  

This morning, for moisture, I added a few gallons of snow to one side of the bin. Tomorrow I will sprinkle layer pellets across the soil surface for a protein boost.

After the Snow 2013

With the heat lamp running continuously 18" above the bin through the nights of below freezing temps, the soil has dried a time or two due to neglect but regardless the wigglers still thrive as the grass grows atop the soil.
From cold water collected from the barn-top snow melt, I moistened the straw-woven dirt today and added more veggie scraps to the surface where it is written that these worms feed most.

As they continue to grow larger and in numbers I toil with the market and farm in an attempt to add my part to the spiraling madness of life.

Life after Death

With the cold temps, constant heat lamp, and insufficient moisture management I placed the worms into a large plastic container with air holes in the lid and then moved the bin into our bedroom.  

What a mistake.  The gases released from the composting matter were moving out faster than the air could move in.  Realizing this almost too late I found a few alive and they are now outdoors once again in an attempt to repopulate.  Wish us luck...

Back to the Tub

The few worms saved from the gassed container were taken back to the bait shop and placed into their initial home with there neglected mates (that I found still thriving).  

After turning the soil and adding fresh chicken feed to the top layer, I moistened the bedding with fresh rain water that I collect in buckets placed along the ground below the barns roof edge.
It has been a struggle to date to manage these wigglers but in the process my hopes rise to new aspirations.
Hopefully in a few years I will be a supplier of local bait shops and neighboring fisherman.

For Sale (Barter)

A gentleman and his wife (both elderly and nice people) stopped by on their way to Foushee Lake that is just about one and a half miles from this market to get a bucket of Red Wigglers and a few fat Night Crawlers.
They were delighted of the quality and bait-shop experience and tried to give me money.  Instead I opted for a couple of bins of aged-cow manure that they promised to bring soon.
After washing our hands, I wished them success and off they happily went to the lake.

PS: I started a new worm tub today.  This one loaded with rabbit pellets collected from beneath the hutches. I am adding native worms to this one.

As always wish us luck and good day to you all as well.

Sale # 2

$3.00 for a healthy handful to a young man and his well-mannered two year old daughter.  On their way to the newly opened and nearby Foushee Lake, they stopped in by reference from the gentleman mentioned above who at some point will be bringing the horse manure.
With this season's second snow/ice storm upon the market today, the worms are thriving though moving slow.  

Of the four bins now populated, only one has a heat lamp over it.  

Heading down to the bait house in a few to layer the bin surfaces with a bit of chicken feed.

Method Change

Dale Miller (a former bait shop owner) stopped by the market last weekend.  He advised that I use organic peat moss for bedding and cornmeal for feed.
I have such a bed set up now and have placed several handfuls of worms from my other beds into this system.  The worms seem more vigorous there.
I will continue to manage each bed as Spring-time temps increase to determine which is the best method to use.  

The Peat Experience

Thus far I have learned that the worms enjoy the peat and that it is difficult to keep moist.  So to follow through on Mr. Millers' advice, I will soon layer the top with a sheet of cardboard and see how that performs.
By the way, I made another sale yesterday (a wholesome handful for $2 bucks).
Now that spring has arrived and the worms survived the winter with little assistance, I have high hopes of producing a great yield this warm season.  'Sure would be nice to become a supplier of bait shops and still have the pleasure of working with drop-in fishermen as well.
'Seems that the ladies are more interested in my worm dirt than the worms.  And I can understand why: using some my self on the plants in my window garden I immediately witnessed the plants react (a cactus I collected from the local rock quarry has nearly doubled in size in just two weeks.  As for the worm juice that I collect after the water drains through the warm bedding, well the plants love that as well.
Now the sun is rising and it is April 15th, so I better get to tending the big veggie garden we are putting in that is surrounded by a 70" tall electric fence that has to be accessed through the bait shop (gonna be plenty of green clippings for our wigglers).

Spring Wigglers

With winter past and the temps on the rise, the red worms are lively and have multiplied.
Not one, but four tubs of worms now thrive;
all cozy and eating, and wiggling inside:
the bait barn.  I need a sign

out by the highway to advertise, "Red worms for sale, please stop by."

Summer Bounty

Here it is mid-June and the Reds are still wiggling.  I have not spent a great deal of time managing them other than keeping them moist and feeding them veggie scraps plus corn meal from time to time.
I have not advertised worms-for-sale much but have sold a few by word of mouth.
The best reward to date from my efforts is the excellent soil produced from the worm castings.  I have harvested a few pounds of it for personal use and have also had others request a few gallons of the vermi-tea collected from a drain beneath my largest bin (the bath tub).
Has it been easy keeping my stock alive from the initial 2000 that I started with some fifteen months ago?  Yes, it has been far less of a chore than what I read into, as I have not had to place a lid on any of the bins in over a year.  Bedding, food, and temperature is the key; with temperature being the least concern.
Adjacent the bait shop is now a hardy garden from which all the composting-bedding needed is collected as depicted in the embedded picture below.  The door to the bait shop can be seen open at the end of the barn.
I do hope to start raising minnows soon but not until I can finance the endeavor from the RV park revenue generated whenever I can afford to start that part of Blue Fly Market.

Fishing With Reds

Went fishing at Lake Charles yesterday and used Reds for the first time.  Of the three of us fishing I caught the most by far: Eleven to five and four.  I used Red Worms and the other two fishermen used crickets and Catalpa worms.

Worms Galore (Bin #1)

With little care the Reds thrive.  Soon I will begin sorting, separating, collecting castings, and hopefully selling on a regular basis.

Bait Boxes

Having recently ordered fifty plastic perforated bait cups that were delivered yesterday, I filled one with twenty five worms, dated it, and placed it in our refrigerator to test how long they will keep.  I am hoping for at least a two-week survival rate and if so I will place several in that order on standby for sales at $1.00 per cup of 25.  In the mean time I will ready a roadside sign.  Wish me luck...