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What do you guys use for your worm beds? What is the best food? I have mine in a large tote from Wally World. I been feeding chicken scratch and leftover bread with some spoiling fruit/veggies. I plan on changing my bed and maybe making bigger, but not sure what I want to do yet. Also would like to maintain a little bigger worms to hook better. Any ideas appreciated. By the way I have red worms.
I use 10 gallon Rubermaid bins from WalMart. I use a about a 4 inch deep mixture of peat moss and cheap potting soil.
I feed mine corn meal and water them with rain water that I collect. I keep them on the floor of my shop and have a light shining on them to keep them in the bed. I feed mine once a week or so. About once a year I change out as much bedding as I can and use the old bedding feeding in my garden and pot plants.
I have more worms that I can ever use .
This is shipahoy41 and I want to spend a moment and tell you the benefits of raising your own red wiggler worms so you can take your children and grandchildren Bluegill fishing whenever they want and not have to go to the bait store and buy pricey worms.. My worm bed(s) were made out of two large plastic laundry totes from Walmart. Cut some drainage holes in them and cover and seal the holes with really fine wire screening to keep the worms in. I use a mix of shredded newspaper, garden soil and manure for bedding. Use newspaper that has been torn into strips and moistened. Check the worm bed every two or three weeks and change paper if it smells sour. Remove any dead or sickly worms you see. You'll find that eventually the red wigglers actually eat the paper. Give the worms something to eat about every five days. . I usually just feed mine yellow corn meal, more shredded damp newspaper, or fruit scraps (bananas, pears or grapes) and they are happy as a lark. I put a little in the corners so they can find it and cover the food back up with soil. They need the soil damp to help with the reproduction process, but not overly wet. Be sure to have a secure lid with tiny air holes on the worm bed and have a light shining on them to keep them in the bed. Red wigglers shy away from light. They need cool conditions, not cold. I feed mine shredded paper and yellow corn meal. If they have been really good they get a treat of slices of apple or pears once a month.
There is a ton of great information in this thread from the past about worm tips. Here is the link.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/panfi...-raising-tips/
Ship, how can you tell that your worms have been "really good"? :biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by shipahoy41
I have raised red worms for years and have used fruit and vegetable scraps for food and the worms have done well. Recently, I added several trash bags of semi dry cow manure that I have picked up from the pasture. The worms have gone hog wild over this addition. My container is a 15 foot freezer that is housed in the shed outside. If a red worm could do a happy dance they would:highfive. I do not have to do anything except make sure that I keep the manure moist. These worms numbers have exploded in the freezer. There is no noticeable odor. All it takes is a friendly farmer, who has cattle, that does not mind you picking up some of the paddies. A few fillets back to him probably does not hurt either. What farmer can refuse that offer? I use a hand rake gardening tool to gently roll back the manure to check on the worms and start picking the plump worms.
Everything above is right on track. Vary them slightly to figure out what works best for you. I started out with regular red worms, but recently switch over to European nightcrawlers because my 8 year old wants to eventually stressor selling them and that's what all the bait stores sell. I use horse and cow manure from friends at work that just want to get rid of it. Keeping the moister is the only thing you really have to worry about since worms breath through their skin.
When they catch fish my friend. Those who smell like coffee have done better than those that smell like apples. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by RMGeorge