I got worms. Started my ranch and still have questions

Started my worm ranch in a Rubbermaid tote thanks to the great advise from RetiredRR and others. Everything seems to be okay. Plenty of 1/8" air holes around the top, about 2" from the bottom and several holes on the bottom for drainage. Drilled several larger holes in the center of the top.
Filled with B/W shredded newspaper, cardboard and just a couple of hands full of garden soil. Soaked and squeezed the newspaper before putting in. Added 60 euro nightcrawlers. Added a handful of pumpkin guts to a corner and the worms ate it up in 3 days.

What I've noticed is that when I open the lid there might be 2 or 3 worms up on the sides.
Is this normal?
I have a sprayer bottle of distilled water and try to keep an even moisture. I also had a jug of distilled water with an aquarium heater set for 68 degrees in a corner and it had evaporated about an inch in a week. If I leave the lid on for 3 days I get condensation build up.
Is it to humid/moist? or are they just out "Night crawling"?

Been going for about 2 weeks now

Also I read about using chicken laying mash as food. Anyone tried it?


Thanks:scratchhead

Chicken laying mash will mold if not properly applied. Very thin (sprinkled) on top. The laying mash should be moist when applied.
It will be consumed quickly, but if it is applied too thick, it will mold. Worms on the sides is not a problem. I'd lower the temp setting to about
50* so the possibility of freezing is minimized. Heat will encourage mold and condensation. Worms are hardy and while the European Night
Crawlers are more temperamental about heat, they will survive well. For a while you have products in the bedding that will generate some heat.
In a month, they should have most of the edible products in the bedding consumed. The worm castings will be concentrated on or near the bottom
of the bed. How much room at the top of the bedding do you have from the lid? Sounds like your cranked up and doing well.

68 is as low as it goes. It is about a 20" bin and I have at least 8" to the top. I just put a very little sprinkling of mash on top and sprayed it it the water bottle. What product will be generating heat through decomposition? Newspaper, cardboard, pumpkin guts? Pumpkin does not last long but do I need to worry about it molding? With just 60 worms I'm unsure how much to feed. It does take a little longer for them to eat the rind of the pumpkin. Is mold a bad thing? I wondered if it was good or bad because I was thinking decomposition was a good thing.

68* is warm, but it will get better with time, and yep, decomposition does generate heat. Pumpkin guts is a part of the process and all the other stuff
combined is generating some heat. Just the natural process of decomposition........kind of like a compost bed. When you speak of newspapers, just
a note, I was told the ink was not beneficial or good in any way for the worms. Mold is due to too much humidity, but light will fight the formation of
mold. Kind of like a mushroom bed does not do well with light on it. If you stopped feeding for one week, it would lower the temp of your bed. And, it
would allow the worms to feed off of the bedding material you have already placed in the bed. The soil you placed in the bed even has some food value
left, but will help the bedding to stay moist too. Note when the worms get on the sides.....as long as they look full and rounded, they are doing well,
but if they look dehydrated, they need moisture. Rain water is best and tap water is last. Sprinkling water over the mash works well. Just keep the food
source on the top of the bedding as much as possible. If you see mold building up, just scoop it off and throw it outside. Mold is a fungus and different
fungi has different effects. When you buy a container of worms at the bait store, the bedding is what the worms come in, and you never find mold in
your worm container. And lastly, you never learn all there is to know about raising worms. Trial and error is a part of the process.

If you see mold, you're feeding them too much. Only sprinkle on top what they'll eat in a couple of days. Chicken mash does work. I use Purina worm chow (yes there is such a thing) that I get at the feed store - they order it for me. I have also found out that when the worms crawl up the sides that they have too much moisture (water). Good luck.

I use rice bran and it seems to work pretty well for me. I also put some powdered egg shells in every now and then to moderate the PH and to give them some grit. But let me say this, when you think you have it all figured out, something will happen to let you know you don't. Good luck and keep trying. I sst out to raise enough worms so that I would not have to buy any next year. I feel that I have reached my goal now.

I feed my redworms yellow corn meal. Does the job.

Good info. Yall got some pix of the setups ?

Give them any vegetable scraps your kitchen generates. No meat. Feed them VERY lightly, if you only have 60 worms so far, but they breed fast.

Personally, I like using a block of peat moss as bedding, with a few handfulls of soil mixed in for bacteria, and a nice layer of damp shredded newspaper on top. When you feed them, pull back the newspaper, then cover the food with it.

IF you are getting mold, stop feeding for awhile. Chicken food is very concentrated, and will cook your worms, if you use too much. I lost my first batch of worms to chicken food. Household scraps worked much better. Eventually, I had three bins chock full of worms, and couldn't keep up with feeding them. When we started raising chickens, they got all of our scraps, and the worm bins eventually went into the garden. Chickens are WAY easier for composting purposes, as they eat EVERYTHING. And their poop is really good for the soil, and now we have worms all over our yard, so I guess it all worked out for me.

Good luck with your bed!

Cool I'd like to see some pictures of these setups :biggrin

Crawling up the sides is normal as they love to escape. Keep a tight lid on and dont worry about it. I have screen tops on mine and certain times they really want to escape and when I notice more than 1 or 3 on the sides, I turn on a light above the bin and that drives them back under the soil. A friend once told me they mostly do that because they are looking for food or to expand their range. He raised them commercially for years and his beds were huge 4'x8'x3' deep. He told me about the light and it does work but I just make sure I have tight fitting lids and dont worry about it.

Still no pictures :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BuckeyeKdog

Crawling up the sides is normal as they love to escape. Keep a tight lid on and dont worry about it. I have screen tops on mine and certain times they really want to escape and when I notice more than 1 or 3 on the sides, I turn on a light above the bin and that drives them back under the soil. A friend once told me they mostly do that because they are looking for food or to expand their range. He raised them commercially for years and his beds were huge 4'x8'x3' deep. He told me about the light and it does work but I just make sure I have tight fitting lids and dont worry about it.

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Guess I'm lucky, but mine never try to crawl out of the beds I have them in. And guessing both beds have a several thousand in there now. Have mine in these storage bins, there clear so I think that keeps them under the news paper. Plus I feed them a cup a corn meal ever 24 to 48 hours. Sterilite 70 Quart Easy Carry Storage Box- Spicy Lime, Set of 6 - Walmart.com But even while we were at the Gulf Coast for a week at Christmas. Did not find any in the basement when we got home. They were not as big as before we left. But they had eaten all the paper chips in there, and had fed them heavy the day we left.
Pete

The escape thing has a lot to do with species.

Red wgglers tend to stay put, and they eat and breed like crazy. Great composting worms.
European nightcrawlers really, really like to roam. You need to keep a light over them.
Carolina snake-worms are the same way. They like to eat leaves and lettuce instead of scraps.

Those are the ones I have experience with.

-TH

I bought a large styrofoam cooler from WallyWorld and put some air holes in the top center and moved it under the house this winter to keep from having to heat the outside shed. I used peat moss and water and it is doing well with the euro nightcrawlers. I use wetted newspaper and some garden weed stopper cloth on top. I bought some premixed food from D and S worm farm and fed them. I was wondering about them crawling up alongside the edges trying to get out also. I'm glad that's normal. I will open the cooler and let the sunlight in for a while just to let them get a little light and air.

Euros like cool temps. The crawl space might be the best place in the summertime also.

-Tony

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thill

The escape thing has a lot to do with species.

Red wgglers tend to stay put, and they eat and breed like crazy. Great composting worms.
European nightcrawlers really, really like to roam. You need to keep a light over them.
Carolina snake-worms are the same way. They like to eat leaves and lettuce instead of scraps.

Those are the ones I have experience with.

-TH

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Thanks for the info.
I always though the red wigglers were always small worms. But the way I feed mine, there as big as Canadian worms. But also full of the small ones right now. As they have went into survival mode. HAHA Its wild how when you slow feeding and water, they put out eggs like mad. And then your worms produce so fast its unreal. I have better luck with these catching fish then the bigger worms. Will be turning some of these into green worms and red colored worms soon. That makes them turn into super worms for the fish.
Pete

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ShilohRed

T Will be turning some of these into green worms and red colored worms soon. That makes them turn into super worms for the fish.
Pete

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What do you use to turn them red?
I've got some worm-glo for the green but I must be doing something wrong because it's not working well.

:ThumbsUp

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BuckeyeKdog

Crawling up the sides is normal as they love to escape. Keep a tight lid on and dont worry about it. I have screen tops on mine and certain times they really want to escape and when I notice more than 1 or 3 on the sides, I turn on a light above the bin and that drives them back under the soil. A friend once told me they mostly do that because they are looking for food or to expand their range. He raised them commercially for years and his beds were huge 4'x8'x3' deep. He told me about the light and it does work but I just make sure I have tight fitting lids and dont worry about it.

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I have a red wiggler container that I made out of old coolers as well as smaller insulated ones. I made the red worm container that I carry on the fishing banks out of a bowl with a clear lid. I attached a carrying handle on to it. Heat a small needle and put about 50 tiny air holes on the top and the sides. Use the same needle and put about seven holes on the bottom for drainage.Then I put a dollar tree night light on it. The light keeps the red wigglers where they belong. I feed mine strawberry bits, shredded paper, yellow corn meal or coffee grounds. There are always red wigglers ready to go fishing with me.

Attachment 261296

Attachment 261297

By the way....Retired RR posted these thoughte many years ago on the forum. I still refer to his thoughts. They might help someone else so I am quoting him here again. He was answering someone who want to raise red wigglers in an aquairium.


"Raised worms commercially, and sold worms starting other commercial worm farmers. Also sold boxed worms to bait stands to sell.
Your idea will work, but I have always used a simple light bulb to provide heat and the light bulb serves another purpose. The light
keeps the worms from escaping. That being said, if the lights go out, the worms will escape. Now, start the bedding shallow to begin
with. Only takes about 3" of bedding consisting of dried cow manure or horse manure. Cut the manure with 1/2 compost or peat.
If you use 2" of manure, finish with 1" of peat or compost. This will get you started. Yes, the light bulb will dry the bedding, so......
since you have a heating element, use it and fill the pvc with water and keep the bedding wet enough to keep the worms from
dehydrating. If you pick up a handful of bedding and can barely squeeze water from it, it is just about the right amount of moisture.
Start with only one container of worms. Worm of choice was the Hybrid Red Wiggler. The most hardy of all fishing worms. Never change
your bedding because you want the eggs to mature and hatch. Worm eggs look like okra seed and about the same size. There will be
@ 15 to 20 worms per egg, so they multiply rapidly. Feed all worms lettuce, cornbread scraps, green/wet horse or cow manure, and
due to ph factors, never place too many coffee grounds on the bedding. Never mix the food into the bed, always feed on top.
Soaked cardboard will sustain worms easier than any other type of food products, but..........it must be soaked until it is a mush.
Worms thrive on the glue product in cardboard (corrugated only) Solid cardboard will not serve any purpose. Moisture is the most
important issue you will face. In time you will notice the bedding will settle and the worms will actually eat the bedding. Add more
bedding to the top only, mixture as mentioned above. Anything you feed that is green will generate heat in your worm bed. It may
not seem like much, but it does provide some heat. You can have too hot of bed, so regulate as close as possible to 60-80 degrees.
Start small and by the end of the winter, you will have a full aquarium and many, many worms to last you all spring. Worms will work
the bedding from top (while feeding) all the way to the bottom. The moisture will stay on the bottom, and the bedding will always
be cooler on the bottom. That is why it is best not to mix the food into the bedding. Allow the worms to adjust to the temps they
like best. If you ever find worms on the sides of the glass, the bedding is too hot or too wet. If too wet, add dry material to the top
but do not mix into the bedding. Any questions, feel free to ask.
Oh, btw..........never separate two worm knotted together. they tie themselves in a knot to reproduce. All worms have bands around
the neck and this is where the egg comes from. All worms are bi, meaning all worms reproduce, therefore they multiply rapidly.
If anyone can dispute this info, please tell me how many hearts worms have............and I will believe you. No fair looking back to
previous posts."

Attachment 261306

By the way....Retired RR posted these thoughte many years ago on the forum. I still refer to his thoughts. They might help someone else so I am quoting him here again. He was answering someone who want to raise red wigglers in an aquairium.


"Raised worms commercially, and sold worms starting other commercial worm farmers. Also sold boxed worms to bait stands to sell.
Your idea will work, but I have always used a simple light bulb to provide heat and the light bulb serves another purpose. The light
keeps the worms from escaping. That being said, if the lights go out, the worms will escape. Now, start the bedding shallow to begin
with. Only takes about 3" of bedding consisting of dried cow manure or horse manure. Cut the manure with 1/2 compost or peat.
If you use 2" of manure, finish with 1" of peat or compost. This will get you started. Yes, the light bulb will dry the bedding, so......
since you have a heating element, use it and fill the pvc with water and keep the bedding wet enough to keep the worms from
dehydrating. If you pick up a handful of bedding and can barely squeeze water from it, it is just about the right amount of moisture.
Start with only one container of worms. Worm of choice was the Hybrid Red Wiggler. The most hardy of all fishing worms. Never change
your bedding because you want the eggs to mature and hatch. Worm eggs look like okra seed and about the same size. There will be
@ 15 to 20 worms per egg, so they multiply rapidly. Feed all worms lettuce, cornbread scraps, green/wet horse or cow manure, and
due to ph factors, never place too many coffee grounds on the bedding. Never mix the food into the bed, always feed on top.
Soaked cardboard will sustain worms easier than any other type of food products, but..........it must be soaked until it is a mush.
Worms thrive on the glue product in cardboard (corrugated only) Solid cardboard will not serve any purpose. Moisture is the most
important issue you will face. In time you will notice the bedding will settle and the worms will actually eat the bedding. Add more
bedding to the top only, mixture as mentioned above. Anything you feed that is green will generate heat in your worm bed. It may
not seem like much, but it does provide some heat. You can have too hot of bed, so regulate as close as possible to 60-80 degrees.
Start small and by the end of the winter, you will have a full aquarium and many, many worms to last you all spring. Worms will work
the bedding from top (while feeding) all the way to the bottom. The moisture will stay on the bottom, and the bedding will always
be cooler on the bottom. That is why it is best not to mix the food into the bedding. Allow the worms to adjust to the temps they
like best. If you ever find worms on the sides of the glass, the bedding is too hot or too wet. If too wet, add dry material to the top
but do not mix into the bedding. Any questions, feel free to ask.
Oh, btw..........never separate two worm knotted together. they tie themselves in a knot to reproduce. All worms have bands around
the neck and this is where the egg comes from. All worms are bi, meaning all worms reproduce, therefore they multiply rapidly.
If anyone can dispute this info, please tell me how many hearts worms have............and I will believe you. No fair looking back to
previous posts."

Attachment 261306