Ive been trying to raise them for 2 years now this is what I have as average size is this normal. in picture is a #6 hook
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Ive been trying to raise them for 2 years now this is what I have as average size is this normal. in picture is a #6 hook
I s the size they should be seam small to me?Quote:
Originally Posted by no luck
Depends that can be big for them. But mine will get big as a #2 Pencin if I feed them right. What I do is sprinkle Cornmeal over the bed. Just dust the top, them sprinkle it down with water. Cover that up with news paper. Wetting the feed and covering it, causes them to feed more. Thus get bigger as they eat more when the feed is damp. But don't let it get wet if you have thick spots with the feed.
I let mine die out 2 weeks ago. In one containers with 12 gallons of bedding in each. I guess there was a few Thousand in each one. Or more like 5000+ in each. My back did not let me get down to the basement for a week. So they went into survival mode, laying eggs like crazy. Will clean the beds up next week, put the bedding in fresh. Start back watering and feeding these 2 beds, there full of pods or eggs. And after a few weeks they will both be solid worms again. Split them up and make 4 beds..
Again Wigglers will for the most part be just big enough for that #6 hook. But damp cornmeal will fatten the suckers up fast. Old Cotton gin by the school I went to in the early 70's. When they closed down the mill at night, for some reason where all that dust from the cotton seed blowed out on the ground. They wet it down and us boys would go the next am and get worms by the gallons. But only fat big worms if they dampened the stuff down. If it was left dry they did not like it near as much. And the worms were more like strands of hair.
Pete
I actually prefer to use that size red wiggler. Been raisiing my own for about 12 or more years. When they get to be that size I take them swimming in the local lake. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by no luck
Red wigglers don't get as large as Night Crawlers.
Checking ebay under compost supplies I found an ad close to me. 1/2 lb, 500 worms are $5 if I drive 12.4 miles or $16 shipped.
Need to find an old bath tub and sink it in the ground at a suitable location.
Lookin good
Use an old freezer, that will work great too
I saw a source called "uncle jims". Current pricing is $19.99 plus i think $7 shipping for 1000. Id like to buy around 1000 to start my culture.. Is that a good price??
Check ebay and amazon, compare prices for the best deal.
This time of year I can wet down an area, lay out plain cornmeal, a few cardboard layers, a few brick to hold them in place and start collecting worms in a week and few.
Cane I would just use sheet metal. Push it in the ground 18" or and you can place screen wire in the bottom. And as long as there's food and water. The worms will not leave it. But if your gone a week or so and they do leave. Just go back to feeding and watering. Worms come back home when its feeding time.Quote:
Originally Posted by canebreaker
I have a few thousand in 2 plastic totes in the basement. Let them die out first of the year. Started back water and food 2 weeks ago. Its solid worms again as then stressed they go into egg mode. And the eggs will not hatch until conditions are right again.
As a kid growing up on the farm. I always had more worms then I could use. Placed card board down with corn meal and the ground turned. Use a fork and most times dig 2 times. Have a few hundred nice worms.
Pete
When adding water.. Is chlorinated tap water okay (city water)? or do I need to use rain water or water from my bait tank?
Thanks! A listing for 1 pound (1200) just came up on ebay for $25 including shipping. Ordered them. I have my bin partially completed, just need to add some peat moss and I will be ready to start my culture!Quote:
Originally Posted by canebreaker
I guess I never did answer your question, just attempted to hijack your thread.Quote:
Originally Posted by no luck
Yours are about the size of the biggest ones in the tubs we get in bait shops around here, with a majority being half to 3/4 that size. So yes, you'res look very nice. I hope mine get that big as well! Once in a blue moon you can find euro nightcrawlers here sold under the name "Jumbo Red Worms", those really work good! I'm trying to perfect my bin with red wigglers then I plan to set up another for euro nightcrawlers!
?? Has anyone just dug a ditch (here in Ky my area hard red clay) and filled it with peat moss or whatever Wouldn't the worms stay in it as long has they had food? of course you would cover it up keep the sun off it.
I use rain water.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin22
I dug out an area 15" deep 30" wide 20 ft long on the north side of a metal garage on a slab. It was filled with a lot of different soils and compost. After a couple of rains it was filled with water. I didn't have any luck with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by farmboy555
I raise mine in rubbermaid plastic tote boxes. I have a 7 gallon and a three gallon. Both have about three inches of peat moss and potting soil in them. I keep them on the floor of my shop so the fire ants cannot find them. I keep a light on them and they stay in the boxes nicely. I water them with rain water when possible In the summer when it gets dry I do use tap water but I let it sit in a bucket fr a few days to let the chlorine evaporate out of it. I keep them nice a moist and feed them an alfalfa based horse pellet which they really seem to like. I need to start another tote as these are getting crowded. The advantage of using the totes is that I can take one with me when I go to the camp and have plenty of worms for my stay. About once ever two years I fix up a tote with new bedding and transfer the worms to it. Then I use the old castings with some of my plants. Just mix it in with the potting soil. It makes great fertilizer.
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. When the big coolers are filled with worms I just put the worms into the garden and use the old soil mixture on the outside flowers. I go fishing with those in the small carry containers.
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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."
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Those are some fat wigglers. Man, the wiggler you get out the store just don't compare. Even the European nightcrawlers from the store are barely the size of you red wigglers. Raising your own worms, you get bigger, healthier much more lively worms.