We were so pleased with the donation recently from TexasJumpers. We live in a Senior Residence where several people have started a Community Garden. When I asked them if they could use the best compost in the world, they looked forward to it eagerly . Now after just a week, they are seeing the difference. Thank you Kyle!
You are welcome! We are happy to help.
One of the ways I raise my worms is in 100 gallon stock tanks. My preference is to start with cinder blocks and a pallet on top of that. This elevates and makes for less bending over when feeding or harvesting. The lid doesn’t have to be elaborate and can be a piece of plywood laid over the top of your bin. For a lid like the one pictured, you will want to use the metal instead of the plastic version. The reason- heat is trapped by the plastic and raises the temps in the hotter months. The metal does a far better job of reflecting the heat. There are lots of ways to skin this cat and I encourage you to put you own spin on it. Look for things you have access to already and use what you already have laying around. You’ll be surprised what you can turn into a worm bed.
Stock Tank Worm Bed
TexasRedWorms will be in Boerne, TX this Saturday the 19th at 33 Herff Road, Boerne, TX. We will be there to talk about composting with worms, setting up, and other how to information.
We’ll be there from 10am-11am Saturday morning.
Solaris Ag Base from Houston, TX is producing worm castings from juice bars all over the Houston area. Anson Woods and his team are expanding their operation into a warehouse facility. Worm castings (black gold) the perfect fertilizer produced from nutrient dense juice pulp and coffee grounds by Anson’s worms. Instead of filling up dumpsters, this waste is being used to produce soil enriching and life giving worm castings packed with pH neutral and beneficial micro-organisms.
Congrats to Anson and Solaris Ag Base on their continued success, and thank you for choosing Texas Red Worms as your composting worm supplier.
Take a look at this pic from Anson’s original worm farm. What a gorgeous set up!
Thanks to Michael in Cypress, TX for sharing the pictures of his rabbit hutch and worm bed design. Great work and thanks for sending.
Red Mites killing a red worm
Red mites on watermelon rind.
I’ve encountered these red devils before but not at this level. Unlike most visitors in your worm bin, these guys are parasites to worms. (see top picture). Red mites flourish and can become a problem in a bin that is too moist, has too much food, or too acidic. Don’t panic if you have a few mites, but a bin that is has been neglected and unkept in these conditions can pose a problem. My outbreak was caused by overfeeding before we headed out for our July 4th vacation, and was left to fester for more than a week. Getting rid of a red mite infestation can be a challenge.
I’ve tried several methods and have shown below a little experiment I began today. I scraped the top of some red mite infected bins and partially filled some small shoebox containers. From Left to Right in pic below 1. control 2. diatomaceous earth 3. watermelon rind 4. agricultural lime.
1. The control bin will be left open and scraped from time to time to see how long it takes to get rid of the red mites.
2. Diatomaceous Earth has been applied to top of #2. DE needs to be kept dry in order for it to stick to bugs and make tiny cuts that will dry them out and kill them off.
3. Watermelon rind placed on top to attract red mites and discard. I will replace with a new one and repeat and see how this does.
4. Ag Lime dusted on top. Ag lime is alkaline and will hopefully bring the acidic bedding closer to neutral. The high alkalinity concentrated on the top should burn up the red mites and not harm the worms.
4 methods for getting rid of red mites
These methods have been used before and should all work. I just kind of wanted to see them head to head. We’ll see how this turns out. The good news is most of the red mites have been dismissed without harming too many of my bins and worms. Additionally, I learned a valuable lesson about overfeeding, and next time I’ll use more composted manure and less of my worm chow mix. My mistakes were 1. overfeeding 2. too wet 3. too much peat moss and too little composted manure (which made my bedding a little acidic) 4. My infected bins were unattended for a week. Had I caught them sooner it wouldn’t have been much of an issue.
Spring is here and the worms are hungry. Cocoons, and baby worms are appearing by the minute. Here are a couple of pics from this week’s castings harvest.
From Mike in San Antonio:
“Bro thanks a million!!! Very excited about my worms. Almost turned around and bought more! LOL. Here are some pix.
Very excited about my Garden.”
Thanks for sharing!
The Spring Fever Festival is Saturday March 23, 2013 at 33 Herff Road, Boerne TX 78006. Kyle from Texas Red Worms will be speaking at 11 a.m. I will be presenting basics of worm composting and answering questions on worm farming. I look forward to seeing you there.
Upcoming events include an April 16th appearance in San Antonio with Green Spaces Alliance. Stay tuned for more details.
Earthworms have a couple of jobs, and depending on your goals you will need to decide what worm is best for you. Earthworms feed on decaying organic matter and produce castings. Worm castings (worm poop) is nitrogen rich, pH balanced, humous that is ready to be absorbed by plants roots immediately. Earthworms are the intestines of the soil and are top soil producers. Beyond soil production, their other job is to tunnel through the ground aerating and mixing the soil as they work. Earthworms are also the “plow of the soil” mixing layers of earth while they eat, tunnel, and deposit their castings. These tunnels allow oxygen and water to reach roots of plants and break up compacted soil for greater root penetration and growth.
Red Worms (eisenia foteida) If your goal is composting and worm casting production, this prolific producer is your worm. Well suited for bin raising, not a candidate for adding directly to soil.
European Nightcrawler (eisenia hortensis) Larger worm that is an excellent for composting and fishing. Well suited for bin raising, not a candidate for adding directly to soil.
Alabama Jumper (amynthas gracilis) Large worm that is a powerful aerator. Strong worm that is ideal for adding to garden or soil and can burrow deep in hard packed soil. These worms are deep divers and do a great job of mixing layers of the soil, can be bin raised but are better suited for the soil.
Texas Jumpers 