This week we provided Texas Jumpers and set up bins at the Houston Zoo. There is no shortage of worm food and the kids visiting will soon get to see some Texas Red Worms “Texas Jumpers” up close. With the Houston heat, we decided Texas Jumpers would be the best choice for their location and set up. Thanks Dustin and Elyssa for the opportunity it’s an honor to have our worms at the Houston Zoo.
If you will be in the San Antonio area May 2nd make plans to come join us.
1. Jumpers are easy to care for. They can be bin raised just like other species (red worm and European nightcrawler). The added advantage to these worms is that they can and do thrive in ground set ups like raised beds or planters.
2. Strength- These fellas can handle tougher soil types like clay and sand better than other worms. This strength makes them the only candidate most worm farmers would dare add directly to the garden.
3. They can take the heat. In Texas I have to keep my reds and euros cool in the summer and sometimes a shady spot just isn’t cool enough. They prefer the A/C and sometimes that is not an option. My Jumpers are mainly kept in raised beds in the shade. With temps over 100 degrees F throughout the summer, Jumpers continue to reproduce when other worms shut down.
4. Versatile- Their strength and tolerance to heat make them more suitable for hotter summers. Jumpers ability to be outside in raised beds or bins gives you the flexibility to try all sorts of set ups with greater success.
5. Performance- Over my years of raising Texas Jumpers they have endured through some cold winters (for Texas) and some hot/dry summers. Although the spring and fall can yield loads of eggs from the red worms and European nightcrawlers, the entire year production champion (in my experience) is the Jumper.
Join TexasRedWorms.com at 10:30am in Boerne, TX to learn more about worms.
Early this week we welcomed 2.5 inches of rain providing some badly needed moisture to my compost piles and inground worm beds. The micro organisms that break down organic waste in compost piles need food, air, and water. In South Texas the missing component of that equation is usually H2O, and with a steady shower over the last couple of days we are back in business. I get asked often “why is my compost not breaking down?” and the answer is usually a lack of water. Keep your piles mixed to increase Oxygen, keep them watered if lacking in rain, and add Nitrogen bearing organic matter like grass clippings and manure to reactivate a pile. Use these winter months to get ready for spring planting and keep those compost piles fed, turned, and moist.
My Jumpers love this time of year and can be at their peak performance. Cooler temperatures and added moisture stimulate hatching of eggs and adults feeding and breeding in top layers of compost that at other times of the year maybe too hot or dry.
I had been thinking of building a feed trough style worm bed for some time. I found some plastic 55 gallon drums on Craigslist. My dad had some pine 2X4s cut from his saw mill, and we were in business. We began by cutting the 55 gallon plastic drums in half w/ a skill saw.
Materials: (2X4s, plastic 55 gallon drums, 3 inch wood screws, roofing screws, Thompson’s water seal)
I have been experimenting for a little over a year with the Alabama Jumper, sometimes referred to as the Georgia Jumper, or in this case Texas Jumper. The scientific name of which being Amynthas agrestis. Now that that’s out of the way, this Jumper isn’t even originally from Alabama? As a matter of fact, it is believed to hail from Asia. How about that? This aggressive and super strong worm can and will jump right out of your hand. This super strength makes it a powerful tunneler, and allows it to burrow through some of the hardest packed clay soil. This worm is a hot item, and is in high demand by gardeners everywhere for these reasons. European nightcrawlers, African nightcrawlers, and Red Worms, are all great, but the Alabama Jumper can go to work in clay and sand unlike the other varieties. I have experienced it’s power first hand, and been amazed at it’s strength and ability to work through some hard soil. In San Antonio, we’ve got some pretty tough clay, and I have seen these Jumpers perform mightily in it. I too have read all the hype about this worm, and it is the real deal. The Alabama Jumper is great for people that want a worm to go to work in their soil, garden, or flowerbeds. For composting, producing castings, or fishing I would recommend the others.
I have been trying various methods of raising the Alabama Jumper for over a year, and have had success with raising them in bins, as well as, worm beds or pits. They are reproducing in both environments, and I have a limited amount available for sale. Call for availability.
Texas Jumpers 