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Worm Composting Bins and Garden Worm Tubes

Brian in San Antonio was kind enough to share some pictures of his worm tubes that he placed under the eves of his home and buried about 18″. He drilled several holes in the bottom 18″ buried portion of the pipe for drainage.

I just wanted to thank you for your help and encouragement starting worm composting. I went ahead and mixed 50-50 cow manure and peat moss in my tube and added a hand full of your red worms, and built a two bin system for the rest of the worms. two worm I added to my potted pineapple plant as an experiment. I figured I’d let the worms settle in for 3-7 days before adding vegetable mater. take a look at my pictures and let me know what you think. thanks again brother. BRIAN

Here are some more pics of his two bin system.

Above: drainage bin to catch excess moisture from worm composting bin.

Thanks to Brian in San Antonio for sharing your pics and ideas.

Let us know if you have any questions about composting w/ worms. Red Worms, European Nightcrawlers, and Alabama Jumpers available at TexasRedWorms.com for composting, gardening, and fishing. For more tips on what to do when you receive your worms check out our Care of Worms section.

Tags: add beneficial microbes to your soil, buy red worms, composting, diy worm bin, eisenia foetida, houston red worms, how to take care of your composting worms, make your own worm bed, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, raising red worms, red wigglers, red worm bin, red worm farming, red worm farming tips, red worms, red worms for sale in houston, red worms for sale in texas, san antonio red worms, save money with red worm farming, texas red worms, vermicomposting, vermiculture, worm composting set up, worm composting tips, worm tube, worms for sale in texas

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Categories Questions, Red Worms, RedWorm Farming Tips

Make your own worm pit.

25 Mar

Due to a lack of morning or afternoon sun, I had a difficult time growing anything in this flower bed. What began about three years ago as a compost pile would be converted into a worm pit.

First, I dug out some of the existing soil that was mostly clay and caliche (rock). I dug out about 18″ and began filling w/ organic matter. I began adding coffee grounds, horse and cow manure, grass clippings, leaves, and other vegetable waste. I didn’t add worms until about this time last year. Adding the worms at this point, gave the organic matter plenty of time to break down, and provide a rich environment for the worms. The worms have flourished and every handful yields a good many worms. I have continued to add compost material, and water as needed to keep the bed moist. Over the last month or so, the live oaks have given us a ton of leaves, and I have added them to the top layer as a mulch. You can use newspaper, hay, or other kinds of mulch to keep the worm bed from drying out. A layer of mulch will also keep the worms cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This particular worm pit I am raising Alabama Jumpers, but is suitable for other species, red worms, European nightcrawlers, and African nightcrawlers.

Tags: buy red worms, compost, composting, diy worm bin, eisenia foetida, houston red worms, make your own worm bed, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, outdoor worm pit, raising red worms, red wigglers, red worm farming, red worm farming tips, red worms, red worms for sale in houston, red worms for sale in texas, reduce your waste, san antonio red worms, texas red worms, texas worm farm, vermicompost, vermiculture, worm pit

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Categories Alabama Jumpers, Questions, RedWorm Farming Tips, Uncategorized

Harvesting Worm Castings w/ a Homemade Sifter

23 Mar

For large jobs of sifting worms from castings or compost I use my Texas Worm Harvester, but for smaller jobs I have built a small box sifter. With some scrap materials, and the left over 1/4 inch wire mesh I had I put together this sifter. I have also seen where other worm farmers use 1/8 inch screen, for my use I have found the 1/4 inch to do just fine. Separating worms from castings using this or the harvester method is the first step I take and removes most of the worms are course unprocessed organic matter. I do spend time picking out tiny worms and eggs, but losing a few is not a big deal. Here is a picture of a tiny hatchling that I found while harvesting castings. As you can see, or maybe not, these little guys are hard to find. This little thread of a worm was wiggling which made him easier to see.

Tags: add beneficial microbes to your soil, buy red worms, compost, composting, diy worm harvester, eisenia foetida, harvesting worm castings, houston red worms, make your own compost sifter, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, raising red worms, red wiggler eggs, red wigglers, red worm farming tips, red worms, red worms for sale in houston, red worms for sale in texas, san antonio red worms, save money with red worm farming, texas red worms, vermicompost, vermicomposting, vermiculture, worm bin composting, worm castings

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Categories Castings Harvester, Questions, RedWorm Farming Tips, Worm Castings

Compost Tea Time

18 Mar

This afternoon I began brewing up about 70 gallons of compost tea with worm castings I recently harvested. In about 12 hours my brew will be ready to apply to my plants and yard. If you are in the San Antonio area, and can pick up, I’ll be giving a gallon of actively aerated vermicompost tea away with a TexasRedWorm.com purchase. An application of compost tea will add life to your soil with beneficial micro organisms that will fight disease and pests, as well as, boost your plants growth. Active aeration prevents harmful anaerobic bacteria and other non-beneficial microbial activity. Applying compost tea within a few hours is best, after a few hours the brew begins to go anearobic.

Here’s a link for a recipe.

Be aware of store bought compost tea products claims that are sitting on the shelf. These products will not be aerobic and will not contain many of the benefits (beneficial microbes that require Oxygen) that are associated with actively aerated compost tea.

Tags: add beneficial microbes to your soil, buy red worms, compost, compost tea, composting, eisenia foetida, houston red worms, make your own compost tea, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, organic pest control, raising red worms, red wigglers, red worm farming, red worm farming tips, red worms, red worms for sale in houston, red worms for sale in texas, san antonio red worms, save money with red worm farming, texas red worms, vermicomposting, vermiculture, worm casting tea, worm tea

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Categories Compost Tea Party, Worm Castings

Texas Worm Harvester (part 4)

10 Mar

After several weeks and hundreds of pounds, I have made a few modifications to my worm harvester. The first thing I did was replace the 1/2 inch hardware cloth w/ 1/4 inch screen throughout. The 1/4 inch screen keeps the majority of the worms out of the catch tubs and sends most worms to the end bucket along w/ the larger sized material. I still have to spend some time picking through the worm castings for eggs and baby worms. Using this method I have been able to speed up the process of separating worms from castings considerably.

Another change I made was adding a scrap piece of particle board to the front end to make loading easier and to prevent back flow. The only other modification was to tweak the angle slightly. I have the end pieces bolted so that I can adjust the height, also I can add blocks underneath to change the level.

Tags: add beneficial microbes to your soil, buy red worms, compost, composting, composting with worms, diy worm harvester, eisenia foetida, harvesting compost, harvesting vermicompost, harvesting worm castings, houston red worms, organic fertilizer, organic gardening, raising red worms, red wigglers, red worm bin, red worm farming, red worm farming tips, red worms, red worms for sale in houston, red worms for sale in texas, san antonio red worms, save money with red worm farming, texas red worms, vermicomposting, vermiculture, worm bin composting

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Castings Harvester, Worm Castings

Composting made simple

26 Jan

“Winter” is a relative term, and your winter may be somewhat more harsh than ours in Texas. For more severe or colder winter composting it is possible to maintain an active outdoor compost pile. It froze last night in San Antonio, but my compost pile was a toasty 135F just 5″ from the top. Optimal temperatures for composting range from 135F-160F. The heat is generated from microbial activity that is breaking down the organic waste.

Composting is an easy and inexpensive way to produce your own natural fertilizer. You can purchase tumblers, composting bins, and containers designed especially for composting, or you can also build one yourself for free. I acquired for old wooden pallets from my friends at Murphy Tomatoes, and simply wired them together in a square.

There is a ton of science behind the composting process, and some folks really get into that. I like to keep things simple. After you decide whether to pile, or use a container (build or buy), there are 3 basic things you need. Compost is alive, and the organisms that are active in the process need Food, Air, and Water:

Food: I have added leaves, vegetable waste, horse and cow manure, and coffee grounds in layers.

Air: Periodically, mix up the composting material. The microbes need oxygen to work.

Water: Depending on how much rainfall you have, you will need to water your pile. If it’s dry add, water your compost.

If your compost pile is cool or inactive you can usually fix the problem by adding one or all of the three (food, water, air)

Tags: composting, composting tips, diy composting, easy composting, free fertilizer, make your own compost

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Categories Compost Tea Party

Earthworms in my compost bin

17 Jan

In San Antonio, the last week has been pretty chilly for us. Lows below freezing and highs in the 40s- and 50s.

The rain let up Sunday afternoon, and I slipped outside to feed my worms and turn the compost pile.

Interesting find. I feed my worms a combination of composted horse/cow manure, vegetable scraps, and coffee grounds from my compost bin and piles. Above is a picture of one of my compost bins where I found hundreds of tiny earthworms. Temperatures in a compost pile can reach upwards of 150 F, therefore usually too hot for worms. The freezing temperatures and rain have cooled things down, and have attracted hundreds of earth worms. The moisture and cool air have provided the right conditions to hatch some eggs.

Earthworms or European night crawlers are what you will find in your yard. They eat and break down organic matter in the ground. Depositing beneficial castings as they burrow through the soil, aerating and fertilizing along the way.

Tags: composting, earthworms, european nightcrawlers, vermicompost, vermiculture, worm food

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Categories Uncategorized

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