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Outdoor Red Worm Farm

Red Worm farming is fun, easy, and helps you convert food wastes into rich natural fertilizer for your yard, plants, and garden. Red worms are prolific and with time a handful of worms will grow exponentially. I have build worm beds, pits, containers of all shapes and sizes and this weekend tried something new. We had an old chicken coop that I converted into an outdoor bed.

This old chicken coop is a great spot for a worm bed. Protected from direct sun and wind with a sandy soil base that will ensure good drainage. I tilled up an area of about 10′ X 10′ and added a few loads of aged cow and horse manure to about 6″ depth. Next, I ran a soaker hose over the bed and wet down the manure. Last, I added about 2lbs. of bed run worms to start.

Things to consider when preparing a worm bed:

Protection from sun and extreme temperatures – (tin roof and three sided wall, and at least 6 inches of bedding)

Moisture – Add depth of bedding and provide adequate watering. (6″ of aged manure and soaker hose, can cover with old carpet, plywood, or tarp)

Drainage – (sandy soil or sand base will keep water from collecting and drowning worms)

Bedding and Food- (partially broken down compost and aged manure are excellent for red worms)

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Categories RedWorm Farming Tips

Compost tea benefits: Get rid of termites, fleas, ticks, chiggers, and more naturally.

10 Oct

This weekend I took a visit to East Texas to work on some of our worm beds. While loading manure from some piles to start a new worm bed, I noticed some termites in some fence posts, as well as, some fire ant mounds. I have had success with compost tea applications before in controlling ants, grubs, and fleas. So I started a small batch of tea with finished compost and some redworm castings. I also did a little research to see if anyone had had any experience with termites and found this article. Microbes like nematodes and bacteria can be amplified with a quality finished compost and brewed into actively aerated compost tea. Beneficial predators that can control and eliminate many pests. So if you have a roach, ant, flea, tick, grub, cigger, termite or other problem chances are actively aerated compost tea can come to the rescue.

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Categories Compost Tea Party

Fish, Chicken, and Red Wigglers

15 Sep

The main attraction for red worms is composting. Red worms are also popular as bait for fishing, and as food for your pets. Yes, feeding your cichlids (aquarium fish), bearded dragons, and other reptiles can benefit from your red wigglers. They are prolific and can save pet lovers frequent trips to the pet store to buy food for pets.

A red worm farm is a natural choice to compliment your chicken farm. Worms will flourish with the chicken litter and everyone knows chicken love to eat worms. Feed prices are going through the roof, and supplementing red worms in your egg layers’ diet can benefit your birds and pocket.

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Categories Uncategorized

Red worm reproduction.

8 Sep

A happy and healthy worm bin produces lots and lots of worms. Red worms can reproduce quickly laying an egg sac or cocoon every 7-8 days. Each egg sac can produce 3-20 hatchlings who reach sexual maturity in two months with a lifespan of up to 15 years! A healthy red worm population can double in a hurry.

Keeping a happy worm bin means the right amount of food (not overfeeding). The right amount of moisture– moist but not wet (wrung out sponge). The right temperature, and the right pH. If your bin is too acidic add some crushed egg shells to balance.

Raising red worms is a fun and easy way to recycle, compost food waste. With a little practice and seeing how your worms respond, you will be raising lots of red worms in no time.

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Categories Red Worm Reproduction, RedWorm Farming Tips

Compost tea results

16 Aug

I had mentioned in my previous post that positive indicator for my compost tea application was to rid a section of our hay patch of ants. The spot of concern has been infested for a few years with “town ants” or Texas leaf cutter ants. Town ant hills were sprinkled throughout a 20 yard X 20 yard area. The operative word being “were” because two weeks later the ant hills are vacant.

Beneficial microbes in compost tea are parasites to ants, fire ants, fleas, ticks, and chiggers. I had had success in my lawn in getting rid of some of these pests with compost tea, but never on this scale. This alone is encouragement enough for us to continue compost tea applications, and we’re looking forward to the next batch.

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Categories Compost Tea Party

Why are all my worms at the top of the bin?

10 Aug

I had someone ask the other day about why there worms were lined up at the top of their bin?

Worms should be dispersed throughout your bin when conditions are right. So chances are there might be an issue with your bin if you see this. Red worms like it moist, but don’t drown them. If the bin is outdoors make sure the soil is well draining, and that rain will not collect. Temperature is the other big factor in my experience. See The right temperature for worms for more info.

For an in depth look at the 3 rights of worm farming check out this link.

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Categories Questions, RedWorm Farming Tips

Can I keep my worms indoors?

24 Jul

Bins are fine indoors, and the starter “shoe box” size is great for under the sink. It’s odorless, bugless, and great for putting your table scraps right in. I keep some in large rubbermaid tubs in a bathtub that is rarely used hidden by the shower curtain. As long as my wife doesn’t see, the little fellas are welcome inside. Shhhh! don’t tell my wife.

To keep them “bug free” or at least to keep the fruit flies away simply drape an old sheet over your bins. This won’t restrict airflow, and will keep the fruit flies out.

If you are feeding properly, not overfeeding, it will smell like sweet earth or at least be contained in your bin. Overfeeding can be remedied by simply taking some food out, or adding shredded cardboard or paper products.

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Categories Questions, RedWorm Farming Tips

500 gallon Worm Compost Tea Party

18 Jul

Brewing a 5 gallon batch of compost tea is no trouble. In a couple of weeks I will kick it up a notch and be brewing up 500 gallons at a time.

We purchased a 500 gallon spray rig from Rozell Sprayer Manufacturing Co. in Tyler, TX this Spring. In order to add beneficial microbes to our hay fields and pasture, I’m going to replace the water soluble fertilizer with compost tea. I don’t have enough compost to spread over 100+ acres, so compost tea is the solution.

I just ordered my aquascape 4-stone pond aerator today, and this is what I will use to aerate my tea to ensure it stays aerobic. Most of the beneficial bacteria are aerobic and will need plenty of O2. To keep the ratio of finished compost to water the same as a 5 gallon brew (1 lb. -1.5 lbs. per 5 gallon) I am going to need 100 -150 lbs. of compost and some larger mesh bags. I am planning on using onion sacks for my tea bags.

Stay tuned for more information on TexasRedWorms.com “Big Time- 500 gallon Worm Compost Tea Party”

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Categories Compost Tea Party

Used coffee grounds for compost and worm food.

16 Jul

Along with our families food waste, horse and cow manure, I have been adding a fair amount of used coffee grounds to my compost piles and red worm beds. For the past several weeks I have been stopping off at some local coffee shops for their used coffee grounds. Concerned about the acidity level of the used coffee grounds I did a little research, and found out that the acid is water soluble and mostly removed in the brewing process. What is left is close to neutral on the pH scale and a great source of Nitrogen for your plants, compost, or worms.

For more information on how to use coffee grounds for compost and fertilizer check out Ground to Ground.

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Categories RedWorm Farming Tips

The right temperature for red worms.

13 Jul

Is it too hot or too cold to raise worms where you live? Red wigglers are hearty critters, but do need the right temperature, moisture, and food.

Red worms (Eisenia Fetida) do best in temperatures between 55-77 degrees Fahrenheit, but can survive from 40-80 degrees F. Outside worm bins are subject to the elements and sometimes much more extreme temperatures in Summer and Winter. To remedy this a worm pit is an effective way to combat these extreme temperatures. The underground temperature holds a more constant temperature. Thermal inertia means that below ground temps. stay cooler that air temps. in Summer and warmer in the Winter.

I have built worm pits outdoors in South and East Texas, and they have done very well. A worm pit can be a simple worm bed that is dug several inches underground in a shady spot with a protective cover, or by placing a plastic pot or bucket halfway or more into the ground to keep out of the elements.

I keep several smaller bins indoors. Plastic containers make terrific worm bins, and can be kept odor free, and bug free indoors. You can purchase starter farms that are set up w/ bedding, food, castings, and hundreds of worms from TexasRedWorms.com.

Tags: red worm bin, red worms, san antonio red worms, temperature guide for red worms, texas red worms, worm bin composting

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Categories RedWorm Farming Tips

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