The worm bins used to compost red worms are readily available. The costs for bins vary depending on the number of red worms you are composting. The lowest priced bin is the Vermitek Worm Bin starting at $72 whereas the 4-tray Worm Factory 360 costs about $109. There are extra trays for either of the bins for $16 per tray. There are other containers that can be used for red worms composting, the most commonly used containers are plastic-lidded containers and wooden basins. When I first started composting red worms a long time ago, I used a 33 gallon plastic box that had a light lid. The box was, however, too high and a lot of the space was wasted.   Since the red worms only use 10 inches of soil to deposit there eggs. I am now using two 10-galllon plastic bins and this gives me twice the amount of compost I need per year.

If you make a bin, the bin used to compost red worms will need holes for drainage at the bottom and also holes for air above the bedding. The recommended width for the bin holes is holes width is 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch. The 10 gallon bins I use have eight holes at the bottom for drainage. In the lid and in the side walls near the red worms, I have a total of 18 holes. I used a soldering iron to make the holes just right. I first tried with a heated awl but it didn’t make the holes big enough. Other tools that I would recommend you use to make holes in soft plastic are heated ice pick, a kitting needle, or a drill. Ensure that you are in a ventilated area if you are going to melt the plastic.

The right environment for red worm composting can be created by using biodegradable material for the bedding of the bin. I would recommend that you use sawdust, peat moss, hay, aged manure, clippings of dried grass, gardening leaves, newspaper, shredded cardboard, shredded leaves and grocery bags for the red worm compost bedding. Red worms don’t like any environment that is acidic therefore avoid oak and other acidic leaves. The use of heavily colored or glossy paper is not recommended to use when making bedding. The ink or any other substance used on the paper may be toxic to the red worms.

When making the bedding from paper products, soak it in a separate container overnight or longer. Moisture is needed by red worms so that their skins can remain wet to burrow and wiggle with ease. When creating the bedding, rip the soaked paper for the bedding into small pieces. When using other substances for the bedding, add water to make the bedding slightly moist just like a wrung-out sponge. I make easy and quick red worm compost beddings out of peat moss mixed with warm water, and then fill the bin 6 inches deep.

Red worm compost bins  carefully because paper product in the bedding will soak up the moisture. Whenever the bedding becomes dry sprinkle or spray that will evenly spread the moisture in the bin.

Red worms are photophobic—they will burrow as deep as possible to shy away from both sun and artificial light. Bins that are dark colored are recommended or cover the bin with something dark. When the bin is moved outside in warm weather, it is not recommended but if you must, place the bin in a cool, shaded place and is covered. The temperature recommended for red worms is between 50°F to 70°F.

1. Feed them.
2. Don’t Freeze them.
3. Don’t burn them.
4. Water their dirt.

If you can remember those four things, go ahead and stop reading now because the rest of the article is just a long explanation of the above steps.

Worm Bin Setup

I recommend watching the below video on setting up a worm bed.  It explains things pretty clearly and all bins work practically the same way.

Worm Bed Materials

Use the following materials for a good worm bedding:

• Coconut Fiber
• soil
• shredded newspapers
• decayed leaves
• grasses

Avoid clay and green leaves and branches, as they generate too much heat.

Soil Setup:

Soak coconut fiber in water for a few hours and then mix it with your soil bedding materials.  A good 50/50 mixture is a safe bet for the worms to thrive.

If you can’t find coconut fiber, add some shredded, damp newspaper to your soil mixture.  This will allow the worms to feed on the soil nutrients as they adapt to their new environment.

Worm Food

Good Worm food includes:

• vegetables
• fruit (low acidic)
• shredded paper
• cardboard
• coffee ground and filters
• grains
• starches
• decayed garden leaves and grasses,
• manure of horse and cow
• wood sawdust
• hair and tea bags

Worms will basically eat just about anything that was alive and is now dead.  The trick is to avoid getting the pH balance to be too acidic.  Hence, don’t add too many fruits at the same time.   Not sure if you’re doing it right?  Just monitor their intake of the food.  If you notice them not eating as much, their dinner might be a bit too acidic for their liking.

WORM FOOD TIPS:

Cut the food into small pieces.  Manure can be a great source of fuel for the worms because the product is already refined into tiny portions.  Worms can eat through a piece of paper, but they prefer you to cut their dinner up some before they eat it.

Foods can be broken down easier if :

1. You chop them
2. You freeze them (summer heat)
3. You microwave them (better decomposition)

Moisture Levels:

60-80% moisture level range is ideal.

If your bin moisture levels are too low, use a spray bottle to add water to your bin.  If the levels are too high, open the lid to air the bin out.

Temperatures:

Worms work best between 15° C and 27 ° C or 55F to 77F.  These are the ideal conditions where the worms will eat the most food and become the most active.  Remember, that’s soil temperature and not outside temperatures.

Upon Arrival:

After a long flight, your worms will be dehydrated and smaller than they were before shipment.  Give them a week to acclimatize to their new homes.  Don’t try to over feed them the first week, as they will not eat as much as they will once they recuperate.  (See Shipping and Handling for more information).

Reproduction and Harvesting:

Reproduction:

Worms can double their population every three months!  That means that one pound of worms will be make a 5-tray worm bin fully operational after one year.  Once the worm bin is filled, worms simply stop reproducing.

If your worms are kept in the dirt of your garden and your winter months freeze the dirt over, do not worry!  Nightcrawlers and Red Worms will lay eggs before the winter freeze and before the summer months start, you will have more worms than when you started with.  We have customers who keep worms outdoor and survive all the way up in Michigan.  It can be done!

Harvesting:

There are many ways to harvest.  I will leave this to the exceptional youtube video below:

Still stumped?

Send us an email and we will respond within 24 hours.  We are a family run business and we are proud to say that our customer service is EXCELLENT!

Recycle

Take a look at the ways below that we recycle using red worms. Got any other ways? Add them in the comments section below!

1. Paper or Plastic? Next time you go grocery shopping choose paper, then cut it up and throw it into your worm garden
2. Dryer lint. Never thought this would be eatible, but worms consume this like I eat chocolate cake!
3. Dinner Scraps. Don’t just throw away dinner scraps, add them to your worm bin and watch the worms devour your leftovers. WARNING: dogs might get jealous!
4. Newspapers. Shred and add to your worm farm for a quality soil addition to a new worm bin. Be careful not to add too many colored papers, as the ink is not good for the worms. However, worms love the crossword section!
5. Manure. Although it may be gross to deal with, manure is a great source of nutrients for the worms because it is already broken down pretty well.
6. Leaves. while they are not great for nutrients, worms can break down the leaves from the trees you gather in the fall. Just mix it into the soil or leave it on top and the worms will come to the surface to feast.

What else do you feed your worms?

Of course, if you get lost, feel free to email us for free information on how to make a worm farm!

Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Make a Worm Farm:

1. Materials
2. Worm Bedding
3. Add Worms
4. Worm Food
5. Breeding and Harvesting

MATERIAL:

Although your worms do not need to be kept in a box, herding worms is easier with a container.  Your worm bin can be made out of anything that will hold bedding and allow drainage.  Ideas include:

• Tubs
• Rubbermaid Containers
• Wooden Crates
• Cement Blocks

**CAUTION:  The best materials are made of either wood or plastic.  Metal containers may emit poisons as the metal reacts with moisture in the bin.  These poisons can slow down production and kill the worms.

MATERIAL TIP:  One advantage to a wooden bin is that it breathes.  Air is drawn into the bedding as moisture wicks through the wood.

Bin Tips:

SIZE:

Minimum requirements:
Depth: 8 inches
Width: Bin should always be wider than deep.

Ideal Size:
Depth: 12 inches
Width x Length:  2 ft. x 3 ft.

HOLES: One inch holes should be drilled for every square foot in the bottom of the bin.  Place a small metal or plastic screen over the holes to prevent worms and dirt from leaving the bin.

LIDS:  Do not cover your bin with plastic lids that do not breathe.  If you cover your bin, use cardboard or a piece of burlap.  Leave at least one inch of free space on either side to allow air to enter the bin.  Sprinkling water onto your lid will create a humid atmosphere that the worms will enjoy while they crawl on top of their food at night.

Worm Bedding

COMPOST: Aged manure makes the best compost, but old food scraps also works well. 

Other Materials: Mix your compost with one of the materials listed below.

Add Worms

Worm Food

Red Wigglers and European Nightcrawlers will eat just about anything that you throw into the worm bin.  Red Wigglers are composting worms and thus the following section mostly applies to them, however, Europeans will eat everything mentioned below as well.

QUANTITY

Under the right conditions, Red wigglers can eat their weight in food daily. For every pound of red wigglers, feed them half that weight in food waste. Feeding twice a week or weekly is fine.  Do not over feed your red wigglers. Bury the food waste to avoid decomposing stenches and fruit flies and choose a different location each time you feed the worms so that the worms will not clump up in one spot. 

FOOD CHOICES

Any vegetable waste generated from food preparation can be used as food.  The following list provides some examples:

Waste decomposes at various speeds.  For instance, banana peels compost within a week, while orange peels take about a month to decompose.  To increase composting rates, cut the waste into small pieces before placing it in the bin.

Calcium carbonate or Egg shells can be added to maintain a safe pH level in the bedding and act like vitamins for the worms. Dry the shells out, crush them, and sprinkle at least one tablespoon in the bin every week to maintain a healthy pH balance.

CAUTION:  Avoid feeding your worms the following products:

TEMPERATURE CONTROL THROUGH FOOD

Decomposing food will raise the temperature of the bedding.  The following tips can help decrease bedding temperatures:

1. Keep the bedding wet.
2. Place frozen foods in the bin with the lid on (see Step 2 for proper lid usage).
3. Place frozen water bottles into the bedding.
4. Place the bin in a well-ventilated area.

MOISTURE CONTROL

At ideal moisture, there will be very little or no liquid coming out the bottom of the bin. If excess liquid comes out, it won’t affect the worms that much, but can make the castings less valuable.

Overly wet conditions bring on pests like flies and mites. Conversely, dry bins will slow down appetites.  The following tips will help with moisture control:

1.  Water more often, but less at a time.

2.  Feeding high moisture foods like lettuce and watermelon will significantly decrease the frequency that you need to water your worm bin.

3.  Use Lukewarm water, unless you are trying to cool the bin.

4.  Do not use chlorinated water.

BREEDING

The European Nightcrawler is a prolific breeder and lays more eggs than many other worms, including the Red Wiggler.  Each worm lays between one and two capsules per week and each capsule contains between 4 and 20 worms.  Worms are asexual, which means there are no male or female worms and all worms produce offspring.

Important European Worms Breeding Fact:  Worms breed best at the beginning of their life cycle.  While red worms have a life cycle of three to four years, the European Nightcrawler only lasts about a year.  Purchase worms accordingly. If you are breeding Nightcrawlers, order worms that are younger and at the beginning of their life cycle.  If the purpose of your worms is for fishing, buy European worms that are larger and are at the end of their life cycle.  When purchasing from Wholesalefishingworms, you can specify ‘Bait’ or ‘Breeding’ worms in the comments section when you buy.

HARVESTING

When you initially put the worms into our bin, you left about four inches of free space between the dirt and the top of the bin.  Gradually the dirt level will begin to rise and when the dirt level is close to the top of your bin, it’s time to harvest the worms.  You should harvest your bin about every three months to ensure a healthy worm supply and a good mixture of castings and vermicompost.

Illustrated below are two methods used for worm harvesting.

1. Move the contents of the bin to one side.  Add new bedding with composted food onto the other side.  The worms will eventually move to the new bedding in search of food and you can remove the old bedding after one or two weeks.
2. Place a pile of bedding with worms in it onto a slab beneath a bright light.  Slowly remove the first layer of bedding.  The worms will continue borrowing to escape the light.  As they do this, continue to remove the layers of bedding unto the bedding is gone and only the worms are left on the slab.
   TIP:  Do not feed the worms for one or two weeks prior to harvesting.

Typically, the first four inches of bedding contain the majority of the worms.  However, most of the cocoons and castings are found six to eight inches below the surface.  You can expect to have about double the quantity of worms from the original quantity.

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5 Reasons You Want Red Worms in Your Garden:

• 100% Raw Fertilizing Power:

Ever price checked fertilizers? There’s a good reason that manure sells for $5 every 40 pounds while worm castings are $3.50 a pound. Worm castings are extremely effective fertilizers for the garden. Mother nature has had a long time to perfect the organic composting process and Red Worms are her tool of choice for the job. These critters contain five times more nutrients than even the finest top soil on the market. Not to mention that you will be saving gas and time from not making those long trips to the department store for composting anymore.

• Reduce Your Carbon Footprint:

Add a worm bin to your order and you will be doing your part to protect the environment. One of the major bi-products of landfills is methane gas- a destroyer of the ozone and a nasty pollutant in the air. We can do our part in reducing methane emissions through worm composting our household waste. Through an aerobic decomposition process, the worms wiggle through the ground and aerate the soil as they decompose the organic material in the dirt.

Just how much can you reduce your carbon footprint? An average worm farm can recycle 6-8lbs of trash a week! With a little planning, you can recycle up to 60% of your household waste a week.

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• Garden Benefits

Plants need a very specific soil composition to thrive. Wigglers burrow and dig holes into the ground to aerate the soil. This allows the right composition of nitrogen and oxygen to enhance plant growth.

• Organic Worm Castings

Worm castings, or worm poop as we rednecks like to say, is known amongst farmers as black gold. The rich castings that worms produce provide plants with sugars, amino acids, and pro-biotic enzymes that increase plant development. In addition, there are natural bacteria, fungi, and protozoa that grow from the worm castings and work symbiotically with the garden soil to assist in plant development.

• Family Fun

Kids enjoy worm farms because they are live animals. Our family loves having thousands of “pets” to play with. The worms make great science projects and teachers enjoy using the worms for school lessons. Who would of thought that worms could bring your family closer together?

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Remember:

When buying worms, more worms per pound is not necessarily a ‘better deal.’  Some worm websites sell worms by the count instead of the pound, hiding the fact that these worms are small and ineffective as a bait worm.  Measuring by the pound is a good indicator of the size of the worms.  200 to 250 worms per pound means the worms are full grown and ready to be used!

Why Buy European Night Crawlers?

The European Night Crawler is a relatively new worm to the US.  The worm came to the US from a worm expert in Azerbaijan doing research on vermiculture.

European Nightcrawlers are two to three times bigger than their smaller cousins, the Red Wigglers. Even at low temperatures, these worms make perfect fishing worms because they are as thick as a pencil (making them easy to spot) and they remain active even during long durations in the water.

Another bonus is that the Night Crawlers will live about three to five weeks in a bait cup, which is about three weeks longer than the Red Worm.

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Amazing Lawns through Worms!

Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to improve your lawn with our Lawn and Garden Culture.

• No more annual trips to the department store to pick up composting soil.
• No more money spent on composting soil!
• And amazing results that only get better as the years go on!

Remember that you are buying from one of the largest worm farms in the US.  Buy with confidence.  We know worms.

Got a Worm Farming Question?

Post it here and ask the experts. A response to all questions and comments will be given within 24 hours. This service is meant to serve both your needs and the needs of other worm farmers!

Free shipping on all items and gauranteed live delivery.  We only sell the finest nightcrawlers for fishing and composting needs.  Our worm farm, located near Orlando, Florida has the perfect temperature all year round to house and keep our nightcrawlers in optimal breeding conditions.