Worm Farming

Naturally composting waste, providing an organic matter that enriches soil and even supplying hobbyists and fisherman with live bait. These are all reasons for worm farming. Taking care of the worms in a worm farm is typically quite easy but there some guidelines to follow. Proper feeding is important for the health of the worms.

Worms are fed a variety of food items, and nonfood items, for composting. Some food items that can be offered are fruits, vegetables, greens, bread products, cereals, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters and egg shells. The worms will eat just about anything so it is imperative to know which foods are appropriate and why.

Fruits and vegetables are easily composted by the worms. The important thing to remember when serving fruits and vegetables is the size of the portions. Fruit pieces should be cut down to 1/2 inch pieces or slices. Smaller pieces will be consumed more quickly. Food blended up with water will also help the worms find the food and consume it faster.

Fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious. Worms that are fed an appropriate diet will in turn produce a nutrient rich substance that is beneficial to crops, gardens, flower beds and even indoor flower pots. Some nonfood items that can be offered to worms for composting are paper products, cotton rags, hair clippings, leaves and soaked cardboard. A pizza box that has been torn up and soaked is a wonderful treat for worms.

When offering leaves to a worm farm, be careful to only use products that have never been treated with chemicals. For the safety of the worms, grass clipping and other yard clippings should be avoided in case chemicals have been used.

While there are many foods that can be offered readily, there are also those that should be avoided. Care should always be taken with items that have been treated with chemicals, medications or other substances that may prove harmful.

Meats should never be offered to the worms in a worm farm. Being voracious eaters, the worms will gladly consume whatever meat is offered. The problem with meat is with the pests it will attract. Flies and maggots will be found in a worm farm that uses meat and the best way to eliminate these pests is to eliminate the use of meat.

Citrus fruits, onions and garlic should not be used either. The worms appear to find the smell of these items offensive. Most worms will try to escape the bin to get away from the smell. Dairy products will also attract unwanted guests into the worm farm. Another problematic issue with serving dairy products is the foul smell that is emitted as it rots.

Feeding worms is a pretty easy job. The key is to know which items are good and which are bad for the health of the worms. Another point to remember is to not over feed. New worms should be fed in small amounts when they are becoming established within the farm. Once settled, the amount can be increased over time.

Over feeding leads to problems such as foul smells and pests. Keep feeding down to a minimum, offering new food only when the old food supply is running low. Worms can eat over half their body weight in food per day. The worm population can double every few months. Overfeeding can cause a problem but keep an eye on the population as well to be sure that underfeeding isn’t an issue.

A well fed worm population is a happy worm population. Happy worms produce a lot of naturally composted, healthy worms castings for soil enrichment therefore keeping the worm farmer happy as well.

If you are from the southern portion of the United States, you may not know about catalpa worms, but chances are you’ve at least heard of them.  Catalpa worms are not really worms, but they are lumped into the worm family anyway.  Try telling the redneck fishermen these little buggers aren’t worms!

Catalpa worms are usually called “Catawba worms”.  Although it isn’t likely you’ll find many catalpa worm farms, this may be a very good reason you should start one of your own.  It’s a way to enlighten the public and provide something unique for consumers.

Catalpa trees are the way to get Catalpa worms.  So, a tree farm of catalpas is your first investment.  Other things you may need to invest in are:  sprinklers, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, containers, a business license, fertilizer for your tree crop, and advertising.

Catalpa Flower

Your catalpa trees are going to make quite a mess with litter, so you’ll want to decide how to handle that as well.  It’s an idea to turn this litter into a profit.  Toss it into your compost pile to help build up some valuable food for your trees.  Sell it for seeds to others who may want to grow a tree.  Use it to start campfires.

One tree can provide a worm farmer with hundreds of worms.  They’re a hot commodity for southern fishermen.  The fat worms draw catfish like crazy.  Their juices are the enticement for the fish.  They just can’t seem to resist.  The best way to use the worms is to break them, tear them, or cut them somehow to allow the juices to flow.  Place them on your hook and put the hook as near to the bottom of your fishing hole as possible.  This keeps the juices close to the bait instead of allowing it to float down and away, which causes the fish to also go down and away to chase after the juice instead of the bait!

If you invest in a freezer, you can also freeze the worms to sell out of season. The caterpillar stage only lasts about three weeks.

You can buy a starter tree from the Arbor Foundation for $9.  If you’re lucky enough to have a relative or friend who has a tree, you can try growing your own from the seed pods that hang from the limbs.  Your best bet for starting the worms is to harvest eggs from a tree that is already established and attach them to your own tree.  The caterpillars emerge in the spring, so you’ll want to attach them in February or March.  You could try ordering the catalpa sphinx moth yourself from an insect source of some kind.  This is what the catalpa worm evolves into, so obviously it would lay the eggs to start more!

The downside to catalpa worms is their ability to devour leaves.  All species of the catalpa tree are subject and can be host trees.  You’ll have to guard against small wasps and parasites that can destroy your worms.

A worm farm is an excellent way to recycle leftover scraps and other household waste. Worm farming can be done by anyone. The worm castings (vermicast) that worms produce are a wonderfully rich soil that is used on gardens, lawn and plants.

Worm Factory 360

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Red Wiggler Composting Worms

Go to  Red Wiggler Composting Worms to find out more.

What are the major benefits of a worm farm?  It is a great way to recycle waste, it enriches gardens and plant soil, it provides other animals with food and it is an excellent project to do with the kids.

Having a worm farm is a way to recycle food scraps and other non-food waste.  Fruits, vegetables and starchy food scraps like bread, pasta and oatmeal are good to feed the worms.  Hair cuttings, leaves, paper items, cotton rags and soaked cardboard are things that can be fed to worms. About one-third of household waste can easily end up being recycled by worm farms.  This is one of the greatest advantages of a worm farm.

A worm farm will  produce a wonderfully rich soil that benefits gardens, plants, flower beds and lawns.  Worm composting is like a wonder-drug for growing things.  Plants and gardens flourish with this worm compost (vermicast) from the worm farm.    In turn the economy will get a boost by selling equipment and other supplies that will be needed in order to maintain land on the farm.  An important factor with a worm farm is that you are getting a soil free from chemicals.  Many other products on the market that you buy have been treated with chemicals.

Many animals depend on worms for food.  A worm farm complements chicken farmers, catfish farms, birds and many other animals.  Fishermen can use worms for fishing which in turn puts food on their table.

A worm farm is a great project to bring the family together.  The kids will love getting their hands dirty and helping their parents recycle.  In addition, when the kids need a project in school a worm farm is a terrific project that they can take to school and share.

As you can see, a worm farm has numerous benefits.  Both for the environment as well as for families.  It brings people together to share ideas.  Groups are formed to tell their experiences and dealings with worm farms.  People in other countries are familiar with worms and eat them as regular food.   It’s really interesting when you start to look beyond the usual and see how much worms and a worm farm really helps the environment.