I've Got Worms!!

 I do not need another hobby in my life, but I started a new one. I have started raising worms. It is a natural fit for someone who likes to fish and frequently uses live worms for bluegill fishing. Purchasing bait is getting expensive and the quality is declining. And finding my own worms in nature has been more challenging recently, so I have decided to raise my own bait. I hope it works. The composting the worms do and the castings (poop) they produce will be a bonus for me and the garden.

My first worm purchase was 100 European Nightcrawlers. 

I set up a five gallon bucket worm bin. One bucket sits inside the other. I placed a brick at the bottom of the outer bucket so the two pails do not nest too closely, making it difficult to separate them. Holes are drilled in the bottom of the inner bucket to allow excess water to drain into the outer bucket. That water can be used as "tea" for feeding plants. Holes in the lid are for aeration. This keeps any decomposition from going "anaerobic". Anaerobic decomposition stinks, literally. The system needs good air flow in order to work properly. The tote the bucket sits in is to contain worm escapees. It makes me feel better, but I know they could and would escape the tote, too.

This is the "outer" bucket with the brick at the bottom.

The bag of worms has been installed into their new home. Be fruitful and multiply, please.

Two weeks after installation into their bucket system, I decided the nightcrawlers should have more space, so I put them into a tote for their bin. Here, I am rehydrating some coconut coir to use as part of their bedding material. 

 The coconut coir brick soaks up lots of water. As it does, I am able to break it up. I want it about as wet as a wrung out sponge for the worms. 

Torn up paper egg cartons make a good bedding material.

Shredded newspaper is going into the bin as bedding material as well. I layered the various materials, mixing in some soil from my bait worm cooler. A spray bottle of water moistens any additions because the worms need a moist, but not sopping wet environment to thrive.

 I peeled back some of the moist shredded newspaper to reveal some nightcrawlers for you to see. They do not have eyes, but have light sensors, so as soon as the light hits them they pull back. I was glad to be able to get parts of a few of them in this pic.

Since the nightcrawlers are in a tote now, I purchased some composting worms for the bucket system. These were smaller worms and came in a bag of 250. You can see some dead ones in the mix, unfortunately. I called Uncle Jim's Worm Farm and was given the option of replacement of the lost or partial refund. We decided that since we are in the heart of winter, a partial refund might be best, due to cold weather. My hope is that the 50% that seem alive will do well enough to out produce the losses. If these little composting worms get established, we may have to decide who gets the kitchen scraps, the chickens or the worms! Check out this YouTube video of my inspection of the European Nightcrawlers' bin where I find some actual cocoons! https://youtu.be/J8LdAKUeCHQ?feature=shared