Question: Are Earthworms Seasonal?

I live in Australia.. and noticed the supply of earthworms is rapidly going down.. so I'm wondering - are they seasonal?
We have a nice backyard (1/4 of an acre), and plenty of gardens where I collect worms for my hungry axies. I would not like to buy any, especially since I use soo many - they are the main thing my axies get.. but if I can't find any, say in Winter - what do I do?

I have been asking mum to get a worm farm, hopefully she will give in. Her reasons not to is they are hard to look after, we already have a compost heap (no worms in it though) and that would mean less treats for the chickens (they have their large run, so they don't eat the worms on me). I think she'll get one if I say I can't find any worms.

Today I all found was one little bug. Not a single worm. I looked in all the gardens, everywhere.

Hi Sarah,

I would suggest buying some thats what I have done since October as I found it harder and harder to find worms in the winter. I get mine from ebay and some other UK worm sites and sure you must have the equivelent of this in Australia

Also my worm farm consists of a plastic container which is filled with earth, some cardboard, fruit & veg and a whole lot of worms I stir the earth around every few days and it is fine, takes no space and gives me a constant supply of worms :happy: Also when it rains get yourself out there as its worm city especially at night!

Thanks for the tip Zoezakella.
Will be asking to get a farm going - if I don't, my axies won't be able to eat earthworms!

To address your mum's concerns -

* They are not hard to "look after" - um they are worms, not dogs (or chickens)
* they are cheap
* they dont eat much - i have two, 500 gms of vege waste would be about all they eat per week


Have a look here - compost worms, worm farm, delivered Australia wide

I have two of the "little rotters" - GREAT set up.

They give you everything you need, a bucket with lid and holes drilled in the bottom, and about 1000 worms of various types,

This is the best worm farm i have ever used because it is "set and forget"

If it gets too hot, too wet, too whatever - the worms just go out the holes in the bottom into the garden - when i had a can of worms, the hot or wet weather would wreak havoc with the worms.

As long as there is always fresh food in the farm, they will always come back from the garden.

They also put several types of worms in there, both compost and earthworms (yes, there is a difference) Compost worms like to eat the "stuff" produced as vegies rot. Earthworms like to eat compost worm castings. So, the compost worms eat the vegies, and the earthworms leave the farm for your garden, BUT come back to eat the compost castings, then then leave the farm again and aerate and fertilise your garden.

So, not only to you never have to worry if it is too hot or wet in the worm farm (they just leave if it is), but you also never have to rotate trays, empty and spread castings, or drain worm "juice" - the little guys do it all for you!

One of these little rotters would use only 250 - 500 gms of vegie waste once established, and never take any work from anyone apart from feeding them every 2-3 days.

Bren

Wow.. thanks Bren! Very imformative. We did know there was a difference.. a couple years ago we were going to get one and I was soo uninterested. Now I want one and she said no.
I think she will come round. Going to check that link out now,
thank you.

If you need to order some now I just ordered mine last week from "Pagonis Life Bait" (Located in Toronto, Ontario) they're a supplier and you would have to contact them via e-mail to make a purchase. Its a minimum purchase of 4 boxes of 24 baby earthworms @ $5 a box... the best part is that I think they're trying to start online orders on their website and right now shipping is free (AND its overnight!!) which saves a lot. The downside of it all is that because they are just starting out you would have to pay by cheque :/ Either way I hope this helped with your current options to choose from

V

Great.. just reminded me. I'll ask when mum finishes her lunch, I don't think it would be too good to ask when she is eating.

Thanks Vee.

You could probably seed some compost worms into your existing compost heap, and they might do fine there, with very little tending needed.

Fabulous idea..

Thanks for the info Bren, checked out the link & the little rotter looks like an awesome idea & really good value. Have some birthday money lying around so I think I'm gonna get one!

Can all worms in the little rotter be fed to axolotls?

I would assume so. But better wait for a second opinion just in case.

I would assume you can. Some might have a yukky taste so your axie mightnt like them but if that is the case give them a long soak in some water and try again later.

Another way to get worms to show up in the garden is to get a piece of sacking or old carpet, wet it thouroughly and spread it out on a patch of garden. if it is kept damp the worms will start to come up under it in a few days.

Hey, great tip! Thank you Bichogrilo!

Joanne said:

Can all worms in the little rotter be fed to axolotls?

Click to expand...

I do. I can recognise that some worms look different to the others, but i can't identify which is which - i just take them based on who is unlucky enough to be on top, and is the right size

I soak them for a while in a jar of tank water, and rinse them before feeding.

Had no issues

Bren

I posted in my old thread but though I'd add here. Aldi has a two teir worm farm on special, starting this Thursday. Might be worth a look.

Also, another way to attract worm is the surface is grass clippings. Spread out a nice thick patch and keep it a bit wet. They'll come up to it I've been told.