Step by step guide to worm farm

I am thinking about setting up a worm farm and I have know idea where to start. I will be using earthworms. Any advice would be appriceated.

Look through this subforum and its back pages....there are many threads discussing the subject.

First question: where will you get the worms? They have to be compost worms, other kinds of worms won't grow in captivity. What places do you have available to keep the bin (indoors, garage, outdoors, etc)?

In addition to lots of threads on this forum, you can probably google "step by step worm farm" and get lots of info and photos.

one bit of advice before you get started: it is worthwhile starting your worm bin, with substrate (eg coco fiber) and shredded veggies/ fiber mixed in, about a week or so before you get the worms. That way, the decomposition of the food will have started and they'll have food ready to eat right away.

I will be using some sort of nightcrawler.

desertiguana said:

I will be using some sort of nightcrawler.

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Canadian nightcrawlers (or ones you find outdoors) won't work. The only nightcrawler suitable for worm farms is the so-called "Belgian" or "European" nightcrawler. They can be purchased online.

desertiguana said:

I will be using some sort of nightcrawler.

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How about the type you can buy at a bait shop?

desertiguana said:

How bout the type you can buy at a bait shop

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nooo...the bait shop type are usually Lumbricus terrestris, the Canadian nightcrawler. They are large, robust worms of a pale pinkish color.

These can NOT be cultured. They are deep-soil worms that require very low temps (keep them in the fridge) and have slow, long life cycles. You could keep these alive for weeks or even a few months in a box of moss and soil in the fridge, but they won't reproduce.

For compost worms, try the European or Belgian nightcrawler, Eisenia hortensis, sometimes called Dendrobaena hortensis. These are smaller than the Canadian and more of a russet brown or reddish color. They like warmer temps and can be kept at high densities in a compost bin.

If you google "Eisenia hortensis worm farm" or "Eisenis hortensis sale", you'll get a number of hits of places that sell them and have culture instructions.

Okay thanks

Jan said:

Look through this subforum and its back pages....there are many threads discussing the subject.

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not to be a jerk, but saying things like this is both inflammatory and unnecessary, if not jus plain mean. they wouldn't be posting in the sub forum if they haven't been looking. some people just want the extra advice.

axle37 said:

not to be a jerk, but saying things like this is both inflammatory and unnecessary, if not jus plain mean. they wouldn't be posting in the sub forum if they haven't been looking. some people just want the extra advice.

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I see your point, but lots of people post without doing much reading or a simple forum search. In this case, they found the subforum, no harm in reminding them to read what's already there. There are lots of step by step worm farm guides, all it takes is Google. For the mods, it's very frustrating to get the same questions again and again and again. Put your self in the mods' shoes for a minute... can you perhaps suggest a nicer way that we could remind someone to read or do a forum search when they are asking a very routine question?