Earthworm Culture?

[Stella]

Ok, this kinda sounds like a dumb question, but I need ideas on how to culture earthworms as a live food...

I live in an apartment with a shared yard, so a compost heap or soaked sacking under a tree is kinda out.

Is it possible to do it in a container without it REEKING like a freshly-turned compost heap?

[livingart]

Hi Stella

i don,t have any ideas on the earthworms but i feed our natives mealworms and waxmoth which can both be grown indoors

if thats what you are feeding

[Stella]

It is indeed for the mudfish

Apparently mudfish are often found to be full or earthworms when the water returns to their habitat, they usually spawn at this time too. I am just figuring htat they are probably great for getting some good growth and spawning condition on them.

Mealworms might be good. Never tried them but they would be a nice meaty size. What do you feed them? Do you cut off the heads as some recommend?

Haven't heard of waxmoth.

So what natives *do* you have?

[Navarre]

Hi There,

If you use clean potting mix with no wetting agent in a container with pleanty of holes top and bottom stacked ontop of another container preferably with dark walls then seed with a couple of hundred grams of worms give a couple of days then feed any household waste that is "green" or "brown".

Fill top container only about 1/3rd full to start with and feed every 2-3 days and only a little to start.

have plenty of holes in the lid and that allows air to circulate.

you can use wet newprint or straw but takes longer to work.

make sure potting mix is wet but not dripping.

should have no smell.

when dirt is at top of container then can harvest or harvest every 2-3 weeks after "farm" has been cycling 6-8 weeks.

need to keep dirt damp.

hth

Navarre

[alanmin4304]

I think worm cultures are not the average garden worm but a specific type (which may or may not be good for fish). Garden worms are probably OK but less productive.

[Stella]

Yeah, the usual 'farmed' worm is the tiger worm, which nothing eats. I need garden worms.

Recently the Green party had something on and were doing a worm farm display. I wanted to go down and hassle their nasty inedible introduced worms

[alanmin4304]

My compost heap has thousands of ordinary worms in it so you should be able to get a small worm farm set up and grow ordinary worms the same way. A compost heap (or worm farm) wont stink if you keep it aerobic. It is only the biproducts of anaerobic decomposition that cause the problem.

[Navarre]

The other thing is that every 2-3 weeks and depending on the size of your containers run a litre or 2 of water over the "compost" bit of the farm.

That helps break down casts etc and water runs out helping remove smell. That is what teh bottom bin is for ...apart from keeping Worm home up off gound and air movement etc...to collect run off which is GREAT plant food.

Mine are all outside and the rain has been enuff this winter.

All are started on worms from garden rather than brought worms and surplus goes to help feed natives at a local wildlife reserve. Takes longer to set up with locals than brought worms but well worth the effort,

Navarre