Canadian Nightcrawlers

Canadian nightcrawlers (Lumbricus terrestris) also known as Dew Worms are mainly thought to only be able to be raised in cooler climates such as Canada, the Appalachian Mountains with higher altitudes and colder climates.

Well as many of you know I am always up to a challenge. In fact when others stated you could not raise Alabama Jumpers in a controlled environment I set to prove them wrong and did. Well I did it again!

I recently went back on my notes which actually surprised me. Many websites state that to grow a Canadian nightcrawler to eight inches or so will take 7-8 years and cannot be grown in a controlled environment. Well I had to find out for myself what the actual growth rate was as this is the worm I originally started with when I was a teenager and knew it never took this long to grow out however never crowded my worm bin either as I was only raising enough for myself to fish with.

It was just two years ago I started raising Canadian nightcrawlers here. I originally placed 36 Canadian nightcrawlers in a five gallon bucket that I top fed. By late spring of 2009 I lost all my breeders as the temperatures rose to high in the uncontrolled building I had them in yet was left with numerous hatchlings running about ½” long.  I decided at this time to place them outside in a test bed I had with Alabama Jumpers… To date I have a good bed of Canadian nightcrawlers running about 4” in length before stretching out. These same nightcrawlers were ½” long just one year and seven months ago.

Canadian Nightcrawler 1-10-2012

One of the fascinating observations I have found with this test bed is what worms are readily available to dig up based on the time of the year. For instance, during hot summer months I do not see the Canadian nightcrawlers, however late fall through early spring they are easily assessable. On the other hand, the Alabama Jumpers become thick towards the top six inches or so once the night time temperatures hover around or above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

During spring and fall especially, the European nightcrawlers become more active towards the top layers and are more prevalent than during the cold winter or extreme heat of the summer here in South Carolina.

Below is one of the European nightcrawlers from the same test area which are prevalent due to the warm weather this week.

European Nightcrawler 1-10-2012

Now in order to raise Canadian nightcrawlers, much like the Alabama Jumpers, in hotter areas of the country one needs plenty of organic matter on top for which they will come to the surface to feed on when temperatures cool down and during the rain.

I also never allow this test area to dry out. During the warmer months I have a timer set to water the bed for one half hour every morning around 10am and again each evening around 9pm after the sun has gone down to allow the bed to remain moist and cool overnight.

We also feed weekly with some Purina Worm Chow as well as add Dolomite Lime (which is less harsh than other types of lime and contains a good amount of magnesium) once a month and water the lime in so as to prevent the worms from coming into direct contact with it as it will dry them out and kill off your worms.

Since Canadian nightcrawlers burrow down ten feet or more, it takes into consideration of digging down a couple feet in moist soil in the summer time. While the surface and few inches are warm, by the time you reach a couple feet the temperature drops dramatically. Basically it is the soils own natural air conditioner.

This brings me to another point. Canadian nightcrawlers do best in hard packed soil, even clay. I have not tried them in sandy soil but would imagine this would not be viable as their “skin” is not as tough as the Alabama Jumpers.

Organic Worm Farm offers nightcrawlers, composing and fishing worms.