Red Wiggler Worms - Great If Primary Purpose Is Composting.

Red wigglers, also known as red wriggler worms, are said by many to be the best composting worm. Realistically they are very prolific and are easy to raise in a bin since they will basically take to their new environment right from the start where as your nightcrawlers usually try to wander more until they settle in.

The red wiggler prefers temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit and is the smallest of the compost worms. They will eat your basic vegetable and fruit scraps turning it into “Black Gold” or worm castings. They will survive well in simple bedding made of shredded cardboard and newspapers.

African Nightcrawlers – Great Worm If Primary Purpose Is For Both Composting And / Or Fishing.

These are a superior worm with a dual purpose. They not only eat more than the other red worms but also make an excellent fishing worm growing to lengths of 8 to 10 inches long. They are very prolific and one of the hardiest worms to raise.

African Nightcrawlers worm castings are different looking as well as feeling than other red worms. The castings are darker yet lighter and fluffier. There is no difference in the worm castings when it comes to microorganism’s growth or PH levels.

The African Nightcrawler is more heat tolerant and prefers temperatures between 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They will eat your basic vegetable and fruit scraps turning it into “Black Gold” or worm castings. They will survive well in simple bedding made of shredded cardboard and newspapers.

European Nightcrawlers - Great For Those Who’s Primary Purpose Is Fishing.

This is one of the favorites of fishermen. They also do a good job composting your scraps; however they are not as good as the Red Wiggler or African Nightcrawlers.

These nightcrawlers grow to about 3 to 4 inches in length and can tolerate cooler water temperatures. The European Nightcrawler is also the only red worm which can survive a while being fished in brackish water which also classifies them as a hardy worm to raise.

European Nightcrawlers prefer a temperature range of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. They will eat your basic vegetable and fruit scraps turning it into “Black Gold” or worm castings. They will survive well in simple bedding made of shredded cardboard and newspapers.

Alabama Jumpers - Great For Fishing & Yard… Garden Composting.

The Alabama Jumper is a unique composting worm being it does not do well raised in bins however prefers clay and sandy soils due to the tougher skin they have. This enables them to borough through hard packed clay without a problem.

They do not eat vegetable scraps but rather carbon based products, i.e. hay, shredded cardboard, leaves… Alabama Jumpers live up to its name by wiggling so quickly and violently it will actually leap out of your hand. With this type of action, think about what it will do when placed in front of a fish.

Alabama Jumpers will migrate eventually throughout your yard and or garden areas, leaving worm castings towards the surface. They will not harm plants or their roots however will aerate the soil.

Alabama Jumpers can tolerate as far north as Tennessee. When the colder weather comes, they will borough below the frost levels… These are a very easy worm to raise since they have minimal needs.

There you have it, the basic information needed when selecting “composting worms” which will work best for you!

Bruce Galle also known as “The Worm Expert“ has been involved with Vermicomposting and assisting others over the years. Bruce is also the founder of Organic Worm Farm, where he personally raises and sells several worm species for composting and fishing: http://OrganicWormFarm.com/store

A great added benefit to any gardening, composting, fishing… website.

Unlike other affiliate programs, Organic Worm Farm is paying their affiliates weekly! Whether it is sales for composting worms or nightcrawlers for fishing…

The impressive part is they did not raise prices and still offer free shipping on all orders through their website as well as affiliate sales.

To find out more and view the terms of use, click here.

I figured I would go ahead and order some from different websites. To my amazement I found numerous problems. In fact only one order of six placed were truly worm castings.

Basically only five of the six shipments received were vermicompost, or simply put worm castings mixed with composted products. Do not get me wrong, vermicompost by itself is a good product for fertilizing your plants. However there are a few problems with this and the way every order was shipped.

If you intend to make worm tea from the castings, I do not recommend you use vermicompost as this can create an acid based solution. As you make your brew, the compost material mixed within, can further break down releasing acids.

True worm castings should be right in the neighborhood of 6.5 on a PH scale and able to maintain this ph level. Worm castings themselves are what make worm tea, period!

To separate worm castings from the vermicompost mix, use a 1/8″ screen. I have posted an original worm harvester which uses several screen sizes for the average worm composting fan on another post.

OK, really need to get rid of some pictures in my cell phone, as I was looking for the one below and it took a little time This is a 5 gallon bucket of worm castings. Notice the PH level.

Worm castings are loaded living creatures, micro-organisms. You have to ponder why anyone would then ship me worm castings in sealed Ziploc type storage baggies, cutting of air, hence oxygen to the castings. On top of this, they were shipped flat rate, taking an average of five days according to the postage stamps. That’s five days if not more (do not know when they were actually sealed in the bag) that the worm castings were cut off from oxygen and exposed to summer heat in the back of a USPS or UPS truck for 5 days.

I know I personally would not survive the trip

Now I do not always offer worm castings, as I use them up as quickly as I get them in my own garden (yes I know it is greedy of me but we treat the worm castings the same as live worm orders. After all, they are loaded with living organisms… You can check here for worm castings availability.

The proper method to store worm castings is the same as you would for a worm bin except with less moisture. Ours are stored in large bins with a constant moisture content of 30% to 40% at a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

We do not bag up our product until we are preparing each order. Next, we use breathable bags that retain moisture, the same ones we ship our worms in.

Lastly, since these are living organisms, all our worm castings are shipped priority mail, to insure the best quality worm castings by eliminating extra time exposed to heat or extreme cold in the winter time.

Have fun composting,

Bruce

Worm composting is a process by which red worms, usually red wriggler worms, also known as Eisenia foetida are added to organic matter to assist in the breakdown of bacteria growth, hence assisting in the decomposition of such matter. The result is broken down into two categories, worm compost or vermicompost and worm castings (worm droppings).

Worm compost is what remains after organic matter is broken down into a mix of compost and worm castings which smells like virgin black soil. This is even a better by product than regular compost for your gardening needs.

Worm castings are the remains left over in your worm composting bin after about one year, which are also known as “black gold”. This product is as good as it gets for your garden! Again this does not smell bad, but rather like fresh top soil.

Worms have been around for over 120 million years. Aristotle called them “the intestines of the Earth”.

Darwin who studied worms for 39 years stated “The plow is one of the most ancient and most valuable of man’s inventions; but long before he existed the land was in fact regularly plowed, and still continues to be thus plowed by earthworms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures”.

Worm composting can be done on a small or large scale as well as indoors or outdoors.

If your worm composting bin is maintained correctly, it does not produce an odor. In fact when I first became more serious about my vermiculture I ended up with over 15 bins in my home. I got away with this even though my wife freaks out over just the site of a single worm

Worm compost and worm castings are by far the best organic fertilizer for your plants with added benefits as well. With tests conducted at Universities, results were astonishing not only in growth difference by simply adding 5% or more of worm composting to the soil but also disease resistant plants! Test showed that plants without vermicompost exposed to over 150 plant diseases and carcinogens did not fare well for the most part as most died. The plants with five percent or more of worm compost added did survive and appeared not to be affected by the diseases and carcinogens.

Worm composting offers other benefits as well. Vermicompost retains moisture better than regular soil. Simply mix in your soil or apply on top of the soil around your garden plants. Worm tea a byproduct made by adding worm castings or worm compost to water can be used to fertilize plants by spraying and help in prevention of dry fungus on plants.

Releasing some worms from your worm composting bin into your garden not only helps to convert organic material in the garden, but also aerates your soil as they borough through and around the roots of plants.

As a fisherman, there is another benefit to worm composting by which you have a never ending supply of red worms for your adventures! The best for fishing are the red wriggler worm which is a smaller worm with a tougher skin, hence staying on the hook longer and the African nightcrawler. The African nightcrawler has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and hence my first worm composting bin was established.

Worm Composting Blog offers an array of red worms for sale in smaller quantities if you are just getting started to larger quantities for those who are already established.

Bruce