Anyone that has ever raised worms and used gorgeous, rich castings knows that Mother Nature does things best!
So, now that you’ve started your worm bin….what else can you do to help out your garden? How about attracting some FRIENDLY BEES to help pollinate your healthy plants that have been fed your worm castings.
Everyone knows that Bee’s are ESSENTIAL for plant pollination.
Most people have no idea that there are MANY different types of Bees.
Let me introduce you to a Bee that you will be EXCITED to have around!
Non Swarming: The Mason Bee, Osmia Lignaria, also known as the Blue Orchard Bee is a soitary bee. This non swarming, efficient pollinating bee will work magic on your plants. The Mason Bee is nicknamed “The Friendly Bee”, and is known for it’s gentle nature. Research says Mason Bees will not sting unless completely provoked (Squeeze one in your hand and you may get stung), but even when provoked, their sting feels more like a mosquito bite, then what one normally associates with a honeybee sting.
Efficiency: You will not get honey from these bees, instead, 500 Mason Bees can pollinate an acre of fruit trees! It would take up to 120,000 honey bees to pollinate this same acre!
How to attract: Mason Bees look for a certain sized hole to inhabit in order to lay cocoons (More Bees year after year)! They will not damage your house as they DO NOT drill holes themselves. After laying their cocoons in these holes, they pack the outside with mud, making it easy for you to tell that you have a large amount of cocoons (Which sell for over $1 each).
My 32 hole Mason Bee Condos can house over 150 Cocoons in each Condo!!!
This one time investment is on SALE NOW, just in time for Mason Bee Season: ONLY $24.95
I use only coconut coir for my worm bedding. I have had my worms for 9 months and harvested only once. I started out with 2 pound of Red Wigglers. Do I have to separate the castings from the coir to use for flowers and vegs.?
Hi Terri,
You can put coir directly on your flowers and vegetables. In fact, coir is sold as hydroponic soiless grow medium.
So, the short answer is no…you do not need to separate the castings from the coir. What you have is Vermicompost (Worm Castings plus material that has not yet been processed by the worms). The reality is, there is no stndard for what constitutes “Pure Worm Castings”, so as long as the end product looks nice, black, and fluffy, and you can tell that the majority of the product has been processed by the worms, the industry considers them castings….or vermicompost…or vermicast…;)
No wonder what you call it, The beneficial bacteria in the mix will do amazing things to your soil, allowing you to grow the healthiest plants ever.
DUE TO THE HUGE SUCCESS OF MY “CAN’T WAIT FOR SPRING SPECIAL”, WWW.THEWORMDUDE.COM IS EXTENDING THIS SALE FOR AN ADDITIONAL 60 DAYS. SALE PRICE WILL BE EFFECTIVE THROUGH APRIL 30TH. TWO MONTHS GO QUICKLY…DON’T LET THIS PASS YOU BY!
Tired of the rains and looking forward to some nice weather? I can’t do anything about the weather, but I CAN give you something to look forward to!
WWW.THEWORMDUDE.COM IS OFFERING A “CAN’T WAIT FOR SPRING SPECIAL. For the entire month of February, Alabama Jumpers are being reduced to just $59 per 1,000 plus shipping. This is a $20 discount off of the normal price, and the best deal ever.
For those of you that have been drooling to get your hands on these guys (C’mon admit it) and were just waiting till a little closer to spring…..here is the opportunityl you’ve been waiting for.
Gather those leaves to layer on your garden beds and you will have a great bedding and food source for your jumpers.
Go to my Worm Stuff page and scroll down till you see the picture of the HUGE worm.
Starting a new garden 2 to 3 in. of soil. The rest yellow clay.what is the
best soil breaker for the money.
Thank you gary
Hi Gary,
Without a doubt, Alabama Jumpers.
But, worms need a food source. If I put you on an island without food, you
would perish quickly. Same with the worms. Jumpers food of choice is broken down leaf litter, so what I always recommend to people is that they get all the leaves in the neighborhood, and just throw them on top of your garden bed. As they break down, they will help amend your soil, plus they will provide a food source so your worms have a reason to stick around.
If the leaves have all fallen in your neighborhood, just layer on a thick
layer of compost or mulch. As it breaks down, it will provide food for the worms.
Avoid using something really strong smelling (You would not want a 2′ thick
layer of Eucalyptus leaves to encourage worms).
One of the questions I’m commonly asked is, “Do cocoons REALLY Hatch”? I always smile when I’m asked this question. If not from Cocoons, where do you think we get more worms?
What the customers are really asking is “Will cocoons hatch for ME”?
The simple answer is, “Absolutely”. Mother nature did a fantastic job when she created cocoons. They are very durable and can withstand harsh environments. The system we use to hatch cocoons is very scientific. A certain amount of bedding, a certain amount of moisture, a certain amount of food, and a certain temperature will result in a reliably measurable hatch rate. We found that heating the cocoons in an incubator improved hatch rates to about 95%! It doesn’t get much better than that.
Will cocoons hatch without this controlled environment? You bet. They have for millions of years, and will for millions of years more. Should you expect a hatch rate of 95%? Probably not, but when you receive cocoons from us, you’ll actually receive about 1/3 more than you paid for. This makes a 95% hatch rate irrelavent for most hobbyist.
Just remember this….Like ants and bunnies….worms willl make more.
*The Worm Inn as shown on an Optional 5 Minute- No Bend, No stoop Stand.
INTRODUCING THE NEXT GENERATION OF HOME WORM FARMING…THE AWARD WINNING, THE WORM INN!
Why is The Worm Inn better than traditional Home Worm Composting Systems?
If you have ever used a rubbermaid tub as a worm bin, you know there are definite limitations. Plastic does not breathe well, making it difficult to keep your worm bedding damp, yet not muddy.
The Worm Inn is a true flow thru processor - Worms, bedding, and scraps go in the top… crumbly castings come out the bottom.
No more time consuming harvests. Simply release the toggles when you’re ready to harvest. Collecting your flakey castings is automatic.
The Worm Inn is made out of breathable, yet extraordinarily durable material. The same material used in high end backpacks.
Air flow is a key component for healthy worms. The Worm Inn is the most Breathable continuous flow composting system available.
Air flow is the key to avoiding “Stinky Worm Bin Syndrome”. The Worm Inn’s breathable construction helps to avoid anaerobic bacteria growth.
The Worm Inn can fit almost anywhere. With a footprint of only 18″ x 18″, The Worm Inn processes LOTS of scraps, yet easily fits in a laundy room, a closet, a garage, even a classroom.
The Worm Inn easily fits on a laundry hamper stand, the back of a door, or build a 5 Minute Custom No bend, No stoop stand.
Available in 6 Colors and Patterns – Unlike unslightly black bins, The Worm Inn Looks GREAT!
Cut List and instructions for a 5 minute, Custom No Bend, No Stoop Frame - available with purchase.
I’m sure this question has been asked before, but I couldn’t seem to find the answer, so sorry if it’s a repeat!
I got my 2 pounds of red wigglers on friday (from you), and they seem be be doing great! I REALLY don’t want to kill them anytime soon! I’d like to be one of the success stories
Anyhow, my question is: how often and how much do I feed? I plan on feeding them vegetable scraps from my kitchen, I have some on reserve “ripening” for the worms. I have about 2 small handfuls of scraps, in two different corners, in the bin right now. Do I wait until what is in the bin is gone? I know that the rule of thumb is a pound of food per pound of worms (correct?), but how long should that last? I really don’t want to overfeed them, but I have to say, I am very anxious to get things up and running! (Plus, I’d like to get the rotting veggies out of my kitchen)
Thanks for your help, and thanks for the worms!
Hi Jylnn626,
Thanks for writing in. I also want you to be successful. I pride myself that most of my customers come back to get more worms because they WANT more worms, not because they NEED more worms.
The Feeding question is something that can be debated for hours. Because overfeeding worms is the #1 way to kill your worms, I tend to go on the conservative side. Why push the boundaries if you do not need to? My rule of thumb is to feed your worms equal to amount of worm mass. You have two pounds of worms you are starting with…..you can be comfortable putting in two pounds of scraps. As long as you keep your worms alive, they will grow in population. Because you are monitoring the feed situation (As opposed to just dumping food throughout the bin and having NO idea how much food is actually in the bin), you will notice that the scraps are processed quicker as your worm mass grows.
I also suggest that you bury your produce scraps in the corner of your bin (Under as much damp, fluffy bedding as your bin will hold), and just check the progress every few days. Add more when gone, or nearly gone.
TIME TO PROCESS
Though you will read worms process about half their weight a day in optimum conditions, this can vary so much that this rule of thumb becomes worthless. How much your worms can process is determined primarily by how broken down the food is, and bin temps. If the food is solid, and temps are cold….activity slows to a….Crawl(Sorry, had to say it) ;) If you are feeding them broken down mush, buried in the corner, they can jump on that right away. If the temps happen to be around 70+, they eat even more actively!
SHORTCUTS TO SUCCESS
Keep your bedding misted with a spray bottle
Do not overfeed (1:1 ratio of food to mass will prevent overfeeding)
Make sure the scraps do not reach the top of your bedding to avoid bugs
Do not leave your bin in direct sunlight to cook your worms
While browsing the internet this evening, I found this unsolicited You-Tube video. Good stuff, especially because this was a review on a completely random worm shipment. It also represents what you should expect when you purchase Red Wigglers, regardless of if they were picked up or shipped.
Some Background….A few months ago, Gaia (The woman that made this video) called me to tell me she was extremely pleased about the worms she received from me. She said she was doing a comparison among several companies, and these were the best looking and most active worms she had received. She was surprised because she did not expect the worms to be in such great shape after traveling across the country.
I’d like to take this opportunity to clear up some common misperceptions regarding shipping of worms. I’ve often wondered just how these misperceptions originated as most of them have no factual basis. I’ve never spoken to a worm (Yet), but based on thousands of customer responses about how great their worms look when received, I’m pretty confident in offering my supported opinion here.
Misperception #1 – Shipping causes great stress on Worms
Here is what I know. Poor packaging, bad shipping bedding, unhealthy worms, all would give the impression that it’s SHIPPING that causes worms to arrive dead or next to dead. Great product, carefully packaged results in you receiving great worms. The random sample in the video above speaks for itself. The reality is, I could hand you a bag of near death worms, and you would then own a bag of near death worms. Bad worms are bad worms…shipping (done right) is just some extra time spent in bedding.
Occasionally, (we’re talking much less than 1% of the time), a box of worms can get left in a hot mail truck or a freezing cold mail truck. In these cases, yep, poor handling killed the worms. These cases are so rare, they are basically a non issue. More commonly, worms arrive doa due to roasting in a hot mailbox all afternoon (This can easily be avoided by asking for a post office hold on your order).
Misperception #2 – Shipping great distances causes great stress on Worms
I’m one of the few companies that successfully ships worms into Canada. How is it that we have such great success doing so? Great product, carefully packaged results in you receiving great worms. When shipping across borders, worms are held up in customs. When shipping to Canada, you can expect an extra 4-6 day customs delay in addition to the 1-3 days most orders take to arrive. I’ve seen extreme cases where an order has been sent back due to a bad shipping address…in some cases up to 3 WEEKS in transit. Incredibly, the worms were alive when we the bag was opened! Why am I sharing this? As much as we gripe and moan about the USPS, the reality is, they do a pretty darned good job most of the time. Especially when you consider the magnitude of freight they move every day!!! Unless something really goes haywire, a box of worms takes no more than 3 days to ship coast to coast. If the worms are healthy and packaged properly, a 3 day trip is like a nap to a worm. Can I prove it? Thousands of happy customers makes me pretty confident in my statement.
Misperception #3 – Shipping bedding (For Red Wigglers) is only good if it is nice and damp
If you hear this one, it’s either from someone that doesn’t understand the shipping process, or from someone that is about to ship you a package of doa worms! The reality is that when shipping bagged redworms (Different process than a container of bait worms), moisture is the enemy. In hot temps, excess moisture will literally steam your worms to death. In extreme cold, excess moisture will create ice crystals in your bedding, lowering the bedding temperature needlessly. Your shipping bedding needs very little moisture. This has been confirmed thousands of times. If (temporary) dry shipping bedding (Shipping bedding is not meant to be permanent, it’s only meant to support your worms to their destination) was detrimental to worms, the worms you receive would definitely not look like the ones in the video!
The reality is, shipping should not be perceived as an inconvenience. Quite the opposite, as shipping is the ultimate convenience. The fact that you can order worms from anywhere in North America and receive them days later (Shipped to your door happy and healthy) is a testament to modern technology.
Worms are amazing creatures. They are natures eating tubes. Basically, they live their lives, eating, pooping, and reproducing 24/7/365. Because they live underground, we miss a lot of their activities.
Now available, Worm Viewers that enable you to experience the “Wonders of Worms”. Three sizes to choose from:
Small Cedar Redworm Viewer
This is a self contained worm farm (just like the ant farm, except these guys are actually getting something done) that can hold 40 – 50 redworms along with food debris and bedding. The new design is now thicker to allow more food for the redworms to work with. This display is 1/2 the height of the cedar redworm compost display. The top has two pins so it releases easy to feed. The bottom panel will unscrew to open, harvest and clean out. 7″ tall, 11 1/2″ wide, 3″ thick
Medium Cedar Redworm Viewer
This display has been tested for some time to ensure you see the whole decomposition process. This display is tall enough to feed several times, so you can see the worm work being done. It will hold 100 – 150 redworms. The black covers keep it dark so the redworms will work all of the compost inside the display. The top has two pins so it releases easy to feed. The bottom panel will unscrew to open, harvest and clean out. 14”tall, 11 ½”wide, 3” thick
Hardwood Deluxe Worm Viewer:
This is the Rolls Royce of displays. It’s made of various hardwoods with a teak oil finish on the outside. Black covers to keep the redworms working and a steel handle for easy carry. Easily fits 100 to 150 redworms to demolish the food waste quickly. The top has two pins so it releases easy to feed. The bottom panel will unscrew to open, harvest and clean out. 7” tall, 24” wide, 3” thick
Is the place to go for questions about worms. With a current registration of over 2,000 people, I provide same day answers to your toughtest Worm questions.
Bookmark WWW.TheWormDude.Com as your first stop for practical and experienced information about Worms.
