It’s Easy To Start Raising Worms, Red Wigglers

First written October 14, 2014, Updated April 20, 2020

Why would anyone want to raise worms? Well if you have a vegetable garden it’s one of the best things you can do!

Earthworms and red worms make the best fertilizer on earth. They can eat at least 75% of their body weight a day, and with so little work from you, they are definitely a gardener’s best friend.

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Let Worms Take Care Of Your Food Waste.

Most people don’t realize how much food waste they produce, and the potential worth of that waste.

If you give your worms your kitchen scraps and a little wiggle room, they will turn your garbage into pure gold, or so your plants will think.

Instead of going into the trash and filling up your landfill, all those food scraps could instead be up-cycled into black gold, also known as worm castings, using your own worms!

And worms are the lowest maintenance “pets” you can have. Keep reading and you will learn how to set them up to take care of your food waste and make the world’s most perfect fertilizer.

Where Can You Buy Worm Castings?

If you want that fantastic fertilizer, without raising your own worms, you can buy it. It is available at many quality nurseries, you can also find it on AMAZON.

But worm castings can be expensive. That’s why you may want to raise your own for a continuous supply.

Why I Raise Worms

I first discovered raising worms over 30 years ago. With the poor soil we have here in South Florida, I needed all the help I could get.

When I heard how they would take my garbage and turn it into something that would make my plants grow, I had to give it a try. It’s probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done for my garden.

And yes, I must admit, I really do enjoy watching the progress those little red wigglers make. To a gardener, it makes my heart sing when I harvest handfuls of rich, organic fertilizer for my vegetable garden.

My plants just love it!

Let me show you how you can have this for your garden too! Composting with worms is easier than you might think.

Related: How To Start A Vegetable Garden

What is Vermicomposting?

Regular composting is a process of breaking down organic materials to turn it into humus, a material that plants can use to help them grow. Usually, this entails turning a pile and waiting months.

Essentially, vermicomposting is composting using worms. It is the process of using worms to break down compostable material and digest it into worm poop. No turning required. This worm poop, or worm castings, is super rich in plant nutrients that will greatly improve your soil.

What Are Worm Castings?

Worm castings is just another name for worm poop.

Earthworms, red wigglers, and the like, eat their way through vegetable matter, compost, animal waste, and soil and excrete a rich waste that is the ideal fertilizer full of good bacteria, enzymes, and minerals that are a rich water-soluble plant nutrient.

All of the nutrients are released slowly and won’t burn your plants. You just can’t overdo it with worm castings.

Though it is poop, worm castings have no bad odor. It doesn’t smell like manure at all. It actually smells like fresh damp earth, like you might find on the forest floor.

What Are The Benefits of Worm Castings?

• Helps soil retain moisture
• Provides for better soil aeration
• Creates better drainage
• Easier for plants to take up nutrients
• Speeds up germination
• Protects plants from disease & pests
• Easy to apply to your plants or garden
• Grows more food!

Are There Any Disadvantages to Using Worm Castings?

• If you are buying worm casting they can get rather expensive.
• There really are no other disadvantages to using worm castings. They are an organic fertilizer that will not burn or injure your plants. You really can’t go wrong by using worm castings.

How To Start Raising Worms – Worm Composting

Raising worms is fairly easy when you understand what worms need.

• Moisture
• Warmth
• A food source
• Darkness
• Oxygen

All of this can easily be achieved using a worm bin. It’s the easiest way to raise them. But where is the best place to keep your bin?

Tray-Based Worm Bins

The easiest way to raise worms is with tray-based worm bins. Trays make it so much easier to harvest the worm castings.

As one tray is mostly composted, you will add another tray to the top. As the material is finished in the first tray,(the one now on the bottom, the worms will naturally move up to the next level. When it is time to harvest the castings, almost all the worms will have already left that tray.

Trays are also lighter to lift than great big composting bins.

A tray-based worm bin is an investment that will last for years. I got my worm composter over 30 years ago and it’s still going strong, but whether you purchase a Worm Composter or you make your own, the process for setting up a bin and raising worms is the same.

There is a small system that is perfect for inside that fits on the counter or under your sink. Another popular bin that is larger, for inside or outside is the Worm Factory 360.

Related: Build Million Dollar Garden Soil

Best Location For The Worm Bin, Inside or Outside?

First, you need to decide where to locate your worm bin. The best location to put your worm bin depends on your home and your climate.

Your worms will do best if the temperature is between 50°F (10°C) and 85°F. (29°C) They can live (but not thrive) at any temperature above freezing and below 95°F. (35°C)

Outside the optimal temperature range, they will slow down, eat less, and stop reproducing. In extreme temperatures, they may die.

The outdoor temperature, however, is not going to be the exact temperature of your bin. Your worms bedding is naturally damp and fluffy which helps moderate the temperature. You may want to get a soil thermometer so you can check the actual temperature for those extreme days.

Worm Bins In The Winter

When it’s going to be very cold, you also can use an insulating material to buffer the temperature further. You can use an insulating blanket, hay bales, or any number of things.

If you live where it is very cold for an extended period of time, you may want to bring your bin inside. A spot in a basement, laundry room, or heated shed or garage may be perfect. Just be aware that an outside bin may have picked up outside bugs.

Worm Bins In The Summer

In the hot summer weather, your composting worms are at risk of getting overheated and dried out. Worms survive in the ground by burrowing down deep into the soil when there are temperature extremes, but your worms in a bin don’t have that option.

Since I live in a subtropical climate, I raise mine outside, but I put them under a “lean-to” so it has shade, protection from rain, and fresh air. The only time I bring them into the garage is when a hurricane is approaching.

If your summers are hot like mine are, it’s a must that you keep your worms in a shady spot with good airflow. A fan can help if you don’t have great airflow.

For short periods of very hot weather, you can put damp sheets of newspaper or cardboard on top of the bedding or put frozen bottles of water right in the bin. You might also freeze their food and put it in their bin still frozen.

You can also add additional fluffy bedding, or delay harvesting to build up worm castings enabling your worms to have a larger area to search out the coolest spot.

Is It Possible To Raise Worms Inside An Apartment Or House?

It is absolutely possible to raise worms inside. In fact, worms are generally very good house guests. There are a few things that make raising worms easier.

• Put a lid on it. I recommend that all worm bins should have a lid, both to keep your worms in the dark, keep the moisture level consistent, and to keep them from escaping.
• You have to be a little more careful not to over feed your worms and make sure your bin isn’t too wet. (these can make your bin smell bad)

Having a bin right in the kitchen, in the cupboard, or in the pantry makes composting so handy!

Or maybe you want to keep it in a closet or in the laundry room. There are so many possibilities!

Does Raising Worms Stink?

When done properly, the only odor you should smell from your worm bin is an earthy dirt smell.

If a worm bin starts to smell, it could be too moist, you could be overfeeding the worms or it may not have enough air. The solution is to add some fresh bedding and don’t feed again until the food is used up.

Related: How To Prepare Awesome Soil For Your Vegetable Garden

How Much Space Do Worms Take?

Most worm bins only take up about a 2’x2’ space. You can put one almost anywhere.

Why Does Your Worm Bin Need A Lid?

Whether your vermicomposting bin is indoors or outdoors, it’s best to have a lid. Lids help keep problems from happening.

• Maintains a consistent moisture, less affected by evaporation or rain
• Deters insects such as fruit flies
• Discourages predators from foraging in the bin (even the family dog)
• Helps regulate the internal bin and bedding temperature
• Keeps the worm bin dark
• Keeps the worms from wandering too far

Worms will normally stay in a bin unless it is too wet, too dry, or not enough food.

Best Bedding for Your Composting Worms

What is the best bedding for your composting worms?

• Coconut coir
• Peat moss
• Shredded office paper or back and white newspaper
• Brown corrugated cardboard
• Partially composted fall leaves
• Grass clippings

Or any combination of the above.

Make sure whatever you use is untreated. No pesticides and no herbicides which can hurt your worms.

Bedding should have the consistency of a wrung-out sponge. Too dry and the worms cannot do their jobs. Too wet and you get odors and your worms could drown.

Order Your Red Wigglers

Red wigglers are a popular choice for a worm bin because they will reproduce readily in captivity. That means you can buy your “startup” batch and then raise your own from there.

The biggest difference between the types of worms is regular earthworms love to dive deep into the soil and red worms like to stay near the top of the soil.

Red wigglers are generally happy to stay in your bin and eat and reproduce. They do a great job of keeping your bin full and making you lots of worm castings.

How Many Red Wigglers Do You Need?

1,000 to 2,000 worms is a good amount to start most worm bins. That is about 1 to 2 pounds of worms. Happy little worms will get busy filling up your bin. If you have a large bin and a lot of food scraps you may want to increase that number.

Related: How To Start A Vegetable Garden From Scratch.

What To Feed Worms

You’ve got your bin set up with bedding and worms, now you need to feed your new friends.

Just like people, red worms thrive on a varied diet. Ground up food will be broken down faster. They can break down large chunks of food, but it takes them quite a bit longer.

A healthy diet in the right quantity will keep your worms healthy and productive. Take care of your worms, and they will produce excellent organic fertilizer from kitchen scraps.

Worms don’t have teeth they have a gizzard like a chicken or duck so they need a bit of grit. Crushed eggshells works great for this.

Though worms eat most things, they do have a few preferences and certain things should be avoided for the health of the compost bin.

Things They Like:

• Almost all fruits and vegetable scraps. Peelings, cores, corn cobs, end pieces, rinds, spoiled or inedible parts are just fine.
• Weeds from the garden
• Comfrey and nettles
• Coffee grounds
• Tea Bags (staples removed)
• Egg shells
• Sourdough starter
• SCOBY from your kombucha
• Grains, bread, and cereal
• Paper egg cartons

Stick to fruits and vegetables from the kitchen and from the garden and you can’t go wrong. All those outside leaves of your cabbages, broccoli, and lettuce, etc. that you are not going to eat, or that half rotten tomato. Your worms will just love it.

If you are running low on food scraps a few handfuls of fresh grass clippings or weeds is a great thing to tide them over.

Or you can ask your local restaurant or coffee shop for leftovers.

If you have more food than they can start to eat in a few days, freeze it for later.

Related>> What Do Worms Eat? Make Compost Out Of Garbage.

What NOT To Feed Worms

There are a few things not to feed your worms.

In the wild, the worms would decide for themselves if they wish to eat these, but in a worm bin, these things can cause trouble. Some will make the bin too acidic or may attract unwanted pests, others will just make your bin smell bad.

• Meat
• Dairy products
• Fats
• Onion family
• Hot pepper family
• Dog or Cat manure
• Large amounts of citrus, pineapple or tomatoes as they will turn your pile very acidic
• Anything poisonous to you

How Often Do You Feed Worms?

When you feed your worms is up to you. You can choose to feed every day or a couple of times a week. Just make sure you are not overfeeding them.

A pound of worms (which is about 1000 worms) will eat about 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound of food scraps in a day!

Make sure the food is mostly eaten before you feed them again. Each time you feed them, place the scraps in a new area. Your worms will gravitate towards the food.

The more your worm population grows, the more waste you will be able to recycle.

How Do I Feed My Worms?

Make a trench in the bedding with a hand rake or your fingers. (yes, I’m a fingers gal) and lay or pour the food in. It’s really that simple.

Just keep an eye on how much they are eating so you are not feeding too much or too little.

 

How Often Do You Water A Worm Bin?

The most important thing is, don’t let the bedding dry out. It needs to be quite moist, like a wet sponge rung out, but well drained.

An earthworm is 75+ percent water and breathes through their skin so if it dries out they can’t breathe and they will die.

I keep a spray bottle near the bin to give it a couple of squirts whenever needed. Check the worm bin when you feed them.

But if their tunnels fill with water they will drown or try to escape.

There should be very little odor. If there is, see if it is draining properly.

That’s one of the reasons I like a tray-style worm bin to raise my worms in. They have a draining spigot, so water does not build up in the bin.

Empty the liquid that drains off regularly. Dilute it and use it to water your plants.

Some foods, such as melons are very watery and can add too much liquid to your bin. If your bin gets too wet add some shredded paper or other dry bedding material to absorb it.

 

Maintaining Your Worm Bin

Worms are the perfect pet because they need very little attention.

• When you add a new tray to your worm bin also add two or three inches of fresh bedding material to the new tray.
• Check at least once a week for smells or unhappy worms. (they will be congregating on the lid trying to get out)
• Harvest worm castings from the bottom tray in about 9 months.

That’s it! Easy Peasy!

How to Harvest Worm Castings

After several weeks you will notice a very dark crumbly substance. These are the worm castings or worm manure. Surprisingly it has very little smell at all, quite clean in fact.

There are several ways to harvest your worm castings. You can choose one of the following options that work best for you.

• If you use a worm bin with several trays the worms will naturally move up to the food as they use up all the food in the lower bins, leaving the bottom bin nearly worm free. Just scoop the castings out. Now you have an empty one to put on top as your next empty tray. Woo Hoo Easy!
• Another way to harvest the casings is to dump them into a pile and shine a light on it. The worms will burrow down to get away from the light. Then carefully scrape off the top of the pile exposing the next layer to the light and just keep repeating. Eventually, you will have mostly worms at the bottom.

You then can gently scoop the pile of worms that is left back into the new bin that you have put fresh bedding into. And you start it all again.

• Your next option is to stop feeding the worms for two weeks, then provide food in one side of the bin. After a few days, all the worms will be on that side and you can harvest the opposite half of the bin.
• This method requires you to have a screen to sift them out. You can purchase one already made or make your own. Just build a small wooden frame, roughly two feet long by two feet wide. You could make this out of any scrap wood you have laying around. Then staple ¼ hardware cloth to the bottom of your frame, to create your sifter.

Place your sifter over a bucket or wheelbarrow, and gently scoop some of the worm castings out of the worm bin and into the sifter. The worm casting will fall through and the worms and large pieces of compost will remain in the sifter.

Worms Reproduce Fast

A worm population can double in size every 60 days. They will, however, maintain their population to fit their living conditions.

If your worms detect that they have plenty of space and food available to grow their population, they will reproduce as much as possible!

When there are too many worms in a particular space, red wigglers tend to slow down their breeding so that their home does not become overcrowded. This helps them to avoid depleting the available food supply.

After a few months, you may want to divide up your worms and start another bin of worms or start some worm towers in your vegetable garden. You can set these up and let them work their magic right in your garden. They can eat the scraps you put in the towers and also chew up all the grass clippings and leaves you have mixed into the soil.

They leave wonderful trails through the dirt that lets in air and gives roots a place to grow into. They also distribute nutrients throughout all the layers of the soil.

Related: How To Make Worm Towers.

Raising Worms For Chicken Food

You can get more than fertilizer from your worms. You can also get chicken and duck food. Red wigglers are a great source of protein and are such fun for your flock to eat.

 

How to Use Worm Castings

There are many ways you can use worm castings in your garden.

• You can mix it right into the garden. As a soil amendment. Mix some in at the beginning of the season.
• You can mix it with your potting mix to give your seedlings or potted plants a great start.
• As a seed starter. Worm castings improve seedling growth.
• Put a little on your house plants.
• Put it in your transplant hole for a great seedling start.

• Use it to grow microgreens.
• As a fertilizer for all your plants
• Pour water over it and use the “worm casting tea” to water your plants.
• As a top dressing throughout the season.

How Vermicomposting Improves Soil Quality

Soil quality is the most important factor in how nutritious your vegetables and fruits will be. And after all, that is why we are growing them, am I right?

Compost is the most cost-effective way to improve soil quality in your garden. And raising worms is the easiest way to make compost.

Worm castings help the earth retain moisture and adds microbes to the soil, improving the texture and composition of your soil.

How To Store Worm Castings

Worm castings have a treasure trove of live microorganisms. So if you need to save some for the right season, you want to store worm castings in a way that keeps the biology alive.

There are two things that castings need to survive. They are moisture and air. So, any castings storage solution we consider has to maintain the moisture and allow air for the microorganisms to breathe.

You can use a plastic bucket with a lid and put holes in it to allow air-flow. Put moist castings in it, cover with wet newspaper, and put the lid back on. This will keep your castings moist and aerobic for over a year. You should check the moisture every few months.

 

Raising Worms Is A Great Project For Children

Earthworms make great “first pets” for children. What child wouldn’t want to be a “worm wrangler”.

They are very easy to care for and are fun to watch grow. Your children will also feel pride in contributing to the health of the family vegetable garden.

Gift Ideas For Gardeners

Don’t forget that a worm bin and worms make a great gift for gardeners!

Fun Worm Facts

• Worms have 2 layers of muscles, one that runs lengthwise and one that runs around, helping its body stretch and contract.
• Sunlight can kill a worm because they are sensitive to UV radiation.
• Worms have a coat of mucus which helps them slide through the dirt.
• Worms “hear” by sensing vibrations.
• Worms are sensitive to temperature and touch.
• Worms have 5 hearts but no lungs.
• Worms breathe through their skin. If it’s too dry they can’t breathe.
• They are hermaphrodites but it still takes two worms to join to reproduce.
• One worm can produce 100 babies a year.
• A worm can start producing “babies” (eggs) at 6 weeks of age.
• Red wigglers can live to be over 5 years old.
• Compost worms will NOT wake up the neighbors with their loud noises!

 

Start Raising Worms Today!

Raising worms can be a fun, easy, and rewarding experience. They take up very little space, don’t require any land, are not prohibited by your HOA, don’t require a fenced area, or a barn.

So what’s stopping you? Start a “herd” of your own today!

Want to read more? Check out these related posts:

Transplanting Your Garden Seedlings For Success!

How To Decide What To Plant In Your Vegetable Garden.

Starting A New Garden – A Well-Planned Garden.

Build Million Dollar Garden Soil.

The Ultimate Beginning Vegetable Gardening Course.

 

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