How to Cultivate Earthworms

Welcome earthworms to live in your garden beds, lawn and compost heaps, and you'll reap their many gardening benefits. Get the kids into it and set up a worm haven - you'll have plenty for the garden and for fishing, too.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Cardboard
• Compost Makers
• Watering Cans
• Window Screens
• Plastic Storage Containers
• Old Newspapers

1. Encourage worms to make your garden beds their home. Bury organic matter annually - and dried eggshells whenever you have some - and use organic nitrogen fertilizers.
2. Use a "vermicomposter," or worm condominium, to grow worms and harvest their nutritious castings for your garden in about three months. Check out commercial models or make your own.
3. Get a heavy-duty plastic storage box with a top - one about a foot deep and 15 by 20 inches in size will do nicely. Cut two vent holes in the top and find a sheltered spot for the box in the garage or garden.
4. Fashion a grid for the box bottom to make a trap space under the worm bedding. Recycle a plastic one or put in plastic pipe or wood pieces, then cover the grid with window screening.
5. Fill the box with bedding for the worms to eat: Shredded paper or cardboard is all they need. Moisten the bedding - avoid drenching it - and put in red wriggler worms.
6. Feed your worms daily. They'll eat their weight in bedding and food each day. Bury green kitchen trimmings, grass clippings, coffee grounds and dried eggshells in the bedding.
7. Keep the vented top on the box to retain essential moisture and return any escaping worms to the bedding. Harvest rich brown worm castings in about three months.

Tips & Warnings

• Worms can take temperatures from 10 to 90 degrees F but will be more productive in moderate conditions.
• Sprinkle a small amount of water on bedding that becomes dry, but avoid overwetting.
• Vermicompost only red wriggler worms for best results. Buy them at a bait shop or organic gardening supplier.

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