How to Make Earth Worm Beds

Earthworms

Worms provide rich castings, "black gold", coveted by organic gardeners everywhere. The castings provide organic, nutrient rich fertilizer for houseplants and gardens. A growing number of savvy gardeners raise their own earthworms to provide castings and dispose of garden and kitchen waste. Using common household products and tools, it is easy for the do-it-yourself gardener to build an inexpensive and productive worm bin or box. You can use a variety of containers or build a special box.

Things You'll Need

• Saw
• Hammer
• 2 inch spiral shank nails
• 2 x 8 lumber
• 2 x 4 lumber
• Joist hangers
• Tape Measure
• Pencil
• Shredded newspapers
• Dried leaves
• Aged manure
• Table scraps
• Top Soil
• Earthworms

Instructions

1. 

   Red Worm

   Start a worm tub. Earthworms have several basic requirements: Moisture, warmth, food, darkness, oxygen. To provide these requirements, construct bins from sturdy plastic tubs, garbage cans or pails with lids. Drill small holes on the sides and top for an oxygen supply. (Use a narrow drill bit so worms will not escape through the holes.) Dark colored tubs will retain heat and should be avoided if your worm home location is sunny. A wide variety of containers can be converted to provide for the worm colony's basic needs. Worms can be raised in any kind of ventilated containers, large or small. If the container is too small and the worms are overcrowded, they will stop breeding.

2. 

   Build an earthworm garden bed frame with 2 x 8 inch lumber. Reinforce the corners with 2 x 4 inch cross bracing. Join the corners with joist hangers and 2-inch spiral shank nails. Cover the bottom of the frame with fine window screening. Staple or nail the screening in place. Place the frame on level ground with the screen side on the bottom. Attach a plywood lid to fit the box with 4-inch galvanized hinges. Fill the bed with bedding material, aged manure and top soil. Moisten the bedding and add worms-- 2,000 starter worms are recommended for a six-foot by eight-foot eight-inch outdoor bed.

3. 

   Prepare worm bedding material from equal parts of shredded newspaper, cardboard, dried leaves, top soil and aged herbivore manure. Use black and white newspaper pages only. Do not use colored glossy magazine pages. Straw, peat moss or untreated wood chips or bark may also be used. Use materials that are available and inexpensive.

4. 

   Faucet

   Install a drain plug in the bottom of your container. This can be as simple as a cork plug or use caulking and install a thin screen (to prevent the worms from escaping) and a faucet to drain the valuable liquid fertilizer the worm bed provides. Provide required moisture. All earthworms breathe through their skin. To do so, the skin must remain moist all the time. Without adequate moisture, the worms will shrivel and die very quickly. It is of the utmost importance to monitor the moisture content of your worm bins or beds. Beds should be kept as moist as possible while maintaining adequate drainage. (The worm bedding should have the moisture content of a wrung out sponge.) Placing worm beds under a potting bench or green house trays allows moisture to drip on the beds and will keep them moist. Rabbit growers report good results by placing worm beds under rabbit hutches. Worms ingest the droppings and benefit from the moisture the hutch generates.

5. 

   Small lightbulb

   Turn out the lights. Earthworms need darkness. Make sure that bins or worm containers are constructed of solid, opaque materials. Avoid leaving the lid off of your worm bin or working with them under hot or bright lights.

Tips & Warnings

• Maintain consistent bed temperatures when raising earthworms. Red worms (Eisenia fetida), also known as red wigglers are cold-hardy, amongst the hardiest of all composting worms. Although they can tolerate freezing temperatures, red worms breed at temps between 59-68F (15-20C). Optimal growth (weight gain) is achieved at 77F (25C). Red wigglers can survive at temperatures of up to 100 degrees, but will not flourish if those temperatures are maintained. Africa nightcrawlers (Eudrilus eugeniae) need heat and cannot survive at temperatures below 86F (30C).

• Feed your worms to promote weight gain and growth. Micro-organisms growing on food waste provides food. It is a good idea to set up your worm bin and allow food to decompose somewhat before using for worms. Worms can be fed manure, kitchen scraps, corn meal or chicken feed. Avoid adding foods high in salt content or acidity. Worms can ingest meat products; however, these are slow to decompose and will cause odor.

References

• North Carolina State University Extension: Raising Earthworms Successfully
• Red Worm Composting: Raising Earth Worms

Resources

• Vermiculture Northwest: Worm Composting