Investing In Composting Worms

It seems like that's what worm farmers are asking you to do when purchasing composting worms. Looks like the days of buying several thousand worms for $10 are long gone!  These are prices for Eisenia fetida, red wiggler composting worms or otherwise manure worms that can be found in abundance in nature, in cattle or horse pastures with moist conditions...
 
Garden's Alive! – Price: $39.95 for over 500 worms; $49.95 for over 1,000 worms
Red Worm Composting – Price: $35.00 for 1lb of red worms
Local Harvest – Price: $24.94 for 1 lb; $44.95 for 2lbs
Uncle Jim's Worm Farm – Price: $16.95 for 500 worms; $17.95 for 1,000 worms
*Tip: You can get Uncle Jim's Worm Farm 1,000 red wigglers for $15.85 on Amazon.com

The red wigglers are the "cheap" worms.  I've seen E hortensis, European Nightcrawler prices online high as $47 per pound but most are within a $25 to $35 range , depending on size that's about 250 - 400 worms per pound.

If you want a high reproduction rate and lots of worms in vermicomposting, get E fetida, red wigglers. If you want a bigger worm, more suitable to temperature swings/extremes and as a bait worm but with slower reproduction rates, go with E hortensis, European Nightcrawler. 

There is an argument as to which is the better worm.  That depends on the desires of the individual. Where a red wiggler can eat its body weight or more of food per day versus a European Nightcrawler eating up to half its body weight per day...when put up next to each other, the adult European Nightcrawler is five times larger so the argument on which processes more is pointless to me.

In my experience, E fetida is a poor bait worm in comparison.  Show the two in cups to a fisherman and they will pick E hortensis nearly every time, unless they are specialty fishing, matching the hatch or some other specific purpose.

I do not intend for this article to seem as bashing worm farmers for their pricing.  Personally I think they are all high priced but they control the market and set their prices according to supply and demand.  As long as people will pay what they set per pound they will keep producing and selling them at those prices. 

The main problem with E hortensis and producing them for market is the same now as it was nearly 20 years ago.  They lay average of one egg capsule (cocoon) per week with an average of two baby worms per cocoon, or less and hardly more than, which takes about 40 days to hatch under good conditions and then 60-90 days before those babies grow enough to start reproducing if I remember my worm lifecycles correctly.  It has been such a popular worm though that farmers simply have a hard time keeping up with demand and at least one major E hortensis farmer in the US that I'm aware of has stopped worm farming due to old age I suppose.  As much as I prefer E hortensis, I may also have to use E fetida in my Clean Bug Systems simply to keep up with insect reproduction rates.

Whatever worm one chooses, it should be considered an investment, whether it be the time invested in turning over cow patties or online purchase.  Worm farming can be very lucrative but make no mistake, it can be back breaking hard work if not well planned and thought out.  This writer has herniated discs and every physical action must be pre-considered.  My designs are products of necessity moreso than functionality or practicality that may better fit some other individual but I try to make everything as practical as possible also.

I've seen many a hopeful worm farmer come and go over the years, lured by marketing tactics which seem to promise them riches and overnight success much like a few unscrupulous network marketing individuals I could name.  You can make money raising worms, odds are you will not unless you do it well.  Doing it well takes alot of time, hard work, patience and money to invest unless you are a master of making use of alot of junk and making it look good to keep the neighbors from complaining haha!

Then there are the commercial composting worm bin companies.  I can get really upset on this subject if I'm not careful.  I watched these companies form and break into the market before there was such a thing.  They did it, it's now established and it will always be a thorn in my side. What they have done to vermiculture and those wishing to vermicompost kitchen waste in my mind is nothing short of what I will call the worst thing to ever come along.

Not all of them are as bad as some and some are even ok.  The ones to steer clear of are those promoting the collecting of liquid from the bottom of their product that some call "worm tea".  They know fully well that these conditions will lead to population reductions and even complete worm death in time.  That means you have to start over and buy more worms from guess who? Them or their buddy suppliers. 

They do not want you to have a healthy worm population that reproduces.  All they want and care about is selling you more products.  So, if you hang with me I will teach you how to properly raise worms and get the most benefit from them in every way.  Even if you bought a commercial worm bin with a drain spigot I can and will be happy to help you make the best of it, just ask.

If you ask this ole country boy and want an honest answer, get yourself a bucket in spring and go to where there is alot of shade and piled, fallen leaves. Creekbanks that flooded and piled rows of debris up high are usually good.  E Fetida is commonly called the manure worm but it will happily inhabit rotting vegetable matter piles as will many species of worms suitable for composting.  They are there for the taking and free.  Many months rent were paid by doing this very thing and selling the local native jumper worms as bait but which are also great composting worms to the same people who could have gone to the same creek I gathered them from.

Make yourself a pile under a shade tree in your yard or use fencing to make a cylinder of sorts to put leaves and grass clippings and keep it wet.  You will always have worms if you do this and keep it up.  :)