# worm bins and worm tea



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

I was looking at ways people use worms and how they go about it, besides this guys rabbitry which I really like, I posted a link to that on my starting rabbits thread, this method of doing worm castings and worm tea for the garden look like something I will be doing this weekend.

It takes a year to really kick into gear with lots of castings and tea, and that's perfect, this year I finally got around to starting some garden stuff, it's actually doing amazingly well, and I got the little greenhouse from Big Lots to setup as seed starters this fall/winter and I'll do some real raised garden beds winter/spring and then next year I'd like to really kick it into gear, and voila!!! the tea and castings will be ready and I'll have enough rabbit poop to fill a swimming pool lol


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Here are links I use:

http://www.redwormcomposting.com

http://vermicomposters.com


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Has anyone tried using night crawlers rather than red worms? I would rather not introduce different species into my garden if I don't have to


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Toffee said:


> Has anyone tried using night crawlers rather than red worms? I would rather not introduce different species into my garden if I don't have to


Night crawlers don't eat the same variety of foods the red worms do. Plus you do have red worms in your garden. They are smaller and are closer to the surface but they move FAST.

I have a worm bin with red worms. My dad wanted to add worms directly to his garden to better the soil but the cost of the worms stopped him. Now he wants to buy my "population booms" for his garden.  I had wanted to increase my operation so I have worms for my chickens (fresh and dehydrated) and to sell.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Grimm said:


> Night crawlers don't eat the same variety of foods the red worms do. Plus you do have red worms in your garden. They are smaller and are closer to the surface but they move FAST.
> 
> I have a worm bin with red worms. My dad wanted to add worms directly to his garden to better the soil but the cost of the worms stopped him. Now he wants to buy my "population booms" for his garden.  I had wanted to increase my operation so I have worms for my chickens (fresh and dehydrated) and to sell.


Thanks Grimm. Just make sure to wash your produce if you have a lot of them in your garden. I have heard some horror stories with that. Can you sell/ship the coccoons easily? I think i might start a bin if it is as easy as it seems. Well, a bucket or two actually. They are much cheaper.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Toffee said:


> Thanks Grimm. Just make sure to wash your produce if you have a lot of them in your garden. I have heard some horror stories with that. Can you sell/ship the coccoons easily? I think i might start a bin if it is as easy as it seems. Well, a bucket or two actually. They are much cheaper.


I bought my worms as a 1/4 pound of mixed life stages. They arrived alive and happy. They actually seem to be thriving on my kitchen scraps and newspaper.

The cocoons are smaller than a grain of rice and some sellers will try to sell just the cocoons and charge the same rate as it would cost to ship adult worms. Since they reproduce often I figured it was safer for me to get the adults.

I sifted through the bedding they arrived in to make sure they were alive and remove any dead worms. I didn't get any dead ones.

My dad doesn't grow anything edible in his garden. He has native plants and grasses seeing as how we live in California and we have this here drought.  He wanted the worms to help aerate the soil since they have a higher clay content. Where I live on the other hand is more sandy. Plus I just have the orchard in the back that isn't getting the nutrients the trees need to really produce.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Toffee said:


> Has anyone tried using night crawlers rather than red worms? I would rather not introduce different species into my garden if I don't have to


What Grimm said.

Red worms are in hot soil, compost, even found them in rabbit & cow manure.

Night crawlers like well composted finished product, like your garden beds & they need more damp soil.
I only have them in shade or deep mulched places, because my garden is out in the open with only late evening shade.


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