I have several hundred composting worms, mostly about 1-1.5 years old, to give away. They are free, though I am also giving you mostly clean organic coconut coir so would appreciate something very small in return to cover the cost (garden item etc.) This isn't required, however.
I can meet on weekends after 12 noon, most likely in the University Center on Campus, Irvine, or at the Wholesome Choice center at the Culver/Michelson crossing.
Please see below for instructions for keeping composting worms.
COMMON COMPOSTING WORM MISTAKES THAT LEADS TO MASS BIN DEATHOFF
- Not giving the crushed eggshells/coffee grounds that helps them digest food.
- Giving them food that hasn't been pre-frozen for at least 24 hours, which leads to bacteria/pests in the bin, and disease, and/or giving them eggshells that hasn't been pre-treated with high heat to destroy bacteria.
- Leaving the bin outside in excessive heat (over 90 degrees), especially without any mitigating items (like iced bottles) to cool the bin off, or in excessive cold (under 40 degrees, not usually an issue except a few nights per year).
- Leaving the bin outside in the rain (which can drown them if the bin doesn't have sufficient drainage).
- Bin turns acidic due to excessive feeding.
- Giving them a large water-based food (like watermelon) without slicing it first into smaller bits, which can drown them.
- Not keeping the bin sufficiently moist (using coconut coir helps to retain moisture, but cardboard etc. loses moisture quickly).
STARTING TIPS
IMPORTANT: Worms can't survive in temperatures over 90 or under 40. In Summer/early Fall, make sure to keep them in a cool area and/or use frozen water bottles in the bin to help keep the temperatures down. You can also move them into the garage when temperatures are extreme.
The bedding also needs to stay moist, so it's advisable to mist-spray it about once a week, or put ice cubes on top that could melt slowly. Laying a big piece of cardboard on top of the bedding and re-wetting once a week or so also helps, and keeps ants away. Try not to overwet, though, or it'll attract critters.
1) BIN
- You can purchase a "worm farm" online; or
- DO IT YOURSELF: You will need big plastic bin with a lid, with several holes about 1 inch in diameter, in the sides and bottom of the bin, to provide for a passage of air into the bin and drainage for water etc. The holes should be covered with wired mesh, firmly glued to the plastic, to keep out flies, critters and birds that may want to eat the worms and/or their food. The mesh should have the soft blue tape taping it to the bin; otherwise, the worms can injure themselves on the sharp ends (and they LOVE sticking to bin sides!).
Note that an ordinary lidless bin will work too, if you put a couple of mosquito nets around it, one on the bottom and one on the top, and wrap both around the bin-- that's how I do it-- but you have to avoid excessive moisture since there's no drainage.
2) BEDDING
Possible materials: The cheapest option is shredded cardboard or paper. You can also purchase coconut coir blocks and/or soft soil free of fertilizers or sticks. You can also lay large cardboard pieces on the top and moisten them once or twice a week; the worms love chilling under them.
- Don't use earth that has "miracle gro" chemicals in it.
- Make sure to replace the bedding at least once every 3-4 months (and harvest the castings). If you use soil/coir, look up instructions to separate the worms from the finished soil (usually by tempting them with food in a corner free of the finished soil and/or inside a bag or box free of soil, with holes. You can also separate them by hand, though this can be difficult if you have a crop of young worms who can be practically invisible.)
- IMPORTANT: Make sure to moisten the bedding beforehand. Since new earth is likely to be dry, it will make the worms uncomfortable or even kill them, since they need moisture to breathe.
- The worm casting-- the soft, dense, dark earth-like material that will eventually result at the bottom of the bin-- is an excellent gardening fertilizer.
3) TOOLS
- A gardening hand fork (so you can turn over the earth when depositing food without hurting the worms)
- You can also just put on gloves and use your hand to turn over the earth, which is probably even better for the worms.
4) LOCATION
A corner in your patio or garden that's not too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, or in a corner in the garage. Worms can survive at temperatures of about 40-90 degrees. They can die if it's excessively cold or hot (especially the latter). You can also move them into the garage in extreme temperatures.
RAINY DAYS
Make sure to cover the bin when it rains, or they may drown. They also seem to get scared of the sound of the rain and try to escape, so the garage is your best bet on rainy days.
WORM FOOD INSTRUCTIONS
1) Give the worms food scraps once a week, since they can get stressed otherwise.
- Make sure it's sliced to small bits.
- Make sure to pre-freeze the food for 24 hours to kill off any pest eggs/bacteria.
- Dig a hole in the bedding, deposit the food in it, and cover it with earth/cardboard.
- It's important to give them clean/sanitized, crushed eggshells or coffee grounds, since they need the enzymes to be able to digest the food. The eggshells will need to be pre-treated in high heat for bacteria. (Note: pre-prepared crushed eggshells can also be purchased.)
- DO NOT overfeed them (a mistake I still occasionally make). They will not be able to finish everything and the bin will smell bad, and the earth may turn acidic (which is bad for the worms). It's better to underfeed than overfeed.
2) Give them VEGAN, non-acidic, NON-ROTTEN food scraps (cucumbers, melons, watermelons, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato peels etc.)
They LOVE melons and watermelons, and will finish the green, white and red portion of the rinds to the very last molecule-- great way of composting these giant watermelon rinds during summer, though make sure to slice those-- I have given worms to someone whose worms died because half a watermelon broke and the water drowned them.
3) Cardboard pieces (moistened) provides them with carbs. Items should be torn/broken into small pieces. You can use the non-dyed portion of an egg carton too.
4) No processed food (including bread) or acidic foods (like oranges or lemons; I also found that they don't like grapes).
There may be other foods; you can look at a list online. I think that clean pasta also works but haven't looked.
4) FOR ENZYMES: worms do not have teeth so they need enzymes to digest. Eggshells or coffee grounds work for these. Make sure to sanitize the shells with soap and boiling water (or put them in the oven for a while), or the bacteria can kill the worms.