Archive for the ‘Worm Farming’ Category
Worm Farm: More Than Just Lose Earth
Worm farms? Sometimes you wonder if you have heard things correctly.
Worm farming or vermicomposting is the process of getting compost, vermicast or worm humus and waste from organic matter being broken down by earthworms. Through worm farming, we are able to get the best organic fertilizer that ca condition the soil in producing good crops and produce.
This practice is being done by gardeners and environmentalists to aid in waste reduction. Most of the requirements for worm farming would be both yard and kitchen wastes. Vermicomposting or worm farming can put kitchen waste into use and produce black, earth smelling and nutrient rich humus.
Earthworms are the primary workers for creating rich, organic humus. Earthworms and bacteria are the primary catalyst for the decomposition process. Other species like insects, other worms and molds also play an important role in the decomposition process. Earthworms mostly used in this process are the Red wigglers. This kind of composting worm can be found in different parts of Europe and South America. They are present in rotting vegetables, compost and of course piles of manure or animal wastes.
The kind of compost produced by the vermicomposting process is odorless, clean, and organic. It also has high quantities of micronutrients N, P, and K which are very important for the growth of plants. Aside from providing necessary nutrients, it also environmental friendly, since it helps in recycling energy. Aside from being eco-friendly, it also non-toxic and uses low energy to aid the process.
Ever since the wide use of chemical pesticides, people have been expressing their concern on the effects of chemical fertilizer residue left on the crops and produce. In a 2001 study, results showed that children who ate organically grown produce have lower organophosphorus pesticide exposure than children who do not eat organic.
How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
Though most of the studies conducted are limited on the levels of organophosphorus and not on its effects, there are assumptions that those with lower levels have lower risk of neurological health problems.
Food grown organically, therefore, can be said to have higher nutritional value than food grown using modern conventional methods. It is just simple, healthy plants mean healthy people. And this is what vermicomposting hopes to achieve.
You can use the humus from the worms as another layer of rich soil in your potted plants. Another way is by directly adding the humus in the soil while repotting. Another good thing about this kind of organic fertilizer there is no need to worry about overfertilizing or accidentally burning or harming the plant due to excessive exposure to chemicals.
Worm farming is not only something that you can do in your on backyard. Yes, you can do this to reduce waste in your house and somehow help the environment. But this can also be a business venture. Through proper business strategies, surely you can start your own vermiculture business.
You can start your business by selling worm castings. You can check nurseries that would need organic fertilizer. You just need patience in educating people about the importance of organic farming and alternative ways of fertilizing the land.
Marketing or selling worms can b more different. Once in a while, a commercial vermicompost company would think of adding additional worms to their tiny working group. This commercial group would call a worm grower and most of the times, they buy the entire worm selection. Worm farms have indeed a bright marketing and economic future.
So now you know a little bit about Worm Farming. Even if you don’t know everything, you’ve done something worthwhile: you’ve expanded your knowledge.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit
Worm Farming is a Fisherman’s Friend
Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Worm Farming. When you start sharing the fascinating Worm Farming facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.
Red worms, red wigglers, or manure worms are said to be best for composting. They’re also known as fishing worms. You can find them in leaf litter, manure piles, and bait shops.
The ability to produce fast makes these worms appealing for worm farmers and fishermen.
You can start your red fishing-worm farm in a small, cheap plastic container such as a margarine dish or cool whip container. Start with a small collection, say….under a dozen, just to get a feel for the journey ahead and decide if you want to invest further. Add at least one big spoonful of dirt or compost, some thin strips of notebook paper or newspaper (not glossy), a cup of water (you want moisture, not soggy contents), fine sand or crumbled eggshells, and a little cereal or fruit. (The worms aren’t as partial to citrus fruits because of the acid content.)
Most of this information comes straight from the Worm Farming pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.
You’ll have to punch holes in the sides and the lid, at least a dozen in each. There must be oxygen flow and drainage. Worms can’t survive without oxygen. And you may have noticed that they rise to the top of the ground after a hard rain.
Your worms will eat many things that you would normally throw away. Almost any food scrap will do, but there are some that are discouraged. Meat scraps, citrus scraps, garlic, onion, and hot peppers or really spicy foods are not good choices. You should be careful about exposing your worms to pesticide residues used on food or contained in manures. Although the fishermen’s friend will eat cardboard because it’s a wood product, make sure the cardboard is not contaminated with any poisonous residues. You have to feed them at least three times a week. Bury the food under the bedding for the best results.
You can check out bait shops to get an idea of how much to price your worms if you plan to sell them. You don’t want to be too high or too low compared to other worms sold in the area for fishing bait. You can, of course, just grow them for your own fishing excursions. Also, consider the area where you live. If you live in a small area, there may not be enough market for a large worm farm to earn enough profit unless you sell over the internet or ship to other places. You want to make sure you don’t invest too much too soon.
If you live near a lake, you may do very well with your worm farm business. People do like convenience. Even avid fishermen can run out of bait or forget to buy it, although they may not like to readily admit it! There are plenty of people who prefer to use natural bait, too. Of course, this means customers will be knocking on your door on weekends and after normal work hours. So, you may do better to post your office away from your living area and make sure your hours are compatible, but not overwhelming for you. Post them plainly and large enough for those early rising fishermen/women to readily see them.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit
Catalpa Worm Farming
So what is Worm Farming really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Worm Farming–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.
If you are from the southern portion of the United States, you may not know about catalpa worms, but chances are you’ve at least heard of them. Catalpa worms are not really worms, but they are lumped into the worm family anyway. Try telling the redneck fishermen these little buggers aren’t worms!
Catalpa worms are usually called “Catawba worms”. Although it isn’t likely you’ll find many catalpa worm farms, this may be a very good reason you should start one of your own. It’s a way to enlighten the public and provide something unique for consumers.
Catalpa trees are the way to get Catalpa worms. So, a tree farm of catalpas is your first investment. Other things you may need to invest in are: sprinklers, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, containers, a business license, fertilizer for your tree crop, and advertising.
Your catalpa trees are going to make quite a mess with litter, so you’ll want to decide how to handle that as well. It’s an idea to turn this litter into a profit. Toss it into your compost pile to help build up some valuable food for your trees. Sell it for seeds to others who may want to grow a tree. Use it to start campfires.
If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.
One tree can provide a worm farmer with hundreds of worms. They’re a hot commodity for southern fishermen. The fat worms draw catfish like crazy. Their juices are the enticement for the fish. They just can’t seem to resist. The best way to use the worms is to break them, tear them, or cut them somehow to allow the juices to flow. Place them on your hook and put the hook as near to the bottom of your fishing hole as possible. This keeps the juices close to the bait instead of allowing it to float down and away, which causes the fish to also go down and away to chase after the juice instead of the bait!
If you invest in a freezer, you can also freeze the worms to sell out of season. The caterpillar stage only lasts about three weeks.
You can buy a starter tree from the Arbor Foundation for $9. If you’re lucky enough to have a relative or friend who has a tree, you can try growing your own from the seed pods that hang from the limbs. Your best bet for starting the worms is to harvest eggs from a tree that is already established and attach them to your own tree. The caterpillars emerge in the spring, so you’ll want to attach them in February or March. You could try ordering the catalpa sphinx moth yourself from an insect source of some kind. This is what the catalpa worm evolves into, so obviously it would lay the eggs to start more!
The downside to catalpa worms is their ability to devour leaves. All species of the catalpa tree are subject and can be host trees. You’ll have to guard against small wasps and parasites that can destroy your worms.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his Perpetual20 training site for great bonuses: Perpetual20
How to Keep Your Worm Farm Safe
When you are doing worm farming, it does not mean that you can leave you worms unattended. There are worm predators which can pounce on your worms and eat everything. Why keep your worms for profit if you just let predators take them away.
You have to make sure that you worm farm is safe for your worms. Who are the predators and what should you do?
? Make sure that you worm farm has proper drainage. Make sure that you are not using contaminated water. Also avoid using paper which had contact with pesticides since this is also source of contamination.
? Make sure that your worms are safe from predators like birds, moles, hedgehogs, foxes, toads, snakes, beetles, leeches, slugs, and parasites. All of these feed on worms.
? Even if there are predators in the area which are not interested in eating the worms but are eating the worm?s food. Then you should also be careful. If worms are not fed enough, they try to leave the worm beds.
? If you are feeding birds in your area, then it would be ok. Just make sure to feed them in a different section, you definitely do not want them to eat your profit.
Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:
? If you are living in a populated area, you would have to have a different kind of worm protection. There could be thieves that are looking for free fishing bait. So make sure that your worm farms are duly protected.
To protect your worm farm, you can have shed that can be locked to make sure that unwanted people and presence are kept out. Make sure that the floor is kept clean. If you have concrete flooring, you can hose it down to remove the dirt and leftover scraps. Some worm farm owners have a technique of keeping their farm safe from predators. They would put their worm bin on a stand with legs, then they would put it a container where there is water surrounding it.
Aside from being cautious in providing safety measures in the worm farm?s surroundings, you also need to be cautious of the food you provide to your worms. Some worm farmers aside from giving ready to eat food, also give food treated with chemicals. These medications and chemicals should be handled with care since these substances could be harmful.
Although worms eat meat, or eat anything that is offered to them, it is for the best altogether to remove meat among the things that farmers offer. With meat, there is a higher possibility that pets will be attracted to and eventually will be bad for the worms. Flies and maggots can also be attracted to the worm farm if meat is offered to the worms.
Aside from these foods, we should also avoid offering citrus fruit, onions, and garlic. Its strong smell drives the worm away. Another kind of food that needs to be avoided are dairy products, aside from attracting also predators, they also emit foul odors as they rot.
Taking care of worms are easy job, as long as you take note of what you should and should not do. Worm farming can be both financially profitable and enjoyable. There are even studies saying that worm farming relieves stress. So, happy farming!
Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit
Why Do You Want To Get Into Worm Farming
The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.
People get into worm farming for different reasons. Some do this to do their share in eliminating waste also known as worm composting while others feel that it is much cheaper to produce your own fish bait rather than buying it at the store.
Worms can eliminate waste by simply eating it. Once they eat, they produce what is known as vermicast which happens to be the safest fertilizer in the world. You can then scrape it off the bin and then put it in the soil.
If you think this is smelly like the poop you produce or what dogs and cats make, think again because it doesn?t. This is because it is ph neutral meaning it is halfway between acidic and alkalinic which is similar to water. When you smell it, you won?t even know it is the waste of the worm because it looks like soil.
The great thing about worm composting is that you can do this indoors or outdoors. You just need a container and in a few months time, you will be able to produce rich compost.
Now the best worms to use for composting are the red worms. Studies have shown that it reproduces easily and they have a very strong appetite. Don?t use dew worms for worm composting because these are less likely to produce the same results.
You can feed the red worms just about anything if the waste you plan to give them is plant based except for citrus and highly acidic vegetables, pineapple and grass clippings because these will kill the worms.
Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:
Other dietary options include coffee grounds or tea bags, crushed egg shells, fruit peelings, hair clippings, stale biscuits and cakes, saw dust, plate scrapings, soaked cardboard, vacuum cleaner dust and vegetable scraps.
Now the second reason why a lot of people get into worm farming is to make fish bait. In fact, the best one to use is the European Night Crawlers because you can use these under any water condition including salt water.
Just like the red worm, you need four things to be able to make these grow and multiply. This is namely bedding, food, moisture and proper pH.
You can build the bedding yourself or make your own as there are instructions how to do this in books and online. If you want to avoid the hassle, then buy your own but be aware that there are only a few of these around since this worm is only new in the US.
One of the most fascinating things about worms is that they spend most of their lives eating. They don?t sleep and the only time they ever take a break is when they have to reproduce. Worms never overpopulate unlike us humans because they have a way of maintaining the balance between the food and the space that is provided to them.
Worm farms are great and it doesn?t matter why you want to raise them. Some people who have successfully bred them have even turned it into a business. Regardless of your reason, you have to give some time and effort taking care of these creatures. We need the worms and they need us so you could say it is a win-win situation for both parties.
Now you can be a confident expert on Worm Farming. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on Worm Farming.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit
Tips for the New Worm Farming Adventure
So what is Worm Farming really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Worm Farming–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.
There are many different types of worms that are both good for you and bad for you. You must first know the difference before you choose which you invest in for your worm farming adventure. Worms such as tapeworms, ringworms, and pin worms are not good investments for worm farming. The types people raise to sell and use are those they can sell for fishing bait, food for birds and reptiles, or those used to help benefit the soil and their by-products.
Worms have no exoskeletons and are not created the same inside as humans and other animals. A worm has one brain and five hearts. Earthworms breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. They can’t control their own body temperatures and can’t maintain a body temperature. When they’re in captivity, they must depend on you to help them survive in the right temperature.
Some people grow worm farms for their own personal adventure. Kids use them for pets. Gardeners encourage their growth to gain healthy crops or flower gardens. They create excellent natural compost and fertilizers! Some people eat worms, although it isn’t something that is a big hit in the United States.
Those of you not familiar with the latest on Worm Farming now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.
Composting is encouraged to help the environment and to keep the waste down that is hauled to landfills daily. Worm farming is one small way to help. Small ways add up to big benefits when enough people join together in their efforts. If you have complaints about the environment, if you’ve thrown away food scraps, newspapers, sticks and grass clippings or leaves, if you want to be involved in a positive way to help then worm farming may be just the right adventure for you to take!
Earthworms, red worms, catalpa worms, and grub worms all make good fishing worms. If you want a variety of worms, though, you need to know that not all worms are raised the same. Not all worms make good bin partners because of the different temperature requirements.
Not all vegetables or food scraps make good food for your worms either. Strong foods like onion, garlic, and hot peppers are not as readily welcomed. If the worms don’t want to eat them, they’ll eat everything else first. That leaves a smell to your worm bin, which can ruin your new adventure really fast! It’s not like your own mom making you eat all your vegetables when you were little. These are not children and shouldn’t be tortured to endure foods they don’t want. If you feed an animal something that isn’t good for it or that it doesn’t like the taste of, it can starve itself to death and will just end up resenting you or trying to escape to get to the better food source. Meat products are not a good idea for your worms either since they can contain diseases, poisons from the animal’s system created by the medicines you must give your pet, and also a bad smell when decomposing.
Check out what the other worm farmers are doing. Their prices, shipping methods, growing bins, advertisements may all come in handy for helping you plan your own adventure in worm farming.
This article’s coverage of the information is as complete as it can be today. But you should always leave open the possibility that future research could uncover new facts.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his soon to be top ranked Perpetual20 training site: Perpetual 20
Worm Farm: A Growing and Profitable Niche Business
When you’re learning about something new, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.
Did you know that nature has its own natural garbage disposal system? Not only that, this system is so efficient, that it turns garbage into useful nutrients that the earth can reuse. This natural garbage disposal system is called the worm. Yes, the lowly worm consumes our garbage and puts it back into the earth in the form of soil enriching nutrients. Before we get into starting a worm farm business, let?s discuss a bit about how worms actually help the earth.
With the millions of tons of garbage that people produce every minute, it?s no wonder that our lowly worms are having trouble keeping up with us. But there is a way to help out the worms and mother earth. That way is called vermiculture.
Vermiculture is the technical term for growing worms. Many people practice vermiculture because it?s a great way to turn organic wastes into fertile compost. This compost is used by gardeners as it creates noticeable results in the growth of plants and vegetables. Some gardeners choose to buy the worms themselves, which is yet another commodity that can be used to start a business.
You can start your own business growing worms right in your backyard. It is very easy and inexpensive, and takes very little time to maintain. With the right contacts, it is possible to make sizeable profits selling worms and compost, particularly these days when the demand for organically grown food is increasing. Here are the basic things that you will need:
Good worms
For your business to be successful you should have the best type of worms. Gardeners and fishermen (who also buy worms for fishing), like to buy quality worms such as tiger worms and red worms. You should try to get these types of worms, and you will be able to find them in any worm nursery.
How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
Soil
Any decent soil will do, and you can just collect some from your backyard. You don?t need to buy expensive soil from the market to grow quality worms.
Containers
Worm farmers use vessels such as apple crates, plastic containers, or glass jars. Pretty much anything will work fine as long as it is waterproof.
Once you have your materials, simply line the containers with paper, place the soil in the containers, moisten the soil with fresh water, and then place your worms in the soil with some scraps of food. The only maintenance that you will need to do is regularly moisten the soil by spraying water, and occasionally feed your worms with table scraps.
Not only is having a worm farming business cheap and easy to maintain, it makes your household a lot more efficient. You can use your food wastes to feed your worms, and in turn your worms will create fertile compost that will fertilize your garden and vegetable patches. You can then also sell some worms and compost to gardeners, or give them away to your neighbors and friends.
If you are looking for a hobby or sideline business to make some extra cash, building a worm farm is definitely something worth looking into. The low overhead costs, and virtually no maintenance makes it an ideal business for people who don?t have time to nurture a bigger home business.
About the Author
John Cane is a health care enthuaist writer who writes for health care companies around the country. To find out more about one of the companies he endorses go to michigan health insurance quote,health insurance quote,small business health insurance quote
How to Make your Own Worm Farm
The following paragraphs summarize the work of Worm Farming experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of Worm Farming. Heed their advice to avoid any Worm Farming surprises.
Worm farming is one of the best and simplest way of advocating environmental consciousness through the process of recycling and how to make your own worm farm is just as easy as setting up your garden.
You can start building your own worm farm using old styrofoam boxes, used tires, wooden crates or similar type of box or crate containers.
You will also need to make sure the worm trays are kept moist -not too wet nor too dry, as long as it is damp and cool. Should it start drying up, just pour in water evenly until the compost bed absorb enough water to stay moist.
Various kinds of worm farm containers are available at hardware stores and garden shops, you may need to check around for fair prices and good buys, should you need to acquire new ones and save yourself the hassle of modifying boxes to make into worm farms.
Worm farms must be kept away from direct contact with the ground to prevent pests getting into the farm and there should also be a drainage tap or water collection area within the container in case it gets too wet, the liquid overflow can also be used a liquid fertilizer.
You must use special composting worms that can be purchased from garden shops and hardware stores, since ordinary earthworms are not ideal types for farming.
The ideal types of composting worms for your worm farms are Indian blues, red wrigglers or Tiger Worms.
You can start of with 1,500-2,000 worms to get your worm farm started.
Composting worms only eat organic matter, thus are good composters, instead of the usual earthworms that you find in the garden, which are earthworkers that aerate and burrow the soil and do not make them good composters.
The primary purpose of setting up a worm farm is not to mass produce worms or culture them, but to get the product that the worms produce when fed with organic material similar to that used in a compost pile.
This by-product is called castings and while it’s technically worm manure, it is a highly productive fertilizer or add-on for garden soil or potted plants.
The technical term for using worms to process compost and produce castings is ‘vermicomposting’, and the by-product is called vermicompost or vermicast.
To get high quality castings from worm farm, it is necessary use the proper type of worms.
Getting on all fours and digging the ground to look for worms is not exactly the way to go about it, since there are actually worms that are of the composting types.
If you don’t have accurate details regarding Worm Farming, then you might make a bad choice on the subject. Don’t let that happen: keep reading.
These are worms that adapt well to living in a limited area or boxed container and those processing organic waste are the ones used for worm farms.
The wrong type of worm, especially the usual earthworms, tends burrow down deep and are not suited to cramped spaces.
You may want to purchase your worms from an experienced vermicomposting supplier, as you go along, you may be able to identify your local worms and be able to establish whether or not they are good ones for suited to your farm.
An easy structure would be start the farm using a cubic container, be it a styrofoam box or wooden crate.
You begin by placing a couple of sheets of shredded newspaper or cardboard on the worm tray to serve as bedding, followed by a few handfuls of soil.
Moisten the bedding material lightly with water, and begin add some organic waste for food, and then the worms.
Cover with the top of the container with something that will keep out the light while retaining moisture, using materials such as burlap, shredded box board or newspaper.
As much as possible, try and resist the urge to look at the worms for a couple of weeks, then take off the cover and add some more food.
Continue to do this process as the worms multiply and if the container starts to smell bad, you may be supplying the worms with excess food than they can process.
Be sure not to add any animal products or waste like spoiled meat, milk products or oil-based matter, which can cause the smell or attract pests.
If you notice the bin is about half full, it?s a good time to harvest the castings.
There are several of ways to do this.
Some just push everything to one side, being sure to pull out large non-decomposed food and then they add the new bedding, dirt, food to the empty side and wait a couple of weeks for the worms to move over to the new side, leaving the vermicompost behind that can be removed and used in the garden.
So this is how to make your own worm farm and by now you already know how to go about it.
As your knowledge about Worm Farming continues to grow, you will begin to see how Worm Farming fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, now offering the host then profit baby plan for only $1 over at Host Then Profit
Amazing Facts for Worm Farm Enthusiasts
The more you understand about any subject, the more interesting it becomes. As you read this article you’ll find that the subject of Worm Farming is certainly no exception.
Here are some amazing facts for worm farm enthusiasts that can help a lot in getting to know more about the lowly creature.
So here are some amazing facts worth sharing.
Earthworms breathe through their skin and although an earthworm looks as simple as it is, it is a complex creature that with five hearts making up an astounding yet fully functional circulatory system, calciferous glands for neutralizing and digesting food.
Aside from that, it also has a saddle secreting mucus for egg capsules, a brain- although miniscule- and a central nervous system, hundreds of similar organs like the kidneys.
It has the organs of both a male and a female which allows it to reproduce on its own, a crop and gizzard with coarse sand matter to aid in grinding food.
Worm tea, the other politically-correct name for worm urine and castings or worm manure, make good fertilizers and best used for fattening garden ornamental plants or veretables.
Better believe it, but without the help of worms aiding in the decomposition process, every dead plant or animal would remain at the same state that it died over time.
Withered plants and leaves, as well as the carcasses of dead animals or even leftover or wasted food would just pile up and just add up to unkempt clutter.
The largest earthworm known to man was found in South Africa and measured an unbelievable 22 feet from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail.
Worms can grow a new tail, regardless of the number of times it gets cut off and it can even food equal to it?s weight and may even be made to eat more given the desired conditions.
If your Worm Farming facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important Worm Farming information slip by you.
Aside from his theory on evolution, the scientist Charles Darwin studied worms for almost 40 years, saying that, “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals in the world which have played so important a part in the history of the world….”
Worms have been around for 120 million years, without much change in their anatomy.
In the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs, even Cleopatra regarded worms as sacred.
Worms are indeed complex and, figuratively speaking, are highly sensitive creatures that can feel vibrations on the ground.
Earthworms are made up of at least 150 muscular round segments and there are more than 4,000 worm species with over 2,500 varieties.
There can be as much as a million or more worms in a single acre eating no less than 10 tons of withered leaves, roots, branches and stems and turning no less than 45 tons of soil a year.
When food and garden waste is dumped to a garbage landfill, organic nutrients that result from decomposition play a key part with today?s environmental problems from water pollution to the production of deadly greenhouse gasses.
More than half of all household garbage is leftover food and garden waste, thus, the practicality and cost-effectiveness of composting these organize wastes and worm farming are alternative options to producing homemade organic fertilizers.
Most composting worms that are usually used for worm farms do not have eyes, but are keen creatures that can sense vibrations, light and varying temperatures through specially-made and unique organs found in their skin.
If worms don’t like the conditions around them be it the temperature or the built-up moisture in the worm boxes, they will attempt to leave the area and look for another habitat and if they don’t find a new home in a different or suitable composted material, they die on their own.
Worm population in a well-maintained worm farm will double every 2-3 months and given the right conditions, adult worms can produce up to 12 offspring per week.
So, there we have it, some of the more amazing facts for worm enthusiasts.
About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his soon to be top ranked Perpetual20 training site: Perpetual 20
Facts about Worm Farming
Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Worm Farming? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Worm Farming.
Worm farming is a great way to naturally compost waste and other discarded materials. As a result, nutrient rich soil is produced and can be used in flower beds, crops, and gardens. Regardless of all the reading and research one does, issues may arise and can cause some concern.
Here are a few of the commonly reported questions and issues with worm farms.
Smell
It is often thought by many that a smelly worm farm is normal. In fact, it is not. If worms are kept in an appropriate environment, they will not smell. If the farm has an odor, the most likely cause is overfeeding.
Material to be composted is placed on the top layer of soil for the worms to consume. If too much is given to the worms, it can begin to rot causing a build up of bacteria within the walls of the worm farm. This is the cause of the smell.
To remedy the situation, simply discontinue feeding of the worms until any uneaten material is gone. The soil should also be stirred for aeration and to allow the worms to move more freely.
Bugs and other pests
Using a container with a tight lid can help prevent many pests from infesting the worm farm but some are sneaky enough to make it in regardless. Small vinegar flies are often a complaint among worm farmers. This type of fly is of no harm to the worm farm but typically is a result of overfeeding. Large flies appear when there is an abundance of food.
Ants are also a common issue. If ants are seen in the worm farm, the chances are pretty good that the soil is too dry. Adding water to the soil to increase the moisture can help eliminate ants. If using a worm farm that stands on legs, simply apply some petroleum jelly to the legs to prevent the ants from being able to climb up.
Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Worm Farming? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?
Maggots can be found in worm farms where meat is offered to the worms. The best scenario is to eliminate meat from the diet altogether. If maggots have made their way into the worm farm, they can be eliminated by placing a milk soaked piece of bread into the farm; the maggots will be drawn to it and can simply be removed.
Worms leave the farm
This topic leaves it up to the worm farmer to figure out what the problem is and fix it. If a worm is leaving, he is unhappy with his environment and is in search of a more suitable one. Worms will escape for reasons such as the soil being too dry or there isn’t enough food. On the other hand, soil that is too wet could also be affecting the worms, causing them to want to leave.
The source of the problem should either be eliminated or fixed. If the soil is too dry, fresh water should be added to the farm. If it is too wet, the excess should be drained and new bedding should replace the old. Locate the cause of the excess moisture and eliminate it.
Ensure that the worms are getting enough food and the farm is in a location where the temperature will remain constant.
Feeding
There may be some confusion on what to feed worms. Appropriate foods to feed include fruits, vegetables, egg shells, greens, tea bags and coffee grounds and filters. Non-food items can also be fed to the worms and include soaked cardboard, paper products, cotton rags, leaves, dirt and hair.
More important are the items that should not be fed. Dairy products, meat, citrus, onions and garden waste that has been treated with chemicals are all things to avoid in a worm farm.
These are just a few of the common topics when it comes to worm farming. Although they are pretty easy to care for, it is important to realize the reason for some of the changes or issues noticed within the worm farm. Problems should be corrected early to prevent the loss of the worms.
Providing a proper environment, correct food, appropriate moisture level and temperature will help ensure a supply of happy and healthy worms.
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By Anders Eriksson, proud owner of this top ranked web hosting reseller site: GVO