Worm Tube for the SFG

Will the worms live?
Will they process the muck and leave castings?
Will they reproduce?
Will the diluted "liquid" keep 'til Spring?
Will drying help the castings?

Yes they will live
yes they will process the muck and leave castings
yes they will reproduce
soak up the liquid with dry newspaper shreds for now, that will turn into more stuff for the worms to eat
Don't dry the castings out, that will kill the micro things that live in the castings, that's what makes it so good for the plants

Josh wrote:micro things that live in the castings, that's what makes it so good for the plants

My wife (Nana) swears she can hear the worms as they're feeding in her "Worm Factory"!

My wife (Nana) swears she can hear the worms as they're feeding in her "Worm Factory"!

You can...they make a chomppin sound!! I hear it too!!

IDK if this video is already posted somewhere in this thread, but I couldn't resist sharing it after the last two comments. It makes me want to start a worm bin, just so I can listen!

"It's the sound that's made by worms!"

trukrebrew,
Wait'll she sees this!

[quote="trukrebew"It's the sound that's made by worms!"quote]
Love it!
GG

I'm definitely doing the worm hotels in the four corners of my gardens. Let me know if you are doing that and think it is a mistake. Are the worms covering the whole box or should I put one in the center? How many worms do you think I should start with in a 4x8 garden?
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|o................. o| o's are the worm hotels
|..........o.........|
o___________o|
Do you guys think it will work better like that or there is no point?

Josh wrote:...
Don't dry the castings out, that will kill the micro things that live in the castings, that's what makes it so good for the plants

Many thanks Josh. We now have 3-4 lbs of worm castings (maybe a bit dry though). Hope they'll keep 'til Spring in a covered container on the basement floor.
Lee

Some things you have to know about red wiggler worms:

They slow down below 40 degree F
They stress above 85 degrees F
They don't eat the food, they eat the bacteria and mold on the food. You don't want to be fresh, you want it be decaying. Pulverizing the food in a blender helps.
Too much food can cause too much heat, and cook them (less is more...worms!)

Reds mature in 8 weeks
In 6 mos 1 red can have a lineage of 96 worms
In 3-4 mos you should have twice as many worms as you started with
They like damp, not wet
shredded paper on top helps keep them cool. It will break down and be eaten, too

Did they crawl away? It could be several things:
They were raised in a different media than you are using (some sellers use newspaper exclusively, and dirt feels different.)
It's too wet
It's too dry
It's too hot (too much food or the weather)
A storm was coming

If your collection smells or is attracting bugs, something is wrong with your ratios. Add damp shredded paper and less food.

Want to force them to adjustment to your media? Expose them to light. They will hide in your media.

It's all about balance.

Since some of you have been using this idea for over a year, I was wondering if you still like the results?

Also, our temperatures are rather cool and a lot of our days are partly to totally cloudy. We have only a couple of weeks as a rule that the temperatures are 85 or more, with about 150+- days of sun yearly. Our winter temps also tend to be relatively mild, with normal night-time temps in the mid to low 30's, and only 30 days or so (not consecutive) of lower temps (30-38 degrees day 25 or less overnight).

So... my next question, based on this information is, would the black tubes be better suited to our temperatures? I'm thinking that black might absorb more of the available heat during the winter, keeping the interior and surrounding area a bit warmer than the surrounding area?

The last question is whether the best worm for my area would be the red worms or the night-crawlers? My beds are raised from the ground, with no fabric or blocking material under them.
Thanks

The bucket is big enough to take up the entire square and extends through the bottom into the soil. I may attract garden worms in addition to the red worms I will stock after the last frost.



I have a plastic saucer on top of the bucket. My grids will go on next month.

This is perfect. I am going to add this to my garden. do you fill up the tube with food and put the worms on top? Or do you need to put a little shredded newspaper and the food?

do you fill up the tube with food and put the worms on top? Or do you need to put a little shredded newspaper and the food?

I put a little compost in first, then the worms, then the food, then a little bit of damp shredded newspaper, or more compost.

hubby and the kids are making our hotels today....

thank you josh for starting this thread! and all the in-put from everyone!

hugs

rose......

I am trying the Worm Tube as my first ever attempt at any vermicomposting because it seems so simple. The only large drill bit we have is a 1/2 inch, would that be enough? The tube is approximately 11 inches. Do you think I will need more holes? Below is a picture of what I have done. The pattern of holes you see goes all around half of the tube.

I think it will work fine roseinarosecity! Looks like the holes are big enough to me, and enough of them too.

My 4 worm tubes are made and I just placed an order for 1 lb of worms! Woot!

Looking forward to worming!

kittykat wrote:My 4 worm tubes are made and I just placed an order for 1 lb of worms! Woot!

Looking forward to worming!

Oh, if only you lived closer - my daughter LOVES to find worms. (She just turned 13 and still loves to.)

I've read through some this thread. If I have a raised bed with weed block at the bottom, isn't ok to have worms in there? I was leveling the area around my perimeter to put a flagstone walkway, and every worm I came across I tossed into the bed.

Kim

We had a Rubbermaid tote with holes drilled in it as a vermicompost bin years ago. I was such a wimp when it came time to harvest, because I just didn't want to touch the worms. With gloves on, I felt like I couldn't harvest the castings from the newspaper strips from the worms very well. After a few harvests of me being squeamish, I did an Elliott from E.T. and let all of the worms go free in the garden, lol.

Except for putting the worms in the tube, would I have to touch the worms?

Is there ever such thing as too many worms in a SFG?

My SFG box is actually a 4'x8' sandbox left by the previous homeowner that I filled with MM. The four corners have braced bits of wood for reinforcement, and these worm tubes would be great for two of the corners where I can't seem to grown anything.

Well, we did it. Hubby was quickly on board with this project since he knows the value of vermicompost. He picked up 2-4" PVC pipe in 2' lengths, which was the largest diameter he could find.

My largest drill bit is 1/2" so that's what I used.

For the lids, we had one clay pot, purchased another, and used used the screen from a window that needs to be re-screened anyway.

He stopped by the bait shop for the red wigglers, which came in little butter tubs filled with dirt/castings/brown stuff. So, I mustered the courage and dumped those worms down the hole. This was a fun project for us. DH will look at the garden and enjoy the harvest, but he's rather hands off. Glad we both worked on this project.

Thanks for this original post.

I don't think you have to touch the worms after they're in the worm tube... They just roam around and do their worm thing, from what I can fathom...

Here's a pic of my worm tubes set up in the raised beds:



I also found this link for a Worm Menu - do's and don'ts on what to feed your worms:

http://urbanwormgirl.com/worm-menu/

4 more sleeps until my worms come...

thanks for the worm menu!!

do you all think i will gross out my friends and family if i post this on my frig next to the kids school menu?

FamilyGardening wrote:thanks for the worm menu!!

do you all think i will gross out my friends and family if i post this on my frig next to the kids school menu?

Family - no, they already know about the worms. Friends will be ok if they know about your gardening and the success you have. Casual visitor might be a little offput, but what a conversation starter and and chance to pass on SFG info.

Kay

I'm using leftover flexible black daylight drains for tubes. The holes can be cut with scissors. Then put a bamboo stake inside to anchor it. Yesterday buried the first "worm corral" to catch then release worms into the tubes, here is the thread on how to make this very simple box:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t10588-corral-earthworms-for-your-garden

What happens when winter comes again? If you put red wigglers into these, will they freeze?
Or do you just use garden worms for these..?