Worm Tube for the SFG

Turan wrote:Has any one tried raising a few night crawlers? My compost is full of them and I was thinking of dropping a few into my potted plants for the winter.

Turan, sounds like you are doing a great job already, is your compost cold? I also have an abundance of nightcrawlers in my garden. Until I planted the garden this summer I had never seen one, now I can go out and get as many as I want. It must just be that providing them the right environment and you'll have more than you need.

Hey guys, do you think these perforated drain tubes would work out well?:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100211705/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=drainage+pipe&storeId=10051#.UJAPQG_A8bc

The description shows they're 3" but I saw some 4" tubes at a local HD recently.

You just need holes in the bottom 6 inches where your soil is. Not sure that picture shows it would work. May have to cut your own holes.

Or - take a look at this stuff. I had a bunch of this left over, cut a few holes in it with scissors and it worked great. Diameter is wider and it's economical too. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100212428&R=100212428

llama momma wrote:You just need holes in the bottom 6 inches where your soil is. Not sure that picture shows it would work. May have to cut your own holes.

Or - take a look at this stuff. I had a bunch of this left over, cut a few holes in it with scissors and it worked great. Diameter is wider and it's economical too. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100212428&R=100212428

Great idea! I was thinking about installing a few french drains in my yard eventually so was looking into getting some kind of piping. I guess corrugated is the way to go for all-around use

Glad to help

Turan wrote:Has any one tried raising a few night crawlers? My compost is full of them and I was thinking of dropping a few into my potted plants for the winter.

I would do it! Here is an article mentioning this.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5556716_use-worms-indoor-plants.html

I read another that said just put some old plant material or bits of fruits or vegetables on top of the soil as food. I am seriously considering doing this myself. You would also want to make sure chemical fertilizer was not used in the soil. You would also want to keep the soil moist, not sopping wet.

"Tips & Warnings
Worms and plants will both benefit from additional fertilizing. This will feed the worms and help you maintain them.

Worms can reproduce quickly and may overwhelm your potted plants. Worms will die in freezing temperatures.

Read more: How to Use Worms in Indoor Plants | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5556716_use-worms-indoor-plants.html#ixzz2B2A1cSgQ"

The above were two replies to the article above and cut/pasted here. I doubt if worms will overwhelm the potted plants.
Any thoughts?
What's with this fertilizing business? Worms need feeding, not fertilizing.

Help! I am concerned that my worms are no longer healthy and want to correct the problem before it is too late. They seem slower than when I got them and paler in color then when I got them. I don't see that they are eating the food either. Because I bought 1/4 lb of them I have been weighing the food to just under 1/4 lb. I have stopped adding new because they don't appear to have eaten any of the other. I'm not sure what to do other than start over and I need to find the problem so as not to repeat it. Am I just being a paranoid "mother" & worrying too much?

Since you've only had your 1/4 pound of worms a week or so, please understand when worms are moved to a new environment they need a couple weeks to several weeks to acclimate. You said the food is not beng finished which is a perfect clue they are not ready for more food. Any food not finished in a week can be removed. At this point keep the moisture light but not soggy. You really can keep things dryer than one might expect. My tubs do not have drainage and are lightly misted maybe once or twice every 2 weeks or so. If things smell really bad it could be from dead worms and or rotting food.

llama momma wrote:Since you've only had your 1/4 pound of worms a week or so, please understand when worms are moved to a new environment they need a couple weeks to several weeks to acclimate. You said the food is not beng finished which is a perfect clue they are not ready for more food. Any food not finished in a week can be removed. At this point keep the moisture light but not soggy. You really can keep things dryer than one might expect. My tubs do not have drainage and are lightly misted maybe once or twice every 2 weeks or so. If things smell really bad it could be from dead worms and or rotting food.

Wow, I have been misting the top almost every day, I will stop that!
Good news, there is no smell.
Thanks a million for putting my mind at ease.

Petunia:

Posting in here so I can keep track of this thread. How is this working out?

I had to announce I bought 30 (got 32) bait worms in the sporting goods section of a store. I got the container all set up with shredded newspaper, some food, dried leaves and my daughter put in some soil. I don't know if we needed the soil but she seemed to want to put that in. It probably can't hurt. Everything was moistened and I have the lid slightly ajar to allow for air circulation. I will try to keep updating and we should ask Petunia how her worms are doing.

Kelejan wrote:I doubt if worms will overwhelm the potted plants.
Any thoughts?
What's with this fertilizing business? Worms need feeding, not fertilizing.

I read about someone putting a garden worm into an indoor potted plant and they would sprinkle cornmeal on top. I also read that you can stick a little bit of kitchen waste in the soil for the worm. I think one worm in each pot would be enough.

Triciasgarden wrote:I had to announce I bought 30 (got 32) bait worms in the sporting goods section of a store. I got the container all set up with shredded newspaper, some food, dried leaves and my daughter put in some soil. I don't know if we needed the soil but she seemed to want to put that in. It probably can't hurt. Everything was moistened and I have the lid slightly ajar to allow for air circulation. I will try to keep updating and we should ask Petunia how her worms are doing.

They are doing great!!! I can actually tell there are more, at least it seems to me. Were your worms red worms and if so would you tell me, via PM if you wish, which store it was. I tried so many and only found nightcrawlers. And how much were they.

@Josh,
I am almost finished with my cold frame and after I prove out the temps for the month of December I want to use it. I so want to put worms in it but am very concerned about the possibility of them overwhelming the space. Seems like quite a task to remove them when that happens. How did it work out with your worm tube and what did you do when the cold set in, or did it? (don't know where you live)

petunia52 wrote:
They are doing great!!! I can actually tell there are more, at least it seems to me. Were your worms red worms and if so would you tell me, via PM if you wish, which store it was. I tried so many and only found nightcrawlers. And how much were they.

I got the worms at Walmart. They are red worms and my daughter said she thinks they cost around $2.50. So far mine are moving around some. I was going to feed a worm to each of my four chickens and when I went to pick up the third worm, he was like all muscle, very squirmy and freaked me out. I changed my mind!

Evidently I was wrong in my assessment of the worms. Today I went down to find 3 worms at the top of a wall of the bin. They couldn't get out with the lid on, still alive I put them back in. Something is wrong, why are they trying to get out of the box? Anyone have any ideas?

I did some reading on the "Wiggler Hilton" topic. I have only gotten to page 7 (there are many more) and it seems quite common for the worms to travel up or down. One person mentioned to check the moisture level of the bedding, that if it is too dry they may try to crawl out. I read through this site in the Spring or Summer but was so busy growing vegies, trying to find out what was eating my plants and trying to find a way to keep many ferrel cats from using my beds as their bathroom that I couldn't wrap my brain around this topic. Now is a much better time and by just reading the first 7 pages, I found I need to take the leaves out of my bin. I sure jumped the gun on getting set up. I am going to get the three bin system they mentioned set up in the very near future.

Oh also, someone mentioned that worms would tend to travel at night when the sun goes down. They do not like light so if you are concerned that they may be trying to escape, you could have some sort of light above.

Anyway, here is the link for you: https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t997-wiggler-hilton?highlight=wiggler+hilton. I think you will like it. I didn't finish reading because I wanted to get you this info asap. I may finish my reading tomorrow because I am sure tired. Good luck!

...Anyway, here is the link for you: https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t997-wiggler-hilton?highlight=wiggler+hilton. I think you will like it. I didn't finish reading because I wanted to get you this info asap. I may finish my reading tomorrow because I am sure tired. Good luck![/quote]

Tricia, you are such a jewel!!! This is so much like mine, I cannot believe it. I built mine trying to duplicate the one the "worm lady" had which she purchased and it was quite expensive. My only level is almost identical to the first on the hotel. I already have 2 more identical bins (all 3 stolen from my camping set-up) that I will duplicate this today. I guess I will have to don some gloves (still squeamish) and re-do their home. My biggest concern is disturbing them as they seem to have just gotten comfortable enough to eat.
I know what you mean about summer taken up by gardening concerns, I am glad I started this in the fall, I would not have made it in the summer. I do have my set up in an unused room downstairs and the only light would come from the window above it, but surely can't be much at night. I will go through the whole site you sent and see what else I can learn. I too "jumped the gun" on mine.
By the way, I loved your story about feeding the chickens and freaking out when you got the muscley worm. Did the chickens ever get their treat?
Thanks so much for the info!!!

petunia52 wrote:@Josh,
I am almost finished with my cold frame and after I prove out the temps for the month of December I want to use it. I so want to put worms in it but am very concerned about the possibility of them overwhelming the space. Seems like quite a task to remove them when that happens. How did it work out with your worm tube and what did you do when the cold set in, or did it? (don't know where you live)

It does get pretty cold here where I live, once it gets cold I stop putting food in the worm tube. I don't know where the worms go, but come early spring even when it's still cold, I have found worms in my SFG. I then start adding food to the tube. I have never had any problems with the worms overtaking the garden, or dying out either.

...It does get pretty cold here where I live, once it gets cold I stop putting food in the worm tube. I don't know where the worms go, but come early spring even when it's still cold, I have found worms in my SFG. I then start adding food to the tube. I have never had any problems with the worms overtaking the garden, or dying out either.[/quote]

Appreciate the info Josh, that makes me feel much better. The reason I have taken so long in finishing my cold frame is due to following much of the research on making a cold frame useable the entire winter and not needing additional heat source. I was hoping that would keep the worms from freezing, as I read they will do. Sounds like you get pretty cold as well so I will no longer worry about that. Thanks a million!

I read the entire 20 pages of this post today, my husband asked me (when I got done) if I was now a qualified "wormologist!" Hmmm.... not quite yet, but I feel confident that I can do the worm tubes! From what you guys have described, I think I can make things work even though we get very hot weather during the summer. Everything I had read before just discouraged me from even trying.

Thank you Josh, for sharing your journey and what you've learned. I'll get things ready and order worms before spring.

petunia52 wrote:
By the way, I loved your story about feeding the chickens and freaking out when you got the muscley worm. Did the chickens ever get their treat?
Thanks so much for the info!!!

No, I put them all back and said forget it until next time. I was going to pull out four because I have four chickens. I had two in my hand and was dealing with them good enough. Then I got the short fat one and he was a fighter. I screamed and dumped them all back in and gave up, lol! My heart rate still speeds up a bit when I think of that one! I can't remember what I gave them but I got something that didn't move.

You're welcome! One thing about doing some research is I learn a lot. I needed to anyway.

I agree with you all! The questions, answers and discussions fill in all the details nicely!