I bought a worm farm yesterday

[XemaSab]

1000 little red worms.

They're going to eat my kitchen scraps.

I am also hoping to get a big area for making compost from the yard waste, instead of sending it to the county compost-cum-biomass facility.

It's a tiny step, but it's something. :)

[hobbit709]

1. So did Rocky and Bullwinkle.

[silverweb]

2. Excellent!

I've had a "Can-O-Worms" worm farm for about 3 years now and love it. My little container garden loves the compost and the "worm juice" (aka "compost tea") and the worms produce enough to share with neighbors.

Between recycling and feeding garbage to the worms, I have very little trash that needs collection.

Congratulations and enjoy!

[robinlynne]

3. Yeah!

[formercia]

4. The vast majority of our trash is packaging materials

We recycle whatever we can, and the scraps go to a friendly flock of Crows.

Worm farms are a great idea, especially if one likes to bait fish.

[murielm99]

5. I made my own worm farm.

I did it when I was still teaching, and then brought it home. It is a great idea. The worms eat all the scraps.

My houseplants went nuts when I used the worm dirt in them. They grew like crazy. I have a flower bed that went nuts, too.

[morningglory]

6. GardenWeb has a huge forum on vermiculture, if you run into

difficulties. Lots of info.

[FSogol]

7. What is the advantage of having a worm farm over a compost pile?

[Nictuku]

8. Worms do it faster

They break down the veggies much faster. I actually have both, a compost and a worm farm, and the worm stuff seems to be even richer than the compost. But compost takes a lot longer. The worm farm can't possible use all the veggie scraps we produce from the yard and kitchen, which is why I have the compost.

In addition to breaking it down faster, I also get this black worm juice every other week or so which I mix with water to water plants that need extra nutrition, and it seems to help. In fact, I've got a Norfolk pine tree that lived in a box for way too long, and it was becomming root bound. I finally was able to plant it in the ground when I moved, but it was having trouble adapting to the new environment which is a lot dryer than where I was. Even though I was watering it a lot, it looked like it was dying, and I was really bummed. I thought I was going to lose it until I started giving it the worm juice, and within a couple of months it seems a lot greener than it had been. I think it is going to make it now. :)

I'm going to be mixing the worm stuff with the compost next spring in the planter beds when I get my garden going again,
I'm hoping next year I'll have healthier looking vegies than I did this year.

[XemaSab]

9. I've heard it put forth

that the mucous that the worms secrete helps build soil structure and helps retain water.

I am eager to see if this is the case. :D

[FSogol]

11. Thanks for the info. n/t

[MedicalAdmin]

23. In a word: poop.

Worms make just about the best fertilizer on the planet - pH balanced, slow releasing and seriously powerful.

We've been using them for almost 20 years and they are easy to use, cut down on waste, and seriously help build soil and support plants. I winter mine I mtgs basement and summer them in the garage. And I give away worms every year. I also use them to make soil in our yard by adding the sandy yard soil to the veggies and letting the worms make me dark black soil by the bucket.

Compost is great but it doesn't seem to be as nutrient rich as the worm poop. It's also more work to compost IMO.

[jberryhill]

10. The Devastating Truth Of the Factory Worm Farming Industry...

You should only buy your worms from a certified cruelty-free source, you know.

[FSogol]

13. I'll get my from the local animal shelter.

:crazy:

[jberryhill]

15. Your local worm rescue organization might have a list of no-kill shelters

Good idea!

[nineteen50]

12. Worms favorite food

melon rinds.

[Nictuku]

19. I didn't know that! Thanks :)

[mysuzuki2]

14. isn't it hard to keep the slimy little suckers

harnessed to the tiny plows?

[jberryhill]

16. No... the hard part is breaking them to the saddle

Once you have that down, the plow is not a problem.

[stuntcat]

17. oo coooool!

nice, I want to do that someday!

[Sal Minella]

18. In the dead of winter when it's thirty below outside, I love popping off

the top of my worm bin and smelling that fresh-turned earth smell. It's divine.

They love sweet stuff -- wilted grapes, watermelon rind, apple cores.

I've kept a kitchen worm bin for years and love my little redworms.

[hunter]

20. Hmmm... Farmer XemaSab...

Pretty soon now you'll hire undocumented workers, get subsidized water, and vote Republican.

;)

[XemaSab]

24. Hey, it's California!

:D

(I have seriously considered getting undocumented workers over here to dig a well in the yard. :D )

[Pool Hall Ace]

21. Oooooh, do tell more!

A local vermicomposting lady told me that I could attract the red wigglers by setting some hardware cloth in a shady area, adding wet newspaper, and covering it with a tarp. The composting worms should have been attracted to it, but I had no luck at all. :(

[madokie]

22. Friend did that a few years back

started off with them in an old bathtub and about a month later they were all gone, escaped out the drain hole. Never once did he suspect they'd escape on him but there he was holding a tub of smelly dirt with no worms
Good luck on your farming