Worms! Yes, Worms are live Bait!

[thudpucker]

I have an old bathtub with varying soils, Rabbit and 'other' Litter mixed in with a lot of Coffee grounds.
Winter was cold this year.
I saw 11 Robins in my yard one warm day last week. Getting Worms of some kind.
But not one Robin went to my worm Bed!:p

I wonder if I'm out of the worm business? Do they know more than I do about raising worms?

I dont want to go digging out there, it's too cold yet. I wonder if there's a miracle food I can dump in that Tub to bring them back?

[cricket george]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH, I think I would go dig in my bed and see if anything was there. Personally I use an old freezer and I add a 25 watt light bulb for head during the winter. They do fine all winter in there.

[thudpucker]

Good Idea you have there.
I have enough Wood and Insulation left from tearing down a Chicken House, I could build a nice Insulated Worm bed.
Thanks for that idea.
I have some Sand in my worm bed but it get's hard and is difficult to dig in.
I'm going for the soft loam and maybe some stuff from the Compost pile this time.

[cricket george]

If the sand is hard & difficult to dig in then I doubt you have any worms because you haven't watered them. Yes, compost would be good, real good. I use 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 loamy soil, & 1/3 cow manure. I feed them fruit and vegetable matter from the kitchen. My chest has worked fine for many years. I keep the mix moist with non chlorinated well water. You might use creek or lake water to stay away from chlorine.

[thudpucker]

On YouTube it said they don't like Citrus and Onions. Also, I got another idea from them, to use a Thick Styrofoam box with a lid.
I didn't see anything about watering them.
If I leave a 1" Rain hole in the top of the Box and a Hole in the bottom for a drain, will that be sufficient?

[flycaster]

On YouTube it said they don't like Citrus and Onions. Also, I got another idea from them, to use a Thick Styrofoam box with a lid.
I didn't see anything about watering them.
If I leave a 1" Rain hole in the top of the Box and a Hole in the bottom for a drain, will that be sufficient?

If you use the thick styrofoam box, DO NOT place the lid on tight. The worms will come out of your "soil" and climb up the inside of the box. When you remove the lid you will find the worms all along the top edge. (speaking from experience)

Cover the "soil" with a few layers of newsprint, this will help with the conservation of moisture in the box.

I started with milled sphagnum moss moistened with water, and placed my worms into the box, box only filled to less than half full. When placing vegetable matter try to get it covered with the "soil", this will help keep the decomposition odor down.. I place ALL of my kitchen waste, onion peel, cut citrus, lime, lemon, orange mixed with the other waste. I have not noticed that it bothers the worms. I do not have any holes in my box, I find that the moisture from the vegetable waste is sufficient to keep things moist. The newsprint that you place over the soil should absorb some of the moisture from the soil. This paper should stay moist, if not you will need to sprinkle some water on the paper to maintain a moist environment.

[cricket george]

you want a moist environment. The red wigglers LOVE cantalope and watermelon. High sugar content. A 1" hole in the top is not sufficient to add moisture. The hole in the bottom if it is not screened will allow the worms to leave. The soil needs to be moist enough that you can almost squeeze the water out. Worms contain a high quantity of water. If the soil is not moist they will dehydrate. Do not put any meat just vegetables in the soil.

[thudpucker]

Reading your post's, I wonder if running the Kitchen Waste through the Veggimatic or Food emulsifier would help things along?
I dont know, I'm asking.
Can the box be outside in the cold winter?
How about the Hot summer?

[shipahoy41]

Send a pm to "G" He has done this quite a bit and uses an old pepsi box.

["G"]

All I do is I use a old deep freezer and a old Pepsi Box. I fill it have full with a 50-50 mixture of peat moss and potting soil. I have drain holes in the bottom and I water it down every few days and cover it with newspaper or cardboard. I feed them nothing but cornmeal. I roll the news paper back everyday and sprinkle corn meal ( no more than they can eat in one day......you will finally figure out the right amount) and then cover back up with the newspaper. I keep the bed damp but not soaked. I raise all the worms that I need and never have a problem. Feeding them vegetable scraps and all that other stuff you guys are talking about will attract ants and ants will kill your worms. I have been raiseing red worms for years this way.