I got worms. Started my ranch and still have questions

[ctf58]

Started my worm ranch in a Rubbermaid tote thanks to the great advise from RetiredRR and others. Everything seems to be okay. Plenty of 1/8" air holes around the top, about 2" from the bottom and several holes on the bottom for drainage. Drilled several larger holes in the center of the top.
Filled with B/W shredded newspaper, cardboard and just a couple of hands full of garden soil. Soaked and squeezed the newspaper before putting in. Added 60 euro nightcrawlers. Added a handful of pumpkin guts to a corner and the worms ate it up in 3 days.

What I've noticed is that when I open the lid there might be 2 or 3 worms up on the sides.
Is this normal?
I have a sprayer bottle of distilled water and try to keep an even moisture. I also had a jug of distilled water with an aquarium heater set for 68 degrees in a corner and it had evaporated about an inch in a week. If I leave the lid on for 3 days I get condensation build up.
Is it to humid/moist? or are they just out "Night crawling"?

Been going for about 2 weeks now

Also I read about using chicken laying mash as food. Anyone tried it?


Thanks

[RetiredRR]

Chicken laying mash will mold if not properly applied. Very thin (sprinkled) on top. The laying mash should be moist when applied.
It will be consumed quickly, but if it is applied too thick, it will mold. Worms on the sides is not a problem. I'd lower the temp setting to about
50* so the possibility of freezing is minimized. Heat will encourage mold and condensation. Worms are hardy and while the European Night
Crawlers are more temperamental about heat, they will survive well. For a while you have products in the bedding that will generate some heat.
In a month, they should have most of the edible products in the bedding consumed. The worm castings will be concentrated on or near the bottom
of the bed. How much room at the top of the bedding do you have from the lid? Sounds like your cranked up and doing well.

[ctf58]

68 is as low as it goes. It is about a 20" bin and I have at least 8" to the top. I just put a very little sprinkling of mash on top and sprayed it it the water bottle. What product will be generating heat through decomposition? Newspaper, cardboard, pumpkin guts? Pumpkin does not last long but do I need to worry about it molding? With just 60 worms I'm unsure how much to feed. It does take a little longer for them to eat the rind of the pumpkin. Is mold a bad thing? I wondered if it was good or bad because I was thinking decomposition was a good thing.

[RetiredRR]

68* is warm, but it will get better with time, and yep, decomposition does generate heat. Pumpkin guts is a part of the process and all the other stuff
combined is generating some heat. Just the natural process of decomposition........kind of like a compost bed. When you speak of newspapers, just
a note, I was told the ink was not beneficial or good in any way for the worms. Mold is due to too much humidity, but light will fight the formation of
mold. Kind of like a mushroom bed does not do well with light on it. If you stopped feeding for one week, it would lower the temp of your bed. And, it
would allow the worms to feed off of the bedding material you have already placed in the bed. The soil you placed in the bed even has some food value
left, but will help the bedding to stay moist too. Note when the worms get on the sides.....as long as they look full and rounded, they are doing well,
but if they look dehydrated, they need moisture. Rain water is best and tap water is last. Sprinkling water over the mash works well. Just keep the food
source on the top of the bedding as much as possible. If you see mold building up, just scoop it off and throw it outside. Mold is a fungus and different
fungi has different effects. When you buy a container of worms at the bait store, the bedding is what the worms come in, and you never find mold in
your worm container. And lastly, you never learn all there is to know about raising worms. Trial and error is a part of the process.

[Tracker123]

If you see mold, you're feeding them too much. Only sprinkle on top what they'll eat in a couple of days. Chicken mash does work. I use Purina worm chow (yes there is such a thing) that I get at the feed store - they order it for me. I have also found out that when the worms crawl up the sides that they have too much moisture (water). Good luck.

[Charliee]

I use rice bran and it seems to work pretty well for me. I also put some powdered egg shells in every now and then to moderate the PH and to give them some grit. But let me say this, when you think you have it all figured out, something will happen to let you know you don't. Good luck and keep trying. I sst out to raise enough worms so that I would not have to buy any next year. I feel that I have reached my goal now.

[shipahoy41]

I feed my redworms yellow corn meal. Does the job.

[arkansasbowhunter]

Good info. Yall got some pix of the setups ?

[thill]

Give them any vegetable scraps your kitchen generates. No meat. Feed them VERY lightly, if you only have 60 worms so far, but they breed fast.

Personally, I like using a block of peat moss as bedding, with a few handfulls of soil mixed in for bacteria, and a nice layer of damp shredded newspaper on top. When you feed them, pull back the newspaper, then cover the food with it.

IF you are getting mold, stop feeding for awhile. Chicken food is very concentrated, and will cook your worms, if you use too much. I lost my first batch of worms to chicken food. Household scraps worked much better. Eventually, I had three bins chock full of worms, and couldn't keep up with feeding them. When we started raising chickens, they got all of our scraps, and the worm bins eventually went into the garden. Chickens are WAY easier for composting purposes, as they eat EVERYTHING. And their poop is really good for the soil, and now we have worms all over our yard, so I guess it all worked out for me.

Good luck with your bed!

[Gobob]

Cool I'd like to see some pictures of these setups