How to grow a red worm at home?

Despite the huge variety of artificial baits for fishing, nothing can replace real worms. Therefore, anyone who knows a lot about this prefers to always have them at hand. That is why many fishermen ask a natural question: "How to breed worms for fishing on your own?"

Lovers of winter fishing know perfectly well how difficult it is to get the necessary bait at this time. It's good if there is a bloodworm on sale. And if it is not there, then you have to use any available food, which does not always guarantee a successful catch. As a result, many are thinking about how to breed worms for fishing at home.

General information about earthworms

Almost any fish can be caught with this bait. There are several varieties of these living organisms that are popular with anglers. How to breed earthworms? How are they different from others? This general name covers a number of families of small-bristled worms. The most common individuals have a body of 3-15 cm. There are worms 2.5-40 cm long. There are 1,500 species of them, although most of them are found in the tropics. In temperate latitudes, there are about 100 species of worms. They live in the ground and lead an active life at night. During the day, they can be found on the ground after rain. Due to the fact that in the process of their digestion they process organic residues, the most valuable fertilizer is obtained - vermicompost. Thinking about the question of how to breed earthworms, it is necessary to understand the most common types of this bait for fish.

Red worms

Many fishermen believe that red worms are the most attractive bait. They are suitable for both industrial and domestic breeding. At the same time, a large increase in their biomass can be obtained in a fairly short period of time. The body of such creatures contains proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, making them an excellent food not only for fish, but also for pets and birds.

How to breed red worms? There are different ways to grow them. In one cycle, lasting 3 months, up to 30 kg of worms are harvested from 1 m2. Almost any organic waste is used to feed them, such as food waste, animal manure, bird droppings, straw, waste from the paper, woodworking, meat and fishing industries.

Habitat conditions for red worms

How to breed worms in the garden? To do this, it is necessary to satisfy their need for nitrogen-containing organic matter. In such an environment, their growth and fertility are greatly enhanced. Adequate soil moisture is required to grow red worms. If it is below 30-35%, then the development of individuals will be inhibited. When the humidity level drops below 22%, they can die in a week. That is why it is necessary to regularly water the ground. Its optimum humidity is 70-85%.

Soil acidity below pH5 and above pH9 is unsuitable for breeding worms. In such an environment, they will die in a week. The best option is earth, which has an acidity of pH7. They also do not tolerate saline soil, and a salt concentration of more than 0.5% is simply fatal for them.

At temperatures below 5 ° C, the worms do not feed. They crawl deep into the soil and hibernate. As a rule, they wake up 10-14 days before the soil thaws. The optimum temperature for breeding them is 18-24 ° C.

Reproduction of red worms

Each adult lays 18-24 cocoons in summer. They contain from 1 to 20 eggs. After 3 weeks, young individuals appear, and after 7-9 weeks they can already bear offspring themselves. Most often, one individual lives for 10-15 years. Moreover, with age, their size only increases. Sexually mature young worms weigh about 1 g each.

Growing worms

How to breed dung worms? Collect a sufficient number of individuals in old heaps of humus or in clusters of last year's decayed foliage. Such worms are not so common in ordinary soil, but they can be found in some places with high humidity (for example, in raspberries). Dung worms are very similar to red ones. Only when put on a hook do they release yellow contents that have an unpleasant odor.

To create a worm cultivator, only about 500 individuals per 1 sq. m. One of the main factors for the successful reproduction of these organisms is the quality of the substrate in which they will live. For him, manure, straw, hay, sawdust are used, which are thoroughly mixed. Dense compost creates an ideal environment for worms to live and breed. It should stay moist even in dry weather.

Construction of a worm cultivator

In a shady place of the site, a small ditch (no more than 2 m2) with a depth of 30-35 cm is dug. A layer of clay is laid and tamped at its bottom. It should rise to the very edges of the ditch. The thickness of this layer is 10 cm. Good soil (preferably black earth) is poured over the clay. Next, the groove is covered with humus, which is well compacted. Ash or coal cannot be added to it, since the worms cannot tolerate them.

The collected individuals are poured into the substrate, evenly distributing them over the entire groove. In such a worm house, you can grow not only dung or red worms, but also ordinary earth or earthworms. For each of these types, the most suitable composition of the substrate is selected. So, for earthworms and earthworms, you should not add manure to the soil. Better to limit yourself to compost.

When breeding dung worms in a warm winter, they can be collected for fishing even during frosts. How can this phenomenon be explained? This is due to the fact that a large amount of manure in the substrate increases the temperature in it. For the winter, the wormhole is covered with bags and sprinkled with earth and snow.

Breeding worms at home

How to breed earthworms at home? Although the overwhelming majority of people breed them in their summer cottage or personal plot, some avid fishermen manage to do this in an apartment environment. True, not everyone succeeds in this, but those who have learned to breed worms in an apartment are provided with good bait all year round.

How to breed worms for fishing at home? To do this, you must choose the right container for their content. A wooden or plastic box can be used as housing. As a last resort, you can use a regular canvas bag for this. But worms cannot live long in such containers. For long term dilution, it is best to use an enamel bowl, bowl, or bucket. The worms will do just fine in the old aquarium.

After choosing a container, they begin to prepare the substrate. It should consist of soil in which there is no or very little humus. The best for this purpose is the land in which there are few fallen leaves and grass roots.This is due to the fact that during decomposition, this organic matter takes a lot of oxygen from the soil, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the organisms we are considering.

Feeding the worms

Answering the question of how to quickly breed worms, it is safe to say that the rate of their growth and reproduction depends entirely on the feed. Almost any organic waste (peeling vegetables or fruits), unsweetened sleeping tea leaves, coffee grounds and boiled or raw oatmeal are suitable for them. It should be remembered that dry food helps to reduce the level of moisture in the soil. To increase the rate of reproduction of worms, many advise giving them dairy products. In no case should you give them potato peels.

Worms are fed according to the following calculation: 3 handfuls of cereals per 15 liters of soil. When feeding into the soil, it must not be left on the surface. Thoroughly mix the soil by hand. When a "ball" is found, consisting of many individuals spat among themselves, they must be carefully separated, evenly distributed over the entire container. If this is not done, many of the worms will die due to the increased temperature inside such a lump.

Compliance with conditions of detention

Thinking about the question of how to properly breed worms, one should not forget about maintaining optimal conditions that ensure the normal vital activity of these simplest animals. For this, it is necessary to constantly maintain the appropriate humidity. To determine the condition of the soil, it is compressed in a fist. If, after unclenching it, a lump forms, then the humidity is normal. At the same time, we must not forget that excess moisture affects the worms unfavorably.

Despite the fact that these creatures do not like low temperatures, they should not be located in close proximity to heating devices, since they will quickly die there. The optimal temperature regime for the normal development of worms is 17-24 ° C. The container is placed in a dark place, far from direct sunlight.

In one container, you can contain different types of worms (earthworms, red), but it is still better to allocate "separate housing" to each subspecies. When raising these animals according to this method, it is possible to collect up to 1 kg of fish bait per week from a 30 liter container.

Growing worms at their summer cottage

How to breed worms for fishing in the country? The easiest way is to dig a small groove, 30 cm wide. Its depth should be 15-20 cm. Rotting leaves, grass, hay, humus are placed in the groove. From above it is covered with boards or burlap. After 7-12 days, earthworms will appear in it. A special dwelling is being built for them, which is a wooden box on legs with a removable lid. Its minimum size is 100 x 100 cm, and its height is 35-40 cm. A net with small cells (0.5 cm) is attached to the bottom of the box.

How to breed worms in the country? For this, the box is installed in a shady place. It can be placed near a compost pit. About 20-25 cm of compost is poured into the bottom of the box. In this new dwelling, the worms are moved from the groove along with a small amount of soil. The earth is moistened and covered with burlap. After a week, the box is filled to the top with compost and watered again. It is necessary to moisten the substrate 1-2 times a week (depending on the rate of its drying).

Reproduction of worms

For 2-3 months, worms lay cocoons in the ground. Moreover, each individual gives one cocoon weekly. 5-20 worms emerge from it. The last clutch is observed at the end of July. The first offspring appear at the end of August. Already in October, the worms become adults. They need a lot of food for development and growth, therefore, from July to November, a layer of compost with humus 10 cm thick is added to the box twice a month.In the process of digestion of worms, vermicompost is obtained from it, which spills out through the mesh bottom of the box.In one season, the layer of accumulated valuable fertilizer can reach 25-30 cm. In winter, the worms' dwelling is left in place, insulating it on top with compost, a layer of 20-30 cm. From the sides it is covered with earth and sand. When snow falls, a small snowdrift is poured onto the box.

In the spring vermicompost is collected and used for its intended purpose, and most of the worms are spread around the site. Only a small number of individuals are left in the box for further reproduction.

How to breed mealworms

Recently, fishermen are increasingly using mealworms, often called zoophobes, to bait. In big cities, they can be purchased at pet stores as they are used to feed a variety of animals. Where this is not possible, you can grow them yourself. How to breed mealworms at home?

You should choose a suitable place for their placement and a container for growing. For this, large plastic boxes or trays without gaps are suitable. A fine mesh is used as a cover. Flour, bran, sawdust, and ground crackers are poured onto the bottom of such a container. The nutrient layer should be 2-10 cm. Acquired beetles are placed in trays, whose larvae are zoophobes. When using pupae, the breeding process will take longer. The number of beetles depends on the expected result.

After laying eggs by adults, it takes 2 months before mealworms appear from them. The moisture in the box with them should be about 50%. Worms develop best at temperatures of 26-28 ° C.

The larvae of beetle beetles are omnivorous. Zoo buses are fed every 2 days. They are given bran, oatmeal mixed with grated carrots, beets, and other vegetables.

Instead of an afterword

We have considered the most common ways to address the issue raised in the title of the article. Of course, it is easier to buy bait in the store. However, after spending some time on the arrangement of the worm house and caring for its inhabitants, you will not lose either. Firstly, breeding worms cannot be called an expensive pleasure, but rather the opposite. And secondly, you always have fresh bait at your fingertips, and at any time of the year or day. And this, you see, is sometimes very important.

For fishing, both artificial and natural types of bait are used. Regardless of the season and fishing method, the worm is as good as artificial bait. It is not always possible to buy the necessary worm in the store, and the price of such a purchase can be overpriced.

Breeding worms at home is not a very difficult task, it is enough to have the necessary information.

Breeding rules and features

Varieties and characteristics of worms:

Prospector

The most popular in the field of worm breeding is the "prospector". This is a representative of one of the species of California red worms. It differs from its counterparts in a high level of productivity and fertility. He has a well-developed instinct for self-preservation. At low temperatures, the "prospector" dives to a safe depth. The temperature range for breeding is from +8 to +29 ° С. An adult is capable of producing about 1,500 worms per year. The worm is unpretentious in food, quickly gets used to another type of food. Resistant to many types of diseases.

California red worm

The California red worm is easy to grow at home. He is less fertile than his fellows. On average, 400 new individuals appear per year. An adult worm reaches 8 cm in length and weighs 1 g. Like a prospector, the main advantage is the speed of biomass production. The resulting vermicompost has saturated enzymes, the maximum amount of microelements and active substances. Comfortable conditions for the successful life of the red worm will be a temperature of 15-25 degrees and a relative humidity of the environment of 60%. In such conditions, he is able to live for about 16 years.The disadvantages of the Californian worm include pickiness in the choice of food, increased thermophilicity and the negative effects of direct sunlight.

Plain rain

The advantage of common earthworms is their good adaptation to the environment. This type of worm is considered a universal bait - more than a dozen different types of fish peck at it perfectly. The length of the grown worm reaches 15-30 cm, specimens that have reached 40 cm are often found. The main disadvantages are low life expectancy (up to 4 years), passivity in reproduction. Despite the disadvantages, earthworms are unpretentious in nutrition and have a fairly active growth.

Flour worm

The mealworm is the larva of the beetle beetle. It tolerates temperature extremes and has a high reproduction rate at home. For development, a comfortable temperature is considered to be 28 degrees, while the humidity should not fall below 50%. They are not whimsical in the choice of food.

Muckworm

This worm is a favorite delicacy of many fish. The yellow liquid inside it has a specific smell that drives the fish crazy. These worms are similar in appearance to red ones. The difference lies in the conditions of detention. To create a habitat, you need: sawdust, manure, rotten hay or straw, black soil, wet leaves. All this is mixed and pressed well. The higher the soil pressure, the more comfortable it is for worms to live there. They have no preferences for temperature conditions and high humidity.

Dendrobena

In the selection, there are also specially bred worms for fishing - Dendrobena. This type of worm reproduces sluggishly, but it has a very fleshy body structure. Caring for them has certain difficulties associated with the constant maintenance of increased optimal living conditions.

Eating worms

The worms feed on rotten or dead plant debris. It is recommended to add to their diet cleaning from potatoes, stale bread, cabbage leaves, banana peel, kefir diluted with water, grass, rotting straw, remnants of used tea or coffee grounds, chicken droppings, manure, boiled vegetables.

It is forbidden to add the following ingredients to the food of worms:

• meat-containing waste;
• citrus peel;
• eggs;
• fermented milk products (the acidity of the environment increases);
• fresh manure (generates destructive heat up to 70 ° C).

Before serving food, it is well chopped in a meat grinder. The composition of the feed must be constant. When changing food, individuals must undergo adaptation over several weeks.

Putting a new portion of food is necessary 2-3 times a month. It all depends on the temperature regime - the warmer, the more often and more the worms eat food. Remember, excess food ferments the soil, increasing its acidity.

How to increase your fish catch?

For 7 years of active fishing enthusiasm, I have found dozens of ways to improve the bite. Here are the most effective ones:

1. Bite activator... This pheromone supplement attracts fish most strongly in cold and warm water. Discussion of the "Hungry Fish" bite activator.
2. Enhancement the sensitivity of the tackle. Read the appropriate manuals for your specific tackle type.
3. Bait based pheromones.

Breeding worms

Worms are more commonly purchased from pet stores, the Internet, and fishing stores. When making a purchase, you should pay special attention to their appearance and general condition. They must be active and of a solid color.

Settlement technology and rules for caring for worms

It is possible to breed worms not only in the village or in the country. Any place without noise and unnecessary vibration is suitable for this: in an apartment on a balcony or in a "dark" room, in a garage, in a garden or other utility room. The main condition is compliance with the optimal temperature regime and sufficient humidity (70%). Unpleasant odors can be avoided by sprinkling the feed with earth or vermicompost.

To breed worms at home, you need to buy a vermicomposter or make a do-it-yourself worm hole. This design is a plastic or wooden box (box), about 40 cm high. Ventilation openings should be provided in the breeding container.

Holes are drilled in the top of the box or lid. The structure is installed at a slight slope in order to drain the worm tea formed during the life of the worms through the hole drilled in the bottom. An old refrigerator can act as a worm. It is placed with the doors up, drilling holes in advance.

If you do not want to make a wormhole, you can purchase a ready-made special product for growing worms - a vermicomposter. It is made in the form of two plastic boxes installed one on top of the other. Both have ventilation holes and special slots on the bottom. A crane is mounted in the lower drawer, located on the legs. It is used to drain the resulting vermicelli.

After preparing the soil mixture, for 2-3 days a deepening is made in it and the first residents are settled in the wormhole. After that, the soil is evenly distributed and covered with a lid. We add food two days after the arrival.

To know the required level of soil acidity, we make a trial settlement in a smaller container. For breeding worms, the optimum acidity of the soil wash will fluctuate in the range of 6.6-7.7 rN. At higher acidity, the worms begin to die. Reduce its level by adding eggshells, chalk or limestone to the soil. To increase the acidity, sawdust, straw or plant remains are used.

If within a week the surface of the substrate is clean, and the worms are actively mobile, then the settlement was successful..

Feeding the worms is done every 1.5-2 weeks. The food is applied evenly on the entire surface of the box with a thickness of 5-7 cm. Under favorable conditions, worms multiply very quickly, therefore, it is necessary to have prepared wormholes for relocation in advance. Monitor the humidity at all times. The watering procedure is carried out with warm (room temperature + 24 ° C) water using a watering can with small holes.

With a substrate layer of more than 20 cm, loosening is necessary to enrich the soil with oxygen. Mixing is carried out with a special pitchfork or other instrument with rounded ends. This procedure should be carried out twice a week.

As a result of the activity of worms, the soil, which is located in the box, is divided into three zones. The top layer contains nutrients. The layer in the middle is used by adults for housing. All products of their active processing are collected in the lower layer, which is why it is so important. This layer grows over time. After 3-4 months, the worms are transplanted into a new container, along with a small part of the substrate of the lower layer. And the process starts over.

Reproduction of worms

A new generation of worms emerge from cocoons. One female is able to lay only one cocoon per week. A month later, newborn worms appear. On average, 20 worms hatch from a cocoon. In two months, they grow to the size of an adult. During the year, the worm lays up to 24 cocoons. During the growth period, the worms actively feed, so they will have to feed more often.

Comfortable conditions for breeding: temperature in the range from +20 to +24 degrees, humidity 70%. It is desirable to keep different types of worms in separate boxes.

Blitz Tips

1. It is better to cover the bottom of the box with a net, so it is more convenient to sift out vermicompost.
2. You can keep earthworms and red worms together in one wormhole.
3. Cow dung only becomes suitable for feeding after 6 months.
4. The resulting vermicompost is effectively used for fertilizing strawberries, vegetables in the greenhouse and indoor plants.
5. Some types of worms are used to obtain medicines.

Avid fishermen know that the catch depends entirely on the bait and it is very good if you do not have to go to special stores, but you have the opportunity to collect it on your own site. From the article you can find out how you can breed a variety of worms, which are used for fishing, in a garden, a shed and even in an apartment.

What worms are used by fishermen

Not all worms that can be encountered in our area are suitable for bait. Only a few varieties are in demand by fishermen.

1. Crawls or earthworms. They got their name due to their ability to appear on the soil surface, crawling out of deep burrows only after rain. These are large worms, among which there are real giants up to 30 cm in length. As bait, crawlers are suitable for catching almost all freshwater fish.
2. Dung worms. Judging by the name, you can immediately guess about their habitat. These creatures are painted dark red, are small and live in colonies, which greatly facilitates their collection. They attract fish very well.
3. Loose leaves. They live in heaps of foliage, under logs and stones. The size is medium, the color is dark purple. Of the shortcomings, it can be noted that it can easily break off the hook.
4. Red Californian worms. This variety was obtained artificially from the above-described dung individuals. Unlike unpretentious parents, when growing, they require certain conditions: silence, peace, warmth and suitable soil moisture.

Earthworm

All of these species, when certain conditions are created for them, live well enough and reproduce quickly in ordinary garden plots. In the cold season, you can breed worms indoors.

How to breed crawling worms

In their natural form, these worms live in the soil, where you can find the remains of plant organic matter, which they feed on. Passing the earth through their intestines, the crawlers turn it into nutritious humus, and thanks to the underground passages made by them during movement, air exchange in the soil is significantly improved. Gardeners have long noticed that plants grow better where earthworms live.

It is quite simple to build a wormhole on the site and breed crawlers in it. If this is a warm season, then it is enough to dig a small trench and fill it with garden soil mixed with rotten leaves and humus. In a few days, it will be possible to find there a sufficient number of individuals for fishing.

Attention! When arranging a worm house, it is important to ensure that no ash or coals get into the soil. Worms can't stand it.

When the cold comes, worms can be kept in a barn, on a balcony, in a basement, etc. The main condition for them is that the room temperature must be at least + 15 ° С.

They make a wormhole like this:

1. Take a shallow (about 20 cm) wooden box with gaps on the sides.
2. From the inside, it is lined with breathable material (burlap, lutrasil, etc.).
3. The container is filled with earth mixed with chopped hay and the remnants of leaves.
4. The substrate is moistened and 20-30 individuals are placed on its surface.

In the future, you need to monitor the moisture content of the soil and regularly pour plant residues and other food that the worms eat into the box.

Advice. The soil in the box should be mixed regularly. This distributes moisture and feed evenly. In addition, thanks to this action, the worms do not get lost in dense tangles, inside which they can die.

How to grow dung and California worms for fishing

A box for these varieties is prepared in the same way as for rainwater. The substrate in which the red worms will live is prepared with a slightly different composition. It includes:

• straw;
• manure;
• sawdust;
• hay;
• Earth.

All components are mixed well, placed in boxes, moistened and tamped well.

Attention! The environment where the worms live should always be moist. With an indicator of 22%, the inhabitants of the wormhole may die.

The acidity of the soil in which it is planned to breed pets should be in the range of pH6-pH7. At pH9 or pH5, the worms do not live. The temperature in the room with the worms should be around + 24 ° C. With a cold snap, the worms begin to eat less, burrow deeper into the soil and fall asleep.

California worm

Pets are fed with all kinds of plant and food waste. Leftovers of bread, various cereals, dry rolled oats and bran will do.

Advice. In order for the worms to multiply better, dairy products need to be introduced into their diet: low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt.

Breeding worms at home is more troublesome than buying them in the store. But, if you have a home worm farm, you will always have an unlimited amount of excellent bait at hand. And this, whatever one may say, is already half of the success of fishing.

How to breed worms at home: video

Soil, as you know, is the basis of all living things and developing on our planet, the basis of life. In order not to dry up its strength, soil fertility must be constantly restored, and the most important workers in this direction are earthworms. Everything ingenious is extremely simple - the quality of lands, their fertility and high crop yields directly depend on the waste product of an ordinary earthworm. How to breed it at home, how and what to feed and what kind of care to take will be described below.

Reasons for breeding earthworms at home

Breeding worms at home is not at all difficult. And the case can become a very serious business, and there are at least two good reasons for this:

• creepers multiply very quickly, gain useful biomass and are excellent feed for poultry (poultry farms, poultry farms and egg production);
• the product of active life is vermicompost - the highest quality and environmentally friendly fertilizer for farms and greenhouses.

In addition, in pharmacology, these animal organisms are also used for the manufacture of medicines. The use of vermicompost on personal household plots and in households will significantly increase the egg production of poultry, soil fertility, increase the productivity of vegetables and fruits without the use of chemical fertilizers.

Worms produce the most natural biohumus

Varieties of annelids

The most common common representative of bristle annelids is the earthworm. But it is they, freely occurring in nature, that are least suitable for reproduction in artificial conditions. Representatives of this subspecies reproduce rather slowly, with difficulty adapting to new conditions and unfamiliar food, they live relatively little. They, perhaps, are suitable only for breeding for their own needs of a personal backyard farm.

For industrial cultivation and production of vermicompost, the Russian scientist, Professor AM Igonin bred a special breed “Prospector”. By crossing various breeds of species living at a sufficient distance from each other, he was able to get individuals with completely new qualities:

• long life expectancy - from 4 to 16 years;
• multiplies rapidly;
• easily tolerates the change of feed (you can use any type of food - from fallen leaves and grass to human food waste).

Prospectors adapt as quickly as possible to the conditions of artificial reproduction and give an excellent increase in biomass and humus.

Another variety that meets industrial production requirements is the California red worm. Individuals of KKCH also reproduce very quickly, increase the useful mass, process various organic waste of human life into vermicompost, serve as an excellent protein feed for agricultural and fish farms.

The prospector worm is the fastest breeding individual. In 1 year can produce offspring of 1500 worms

Household breeding technology

Necessary equipment and breeding area

If you decide to start breeding worms, you first need to carry out preparatory work - choose and prepare a place or container. Containers can be wooden, plastic or cardboard boxes (it is clear that cardboard containers will have to be changed often), piles.

They are placed in a barn, garage, any other specially designated place where it is possible to comply with the necessary conditions - the substrate moisture content is at least 70-80% and the temperature is from 12-15оС to 22-24оС. You can also breed worms in an ordinary compost heap, a pit.

You can breed worms in simple boxes at home in the basement.

One convenient option is to use two or three perforated boxes stacked on top of each other. The lowest one - with holes along the perimeter at the top of the sides. This box is intended for vermicelli - a liquid component of vermicompost. A box with perforated walls and a bottom is placed on top of it, a nutrient medium for worms is laid in it and individuals are populated, on top the boxes need to be covered with burlap or other "breathing" cloth, since creepers love dark and damp places.

Making a worm

You can breed individuals on the street, right in the garden, separating a certain place for this and fencing it with boards or other improvised material.

Approximate dimensions of the wormhole: width 1-1.2m, height 30-40cm, arbitrary length. A thick layer of compost is placed on the bottom, leveled and well moistened. Then cover the compost heap with material that allows air to pass through for 5-7 days.

It can be an old burlap, cardboard, a layer of straw, which need to be watered from time to time with rain or well-settled water (at least 2-3 days).

Chlorine must completely evaporate, as it is a poison for worms of any kind.

After a week, each square. m, a recess is made in which the creeping ones are placed, and again the wormhole is covered with an air-permeable material.

Both a box and other options can serve as a wormhole.

Compost preparation

Mixtures of rotted manure, poultry droppings, peat, straw, leaves and stems of vegetables and weeds, crushed eggshells and food waste can be used as compost for laying in boxes or pits.

In no case should fresh manure be used, it contains a large amount of ammonia and individuals die. Rotted manure from 2-3 years ago will also be of little use, since it already lacks useful nutrients.

All organic materials suitable for breeding are collected on a heap (or in a specially designated place), covered and, periodically moistened, kept for 1.5-2 months.

Worm Box Diagram

Own vermi farm

If you decide to acquire your own small worm farm, then, first of all, you need to equip a place for keeping worms, stock up on containers, prepare compost and provide comfortable conditions for breeding.

The purchase of the broodstock is of decisive importance. The most suitable species, as already mentioned, are the Californian red worms or prospectors. One family is 1500 individuals. In order to populate 1 cubic meter. m of compost, 1-3 families of broodstock are needed.

Moving into a new location must be done with great care. First, a few individuals are introduced into a small amount of prepared soil in a separate bowl, the soil is leveled and the dishes are closed. After a couple of days, you need to add a little feed. If all the worms are active, mobile, with a characteristic red color, the entire livestock can be colonized. If dead individuals are found, then it is necessary to correct the acidity of the soil (the most favorable environment is considered to be an acid indicator of 6.5-7.5 PH).

Growing worms

How to feed earthworms

Ringed earthworms are real vegetarians and they do not tolerate protein foods: meat, fish, eggs. When buying a broodstock, it is necessary to find out what the seller fed his wards, since the most common is the feed that they have tried "from birth". However, they quickly get used to new foods, especially Prospectors. It takes some time to get used to a certain type of feed, therefore, new components should be introduced into the feed base gradually, allowing the worms to adapt.

As a top dressing, plant residues, potato peelings, cabbage leaves, various food waste from the kitchen of plant origin, tea and coffee grounds, straw, grass, dry bread are suitable. Only whatever you add to the compost heap needs to be shredded for easier and faster processing by creepers. Otherwise, the process of acidification, fermentation or rotting of products may begin.

You need to feed it every 2-3 weeks. Pour the top dressing on the entire surface of the boxes or piles, evenly, 7-10 cm thick, until the thickness of the processed humus reaches 50-60 cm and the substrate takes the form of uniformly processed biomass. The approximate cycle time is 3-4 months from the time of the settlement of the livestock.

Fertilize the worms every 2-3 weeks

Care and reproduction

The main care in worm farms or in wormhouses is to comply with the temperature regime, timely feeding, and maintain the humidity level when irrigated with warm rain or settled water.

In favorable conditions, the worms begin to multiply. In the compost, they lay cocoons - small balls of yellow-sandy color. Each of the cocoons contains several eggs, of which small worms appear 2-3 weeks later, and after 7-8 weeks they are ready to produce offspring themselves. The unsurpassed leaders in reproduction rate are the Prospectors - one individual produces 1,500 offspring per year.

Possible sales markets

Growing worms can really be a profitable business if you worry about the market for processed products and increased livestock in advance.

1. Vermicompost is an environmentally friendly fertilizer, highly effective in terms of increasing crop yields, growing seedlings, flowers, etc. Therefore, the consumers of vermicompost can be farms, greenhouses, flower greenhouses, as well as private entrepreneurs engaged in plant breeding.
2. Live biomass is a valuable nutritious protein feed for poultry and poultry farms.
3. Live food in the form of worms is an indispensable nutritious product for fish farms.
4. Worms are in great demand as pet food for zoological stores.

Worms can be sold to poultry farms

Production profitability

According to the estimates of earthworm farmers, the profitability of the worm farm is in the range of 150%. One Prospector per year gives offspring of 1500 individuals and about 100 kg of the most valuable fertilizer - vermicompost. From 1 ton of harvested compost, you can get up to 600 kg of high-quality fertilizer and 10-15 kg of new individuals.

Farms for growing worms and producing vermicompost is not only profitable and profitable farming, but also enrichment of the environment with useful substances, the possibility of obtaining environmentally friendly food products.