These are the kinds of worms that come out during the rain and are commonly found in lawns everywhere. Since they inhabit different areas of the soil, earthworms and red worms can live together without competing for resources.
Earthworms will burrow deep underground, however, while red worms will stay near the surface of the soil. The common nightcrawler Lumbricus terrestris is an earthworm and not well suited for composting. Not only do they not consume fresh organic matter like red worms, but they also need a lot of space to burrow.
When added to vermicompost enclosures, the common nightcrawler will often try to tunnel out the bottom of the enclosure and die when unable to do so. European nightcrawlers Eisenia hortensis , however, make a great addition to a compost setup. They only burrow slightly deeper than red worms and are more heat-tolerant than regular earthworms. Common earthworms can be purchased at most garden or fishing supply stores as well as ordered online, often labeled Nightcrawlers.
Composting worms, such as red wigglers, are somewhat harder to find but should still be available at most specialty gardening stores, even if just seasonally. There are also many retailers of composting worms online with multiple varieties available that will ship them directly to your home, often with guarantees that the worms will arrive alive.
On average, two pounds of red wigglers will recycle about one pound of organic matter in 24 hours. Worms are hermaphrodites in which they have both male and female sexual organs. Related Do Worms Lay Eggs? Castings, or worm compost, can be added directly to soil and garden beds. This makes a great top dressing for existing or potted plants or to make compost tea for watering plants with. Compost piles can get hot. All those organisms working together to break down your kitchen scraps can produce a lot of heat, which in turn keeps the process going.
Red wigglers do just fine in the heat and like to stay the surface of your bin. Vermicomposting with red wigglers will also produce usable compost much faster other methods. Your worms will take care of the whole process for you, giving you usable compost in three to six months. The number of compost worms you start out with depends on the size of your compost bin and the amount of food waste you need to be composted. Red wigglers can compost about half their body weight each day, meaning a pound of worms will compost around half a pound of food daily.
If worms sound like too much, start small. I have never deliberately stocked my composter with red wigglers, but I have worms in there that seem to fit the bill.
Is it possible that they colonized it on their own? I live in Canada. I used an old plastic bin and started to throw dry leaves, yard clippings, soil, fruit and veggies leftovers, and the earthworms just took over the bin. I turn the dirt around every other day when I throw some food scraps, and it is looking good after almost a year. I keep a vermiculture in my kitchen cupboard under the sink.
It is rather small, and working splendidly no smell! Red wigglers are great for the garden because the compost they create is and also the compost tea you can make. But, the worms themselves will not do well or much good in your garden soil. When talking about red wigglers vs earthworms, red wigglers win in the vermicomposting ring.
Red wigglers make great worms for compost or vermicompost. Earthworms are great for your garden, but they will die in a compost bin from a lack of food and it will be too hot. The number of red wiggler worms or compost worms you need to vermicompost depends on the amount of food you want to compost. A red wiggler can eat half of it's weight in food each day.
That means if you produce a half pound of food waste each day you need a pound of red wiggler worms which will be worms. You can always start with a smaller amount and allow them to reproduce to the level that you require. If you notice food not being eaten quickly within a day or two then take it out and start giving them less or add more red wigglers!
You can purchase them online or at a local nursery or bait shop. I have purchased Red wiggler worms from Amazon a couple of times now and they come to the house ready to go. They are a little dehydrated and therefore small after shipping so make sure to get them into a moist worm bin quickly.
They tend to plump up in a matter of days. Just make sure you get the red wiggler worms if you are going to use them for vermicomposting or earthworms if you are using them for your garden! Thanks for the link back to my page, and great article too! Brian recently posted… Cutting Corners. As far as the garden goes, if you create good soil the worms will find it — no messing necessary although I still liked to add some for a boost. If the bottom is cut then sometimes if the stress was not too much for it it can grow a new bottom end.
This is to help protect from a bird that grabs it and tries to pull it from a hole. The bottom piece will definitely die. If it is cut in half then more than likely both ends will die too much stress and you might hit some major organs.
In general, there is a chance it the head end will live if it loses the bottom third or less. Looks like both are needed for a great garden, though…some for the beds, some for the compost. Heidi recently posted… Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe. We have red worms and I cannot keep them alive. I think the temperature is bad for them!
Thank you for the explanation between the different worms. I can put a shovel in the ground and literally have about 30 worms each shovelful. Are they good for fishing? I could probably be a millionaire if they are! That is awesome! And, yep, great fishing worms. Go out one night before or after a rainstorm and you will probably find that most of them have climbed to the surface.
It is a creepy, but awe-inspiring sight to see thousands of worms around you! I have an outdoor planter garden. I would like to get some worms for the planters. I thought earth worms might be best, but I am blender composting compost goes into the blender to form a smoothie, I pour in troughs I dig in the planters.
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