Hello everyone. My name is Tony, and I'm making a first attempt at worm farming.

I read up a bit, and started my bed in a rubbermaid bin, using peat moss 50/50 with dirt from my front garden, a handful of eggshells, and topped with soaked newspaper run through the paper shredder.

My first 2lb batch of European Nightcrawler worms was sent during a heat wave. They were all dead/dying, and destroyed my bedding, too!

So I started over, and now the worms are doing great after one week. I had some bait worms from the bait shop, and I threw them in there, and they are doing great, too.

After a couple of days, I put some chicken food in (recommended by seller) and they chomped it down really fast. I've been reading here, and have many questions about ENC's.

Any advice for a first-timer ?

-TH

Welcome!
I think you are off to a good start. The biggest mistake from new worm farmers is to overfeed. Only put in small amounts at first until your worms get used to their new environment. Let the air circulate around the food so it breaks down aerobically. And don't feed them more until the food you put in there is gone.

Also, for bedding instead of the ground soil, you could put shredded cardboard or newspaper. The soil is good for getting microbes into your bin. But the worms do not need it. They do better in bedding that is loose and air can go through.

Congratulations on your new worms!

NCwormFarmer,
Thanks for the quick reply and the tips! I will be careful not to overfeed.

I'm guessing the soil already in there is okay, but I should only add shredded newspaper from now on? They seem to be eating it, too.

Do they really eat half their weight a day? In a week, I've only added a handful of food. Would that be why they are eating the paper?

I have 2 lbs of ENC worms. How much SHOULD I be feeding them? I've read here that chicken food has salt, so should I rinse the food before feeding? Thanks.

-TH

In theory, 2lbs of euros can eat 1lb of food a day. But that is under perfect conditions (temp, food supply, bedding, etc). Each worm bin is different and eats at a different rate. Especially in the beginning, they may still be adapting. It sounds like yours are doing well though!

Worms are very hearty creatures. You are more likely to kill them from overfeeding then underfeeding them. If there is not as much food, they will just eat less and breed less. Like you said, they can eat the bedding too.

In the summer they are more active due to the higher temps and eat more. Just add food when the other food is gone. You can be extra safe by putting an extra day between time food disappears and when you feed again. I tend to feed 2 times a week this part of the year. And my guys are fine. And they are awesome because you can go on vacation for a week and they will not need anyone to care for them!!! Try that with a dog

I have personally never used chicken mash for food. So I cannot comment. I tend do just use free food scraps (veggies, fruits, coffee grounds, etc). Just no dairy, no meat, and no citrus.

For the bedding, I mix newspaper and cardboard with a little peat moss. This way, they have bedding they can eat and it keeps them nice and moist.

NCwormFarmer,
Thanks for the follow-up. I think I probably need to feed them a little more, from what you are saying.

I DO believe they are pretty happy in this bin. Today, I noticed that they are mating all over the place! I have them in a bin indoors, under a ceiling fan. They are probably right at 70 degrees, which seems like an ideal temperature, although I'm just guessing.

Are tomatos considered citrus fruit? We have lots of tomato plants, and some go bad. Kind of afraid to put them in the worms without knowing.

-TH

No citrus because of the higher concentration of acid. Tomatoes also have acid in them. If you put a lot in, it could raise the pH of your bin and hurt the worms. But if you mix them is other veggies it can be okay (Depends on quantity). Also, egg shells can be ground up and given to counter-act the pH.