First, the type of worm we will discuss will be Eisenia Foetida (scientific name) for Red Worms / Red Wigglers. They are easy to lift and adapt well to the conditions of temperature and bedding. They are mainly grown on the market for vermiculture (worm compost). Size is not important in worm composting, so average red worms / red wigglers range from 1 to 2 inches and weigh 900 to 1000 pounds. Here at Southern Sassy Worms, we produce red worms / red wigglers that are 2 to 3.5 inches long and weigh about 600 pounds per pound.
The first thing you need to do is prepare the worm's primary box. You will need a surface area of at least 1 square foot (12 inches x 12 inches) per pound of worms and a depth of 8 to 12 inches. Bed linen can be peat or coir (coconut fiber). It can be used 100% or mixed 50/50 with paper. Plastic bins are easy to get and make good worms.
Let's start with a plastic bunker, which is 24 inches long and 12 inches wide and 12 inches wide, which has a surface area of 2 square feet. This will be our primary worm box, which can hold 2 pounds. worms. After a couple of months, you will begin to see the little worms in your PRIMARY bin. You can feed this bunker with your cliffs, paper, grain, etc.
Two to three weeks before you need fishing worms, you will need to get a SECONDARY bin. Peat moss or cow (coconut fiber) for your bedding. A plastic box 12 inches wide x 12 inches long x 6 inches deep 1 square foot surface (12qt. Plastic plate) from Walmart works great. From your PRIMARY hand, select 250 of the largest red worms / red wigglers, usually around 1.5-2 inches. Put these 250 worms on your SECONDARY bit. Chicken feed lays crumbs or feed the rabbit every other day.
Adjust the feed so that all feed is eaten on the second day. After three to four weeks, your red worms / red wigglers should be double the size. Do not add more worms to the SECONDARY cells. After you have used all your fishing worms, start with a new bunker. You may want to have two of these small secondary bins for the continuous feeding of field worms.
