Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations starting a worm box for fishbait

i have a small 1 ac pond in central texas that i have gotten a lot of good advice in all areas from this forum. i would like to see if anyone has some info or where i can get some info on starting a worm box, i have a 8'x12' floating dock, next to a shore line, has rails around it and i feed from this dock on a daily basis, i have huge blue gills, that my grandkids love to catch, we buy worms and it isn't so much the cost as it is just a great project for me and the boys to raise our own. thanks, david903

I used to have one. I used an old, metal military footlocker. I filled it with about 60% peat moss and 40& good topsoil. Don't use the bagged potting soil. It has fertilizers. Toss in a couple of boxes of redworms, not night crawlers. Night crawlers won't make it in Texas. Keep it semi moist and covered. Feed the daily coffee grounds and newspaper. Place the newspaper on top of the dirt and grounds and wet it. A lot of people tell you to put kitchen leftovers in for the worms. They are right but you will have a maggot box. It ain't rocket science but is interesting.

thanks for the great advice,i love this site ! david903

Here's a site for novice worm growers:

http://www.squirmy-worms.com/starting.htm

ric, this was a great link! i think there are as many people interested in worm farming as there are in ponds !got some good info on starting out , thanks again, david903

David903,

When I was a wee gator, I had a worm farm. Seems I used "Worm Chow" purchased from my local feed store...it was like crushed dog food and you mixed it with water to make a paste, then buried it in the worm farm.

Also, just about anything that will drain well and hold dirt should work for your container.

Good luck.

When I was a kid my Grandpa had two worm boxes. They were bins made of some kind of asphalt impregnated fiberboard, about a yard on a side. Every Fall we'd go to a local cider mill and bring home a load of ex-apples that he fed to the worms.

I do not have a worm box, just a "garden" that I put about 6"/year of horse manure and sawdust (bedding) on. This really seems to draw in the worms (never any Nightcrawlers, just medium and small sizes); I always have lots of them there. Since it's a "garden," I water it during dry spells which keeps the worms near the surface.

I had a worm farm when I was little. We grew them to use as perch bait, and also to eat compost.
We had a plywood board and pine needles on top of the dirt. We would put food scraps out in the pine needles, and then laid the board over the stuff. It grew some big worms, and was very easy to manage.
When we needed to add to the compost pile, lift the plywood board and add more food scraps.

I used an old cooler and use a peice of carpet to cover the top. I keep the carpet moist by either putting it under the spigot or just pour some water over the top lying in the box. You can buy "worm food" or use chicken mash for food.

I have a question though. I have had a problem with a little red mite that gets in and will kill the worms! Within the food sprinkled on top, you can see them like masses of oversized "red bugs", also known as jiggers. How do I get rid of them without killing my worms and how to prevent the recoccurance?