I would like to construct a worm bed near my pond. Does anybody have a link to a good website explaining how to do this? Has anyone here had success growing fishing worms?

Thanks for the help.

TB, I use to raise worms. I used an old military clothes locker. Mix peat moss and topsoil about 50/50. I assume you are talking about red worms. Put a bunch of worms in the dirt mix. I fed corn meal. Sprinkle it on top of the dirt but don't overdo it. Corn meal makes a dandy starter for a compost pile which will get you some fried worms. Put newspapers over the whole thing and keep the whole mess moist. Don't drown the worms or they will leave. The worms will eat anything including the newspaper. The slick paper will not break down but the regular newsprint will. I wouldn't put kitchen garbage in the dirt like a lot of people say you can. Back in the earthworm scam days the advertisers said "Let a worm be your garbage disposal". That is a damn good way to raise a bumper crop of maggots. E-mail me if you want any further info.

Dave

If one is raising worms in a compost heap, is
there any easy way to separate the worms from
their "bedding" material before feeding them
to tank cultured fish?

Using a screen and water seems to leave the
worms rather water logged and listless.

Bullhead Bob

Check out this web site www.ctvalley.com. I just ordered some European Nightcrawlers which should be delivered Monday. Site has good info on raising worms.

My dad had a worm bed constructed of an old fridge buried 3/4 in the ground. Im going to try and find me a old fridge and strip it down. Bury it and I will have myself a worm farm. I never had to buy worms as a kid. All the red wigglers and night crawlers you can use.

DD is right on with his info....I used to raise them when I was a kid. It was actually my first business venture that I undertook seriously. My dad raised rabbits at the time, and I thought it would be a good thing for me to try and make use of that situation. I set up wood boxes under the cages for the worms.

I never had a problem sorting them out. I used a screen that would let the soil/material sift thru, but small enough to hold the worms back. Never had to use water to do it. Suppose it all depends on the material they are kept in.

I also saw this in the archives, but haven't explored it yet myself. Might be some usefull info there.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=95811#Post95811

Jwwann, If you buried it three quarters in the ground. How strong did you have to be to open the door? Just thinking that dirt is pretty dense.

I raise a lot of worms. My fishing worms mainly come from two 4'x4' beds that are about 10" high. The bottoms are lined with landscaping cloth.

This old thread has quite a bit of info: I'm not a redworm murderer

Redworms grow the fasted when kept well fed. European nightcrawlers will do reasonably well, and are a little larger than red worms. When you buy fishing worms in cartons, you are generally getting one or the other. Canadian night crawlers won't reproduce and can't take summer heat in a bed.

You can buy bulk worms by the pound. Just search for red worms. But, red worms reproduce fast. Four or five cartons of 50 "fishing worms" will get you started.

The beds should be out of direct sunlight where they can overheat and die. They need food, and they need moisture.

My worms work for a living. I usually always have a number of very large compost piles that I turn with the loader on my tractor. I've also got two compost "tumblers". All get "seeded" with worms. We also have a number of raised beds and containers outside the backdoor. When we renew them for new plantings, they each get a handful of worms.

Good luck,
Ken

Assuming you are just trying to get enough worms for fishing yourself, an easy way is an old piece of carpet in a shaded moist area...

Work an area the size of the carpet is to get moderate to loose soil...If you are a coffee drinker save your coffee grounds to mix in with the soil...

Lay your carpet over the worked area and keep moist thoughout the fishing season (bucket of pond water whenever it starts to dry down)...Whenever you need some bait, pull carpet back and start grabbing...Pretty simple and very effective...

I raise european nightcrawlers in my basement.. If your interested PM me I can give you some details later this evening when I'm off..

I may have to give this a shot. It is always nice to just go out in the back yard and grab some bait.

I hoping that was a joke but I will clarify you need to lay it on its back with door facing up.
Thanks every body for the advice. It is nice always having bait on hand.

Just an addition about worm types.

A number of years ago I traded some some of my redworms for some Texas Jumping Worms from long-time Pond Boss friend Dave Davidson.

I didn't know if they would grow this far north. Well, they grow quite well in my West Virginia compost piles and worm beds, maybe even better and bigger than they do in Texas. The things are almost scary -- actually, they are scary, and kind of eerie to handle. Mine get to be about the size of large Canadian night crawlers. They are like snakes that have had way too much caffeine. They are somewhat brittle and will break off if you pick them up wrong.

They die out in winter, but they come strong back each summer. By July, I've got lots of them. The fish love them.

I have that type native in missouri I believe. They craw like snakes and when you stick hook in them they squirt nasty juice at you and break. Boy the bass love them on a bobber. Best hunting for them at night during a good rain with some thunder.

Sitting here thinking of when we were kids, searching for them almost nightly...Raising them in old wash tubs in the basement...Shocking them with homemade shockers...

Its a wonder we are alive, nothing like wetting the grass and sticking a metal stake in the the ground plugged into a 110volt outlet!! Especially something we built in the garage as 10 year old kids...LOL

Never tried that one. Would they just come to the surface?

This guy is rocking the best of both worlds, carpet and a shocker...

I still raise worms, several species, or different things:

1. Red wigglies, mixed with Asian orange tips (given to me by my fishing buddy because they get hammered faster than the red wigglies), Euro crawlers, and Canadian crawlers are in my worm bin inside the garage primarily for composting our organics, and targeting smaller fish species. The worm bins are shelved 3'x3'x10" tall, total of 4 drawers.

2. African nightcrawlers and Georgia/Alabama Jumpers for backyard compost pile and soil aeration, also used for fishing larger species.

3. Georgia/Alabama Jumpers and variety of harvested common earth worms within our region for the front yard, primarily for aeration purposes, as a water reduction approach to water-wise saving.

Highest protein content: Georgia/Alabama Jumpers.
Lowest protein content: red wigglies.
Most active: Georgia/Alabama Jumpers.
Least active: Canadian crawlers
Longest survival rate in water: Georgia/Alabama Jumpers.
Least survival rate in water: African crawler.
Fastest reproducer: red wigglies.
Easiest to raise: red wigglies.
Hardest to raise: Georgia/Alabama Jumpers
* The fastest to be eaten by the birds and rodents if not protected: African crawlers at night, Georgia/Alabama Jumpers in the morning.

I've got a shocker that was my grandpas. He died in 1967.

My Goodness....the way you wrote that, I sure hope the two events were not related.........

No, the 2 aren't related! I can barely remember fishing with him.

If properly made and used shockers are perfectly safe...I know accidents happen, but society has made things that you used to be able to buy at most hardware stores ILLEGAL!!! (Not gettting political)

I have seen them made many different ways...Even with a 12 volt battery charger and 2 metal fence post...

I can remember him using it and the worms really moved to get out of the ground when it was plugged in.

We would just go to the golf course at night and hit it when the sprinklers turned off. More crawlers than you can imagine. Feels kinda creepy if you step on one with bare feet.

My grandpa had a compost pit. It was actually a pit for something else, but he used it for compost. He used a goofy looking pitch fork kinda thing, took a scoop out and viola, Red Worms!

I tried a suggestion to lay down some cardboard, put an inch or two of soil on top, soak it down, and in a few days, should have earth worms abounding. They are supposed to feed on the starch that binds the cardboard. Guess they weren't hungry.