WORMS

             Worm, the name given to these little animals isn’t very appealing but worms are an important part of our world’s ecological system.  What is a worm?  What are worms good for?  Why would I want to raise worms?  I found answers to all these questions after we had a barn full of rabbits and a lot of bunny poop.  With all the possible uses for worms and their castings (worm poop), I had to raise worms.  I could not simply throw the manure away without finding a good use for all the little droppings.  It turns out that this waste material from our rabbits has become a profitable worm-raising project.  Worms are not going to make anyone rich but I am a richer man because of them.

Worms are annelids, which means, “little rings”.  Worms are made up of many little rings in a long tube.  The larger ring found near the front of the worm is called the clitellum or saddle.  It consists of five rings and is the worms’ reproductive organ.  Every worm can lay eggs by crawling between each other’s saddle to become impregnated.  Each egg can contain between ten and 15 baby worms.  They can lay new eggs every 30 days.  Worms can multiply faster than rabbits.  Two adult worms can produce 10,000 worms in one year.  All the worms on earth outweigh all the people on the earth by a ratio of ten to one.  Worms can also travel as much as eight feet below the surface.  In each acre of farmland worms can turn over from ten to eighteen tons of soil each year.  Plus, worms will eliminate all other larvae and pests from their bedding area.

I use my worms for several purposes.  I raise catfish and use some of my worms for their food and for catching fish.  I sell my worms to other fisherman for bait, to students for many different school science projects, to flower and vegetable gardeners to help aerate and enrich their soil and to people that raise animals.  Rabbits, dogs, horses and other animals have a lot of waste products that worms enjoy eating and eliminating.  Organic gardening is a popular and growing field.  I use most of the worm castings in my garden as a fertilizer to help my plants and vegetables.  My vegetables grow bigger and taste better because of the use of worm castings.

Most people start a compost pile or raise the worms directly under their rabbit cages.  My worm beds are just outside my barns.  The beds should be between one to two feet deep.  The walls of the beds should be constructed of a material that will not deteriorate.  I use bricks and rocks to contain my worms.  The bottom of the beds should not be sealed so that the water can drain.  Worms will eat anything that is biodegradable.  I add hay or leaves to the beds occasionally.  I turn the beds with a forked shovel every other month.  This helps to distribute the worms, eggs and manure and at the same time I check the production rate of my worms. 

Ants and armadillos are the main predators of worms and their eggs.  Building a wall around the worm bed, at least one foot high, will keep out armadillos.  Using an ant-killing product (like Amdro) around the beds will keep away most ants. 

The worms need moisture but too much standing water in the beds will drown the worms and eggs.  Heat and cold affect the worms and their production.  I have had mine ten years here in central Texas with no noticeable problems.

I used to raise the “Red Wiggler” breed of worms.  There are many other types of worms people raise.  In fact, there are so many kinds that scientists still have trouble recognizing each type.  Choose the kind that is easily adapted to your location and climate for best results.

               Good luck, Ken Vanecek