Open Worm Carrol And Bins – Starting An Endless Red Wiggler (Eisenia fetida) Worm Farm
The variety and types of worm bins, containers, and in my case, corrals are as varied as the type of people that love worms… wait… ok forget that analogy. But, we have experimented with a plethora of Red Wiggler beds, and my outdoor favorite is a bottomless wood structure, roughly the size of a coffin (don’t use that reference in front of the worms, it makes them nervous). I love the ease of access and size, which enables us to target food drops and corral the worms into specific areas. I also think it looks pretty good.
The worms seem to like the situation too, as they seem fat and happy! I think the fact that the worms choose to stay inside my corral rather than dig an extra inch down and over to freedom says a lot by itself.
The corrals are built from fence pickets, preferably cedar or any untreated wood planks. You can make a frame out of scrap and attach the planks or simply nail the planks together on the edges. There’s no need to put cardboard in the bottom, but it can be helpful by creating a slight separation between the container and the ground. The container can be filled with paper scraps or soil that is moist but not soaking wet.
Place your Red Wigglers in one spot and allow them to separate and spread around on their own. Let the worms acclimate and explore the new environment overnight, then add food scraps (or whatever you’re using as worm food) in one area only. Bury the food scraps under a few inches of whatever media you’re using in the corral to avoid smells and unwanted critters. Depending on the size of the worm population, the hill that was your buried food scraps will get smaller over a few days. You can add food scraps in the same way to a different spot, alternating feeding places every feeding. After a week or so, you should be able to turn over the soil in the first feeding place and see beautiful black worm castings mixed in with the decomposing scraps forming what will become known as Black Gold for the garden.
Bottomless worm corrals have become my favorite (and most productive) way of raising worms. But everyone’s situation is different and there are a few things to consider before deciding what type of container to use for your Red Wiggler Worms. Environmental conditions such as temperature, moisture, and soil type are factors that directly affect worms raised outside in a stationary, semi-exposed, raised wood container. Just keep in mind the general conditions that Red Wigglers like and try to stay inside those parameters. With a bit of care, the worms will appreciate your new bottomless worm corral and so will you… ok, not directly.. but you know what I mean.. stay out of the worm corral and enjoy your worms!
This is a little known (new) easy method of worm farming. Very few people do it this way, but in many cases, it can be safer, more productive, and easier than most other methods. We’d love to hear about your experience so scroll down to the comment section down below or use the contact us form and tell us your bottomless worm bin story. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Why?
And remember if you have any issues, questions, or even concerns about your worm colony, feel free to contact us and we’ll try to help using our years of experience. Ficarro Farms was started to improve the world one worm at a time, and helping you helps us achieve our goal.
How do I protect my red wiggler farm in the winter?
Worm farming can be difficult at times, especially in those cold-weather months – when your just not sure what to do. Well, we tried to help solve that problem for vermicomposters like you, by creating an in-depth article on worm farming in the winter, where we give a few tips on how to protect your red wiggler colony, as well as info you may have missed elsewhere.
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