The best type of worms to use for composting are red wigglers and redworms. These two worms are epigeic, which are those that live close to the surface. Since composting also usually takes place on the surface, epigeic worms make great composters. This difference mainly has to do with the depth at which the decomposition takes place.
The best composting worms are epigeic, which includes red wigglers, redworms, brandling worms, and African nightcrawlers. Epigeic worms live on the surface, such as in leaves, manure, and other loose environments.
Surface soil is where most of the composting usually occurs, making epigeic worms the best choice. Epigeic worms live on or near the surface and swarm around microbe-rich organic wastes, where they find plenty of nutrients to decompose such as leaves, decomposing branches, and other organic materials. Similarly, composting needs to take place on the surface of the soil, rather than below the surface—where the majority of worms live and feed.
Because of this, there are only a few types of worms that can be used as successful composters. In fact, out of thousands of species, only several species are good for composting and available for purchase. The most common composting worms in the US are red wigglers. This is the kind that I have and the kind that most use for their composting bins. Check out my video at the bottom of this post for how I put together my worm bin in just a few minutes.
Redworms are also a popular choice in composting and do a similar, if not the same job as red wigglers. If your compost has a lot of manure in it, try to get your hands on these worms.
The European nightcrawler is not as commonly used as the red wiggler and redworms, mainly because they require cooler temperatures. Remove the top layer of compost from the pile, separating out pieces of undecomposed food and newspaper. After removing the top layer, let pile sit under light for minutes as the worms migrate down. Then remove the next layer of compost. Repeat this process until all of the worms are left at the bottom of the pile. Collect the worms, weigh them for your record keeping and put them back in their bin with fresh bedding.
Regardless of which method you choose, the compost you harvest will most likely contain a worm or two, along with old food scraps and bedding. If you are using the compost outdoors, there is no need to worry--the worms will find a happy home and the food scraps and bedding will eventually decompose.
If you are using the compost indoors, you may want to remove old bedding and food scraps for aesthetic purposes and ensure that there are no worms in the compost. Though the worms will not harm your plants, the worms may not like living in a small pot. For both methods, you may continue to compost your food scraps after harvesting. Just add fresh bedding and food scraps. If, for some reason, you do not want to continue composting, please offer the setup to another teacher or to someone who will take the worm bin home.
Anyone with a garden will find the worm compost extremely valuable. As a last resort, if you cannot find anyone who wants good worm compost, you may add the worms to a garden bed. You can use your compost immediately, or you can store it and use it during the gardening season, or whenever. The compost can be directly mixed with your potting soil or garden soil as a soil amendment, which helps make nutrients available to plants. Or, the compost can be used as a top dressing for your indoor or outdoor plants.
You can also make "compost tea" with your compost. Simply add " of compost to your water can or rain barrel. Allow compost and water to "steep" for a day, mixing occasionally. Then water plants as you normally would. The resulting "tea" helps make nutrients already in the soil available to plants.
Worms can live for about one year in the worm bin. If a worm dies in your bin, you probably will not notice it. New worms are born and others die all the time. Worms are hermaphrodites, which means they are both male and female at the same time. In order to mate, they still require two worms.
The worms line up in opposite directions near their band or clitellum , which contains some of the sexual organs. The worms are attached for about 15 minutes while they exchange sperm cells.
Several days later, eggs come in contact with the sperm cells and form a cocoon, or egg case. The cocoon separates from the worm, then fertilization takes place. European Nightcrawlers have similar characteristics as Red Wigglers, and as such, do not perform well in the dirt. African Nightcrawlers are better suited for compost bins then dirt.
Their preference for warmer temps, and their relatively thin skin makes these worms best suited for a sheltered composting environment. Their thick skin allows them to live in soil ranging from sandy to heavy clay. With a preference for leaf litter or compost, these worms are easily propagated in the garden.
Because fisherman are convinced that bigger is better. Canadians are BIG…about per pound. Picked at night from Farms in the Northern United States and Canada, these worms are deep diggers, living in holes down to six feet.
Because of their preference for cool climates, Canadian Nightcrawlers are best kept under refrigeration. Red Wigglers are commonly used for panfish bait. European Nightcrawlers are the larger cousins of the Red Wiggler. African Nightcrawlers are longer than European Nightcrawlers, but thinner.
Unlike Canadian Nightcrawlers that like cool temps, these worms perform best at 70 degrees or more, making them the perfect fishing worm for warm waters. Alabama Jumpers are the strongest of all of the commercial worms. They also have the thickest skin of all the commercial worms, allowing them to stay on the hook for long periods of time. Now you understand why all worms are not created equal. There are only qualities in worms that we harness for our benefit. Still got questions? Email Jerry!
Hi Paul. For specific worm questions, why not talk to the expert? Jerry will ship you the right worms to Placerville and he is very helpful with advice. We have vermicomposting bins that we have kept both outside and in the garage and they work great!
Does that help? Will worms eat citrus compost? If so, which kind? We have tons of lemons, oranges and grapefruits. We eat or juice them and have large amounts of rinds left. Thanks for any advice, Joy. How can I tell if the worms collected from my yard will be good for a worm bin? Thanks, Cynthia Kauai. I find them on the top of the soil right under the leaves i keep to cover the garden but they jump in the soil to get away from me?
Please help. Nope, its best to order composting worms from your local worm farm. Earthworms are just not the same. Can I add left over fishing bait worms to my dalek style compost bin? I have put the usual garden waste, grass cuttings, dead leaves and also added horse manure but wondered whether these would enhance my compost further?
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