Worms in general. - Worms refer to a very large group of organisms. speaking, worms are segmented annelids. this group includes leaches, tapeworms, tube worms, and redworms to name a few.
|
Earthworms generally mean the worms that you find on your driveway after a hard rain. There are many different members of this family; , lumbricus, and eisenia which are the most common.
Worms survive on every continent and every ocean. The most notable examples are the 10 foot long austrailian earthworm, sulfur based tube worm in the Atlantic ocean and the composting redworm capable of eating its own weight in organic matter.
|
The bennifit of a large population of earthworms are; increased productivity of the soil, better water drainage, better aeration, nutrient rotation within the soil, better water retention, quicker conversion of organic nitrogen to inorganic nitrogen, healthier soil, and on and on. Benefits are nearly endless
The largest number earthworms are found in the Amazon river basin and the Nile confluence. As many as 5 million worms live in 1 acre of land. Thats over 100 worms every square foot.
Night crawlers can burrow down 7 feet below the surface. This accomplishes two things, the soil is rotated and allows them to survive winter.
|
The Red Wiggler. | is the common name for the Eisenia Foetida worm. These worms are found in compost and areas where organic matter is abundant such as rain forests. Originally from Europe, they were brought over to the Americas in potted plants and ballasts where they have spread out to all areas of North America. |
Redwomrs are used for vermicomposting (worm farming for worm castings) because they eat a lot of organic matter. Other benefits of redworms are:
They do not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary
They tolerate a lot for food including meats, dairy, spicy food and animal waste
Redworms reproduce quickly! Click here to see earthworms mating. Each worm is both female and male, each worm gets pregnant at the same time and will lay an egg. Each egg will contain anywhere from 1 to 22 babies. Doubling your stock in worms every 4 months is not a difficult task.
Raising redworms is very easy! Most people will raise worms in their basement or garage. As long as the worms do not freeze or get too hot, they will produce plenty of castings and young for you to use.
Redworms make great lures for fishing. A healthy redworm will last up to 2 hours underwater.
Redworms cannot burrow deep enough in the soil to survive winter in the northern states. If you use your worms outside in a compost pile, be sure to bring a bin of them inside for the winter. See the instructions for raising worms inside by clicking here. |
