Wormery

[PeterNE1]

Just playing 'Devil's Advocate' here, but is there any real reason not to base such a wormery on lobworms, rather than Tigers, Dendras, Brandlings etc? ... or lobs with something else, as a mixture?

[Leon Roskilly]

Just playing 'Devil's Advocate' here, but is there any real reason not to base such a wormery on lobworms, rather than Tigers, Dendras, Brandlings etc? ... or lobs with something else, as a mixture?

 

Lobs need a completely different environment.

 

They will simply die in a compost wormery.

[Phone]

Leon, (or anyone),

 

What are the ones we call Canadian Nightcrawlers? They are our staple for fishing.

For "panfish" we like "red wigglers". Don't know what they are either?

 

 

Phone

[Leon Roskilly]

Leon, (or anyone),

 

What are the ones we call Canadian Nightcrawlers? They are our staple for fishing.

For "panfish" we like "red wigglers". Don't know what they are either?

 

 

Phone

 

Hi Phone, Night crawlers are what we call lob-worms (Lumbricus terrestris)

 

Red wrigglers are a name given to Eisenia foetida (what we call brandlings or tiger worms, these have yellow bands) or (better for fishing) red compost worms (Eisenia andrei).

 

('Dendras' are Dendrobaena veneta)

Edited January 4, 2012 by Leon Roskilly

[PeterNE1]

Lobs need a completely different environment.

 

They will simply die in a compost wormery.

 

 

Oh!

So, any thoughts / ideas / advice on propogating lobworms ... or at least, keeping them healthy, long term, after gathering them?

[Leon Roskilly]

Oh!

So, any thoughts / ideas / advice on propogating lobworms ... or at least, keeping them healthy, long term, after gathering them?

 

 

Although I once filled an old bath with garden earth and put all lobs dug in there, with a few leaves as food, they kinda disappeared.

 

 

Most of the year I get plenty from digging in the garden (it helps if the soil gets fed with organic matter).

 

Once gathered, I put them in a bucket with wet newspaper, torn into shreds, and keep them in a cool dark place (ie back of the garage).

 

They will last four or five weeks stored like that, after which (if not used) I release them and start another bucket.

 

So I generally have enough available, except when the ground dries out during a long dry spell or freezes in winter.

[stooby]

Although I once filled an old bath with garden earth and put all lobs dug in there, with a few leaves as food, they kinda disappeared.

 

 

Did you forget to put the plug in???

 

Stooby....

[Phone]

Leon,

 

Nightcrawlers also "like" coffee grounds. Well, they eat coffee grounds, not sure they like them. My point being, when fishing you can use different flavor worms. A pal swore by milk fed worms. I was always told (don't know) that printer's ink (before the days of soy based inks) was harmful. Ever hear that? Back then we kept them in cow pies. Now, I confess, I buy new worms every trip. $2.00 for 12 - 15 worms. You can't buy red wrigglers at the tackle shops very often. (My bad, I have always called them "wigglers" - I know that's wrong.)

 

Phone

[Rusty]

..or at least, keeping them healthy, long term, after gathering them?

 

Provided the lobworms are healthy when bought (I don’t collect my own yet) I’ve found that they’ll last for a couple of months if kept in a fridge. I do transfer them from the small pot to a bait box and give them fresh damp earth.

 

It’s essential to check regularly and weed out any that might have snuffed it, one dead lob kept in the same container will kill the others very quickly.

[arbocop]

Provided the lobworms are healthy when bought (I don’t collect my own yet) I’ve found that they’ll last for a couple of months if kept in a fridge. I do transfer them from the small pot to a bait box and give them fresh damp earth.

 

It’s essential to check regularly and weed out any that might have snuffed it, one dead lob kept in the same container will kill the others very quickly.

 

 

Ditto, but I use soggy newspaper and moss with a bit of compost. I only keep them in a fridge during warmer weather and just leave them in my out-house (a WW2 bomb shelter) the rest of the year. Every now and then when it starts to get full of wormcasts, I tip them out and put them back in with more paper and a new handful of compost.

 

I only do this with lobs as I have two wormery's with redworms and brandlings. I've got millions of em. They eat coffee grounds, vegetables (except aliums), fruit (except citrus), bank statements, bills and sensitive data.