{"id":3763,"date":"2021-03-21T14:24:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T14:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.117.7.217\/unicdn\/?p=3763"},"modified":"2024-04-18T12:13:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T17:13:15","slug":"wisconsin-worm-farming-right-here-in-the-driftless-dan-corbin-owner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/driftlessareamag.com\/unicdn\/2021\/03\/21\/wisconsin-worm-farming-right-here-in-the-driftless-dan-corbin-owner\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Worm Farming- Right Here In The Driftless!- Dan Corbin- Owner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/span>GETTING STARTED WITH WORM COMPOSTING!

P<\/span><\/strong><\/span>eople often ask me about getting started with worm composting. After spending thirteen years as a keeper of
worms, and and solid year or two in a study of their habits and history, I still say that there is not a finer pet anywhere.\u00a0 I’ve had dogs that would not walk on a leash and birds that refused to sing, and at present I’ve got two cats who nap when they should be chasing mice and chase each other around the house at night when I’m at risk of nodding off to sleep myself.

But a herd of\u00a0 worms will earn its keep, no doubt about it.\u00a0 They’ll take care of the garbage, fertilize the lawn, and bait your fishhook if you like to fish.\u00a0 They’ll provide the kids with science-fair projects and show-and-tell offerings for years to come.

And they’ll do it all with a minimum of fuss and expense.

Plenty of books give advise on worm composting, and I won’t try to summarize everything they have to say here.\u00a0 Instead, I’ll tell you what I would want to know if I were setting\u00a0 up my first worm bin right now and you’ll learn the the rest as you go.

First step is to choose a worm bin.\u00a0 It is not difficult to locate instructions for making a worm bin out of scrap lumber or plastic storage tubs.\u00a0 A trip to the hardware store, and a homemade worm bin can be yours for a few bucks.

But those homemade bins have a few downsides.\u00a0 Drainage is one concern.\u00a0 The worms won’t sit for long in soggy food, and you won’t like the smell if they do.\u00a0 It’s often hard to get a homemade bin to drain properly\u00a0 from the bottom and ventilate properly from the top, all while keeping the fruit flies out and the worms in.\u00a0

Harvesting the castings is another problem: if the worms live in a single bed together with their food and \"\"castings, it can be ridiculously difficult to extract them.

Some people say that if you shift the food to one side of the bin, the worms will follow, leaving the other side more or less
vacant.\u00a0 But worms do tend to wander, especially within the confines of a small space, and it can take weeks for them to abandon one area of a small bin entirely, if they ever do.

There are many good commercially made worm composters out there-designed to give worms the best living conditions possible and make it easy to harvest and use their castings.\u00a0 They are quite expensive, however, and you may\/may
not wish to invest in this kind of start up offerings.

Once you have selected a bin, the next task is getting some worms.\u00a0 You can buy your worms from a bait stand or you’ll be better off ordering worms from a worm farm.\u00a0 You will save a little money and you’ll have the assurance that you are getting the right worms.\u00a0 Besides, worm farmers are a friendly group, always willing to answer a few questions from their customers.\u00a0 If you live anywhere near a worm farm, you might even get a tour.\u00a0 Be forewarned that some worm growers, fearing for their worms’ health, won’t ship live worms during hot summer months.


\n
“Nature’s greatest little recyclers.”<\/span><\/div>\n

A NIFTY PIECE OF NATURAL HISTORY!
\n