First time in 28 years

[Gremcat]

Went out last night with youngest and tonight with 9 yo catching crawlers. Our front yard has millions for some reason. Tough in taller grass but managed a few dozen last night and a dozen tonight with my 9 yo catching one after pulling 4-5 of my catches up for me. Stubborn in the hard ground though. Missed 4-5x what we caught. Forgot how much fun it is. He asked if we could mount his big one lol.

Tomorrow I’ll be figuring out how to construct a worm farm container.

 

[A-5]

That’s awesome pics of the farm please!

 

[Solitario Lupo]

Go threw make sure to take out any half’s or dead ones. A foam cooler can work. Punch holes in the top and then put a screen on top. They can crawl out of it.

 

[troutspinner]

My brothers and I use to do that when we were young. We’d take the hose and wet the yard real good around dinner time and head out with flashlights at dark. Don’t point it right at them! It scares them back in is all I hear in my head right now.

 

[Melvinp]

Go threw make sure to take out any half’s or dead ones. A foam cooler can work. Punch holes in the top and then put a screen on top. They can crawl out of it.

One dead one will kill them all good advice Lupo

 

[josey12340]

We would catch them as kids as well as digging worms. Dad had a big wooden box that we kept them in down in the basement. Anytime we needed worms just went and got some from the box.

 

[Gremcat]

May explain why the first round died. Thought my wife would kill me for the smell in her kitchen lol. Caught more last night, front yard has millions it seems. Right now they are in a tote on a tote with small holes in the bottom. My uncle buried a box in his yard when we were kids and we’d go grab worms whenever we went fishing.

 

[Solitario Lupo]

Just gotta keep up with them. My grandfather had a bunch of worm farms in his basement. Always went threw them once a day. Getting out the dead ones and feeding them once a week. Those night crawlers and garden worms were nice big and juicy.

 

[Don]

What do u feed them ?

 

[Melvinp]

Corn meal

 

[Solitario Lupo]

Ground corn, cornmeal. You can buy worm food. They usually mix lard in it.
You can also give the mixture of veggies on top. There’s a bunch of mixtures out to give them.

 

[Gremcat]

We had one at a Green company I was reshoring in the south. Part of their mission and all. I lived at the site in a massive house a few of us shared. We’d open the lid and throw old veggies in once a week. Someone else handled it all and kids came to learn sustainability.

Had goats before my time too. Inside a year or two they bred so much there was feces all over and they escaped so fence got higher and higher. They gave up on em by the time I started. Would’ve been fun to bait the property’s resident gator though.

 

[Gremcat]

I don’t recall details on the worm composting thing. Never had to pick out dead ones but was sort of established once I got there. My uncle never did either but I think it was mesh under with wood sides above so maybe the natural ground conditions resolved it.

I told my kids rather than try and farm them just collect a bunch then take to the local wildlife sanctuary/Ed center they go to weekly and feed their birds. I’d like to ‘seed’ the backyard too since there aren’t any popping up there but it’s more sun so maybe that’s why. Struggle with thin grass and what not in the front but worms of all kinds by the truckload. Maybe grubs too or something.

 

[Solitario Lupo]

Those big grubs will get into the soil and kill the grass one year they got bad and dead spots were all over the yard. Thinks it’s a beatle larva.

 

[Solitario Lupo]

There’s also the invasive Asian jumping worms. My flower beds are full of them. Love the older mulch.

 

[Gremcat]

I did Grub-Ex once, will aerate in spring and try again. I also saw bagged pellets of Milky Spores. Last I saw those it was a different method so might try those too.