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INSIDE THE WORM, FROM FRONT TO BACK

The worm's alimentary canal (or gut) is the central feature of its body cavity. And why not? The worm is, after all, mainly an eating and composting machine. It eats its own weight in earth, minerals, and organic matter each day, and this job requires an impressive digestive system. The alimentary canal lies in the center of the body cavity. Its wall is comprised of three layers: the interior, which is a mucous layer; the middle, composed of strong muscle fibers and blood vessels; and the outer layer, which is protective.

The canal is basically a tube that runs clear through the length of the worm, from the mouth to the a**s. Different parts of the canal somewhat different purposes, ever, and so scientists have given different names to these parts. Just behind the mouth is the buccal cavity, the cheek pouch of the worm. It is in this region, extending only to the first or second anterior segment, where the taste cells are located. No one knows whether a worm can spit out food it doesn't like, but it certainly can stop eating distasteful food once the food reaches the buccal cavity.

Behind the buccal cavity is the pharynx, which connects the mouth to the esophagus. The pharynx extends to about the sixth segment, and is used as a kind of suction pump, drawing in food from the mouth.

The esophagus opens from the pharynx and leads to the crop and the gizzard. The crop feeds food back to the gizzard, which, with the aid of powerful muscular contractions, grinds up the food for further digestion. The sand and other mineral particles that the worm consumes act as grinding stones in the gizzard.

Behind the gizzard, which ends at about the twentieth segment in most common species, begins the intestine. It is here, as in our own bodies, that most of the digestion and absorption of the worm's food takes place. There are many folds in the inner wall of the intestine, which give the food greatest chance to be fully absorbed.

Between the intestine and the body wall are five pairs of vessels that scientists call, for lack of a better name, "hearts. Although they do not resemble mammalian hearts, their function is much the same. They direct the flow of blood through the worm's body. The worm has only two major blood vessels, one dorsal (topside) and the other ventral (bottom side). There are many minor vessels and capillaries that carry blood to all parts of the body.

The respiratory system of the worm is very rudimentary. There are no lungs or other such apparatus, but oxygen is received through the body wall, where it is taken up by the blood and circulated throughout the worm’s body.



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WHY ARE MY WORMS DYING?

Today I'm going to talk about the NUMBER ONE reason worms start to die off in your worm bin. Simply put -- you have left them to live in their own f***s for far to long.

As worm continuously consume the organic material in their worm bin, so too do they continuously produce f***l matter. And yes, this f***l matter, or more commonly referred to as worm castings, is arguably the very best natural and organic fertilizer in the world. However, it is not bedding in which your worm should live and consume. They cannot digest or absorb nutrients from their own f***l matter. The higher the ratio of worm casting to bedding material/food there is, the more likely you will begin to see casualties.

Therefore, the best way to keep your worms alive is to harvest the castings and add fresh bedding at least every 4-6 weeks for optimal growth and health of your worm population.



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WORM SKIN! IT'S QUITE COMPLEX!

A worm's skin has several layers. The first layer of the outer skin, the cuticle, a very thin and transparent layer. Underneath the thin cuticle layer is the epidermis, which consists of a single layer of cells made up primarily of two specific kinds. One of these is the gland cells whose job it is to secrete the all-important mucus, and the other consists of the long and slender epithelial cells that give body and strength to the earthworm.

In addition, thousands upon thousands of sensory cell are found throughout the epidermis. Working together, these cells the give the worm its most important sense—that of touch. Although a worm cannot see (at least in our sense of the word) or hear, it is extremely tactile, sensitive to the slightest movement around it. An earthworm can feel the bird as it scratches the ground, and will beat a hasty retreat into its burrow at the bird's approach. Worm hunters have learned to tread very, very softly, if they are not to frighten the worms away.

Present also in the epidermis are large numbers of photo-receptor cells, found mostly in the prostomium (the worms “mouth” flap). These are the "eyes" of the earthworm, and they are located in the "head." Although a worm cannot distinguish physical features it can sense light. Earthworms react negatively to light, which is why they typically only appear on the soil surface at night, as some species (notably the Canadian night crawler) must do in order to feed and copulate. Worms cannot detect red light, however, which is why night crawler hunters place a piece of red cellophane over their flashlights in their stealthy searches for fishing bait.

Contained also in the prostomium are taste cells, which the earthworm uses, in part, to choose his food. Not much is known about these taste cells, although researchers have found that earthworms can detect sucrose and glucose. Undoubtedly, they can detect much more, for they show definite food preferences.



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NEWLY HATCHED WORMS

Earthworm eggs will hatch in from 14 to 21 days under favorable conditions—the right temperatures, soil moisture, etc. If conditions are not right, the capsules are amazingly able to hold the fertile eggs until conditions are more favorable. Egg capsules can survive dryness and extreme temperatures that would kill any adult earthworm. Newly hatched earthworms look like little pieces of white thread, about 1/16 to 1/4 inch long, depending on the species. Within a matter of hours, their color begins to turn darker and within a day resembles that of their parents. They grow very rapidly, reaching sexual maturity in from 80 to 100 days, after which their rate of growth slows considerably.

The mortality rate for young earthworms is very low when conditions are favorable. George Sheffield Oliver conducted an experiment in which he carefully segregated 100 capsules (he did not say which species was involved). They produced 190 young worms. After two months, 185 were accounted for, indicating a mortality rate of only 2.6 percent during the crucial growing period.

In the wild, of course, mortality will be much higher because of accidental death from freezing, desiccation, and predation. Still, the low mortality rate is yet another tribute to the perfect evolution of the earthworm.



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ABOUT WORM CASTINGS

A question often asked is if the earthworm is creating burrows in compact soil, where does It leave its castings? The answer is that it usually finds an air space in the soil, or an old burrow (the earth is honeycombed with them) and there deposits about one-third of the contents of its intestine at a time. Night crawlers habitually come to the surface to leave their castings, as do a few other species, but most species deposit their castings underground. In general, only species which build permanent burrows leave their castings above ground.

Earthworm castings have long been prized by gardeners and other growers of plants, sometimes to a point where almost mystical powers are attributed to them. In plant shops, they sell for a pretty penny. In truth, the castings are a compost of the highest grade but of no greater value than other HIGH GRADE composts. Earthworm castings contain soil particles that the worm has eaten, but these particles are smaller, on the average, than those which entered the worm. Thus, over a long period of time, the soil with a large earthworm population will become finer in texture and more suitable for plant growth. The castings also have about one-third more bacteria than the surrounding soil, and this increased bacterial activity is beneficial to the breakdown of organic matter and liberation of plant nutrients. USDA tests, in fact, have indicated that earthworm castings contain from 5 to 11 times the amounts of the three major plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as does the soil which contributes to those castings.

Earthworms are said to produce their own weight daily in castings. Since they are inactive for long periods, particularly during extremely hot and cold weather, their daily production during favorable conditions probably exceeds this by a good measure. The USDA researcher Henry Hopp estimated that, on good agricultural land, earthworms daily produce about 700 pounds of casts per acre, during favorable periods. Over a year's time, accounting for both favorable and unfavorable periods, earthworms would add 105,000 pounds of castings, or more than 5 percent of the total soil volume to plow depth. It is not difficult in view of this statistic, to begin
To realize the tremendous contribution of the earthworm to soil productivity.



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HOW ARE WORM EGG CAPSULES FORMED?

Once two worms have found each other, they clasp each other tightly with their seta. Copious amounts of specialized mucus is secreted by the clitellum of each worm, covering each worm with its own slime tube. This heavy mucus acts first as a protective covering for the s***m that is being mutually transferred, and later as a covering for the eggs. Once the s***m has been expended and received by each partner, the two part from each other. The s***m from each worm will be retained by the other and will be used to fertilize the small, white eggs which are usually produced after the two worms have parted.

Now, the clitellum produces a different secretion which soon hardens over its outer surface – the beginning of the egg capsule. When the surface of the secretion has become fairly hard, the worm moves backward, slowly sliding the secretion (containing both s***m and eggs) over its body and eventually over its head. When the mass has separated totally from the worm, the two ends close and form a lemon-shaped capsule.

Actual fertilization of the eggs takes place in the sealed capsule. Also included in the capsule is an albuminous fluid which will nurture the incubation young earthworms until they hatch and are able to feed themselves. There are up to twenty ova in each capsule, but only 1-3 will hatch.



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HOW HELPLESS ARE WORMS?

There are few animals on earth more defenseless than a worm. This creature cannot fight off attackers, obviously, and yet is has none of the sophisticated mechanisms with which nature has endowed certain other nonaggressive species: quickness, jumping of flying ability, camouflage, poisonous excretions, hard exoskeletons—all have been denied our friend the worm.

Yet nature has not left the worm totally without means of avoiding or escaping its attackers. Its very habitat is perhaps its best defense. Most species never come to the soil surface voluntarily, and those that do exercise extreme caution during their nocturnal surfacings.

Perhaps the worms best defense lies in its acute sense of touch. If a foraging nightcrawler is touched, it will retreat quickly into its burrow, probably not to come out again that night. If the worm is grasped violently it will dig the seta of its tail area firmly into its burrow, hanging on for dear life. Often it will break in two before allowing itself to be pulled from the burrow. Often it will break in two before allowing itself to be pulled from the burrow. Some species will thrash about vigorously when grasped, thus perhaps shaking loose from a bird or other attacker. Still other species eject coelomic fluid from the dorsal pores when touched.

Most worms will voluntarily break off portions of their posterior ends when grasped, even if the grasp is not particularly violent. They can regenerate this portion of their bodies quite easily. However, this only works for the posterior part of the worm since a break near their "heads" would likely result in the worms death.

And to quell a myth -- if you break a worm in half it WILL NOT create 2 worms. Most likely you will just have 1 dead one.



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HOW DO WORMS BREATHE?

Animals that are well adapted for land life have a heavy, impermeable skin which prevents excessive drying. But this thicker skin also prevents any type of exchange of gases through the skin. In order to breathe most terrestrial animals will utilize internal specialized tissues found in their lungs to absorb and process oxygen.

Worms, on the other hand, breathe in the same way as their aquatic ancestors; that is why they can live completely submerged in water (yet will die if dried out for time). The outermost layers of the worm are thin and must be kept moist so that respiratory exchange can occur by diffusion through the general body surface, which is underlain by capillary networks. The small blood capillaries, which lie close to the cuticle or body covering, allow the circulating blood to obtain oxygen and give off carbon dioxide through the moist body surface.

Moistening of the body surface is accomplished by mucous gland which occur in the epidermis (skin) and also by the coelomic fluid which emanates from dorsal pores located between the segments of the worm’s body.

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CAN I USE WORMS TO COMPOST PET POO?

People love their pets and most are responsible owners who pick up their dog’s poo. A minority of pet owners still don’t. Those who do not subject others to potential health hazards and those who do are stuck trying to figure out how to responsibly dispose of it.

Sending dog poo to the landfill (even in biodegradable bags) can send high nitrogen runoff into water sources and cause algae blooms that rob fish and other water creatures of oxygen.

So today’s discussion is about one responsible method to dispose of pet poo that can also be safe with a few precautions…vermicompost it.

The short answer to the question can I use worms to compost dog poo? is YES. Worms have been eating and composting poo of all types for millennia, dog poo isn’t anything new for them. HOWEVER, there are some health precautions that should be followed. Dog and cat poo can contain some nasty microorganisms that can potentially make someone very sick. Toxoplasmosis, E. Coli, salmonella and potentially helminth (parasitic worms) eggs for example. Precautionary measures should be used such as:

- Wear gloves
- Never touch poo barehanded and preferably use tools.
- Keep pet poo tools separate from those used in your other worm bins or vegetable garden
- Use good hygiene, soap and water and a good hand washing is still necessary.
- Never use the compost from dog or cat poo on edible plants.
- Keep pet poo composting bins away from water supplies.
- Feed ONLY pet poo to pet poo bins.

When doing this with cat litter box contents DO NOT add the entire contents (litter). You’ll end up with a ball of clay that becomes anaerobic and could harm your worms. The exception is if you’re using a non clay litter like Yesterday’s News Brand made from newspaper.

When you’re stooping and scooping, think about the bags you’re using.

Regular plastic bags are a poor choice, they don’t decompose well so you’ll have to rip and empty all the bags into your bin.

Compostable bags are designed to decompose in the presence of heat (a compost pile). A worm composter doesn’t get hot enough.

Degradable (as opposed to biodegradable) break down into smaller pieces but the remnants of plastic will remain.

Biodegradable bags should be your #1 choice. These decompose through microbial action and there should be plenty of that in your worm compost setup.

So How Do I do it?

Vermicomposting pet poo should be done outdoors, well away from water supplies (leaching), away from outdoor living spaces, and away from edible garden crops and away from your other worm bins. In colder climates digging a hole 2-3 feet (0.6-1m) deep and partially burying an old trash can with the bottom cut out is a good start. Place a layer of old soaked leaves or shredded and soaked cardboard in the bottom, add your worms if you wish (or let the native worms work on it) and begin adding your pet poo as you collect it. Cover each poo deposit with a handful of leaves or cardboard (to avoid odours and lower the number of flies buzzing around).

When the can is almost full you can start another can or lift the original can off the pile of partly composted poo and start a new hole. Cover the pile with a tarp or something to cure for a few months, then spread it on ornamental bushes or flowers.
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Worms for Dinner?

Earthworms are eaten in some areas of the world, including China and the Philippines (IFIS, 2009). Based on their nutrient content, earthworms Eisenia foetida are an excellent source of readily available protein and minerals in human diet and are included in the Dictionary of Food Science and Technology

They're high in protein and have high levels of iron and of amino acids, which help break down food and repair body tissue. They also contain copper, manganese and zinc. Earthworms are a source of calcium as well — on a par with the amount in fresh cheese or cow's milk.

In southern Venezuela, the Ye'kuana people gather them from the mud around streams or dig them up from the floor of the highland forest. They're gutted and boiled and eaten — or smoked and sold at prices three times that of other smoked meats.

However, The taste factor is an obstacle to bringing earthworms into the diet of people in countries where food is in short supply and malnutrition is a problem.

But if you're determined to dine on homegrown worms, you can collect a batch, then feed them cornmeal for a day or two to purge them of their usual diet, she suggests.

Then boil for 10 minutes, ideally three times. (Sidenote: according to Eat the Weeds, a blog about foraging food, boiling multiple times helps rid the worms of their mucus, so this part is kind of up to the diner.) From there, you can grind them into meatballs, saute them with onions and mushrooms or fold chopped boiled earthworms into ground beef for wormy meatloaf.

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Raise Worms in a Plastic Bucket

Pros

Portability
Lightweight
Inexpensive

Cons

Limited volume; smaller worm populations & more frequent harvesting

The plastic bucket is another popular worm habitat used by the vermicomposting enthusiast. It has a small footprint and can be used in unison with multiple buckets to form a composting system. As with storage containers, plastic buckets are measured in gallons, inexpensive, and can usually be found at your local hardware store. Most plastic buckets are five gallons in volume and come with a handle which makes them easy to carry.

Although the plastic storage container is preferred amongst many growers, the feature that stands out for the five gallon plastic bucket is its portability. Its small size and footprint gives you more flexibility when deciding on a location for your habitat. The smaller volume of bedding and worms also translates into less weight, which makes the bucket easier to carry. Its small footprint also allows you to maintain multiple buckets in a relatively small area. Those who prefer bucket-growing system will find it a bit more labor intensive due to the shorter times between adding bedding and harvesting castings; however, the quicker turnaround times for producing castings is the objective so this is to be expected.

As with the storage bins, you will be best served using a reservoir, such has a spill tray, to catch any drainage from the decomposing kitchen scraps that you are feeding your worms. Use a 1/8 inch drill bit to create at least 5 holes with even spacing. You can use a bucket lid or another bucket of the same size or larger to catch your "worm tea" that drains out.

Worm Bins

Many people who are new to raising worms begin raising them in a Do-It-Yourself plastic storage bin or a manufactured worm bin system. The convenience of portability along with the fact that most folks will not be raising populations in the tens of thousands makes the indoor worm bin system an easy project. And for those who are contemplating raising worms on a large scale, the worm bin is a smart way to learn how to raise them in a controlled environment before making a big investment. Because the extremes of heat and cold climates can be harmful to worms, raising them indoors ensures that their environment will always be climate controlled. You can put the bin in your garage (if cool), basement, closet, spare bedroom or your porch. If you decide to keep your bin outside, keep it away from direct sunlight. For those of you living in the south, putting your bin outside may be too hot during the summer months -- the combination of heat and humidity definitely becomes a factor when raising worms in a plastic bin that isn't designed to insulate against that kind of weather.

(Good To Know) If you decide to keep your worm bin in the garage keep in mind that worms will bake in a closed garage with no air conditioning. I can tell you from personal experience that worms will not do well in a plastic storage container sitting in a hot garage with temperatures exceeding 100° F in the middle of the summer. Plastic bins are not insulated so the hot ambient air temperature will easily transfer to the contents of your bin. If you don't have a basement, keep them in a utility or spare bedroom.

FOOD4WORMS WORM FEED FOR SALE

Overview

Worms are nature’s composters and will do a superb job converting your kitchen scraps into rich, black vermicompost. However, there are times when you may want to supplement your worm’s diet with formulated grain. Some professional worm farmers even go beyond that and feed their worms ONLY formulated grain feed.

Our Food 4 Worms formulated grain feed supplies all of the essential nutrients that your worms need: protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. A balanced recipe of wheat, oats, corn, plant and animal protein that will give your worms what they need for a healthy and productive life cycle.

If you are a beginner, or even an experienced worm wrangler, it is imperative that you understand how to feed your worms with formulated grain feed. The most common mistake that people make is overfeeding. You will avoid this by adhering to the following recommendations.

Feeding Method Recommendations

Total Mix, Grain Only.
Add 1/4 cup of Food4Worms Feed per 1 gallon of bedding. (For example, if you have 4 gallons of bedding you will add 1 cup of Worm Feed.) MIX THOROUGHLY. After 2-3 weeks, harvest your worms and repeat. Do not add more than the prescribed amount as you will risk the feed fermenting which can harm your worm's health. This is more of a “hands-off” approach that can be used as part of a growing your worms from babies to adulthood.

Top Feeding Procedure, Grain Only.
Start slowly, you do not want to overfeed. Overfeeding causes acidity which can adversely affect your earthworms. Sprinkle 1 ounce (1 scoop of the measuring cup provided) evenly onto the top of the bedding. If you do not have the scoop, measure with 2 tablespoons. Mist lightly with water -- 15 pumps with your spray bottle should be sufficient. If your bedding is very moist, try letting the feed absorb the moisture. Do not feed more than once every 24 hours.

Increase the amount if your earthworms are consuming a single feeding within 12 hours.
Decrease the amount if it takes longer than 36 hours to consume a single feeding.

Add 2 inches of new bedding to the top of your existing bedding every 2-3 weeks to reduce the possibility the bedding going sour. Although it may appear that the worms have consumed all of the grain, some of it inevitably sinks downward into the bed and will begin to accumulate. Topping off with fresh bedding keeps the residual grain from becoming too concentrated below the surface.

Supplemental, Food Scraps w/ Grain.
When supplementing with Food 4 Worms worm feed, add ¼ cup of the grain to a batch of kitchen scraps and mix it well, then feed the scraps/grain mix to your worms just as you normally would do. Add grain to the kitchen scraps once per month.
Good to Know's

Combine the Total Mix and Top Feed methods to lessen your work load. Do not top feed until the Total Mix feeding cycle has completed (3 weeks)
Be careful not to overfeed – uneaten grain will begin to ferment which will sour your bedding and harm the worms.
Overfeeding with grain can also cause protein poisoning, also known as “string of pearls” or sour crop.
The best way to fix any problems with overfeeding is to simply change out the bedding.
Worms will let you know that they do not like the conditions of their bedding – if you have lots of worms trying to escape, you have a problem!

Ingredients
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein, Min. 19.00%
Crude Fat, Min. 6.00%
Crude Fiber, Max. 9.50%

Grain Products, Plant Protein Products, Animal Protein Products, Processed Grain By-Products, Cane Molasses, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin K Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Sodium Selenite, Manganous Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate.

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WORMS HELP TO RELEASE UNAVAILABLE NUTRIENTS

One of the most important roles a worm plays in soil biology is their ability to liberate essential plant nutrients. The worm does this by transforming the nutrients into a form that can dissolve in water therefore enabling plant roots to easily absorb them. Most soils will always contain some level of mineral nutrients. However, these mineral nutrients are not always in an available form that plant roots can absorb. As the worm tunnels through soil, passing unavailable minerals through its digestive tract, enzymes in the worms gut react with these minerals changing them into a water soluble and available nutrients. They can literally convert dead soil into live nutrient rich earth!

WORMS IMPROVE SOIL WATER ABSORPTION & STABILITY

Heavy clay and silt soil are often too compact and void of passages for water to enter. Due to its compactness, rainwater will stand on top, run off, or evaporate before ever making its way down into the soil, often creating drought conditions. Worms create channels and networks of tunnels and burrows that allow rainwater to saturate the soil. The renowned gardening author Jerry Minnich wrote that USDA researcher Henry Hopp conducted experiments on soil both with and without worms. Without worms, the tested soil had and absorption rate of .2 inches of rainfall per minute. Testing the same soil one month after worms had been introduced increased the absorption rate to .9 inches per minute – an increase of 350 percent.

In addition to creating water channels, worms leave behind their castings as they tunnel through the soil. Worm castings (worm p**p) are significantly important in developing water stability. Water stability is the property of soil that allows it to remain loose, accept and hold moisture. For example, if your garden contains soil with poor water stability and is tightly packed you may choose to loosen it through mechanical tilling. The soil will seem “refreshed” and will hold water quite well for a short time. But soon the soil, through the process of becoming wet and then drying out, will begin to clump together and form hard lumps. In time, the mechanically tilled soil will revert back to its previous state and prevent water absorption as well as become unfriendly to healthy root growth.

Improved water stability is achieved by combining soil particles with organic materials that are also present. These organic materials are produced by living organisms such as worms and other micro-organisms. Worm castings help to loosen hard soil. And, conversely, castings will bind loose, sandy soil that is too well drained.

THE AFRICAN NIGHTCRAWLER

Overview

The African Nightcrawler is known for its size and appetite. This tropical worm species tolerates higher temperatures than its composting cousins. The African Nightcrawler has a uniform purple-gray sheen and the posterior segments are evenly tapered to a point. It can grow over 6 inches in length and is the largest composting worm . The dark, nutrient-rich vermicompost created by this earthworm is prized among organic gardeners. You can feed Africans your kitchen scraps, farm manure as well as grains formulated for worms. You will be amazed at how fast they can grow and produce worm castings. They breed quickly and can consume large amounts of organic material -- the larger the worm, the more it can eat! The African Nightcrawler will thrive in a habitat temperature of 75-86°F.

Habitat Recommendations

For 1 pound of African Nightcrawlers, you can utilize any of the following containers:

8 gallon storage tote, minimum
Minimum container dimensions: 20.0" L x 14" W x 12" H
Worm Factory, 3 tray minimum
5 gallon bucket
*Manure pile
*Compost pile

*Africans cannot survive in an environment that is below 50°F. Keep this in mind when adding to any outdoor manure or compost piles.

Bedding Recommendations

Africans Nightcrawlers can live in several different types of bedding. You can mix and match at your convenience:

*Composted manure
Coconut coir
Shredded newspaper
Mushroom compost
Shredded brown cardboard
*Peat Moss

*Horse and cow manure MUST be thoroughly composted before using, at least 4-6 weeks. If using rabbit manure be sure to hose down thoroughly if you are sourcing from directly under rabbit hutches due to possible high urine saturation.

*Peat moss may be too acidic which can cause the Africans escape your habitat. The low pH depends entirely on where the peat is harvested. Be sure to soak peat for 48 hours before using -- this helps to raise the pH. You can also add garden lime (calcium carbonate) to raise the pH.

Feeding Tips

Your Africans can eat just about everything you can! However, you should stay away from meat and fried food. Meat smells horribly when it decomposes and fried food doesn't break down properly, so your worms won't be able to eat it.

What amount of kitchen scraps should you feed 1 pound of African Nightcrawlers?
There isn't really a need to get scientific and measure everything out -- use the size of your hand making a fist as your measuring tool. For 1 pound of Africans, begin feeding with 4 fist-sized portions of kitchen scraps. Depending on the state of decomposition, it will take anywhere between 1-3 weeks for those scraps to be consumed. When the food has almost disappeared, repeat with four fist-sized portions. As time goes by, you will begin to recognize how long it takes different types of food to be consumed and if any adjustments need to be made.

How much specially formulated grain feed should you feed 1 pound of African Nightcrawlers?
There are two feeding methods for grain feeding; 1) top feeding and 2) total mix feeding.

For top feeding, begin with 1/4 cup of grain even sprinkle on the top of the bedding, then mist with water to soften the feed. Do not feed again until ALL of the grain has been consumed. This will take anywhere between 12 to 36 hours. If the feed is consumed in less than 12 hours you can increase the amount. If it takes longer than 36 hours, decrease the amount. Add 2 inches of bedding every 2 weeks to keep your bedding fresh.

For total mix feeding, add 1/4 cup of feed per 1 gallon of bedding and thoroughly mix. Make extra bedding/feed mix to continue feeding when the worms have consumed the grain. The mixed-in feed should satisfy the worms for about 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, add 1 inch of the extra bedding/feed mix to the top of your habitat bedding.

Good to Know's

- African nightcrawlers are sensitive to low pH levels. If you choose to raise them having a pH meter will be handy.
- Keep the bedding as fresh as you can. African Nightcrawlers will reject bedding that has too high a ratio of worm castings to bedding
- African Nightcrawlers are prone to "running" more than the other composting species. However they do not do so without reason. If your Africans begin to leave your habitat you may need to raise the pH or complete a bedding change.
- If you are going to give your African Nightcrawlers a grain-only diet you will need to closely monitor your habitat for signs of overfeeding (or underfeeding). Overfeeding will leave too much uneaten food in the bedding and turn it sour and acidic due to grain fermentation. Underfeeding will cause the worms to leave the habitat in search of more food.

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