![]() ![]() They will be white but soon turn red as their name suggests. The worms are, unsurprisingly, very small at first. Keep checking your container at least weekly to see if any of your cocoons have hatched. At this early stage in their lives, your little worms are in a state of diapause, which means that their development is paused and will continue when the conditions are right. Your worms will take about a month to hatch, however some may take much longer - ours took about 2 months. The final step of the hatching process was to place the cocoons on top of the soil and close the container. Strain the water using a fine sieve, and pick out the cocoons. We poured them into a bowl of water, and after several minutes, small brown, oval cocoons had appeared! There can be multiple worms in each one. Our worm cocoons arrived encapsulated, and we kept them refrigerated until we were ready to soak them (the sooner you do this, the better). ![]() Add more soil and paper until you reach desired depth Add 3-4 inches of soil, then mix in shredded newspaper. Glue strips of mesh screen over holes, making sure there are no gaps for worms to escape.Ĥ. ![]() Drill holes (¼ - ½ ” diameter) around the top of container on each side- about 3 to 4 holes per side.ģ. A 10 gallon, 16” x 24” works well, and it does not need to be more than 8-12 inches deep.Ģ. Worm bins can be purchased online or easily constructed at home. The next stop was to build our worms a home. We ordered our eggs from Gardens Alive, but there are many other places to buy adult worms online or in bait shops. You can buy worms in the adult stage of their lives or as eggs. It all starts with the right worm - unlike the earthworms you may find in your backyard, Red Wigglers ( Eisenia fetida) do not need deep layers of soil to tunnel through. Although it took some time for the worms to appear, it was well worth the wait! We recently hatched our own worms to set up a new vermicomposting system. Red Wiggler worms make for the perfect household pet - these small worms are low maintenance, affordable, and not only do they clean up after themselves - they’ll take care of your trash too! Vermicomposting (composting with worms) is an excellent way to reduce your landfill waste and help your garden thrive. Vermicomposting: In House Composting for all Seasonsīy Erica Jackson, Intern, Phipps Science Education and Research ![]()
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