Raising Worms

Over the past several years, the Association of Female Heads of Households has distributed thousands of Worm-Growers throughout the region, together with the red worms needed to start operations. Instruction in the art of worm-growing has been provided to countless individuals and institutions.

Today, worm-growing is a bona-fide biotechnology that uses a domesticated species of worm as a tool for recycling all sorts of organic waste. Among the useful products obtained are worm compost, liquid fertilizer and even worm meat.

Getting started

Spread a layer of organic waste.

Place your Red California Worms on top of the waste.

Feed daily.

What sort of organic waste can you use? Almost anything coming out of the kitchen – peels, greens, veggies, fruits, paper napkins soiled with food. You can even add clippings from your garden.

What do Worms Eat?

All sorts of fresh, non-fermented organic waste. Your layer of organic waste should be no deeper than 10 centimeters in order to avoid fermentation at the bottom of the layer.

Like most animals, worms are picky about what they eat. When faced with a varied diet, they'll always go for the most nourishing and easily digested dishes. If well fed, worms can be surprisingly prolific breeders.

Worms have a penchant for pulpy fruits, especially citrus fruits and peels. Given this type of diet, they'll breed to the max. Of course, they'll also eat stalks, roots and leaves if they have to, but then they'll be too pooped from chewing to do much breeding.

How do you feed the worms in your Worm-Grower?

Just place a fistful of food in your Worm-Grower every day during the first eight to twelve weeks. Once your worms have grown, they'll want more food. A Worm-Grower full of hungry inhabitants ought to consume all the organic waste of a family of four.

Caring for your Worm-Grower.

Enemies: Your worms biggest enemies are flies, ants and slugs.

Humidity: Keep the lid on your Worm-Grower, and store away from heat sources to prevent the organic waste from drying out. For maximum performance, the organic waste should be kept cool.

How to harvest the worms in your Worm-Grower.

Stop feeding your worms for about three days to get them good and hungry.

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On the fourth day, place a bit of organic waste into the Worm-Grower. All the worms will gather round.
Next day you'll be able to remove most of the worms in a single clump. Repeat the procedure two or three times till you've removed all of them.
Remove the compost and put it to use in your crops or garden.
Spread a new layer of organic material and replace the hungry worms.

Covers and Drains: To prevent flies, ants and slugs, your Worm-Grower should be kept shut.
Drain your Worm-Grower every two days when in full production, opening the faucet located at the bottom. When starting a new batch, weekly draining is adequate. The liquid runoff is pure fertilizer, rich in minerals and nutrients.

Maintaining your Worm-Grower

To clean your Worm-Grower, wipe occasionally with a damp cloth. The inside walls of your Worm-Grower, above the level of the organic waste, may develop black dots. These are deposits of worm excrement – but don't worry, no problem. Whatever you do, don't go washing your Worm-Grower with soap, disinfectants or detergents. Plain water and a sponge or cloth will be fine. However, be careful not to add water to the organic waste if your Worm-Grower is in production. In any event, our First Aid team stands ready to advise you at the first sign of ill health. So don't hesitate to contact us if your Worm-Grower starts to underperform.

What to do with your excess California Red Worms

Your excess worms make a tasty treat for farm animals such as ducks, chickens, pigs and fish. Since they're an excellent source of protein, you'll soon find your fowl laying eggs like never before, and your porkers fattening nicely.

How to use your Worm Compost

Worm Compost is an excellent fertilizer, whether for cash crop or city garden.

Phone (57 2) 881 73 03, 889 13 31 Fax (57 2) 883 88 69
Address: Calle 6 No. 4-02 esquina, Cali, Colombia
e-mail: fida@calipso.com.co

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