When European Night Crawlers first hit the scene in the 90's folks were a little skeptical.  For most everybody, red worms (a.k.a red wigglers) were the worm of choice for fishing as well as vermicomposting (composting with worms).

It was like pulling teeth to get the die-hard's to even try them.  Our marketing ploy was to leave a few cups of worms at a bait shop, tell them to give to their best fisherman, and wait.  The usual, reaction was "Can you get me some more?" or "I want some of those worms Jimbo was using last Sunday." 

Word of  mouth did the trick.

There are many good reasons for the eventual and inevitable stampede from red worms to European nightcrawlers:

• European night crawlers stay alive longer under water than red worms.
• European night crawlers stay active longer under water than red worms
• European nightcrawlers are much more active than red worms, period.
• European night crawlers tolerate brackish water. Red worms don't.
• European night crawlers are tougher so they stay on the hook better.
• European night crawlers, like red worms, don't have to be refrigerated.
• European night crawlers will keep in the cups longer than red worms.

Maybe you already are a convert and know all this already.  But if you're not, doesn't this just make you want to give them a try?  I think you'll agree, these fishing worms are fantastic.

 Reproduction is one of the most important aspect of successful worm farming. Here is a blog post from our Worm Farm Business blog on earthworm breeding and how to spot trouble.

If you're serious about worm farming, you'll want to pay attention to the new earthworm production of your worm beds.  Check out this post or our "Worm Farming Manual" for tip's and how to's on making money worm farming.

Worms freezing to death is not the only thing you have to worry about when cold weather comes. When temperatures fall into the low sixties and below, especially if it is sudden, worms have a big tendency to crawl.  This "worm nightmare" is especially 'nightmarish" if you house your worms indoors.

However, worms crawling outdoors or indoor's is a major disaster.  Worms exposed even for the shortest amount of time suffer damage and usually die.  If they are outdoors, they simply disapear.  Indoors, you'll find dead and dying worms everywhere.  It's a real mess.  The upside is you can gather up any living individuals and return them to bedding.  The downside is they will probably crawl right back out.  What can you do about it?

Worms digest their food by following behind, so to speak, microbes.  There must be a good supply of microbes in your worm bedding and food to facilitate the worms digestion.  That's why it's always a good idea to leave any food scraps intended for your vermicomposter OUT OF THE FRIDGE to encourage microbe activity.  Keep it covered to control smells.  Covered - not airtight.  You don't want anaerobic activity.
More Vermicomposting Info Here.

For soil improvement requires 10-12 earthworms per square foot;  or, 1 pound earthworms per 1000 square foot.  So, measure your garden area's length and width; multiply one by the other to get your square footage; multiply this figure by 10-12 (just make it 11).  FYI: our European Nightcrawlers are fully matured bait sized worms and there are 250-300 of these worms per pound.

If your looking for a home-based business you can do that doesn't take a lot of money to start, you may want to consider worm farming.  Check out the latest post of my Worm Farm Business blog: Marketing Your Earthworms.
This  series is on worm farming problems, how to avoid them, and what to do if they happen.  If your serious, subscribe to this blog and read all the posts before beginning your worm farming business.  It may just save you time and money.

Vermicomposting is a great way to make your own fertilizer for your garden and plants.  It's also good for the environment because  organic material is returned to the soil rather than buried in a landfill.

It's not rocket science, but there are a few important rules to follow if you're going to , number 1, not kill your worms and, number 2, make some great compost.

A variety of containers make satisfactory worm bins (make sure they are not soft plastic. They will leak out chemicals that retard worm growth and reproduction.)
Containers range from commercially available vermicomposting units to plastic totes you adapt yourself, or home-made wooden bins. Regardless of your choice, the container you use MUST provide aeration.

The bedding should be a "sea" for the worms, allowing them to burrow freely. The bedding should allow oxygen flow, be lightweight, retain moisture, be non-toxic, and be easily digested.
The following types of bedding are recommended:

• Loam/top soil 
• Organic peat moss 
• Leaf mold from composting piles 
• Shredded cardboard
• Shredded newspaper or computer paper

A good combination bedding is shredded newspaper or cardboard, loam and leaf mold.

Like oxygen, moisture in the red worm’s environment is very important. The worm’s surface membrane uses moisture to absorb the oxygen required for their metabolism. Too much moisture creates anaerobic conditions and too little moisture causes the worms to die from dehydration. The ideal moisture content of the bedding is 50-60%.

Provide for your worms what they prefer - cool, moist, low light conditions - and they will happily produce rich, organic fertilizer compost.

Well, the newly designed Earthworm Works website is up and running - all "responsive" and everything.  Should make you, Dear Reader, happier and, of course, dear Search Engine Spider. Since more and more folks are using mobile devices these days, we had to crawl into the 21st century.

Our other blog "Worm Farm Business" is still there.  You can refer to it for older posts about worm farming.  This on-site blog will start taking it's place, since it's more convenient for me - Dear Author.  

Feel free to post any comments, questions, or problems you may have concerning all things worm growing.  Check back from time to time for updates to this new blog.  You just may find some useful information that helps you keep your worms fat and sassy.