A Worm Farm

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Testimonials:

  • Christy,
    Thanks I hope that you don't mind but I belong to The Garden Forums website and there are folks on there that have not heard of you and your love of worms. I told them that I decided to buy from you because of a video I seen of you harvesting worms by hand.
    Chris M.
     

  • Christy,

    Did I tell you the worms arrived in good shape and seem to be happy eating my kitchen scraps?

    Jo Ann N.

     

  • Hello Christy,

    I received the Worm Factory yesterday on time and in good shape.

    I am looking forward to transferring my “herd” from my single-storey bin to the new multi-level one.

    Thank you for the quick service and excellent videos on the web.

    Roy R
    .

     

  • Factory is all set up - so once you have a batch acclimated and ready I am ready for them. Your videos are warm and wonderful, full of worm love.

          John B

  • My Lanzones     (Lansium domesticum) that has been sitting on my frontyard without any signs of fruiting for many years, all of a sudden fruited this year after just 2 or 3 months on vermitea and vermicast.

    BEN
     

  • Christy,
    I love your videos and I've learned a lot from watching.

    Steve
     

  • Hi Christy, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your pod casts. I just found them by accident. I been trying to figure this worm thing out for awhile. You did a good job of doing that. Also, your pod casts were so friendly. I sort of felt like I was sitting across the table from you.

    I can't wait to get the worm tower and get started.  Keep up the good work Christy! your a special person!

    Tom P
     

  • Hi Christy.

    The worms arrived today! I even saw one of the babies when I was
    looking in my bin. I couldn't believe how tiny it was. :)

    I live in an apartment building so the manager brought the package to my air conditioned apartment so they were just fine. Although I wonder what she thought of this box labeled "LIVE WORMS". :)

    Thanks again!
      Carla

     

  • Hi Christy,

    Just to let you know I received the 2 lbs. of red worms Thursday, June 5th, 2008. I received them in very good condition and am very happy with them. I'm using horse manure and they seem to be comfortable with that. I don't know how long it will take for the castings to appear, or when to harvest as of yet, but I'm sure that as I keep a close eye on things I will find out. Thank you very much for such a wonderful product.

    Best Regards,

    Dave
     

  • Received worms yesterday and they’re real healthy.

    Thanks,
    Michael

     

  • My worms arrived today and they are in good condition.

    Thank you,
    Amy

     

  • Yes, they arrived on Friday and they're great. Moving around and eating our veggie and fruit scraps already.

    Thank you!
    Liz
     

  • Christy,

    I did receive the worms today and did not see any that were not alive. I have transferred them to a 10 gallon tub that I modified with holes, according to the directions. They are all moving and seem to be "happy".

    Thank you,
    Cathy
     

  • The worms arrived alive and well, and are fast finding a new home.

    Jack
     

  • Hi Christy.

    Worms safely arrived yesterday P.M. While I've no experience or much knowledge about worms, I'd say they were fat and happy. They've been enthroned in nice new digs...with much to feast on to welcome their arrival.

    Thanks Again. Larry D
     

  • Hi Christy,
    Just wanted to let you know that we received our worms and they all looked fat and happy .....even the lil' babies!!

    Thanks again!
    Sandra G



     

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All Harvest Methods Are Not Created Equal!

 

Here are some pictures of some harvesters available for home and commercial worm farming.


Commercial
harvester

Home harvester

Small worm harvester
 

Plans for building your own harvester

Bottom line, time is money.  Therefore, the majority of commercial worm farmers are going to use the trommel harvester.  These harvesters tumble the bedding and worms to help break up the material so the worms will fall free.  This process beats the worms up and dries them out.

After separating the worms from their bedding they are placed in a material other than the bedding material they have lived in and fed from.  The moisture content is different and the worms are stressed out.

I harvest my worms from healthy beds where the worms are thickly massed in the top layer of the bin.  I harvest by hand taking bedding material with the worms and put them in holding bins that hold 1/2 - 1 pound of worms.  I like to hold the worms for a few days to let them settle in after being disturbed.  I feed and water as normal and the worms don't miss a beat.  Once I'm ready to package for shipping I carefully separate the worms from their bedding.  This does take time, but is less disturbing to the worms than being tumbled and beat -up.  The worms are weighed and then an equal amount of their bedding is added back into the mix.  The worms are gently packed into a double layered paper bag with holes punched in it and packed in shredded newspaper.  All of the materials used for shipping are compostable, including the box.

As you can see by the testimonials to the left, my worms arrive happy, healthy, active and ready to start handling your organic waste.  Simply put, my worms are not stressed out.  They never even know they have left their home environment.

How Do I Harvest Worms For Shipment?

 

Revisiting the Worm Harvest...

 

Order worms now! 

 


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Worm Bin Composting
E-course

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10 lessons To create your own high quality, organic soil amendment...

Subscribe Now

A Journey in Video

Plans are in the works for a series of videos that would take you from start to finish (so to speak) of how to have your own worm bin composting project.  Once the set-up process was complete the series will continue with the maintenance of the bin including feeding and harvesting worms and castings.

If you would like to be notified of the release of these videos please fill out the form below.  As always your information is safe with me.

 


1x2x3 BIN

My Links

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Mother Earth's Farm

Kootenai County Farmer's
Market

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Worm Bin Composting

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Garden Organically

All About Christy Ruffner

"Teaming With Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web"

Sometimes scientists can talk over the layman's head and not even realize that the message is not being conveyed.  This book is written in a very understandable language, that even a simple worm farmer like myself could understand and relate to.  A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the life producing your food.

Smart gardeners understand that soil is alive and what is in the soil is what supports plant life.  Healthy soil is exploding with life - beyond the worms and insects we can see with the naked eye - there are a multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microbial forms of life vital to the soil food web that sustains healthy plant life.  Resorting to chemicals destroys this delicate balance and results in an unhealthy situation for the soil, the plants, and the environment.  You can't destroy this balance and not have an affect on the people, the children, family and friends.  As gardeners, farmers, and inhabitants of the Earth we have an obligation to the next generation to leave behind a healthy soil.  Venture beyond your current understanding that good soil grows healthy plants and understand why...This book available now from Amazon.com by clicking on the buy link.

 

 

VermiCulture Northwest
6351 N Davenport St
Dalton Gardens, ID 83815
(541) 678-7005  (new phone number)

email me:  Christy@vermiculturenorthwest.com

 Christy Ruffner © VermiCulture Northwest 1997-2008