Hi! I'm Shelley Grossman, certified master composter and author of the best selling book, Recycle With Earthworms and producer of its latest companion DVD. I own and operate Vermicoast inc., a North San Diego County redworm supplier offering ongoing email and telephone support. Read about our offers on the tabs above and keep in touch with the updates below. Welcome!
Which type of worms will work for my bin? That is a good question. There are many different types of worms on the market today for vermicomposting. Red worms, or red wigglers have always been the ones, I have used with great success over the years, as well as my clients. Now Alabama Jumpers are Read more »
Welcome Back! This will not be as hard as you might think, this keeping of worms and their bin. Worms are living breathing creatures. Caring for a pound or two of them is the same responsibility you take on with a family pet. They will need food, water, and the correct growing conditions in order Read more »
The conditions that control worm populations are the same as those required for them to survive in a contained space: 1) ample, but not excessive food supply 2) sufficient surface area 3) population density 4) nutrition for reproduction 5) moisture 6) ambient ground and air temperature, 55- 85 degrees F ( 13-27 C) What type Read more »
Cocoons: A cocoon is a small, yellow, lemon colored and lemon shaped object that is produced by red wiggler mating. It is about the size if the letter ‘O’. According to C. A. Edwards and P.J. Bohlen in Biology and Ecology of Earthworms: Eisenia Fetida can produce as many as 198 cocoons per year. Gestation Read more »
Reproduction dictates survival of a species. Organisms like worms which provide food for many others, must reproduce ample offspring to offset predation. OK, that is a mouthful, right? But it is true. All the creatures who live in the wild must have food. Worms are an easy target for them. Here comes a short anatomy Read more »
Looks and sounds like a heavy duty topic, right? OK, it is, but hopefully it will help you understand why using the worm’s casts in your gardens and on your house plants will pay off big time in the long run for them and you. There are many tiny organisms, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, enzymes and Read more »
Here is a little lesson in the worm’s body anatomy for you. I hope this will help you understand just how those kitchen scraps end up as worm casts for your gardens. Running through the worm’s body is the alimentary canal or gut. It starts with the mouth, called the buccal cavity, and moves to Read more »
Who knew that you would have so many other creatures living and working in your worm bin? Not me, when I first began raising worms. Some that you will see are beetles, pill bugs or so called sow bugs (you know those little fellows, who roll up into a ball when you touch them?), snails, Read more »
You have the worms in their bin and have let them settle in for three days. This allows them time to de-stress from the rigors of travel. Recall those vibrations they had if they arrived through the mail to you or riding in your car. I hope you have been saving your kitchen wastes for the Read more »
The long awaited and exciting day has finally come! Your worms have arrived, the bin is ready, but what do you do next? After you have opened the box and packing materials the worms arrived in, you will first inspect the worms. Are they alive, well and active? They should be wiggling around and ready Read more »
