What do you know about red wigglers? Red wigglers are commonly referred to as "red worms," and they eat soil. They can be found worldwide, in gardens, compost piles, and even under rocks.
he name comes from their movement through dirt - it looks like they're wiggling! While that might sound gross to some people (lots of us have a fear of worms!), these little guys play an important role in maintaining healthy soils. So let's take a closer look at what makes them so interesting!
Red wigglers have been known to get up to 10 inches in length, but that's an unusual case. It all depends on what they're eating and where the food is located. In most cases, red wigglers can reach 5-7 inches long with a diameter of about 0.25 -0.35mm wide!
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Red wigglers love to eat just about anything, but they prefer a compost and decomposing leaf litter diet. They're also known for being great at breaking down (or "rotting") organic matter that's not yet decomposed enough to be considered as food. Some of the red wigglers' favorite meals would include grass, leaves, vegetables, and fruits.
Red wigglers eat their weight every day, which means that if you have 100 worms, then each one will consume about 1/4 cup of food per day.
Red wigglers can survive up to two years without eating anything at all!
Red wigglers lay eggs in long chains like a necklace of beads on the soil surface during the winter months. The rest of their year is spent munching away at all the food they can find! It takes about three weeks for these tiny worms to hatch, and they grow to be 3-5 inches long!
Red wigglers need rich, moist soil about 25 degrees Celsius (or 77 Fahrenheit) year-round. Unfortunately, they are also susceptible to high salt levels in the ground, so it's essential not to use fertilizers.
The red wiggler worm is one of the most beneficial worms in existence. These tiny critters are soil-eating helpers that can improve plant growth by aerating and loosening up compacted dirt and increasing water retention in dry soils. Red wigglers do all this without breaking down or tilling your garden's soil.
You can buy red wigglers at most gardening stores like Home Depot or Lowe's In the springtime when they're in season (usually March-May).
Red wigglers are great for composting because they process waste quickly and efficiently. You can purchase red wigglers at your local gardening store or online to use in a worm bin, but make sure that the containers have air holes, so you don't suffocate the worms.
The best way to care for your red wiggler worms is to provide moist soil, food, and a good hiding place for your worms. You can feed them strips of old fruit or vegetables that you don't plan to eat again by leaving them in long slimy strings, so they have something to crawl up onto if they're scared.
The first thing you will need to start your worm farm is a bin. You can find a worm farm kit online that comes with all the supplies you need or make your own by following these simple steps:
- Fill an aquarium (or any plastic container) about two inches deep with moist soil and add some rocks to it for drainage.
- Add food scraps to the top of the soil so they can feed off of it.
- Add some red wigglers to the top and cover with a thin layer of soil so they can hide from predators.
-Cover the worm farm with newspaper or plastic wrap sealed with duct tape to keep out pests like ants, which will try to steal your worms' food scraps.
You must pay close attention to the moisture levels in your worm farm. Red wigglers need moist soil, but not so wet that it becomes a swampy mess and drowns them out or causes their food scraps to rot too quickly.
-Keep an eye on how often you should add water by checking for dampness at the bottom of the bin when you add food scraps.
-If you're concerned that the worms are too dry, sprinkle a little water on top of their soil and check again in about an hour to see if they need more water.
-It's important not to let your red wigglers get wet enough for them to drown because then all of their hard work will waste.
-Once you have a good feel for how moist your soil should be, it's essential to pay attention to the pH level of the water. Acidic or alkaline soils are not safe for red wigglers.
It is always helpful to know what kind of surface they can live on so that if their habitat gets destroyed, you will provide them with a suitable one.
-They prefer soil that is moist and dark, but they can also survive in light soils if it has enough food scraps.
-If the red wigglers have a lot of room to move around, their population should stay at about 1000 individuals per square meter or 1000 worms per square yard.
-A single red wigglers can eat up to two pounds of organic matter in a year, so you know they are doing their job!
Expert Tip: Red wigglers have been used on farms worldwide for decades as an effective way to break down animal wastes and vegetable scraps into fertilizer that can be used in the soil of a farm.
The red wiggler is a fascinating worm that does wonders for your garden. They are also an essential part of the recycling process and make a great addition to any form of worm farming.
Do you wish your plants would grow bigger? Was your garden less than it should've been last year?
If you're tired of growing puny vegetables and fruits, it's time for an upgrade...Simple Grow Worm Castings!
What are worm castings? Another term for worm manure. Why would you want to use it in your garden, raised beds, and house plants? Because it makes them grow bigger, faster and healthier...with no chemicals!
How do worm castings do this? It's like giving your plants a powerful multivitamin with everything they need to grow. Trace minerals, nutrients, and most importantly...worm castings are chock full of beneficial microbes. Why does that make a difference?
In recent years, we've learned the importance of gut bacteria for humans and know that it impacts so many different parts of our health. The same thing applies with worms. Gut bacteria from the worm's digestive tract gets into the soil from the worm castings and promotes plant health. Plants have a symbiotic relationship with the microbes from the worm's digestive tract. Plants respond to it and grow really big...really fast!
If you've never tried worm castings before, you owe it to yourself to give them a try. Instead of using traditional chemical fertilizers from the big box store, why not try fresh, certified organic worm castings this year? You'll be able to grow bigger, healthier plants that you actually can feel good about eating.
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