Chasing night crawlers with a flashlight after a recent rain can be a nice memory from childhood, but serious fishermen who want to have a steady supply of worms as bait may want to raise their own. Leftovers can be sold for the going rate, about $2 for 25 worms in 2008 dollars. "Worm Man" Ken Chiarella started selling leftover worms from his garden compost and made $1,200 the first year and sold more than $100,000 worth by 2000. While stationary cement worm beds can be permanent homes for the dirty little fish bait, there are easier ways.
Step 1
Get plastic bins or Styrofoam coolers as your worm farm housing. Start with one or two until you get the process down and establish your clientele.
Step 2
Cut a 1-inch diameter drain hole in one corner of the bin and cover it with screen mesh so the worms don't migrate.
Step 3
Fill most of the bin with composted organic material. Compost should be past the "hot" phase so it doesn't kill the worms. Recipes for worm bedding include manure, peat moss, loam, dead leaves and coffee grounds. Don't use sand, which will cut the insides of the worms.
Step 4
Layer the compost mix with a sprinkle of cornmeal, pieces of paper and cardboard and organic garbage, such as banana peels and vegetable husks. Keep the worm bed moist with a hose, but don't make it soupy or wet.
Step 5
Buy breeder stock of about 100 or so red worms or your favorite variety to stock the bins.
Step 6
Check the pH (acid/alkaline) level of the compost using a pH meter. The pH should be about neutral, or 6.5. According to Ken Chiarella, 1,000 red worm breeders will yield nearly 50,000 worms per month in prime conditions and if they're well tended. Keep granular lime on hand to sprinkle over the mix and keep the acidity down as needed.
Tips and Warnings
- Use inexpensive containers like plastic bins for leftovers or plastic baggies with tiny holes perforated for aeration to dispense your worms if for sale or for transport in your own use. Hang out your shingle or set up your shed on the way to the local fishing hot spots and start making those worms pay their own way.
Things You'll Need
- Styrofoam cooler
- Screening material
- Compost
- Corn meal
- Red worm breeder stock
- PH meter
- Lime
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