The European Night Crawler (Eisenia Hortnesis ) is the larger cousin of the Red Wiggler. They are better known as bait worms. Like their smaller cousins they eat everything that can be composted. They can grow up to 4-6″ long and as thick as a #2 pencil. They breed quickly and double in population every 3 months. Their temperature tolerance is a bit wider than their cousins. Their range is 25°F to 85°F degrees. People have ice fished with them and they can survive the frigid waters. There are 500 worms to the pound.
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Where organic gardening starts
I have a worm question.. We have a large (1 yard) compost pile going with loam,,leave and grass clipping to which we add houshold food scraps every so often. I was considering buying some worms to hasten the composting process. Would the worms help here?
Thank you… Dan in Derry NH
Dan as long as the compost pile is not heating up anymore and you are not going to turn it anymore then yes you can add worms to it. The worms that I would use is the european night crawlers. They like the leaves and grass more than manures. You will be fine with the euro’s. i would build a wooden compost bin so the worms don’t leave the pile. Here is a link from my friend Bentley Christie’s website he has an outdoor wooden worm bin http://www.redwormcomposting.com/large-scale-vermicomposting/bentleys-ultimate-backyard-worm-bin/.