The worm should be in the compost heap for the composting to pick up speed. You can buy useful compost worms in stores, attract them specifically or simply breed them yourself. This guide is all about the hard-working helpers from the worm farm with lots of tips for hobby gardeners.

Compost worms turn vegetable waste into beautiful, nutritious compost soil

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. What are compost worms?
  3. Where to buy compost worms?
  4. How to attract compost worms?
  5. How to breed compost worms?
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • Compost worms turn organic waste into nutritious compost as organic fertilizer for the plants in the garden and on the balcony.
    • You can buy compost worms at Wurmwelten.de, Amazon, Superwurm.de, Bestwormshop.de, Wurmkiste.at or in the hardware store (Obi) at prices starting at 19.49 euros for 500 copies in the worm composter and at prices starting at 35.04 euros for 1000 Specimens as a starter set for compost heaps or dung heaps.
    • Attracting compost worms is successful in a shady location with slightly damp cardboard over a mix of coffee grounds, rotted leaves and potato peelings as bait.

    What are compost worms?

    Compost worms eat kitchen scraps and vegetable scraps from the garden. The beneficial insects process this organic waste into valuable humus within a few hours. With a big appetite, the hard-working earthworms turn half their body weight into worm castings every day, making an invaluable contribution to composting. A triumvirate of three native worm species colonizes the compost heap in the garden, the manure heap on the farm or the worm composter on the balcony:

    worm species Eisenia foetida/Eisenia fetida Eisenia andrei Eisenia hortensis
    name (german) Dungworm, Stinkworm redworm giant redworm
    coloring red-brown, white-yellow furrowed solid reddish brown reddish-blue-grey, ringed with pink
    body length 60-120mm 60-120mm 80-140mm
    diameter 3-6mm 3-6mm 4-8mm
    main function compost worm humus production Fishing bait, food worm
    biological peculiarity hermaphrodite hermaphrodite hermaphrodite
    family worms worms worms

    The dungworm is one of three native compost worm species

    All three worm species prefer to live in the litter layer of garden and forest soil as well as in manure or compost heaps. Because compost worms don't have teeth, they first crawl over the organic waste and release bacteria for decomposition. The earthworms then slurp up the prepared meal. After 3 to 8 hours, adult compost worms excrete the digested food as fine, nutritious worm castings. In contrast to conventional compost soil in hot rotting, dung worms compost organic kitchen waste much faster. Furthermore, a compost heap is not difficult to move if busy compost worms are active in the organic waste.

    digression

    Hermaphrodite compost worms reproduce in a snaking dance

    Like all earthworms, sexually mature compost worms have male and female reproductive organs. When mating, their bodies wrap around each other for close, mutual contact of their sex organs. These are located in strikingly wide rings (clitellum) between the twenty-fourth and thirty-fourth body segment. Over the next few days, this ring migrates to the rear end of the body and is shed as a yellowish cocoon. After some time, the young worms hatch from them, and they become sexually mature within an average of 70 days.

    Where can you buy compost worms?

    The purchase of compost worms increases the population of beneficial insects in the compost heap in one fell swoop. In the worm composter on the balcony, a starter set with compost worms gets the composting of the kitchen waste going. Eisenia earthworms are available from worm farms and online shops. Compost worms can only rarely be bought in the hardware store because there are no suitable conditions for the living beings. The following table provides an overview of purchasing sources with prices:

    shopping source Price (500 pieces) Price (1000 pieces) Shipping
    Wurmwelten.de 19.49 euros 35.04 EUR from EUR 5.95
    Superwurm.de EUR 19.80 (0.5 kg) EUR 34.80 (1 kg) a flat rate of EUR 5.60
    Bestwormshop.de 19.99 EUR 36.99 EUR a flat rate of EUR 5.00
    Amazon from EUR 29.00 from EUR 32.90 from EUR 6.00
    Hardware store (Obi) 34.11 euros 68.22 euros 4.82 euros
    Wurmkiste.at EUR 38.00 EUR 76.00 from EUR 4.50

    Please note that this table is a snapshot of current offers that does not claim to be a representative price index.

    The rule of thumb for the correct number is: 500 compost worms are sufficient for compost bins and worm boxes, 1000 compost worms are sufficient for compost heaps and raised beds. The scope of delivery includes living compost worms as sexually mature worms, young worms and cocoons in mature compost as food for the journey and the first two weeks.

    Attracting compost worms - how does it work?

    Compost worms usually find their way into a delicious compost all by themselves

    If you create a compost properly, numerous compost worms will appear by themselves. If the population in the compost heap leaves something to be desired, you can specifically attract the hard-working beneficial insects. The following trick invites dungworms and their fellows to linger if you want to recruit a starting population for your first worm box for free. Attracting compost worms works like this:

    1. The best time is when the weather is mild and damp
    2. Lay out cardboard, newspaper or egg carton in a shady location
    3. Moisten slightly, ideally with rainwater from a spray bottle
    4. Spread a mix of coffee grounds and rotted plant leaves under the cardboard every 1 to 2 days
    5. Keep the bait regularly moist

    Organic kitchen waste, such as potato skins, eggshells or wilted flower remains, are also suitable as bait for compost worms. After a few weeks, life is pulsating at the feeding place, because flocks of Eisenia worms could not resist the temptation. Lift the compost worms out of the ground along with a layer of soil about 10 centimeters high. Now settle the earthworms on the compost heap or in a vermicompost bin.

    tips

    As living compost accelerators, compost worms are useful in horse manure. If the dream team of the worm species Eisenia fetida, Eisenia hortensis and Eisenia andrei with a population of 6000 specimens is used, a whopping 6 cubic meters of horse manure are transformed into nutritious worm compost.

    Breeding compost worms - how does it work?

    Worms can also be grown at home

    Beginners in their own breeding can order a worm farm as a complete set including compost worms in specialist shops. The well-known provider Wurmwelten.de sets a good example. The scope of delivery includes a worm box on legs with three work levels, a drain valve on the side and a lid that can be hung on, the capacity of which is sufficient for the kitchen waste of a family of four. As a pioneer for your own worm farm, 1000 compost worms (Eisenia mix) are included in all stages of development, including worm food, starter substrate, mineral mix and hemp mat for shading, ventilation and moisture regulation. Proceed as follows so that the snaking pioneers feel comfortable and multiply as sexually mature compost worms:

    1. Assemble the worm box according to the manufacturer's instructions
    2. Fill in the starting aid substrate in the first working level
    3. Cover the substrate layer with newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons
    4. Moisten the paper with water from the spray bottle
    5. Distribute organic waste
    6. Use compost worms together with worm food
    7. Spread out the hemp mat

    The pioneer colony of 1000 compost worms weighs around 400 grams. Since compost worms consume around half their body weight per day, the maximum amount of kitchen waste to start with is around 200 grams.

    In the following video you can see a worm box in action, in which compost worms multiply happily and diligently produce worm compost:

    youtube

    frequently asked Questions

    Which compost worms reproduce the fastest?

    The leader in terms of reproduction rate is the red worm (Eisenia andrei). In contrast to the other two worm species, these compost worms have a multiplication rate that is up to 10 times higher (33% versus 3.5%). Furthermore, scientists were able to observe in 2003 that significantly more worms hatch from redworm cocoons than from dungworm cocoons.

    What do compost worms like to eat?

    Compost worms love mushrooms that grow on rotted vegetable waste

    At the top of the menu for compost worms are microorganisms of all kinds, especially fungi. Rotted kitchen waste is littered with fungal microorganisms and is the favorite food of dungworms, redworms and other types of Eisenia worms.

    Can earthworms migrate from the compost heap into the bed and eat at the roots?

    No, this fear is unfounded. Earthworms, including the subspecies Eisenia fetida and other compost worms, have no interest in living plant roots. All of these worm species feed on dead plant matter and organic waste. In addition, earthworms do not have teeth or similar mouthparts that could be used to chew on living roots.

    Does the addition of certain mushrooms make kitchen waste compost faster in the vermicompost bin?

    In principle, it is possible to inoculate organic waste with fungal microorganisms to accelerate composting. For hobby gardeners, this measure is of course far too complex and not necessary anyway. In the case of compost worms, organic waste that has been slurped up passes through the intestines within a few hours and is excreted as worm castings. This time window is usually sufficient for a sufficient production of organic fertilizer in the private worm composter.

    What to do if large amounts of kitchen waste arise?

    After public holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, mountains of kitchen waste cause headaches for hobby gardeners and vermicompost operators. Under no circumstances should the worm box be overloaded with organic waste. Even the most industrious compost worms are overwhelmed with it. Ultimately, the excess waste turns into a stinky, damp mass because the composting is out of whack. Dispose of the normal amount of organic waste in the worm composter and throw everything else in the organic waste bin or, exceptionally, in the household waste.

    Can the worm box become overpopulated with compost worms?

    Compost worms adapt their size and reproduction rate precisely to the local conditions. It is therefore not to be feared that dung worms will multiply in a worm box beyond a natural saturation limit.

    How can you tell if a dung worm is sexually mature?

    A sexually mature dung worm is 60 to 120 centimeters long with a diameter of 3 to 6 millimeters. The body is clearly divided into 80 to 120 segments. Last doubts about sexual maturity clear the puberty ridges out of the way. These are annular thickenings between the twenty-fourth and thirty-fourth segment.

    tips

    Did you know that traditional earthworms and compost worms are significantly different. The common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) is up to 180 cm long, lives in deeper soil layers and takes care of loose, finely crumbly soil. Earthworms are not suitable for life in the worm composter and will not reproduce in it.

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