Harvesting and Packaging European Nightcrawlers to Prepare for Shipping at Midwest Worms Farm

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3 жыл бұрын

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I joined Kyle with MidwestWorms.com to harvest European Nightcrawlers (Eisenia Hortensis) from his worm farm in Missouri. Midwest Worms takes great care in preparing orders so that their worms arrive to you alive and healthy. European Nightcrawlers are an excellent fishing and composting worm and are similar to the Red Wiggler (Eisenia Fetida). This video answers some common questions that people have about the packaging and shipping process. Compost worms that are not properly prepared may not make it alive to your door step. One common mistake that worm farmers make in an effort to save on shipping costs is adding too little bedding to the bag that the worms are being shipped in.
You can contact your nearest local department of agriculture/ forestry to find out which species of worms are recommended and not recommended for your region. You can also contact your local University extension service for more information about worms for your region. Before introducing worms, check your local restrictions on worm species.
Remember to always wear personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves when handling worms and worm bedding. Also, wash your hands properly after handling worms and their bedding.

Пікірлер: 98

@RosWigglers 6 ай бұрын

So jealous of that trommel!

@greencountryworms 6 ай бұрын

I found it on either Craigslist or marketplace. I just kept checking every few months and finally found one. You can set alerts so that when something is posted for sale you get a notification. I built my first trommel out of 3 bicycle wheels with the spokes removed and a drill press motor that I attached to the top with a belt that drove the wheel.

@RosWigglers 6 ай бұрын

@@greencountryworms nice!

@genestuffel9921 Жыл бұрын

The best mentor anyone could have. My worms doing great.

@billjacobson1967 3 жыл бұрын

Nice job. Good explanation of why bedding needs to be dry when shipping worms. That is probably the biggest mistake people make.

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I think the extra effort is worth it.

@user-dp6my7nn9q 3 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms how many days will preserve it during shipping?

@rossmcleod6795 2 жыл бұрын

❤❤😂😂 called

@michaeldvorak8140 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you both for such an excellent explanation of how a commercial operation works. I’ve watched as many videos I can about mid to large worm farms around the world. Yours is more my style. And I’ve found a new supplier.

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

You can tell when someone is passionate about their work. 🙂

@jeffreymyles9772 3 жыл бұрын

This is exactly what I have been looking to see. Great video. Thank you.

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! We will be putting up some more worm farming videos soon.

@BlueMountainWormsInc. 4 ай бұрын

I got my first order yesterday And had to pick out the worms by hand. I really like the system that you put together, my orders start to pick up I'm going to have to go through a new system makes all sense in the world! 10

@FabiVision 2 ай бұрын

where are you selling?

@DirtSurfinWorms Ай бұрын

Really enjoyed your video! I picked up a few tips - much appreciated.

@greencountryworms Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@illusunati 3 жыл бұрын

Why I the only one that wanted to mix the worms with the dirty when they were bulked up after going through the separator lol.

@A-V 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent demo & dialog. Thanks!

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate it! I'm hoping to record some more in depth worm farming videos this year.

@percyblok6014 Жыл бұрын

Just ordered some african nightcrawlers from Midwest. We'll see how they do soon enough.

@deewormsvermicomposting 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, really enjoyed watching this. Learned a lot!

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@patriciarussell8450 2 жыл бұрын

FYI Enjoyed your video. I was successful raising Canadians in a small refrig, 60 adults and 140 babies, so you can raise them, just have to build their home in a refrigerator 50 52 degrees. We are in California. Great trommel.

@mavinstephens1688 2 жыл бұрын

Qqq

@wormweirdo340 2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating and informative!

@Being_Joe 2 жыл бұрын

Just ordered my Euros from Midwest. I plan on keeping some in a bin and releasing some into my compost bin. I used to have some red wigglers in a compost bin and they helped break things down like no ones business. I hope they can do the same for my new bin.

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

The European nightcrawlers do best with carbon materials (the browns) and don't like fruit and vegetable scraps as much as red wigglers. The Euros can't handle acidity like the red wigglers can. I only feed my European nightcrawlers composted horse manure and they get plenty of nutrition and their big and fat. You can also use shredded cardboard that is moist for bedding/food. If you use cardboard, you will probably need to add a little worm chow grain for protein. Be very careful if you use worm chow; add sparingly to prevent protein poisoning. Also, be careful with adding the Euros to your hot compost bin. Their may be some hot spots in there with temperatures that are too high for worms to survive. If the worms feel threatened the may just crawl out and find a new place to live. If they can't crawl out, then they might die. Happy Vermicomposting!

@california8118 2 жыл бұрын

Not native to this region. Potentially invasive aye...

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

@@california8118 Check with your local University extension service and they should be able to tell you if certain worms are not recommended for your region.

@california8118 2 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms ok. I love gardening and composting and wormz and growing stuff. Thankz

@PacificNorthwestWormFarm 5 ай бұрын

Really nice looking worm.

@parteekarora367 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing and honest business ethics 👍

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. That's what makes happy customers.😎

@fullcircle4723 Жыл бұрын

Love it. Great video.

@greencountryworms Жыл бұрын

You can tell we're passionate about worms😅

@otosanmimizu 2 жыл бұрын

really nice video!!

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@clintbryan3886 Ай бұрын

We’ve seen his harvesting and packaging of his worms. Is there a video of feeding and growing?

@greencountryworms Ай бұрын

That's a great idea for a future video!

@philiphapeshis1226 2 ай бұрын

I ordered 1000 to get me started have hopefully everything set up already.I have a head start on composition have plenty of compost due to being a many year composter.

@mgoh1984 2 жыл бұрын

Looks like a great biz he has going. I started a worm bin over the winter with buying 4 - 30 count tubs of fishing ENCs from Walmart that were already 3 months old according to the date on the containers and they were all fine. I counted one of the tubs and it was actually 45, but the extra 15 were smaller and I assume they were hatchlings from some of the worms that shed cocoons after packaging. Recently started 2 more bins with many of the babies from my original bin. Almost garden season here and my plants are gonna love this.

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome!! Yeah I noticed a few years ago that Walmart carries the same species of worm that Kyle breeds on his worm farm (Eisenia Hortensis).

@percyblok6014 Жыл бұрын

Best worm bin I've had to date was started with Wally World worms. Good luck to your effort.

@jerumd Жыл бұрын

16:53 Love how you cut off his speech as if to say - I call BS on that one 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@steverollins7904 2 жыл бұрын

Do you have a video or can you tell me how to set up a bin and what materials to use? Would like to have a bin ready before ordering. Thanks so much.

@miguelv431 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the information I already order so es cocoons

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

Let me know if you have any questions. Have a good day.

@steverollins7904 2 жыл бұрын

Great info. Do you have a video of how and what bedding to use to get my bin ready. Would like to order a few pounds. Thanks so much.

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Steve. I am planning on doing a video on setting up a worm bin but don't have it ready to upload yet. Send me an email and I can send you some instructions on setting up a bin. greencountryworms@gmail.com

@Saladon89 2 жыл бұрын

I believe the reason why the canadian worms are the most sold in the US is because of its length and girth, theyre huge, and are used as feeders at pet shops for pet reptiles, amphibians, etc. Also Ive had heard that canadian worms can tolerate colder conditions than any of the other worms and are easier to keep alive or breed.

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

A lot of the Canadian Nightcrawlers that you buy at the store are actually harvested from the ground and not raised by breeding. I've heard of people trying to breed Canadian Nightcrawlers but have never actually seen a follow up video where someone was successful with getting them to breed and lay cocoons. The Canadian Nightcrawler seems like the standard worm that some people compare other worms to. Walmart sells the European Nightcrawlers right next to the Canadian Nightcrawlers in some of their locations. The European Nightcrawlers that Walmart sells are not always full-sized.

@Saladon89 2 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms cool, good to know. This all new to me, just saw one of my worms laying an egg. It was weird that it came out of its stomach near the white stripe rather than out of its rear lol. fascinating 😮😮

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

@@Saladon89 I agree, it's pretty amazing. I find compost worms fascinating. Worms sometimes get a bad reputation because they're portrayed as creepy and crawly. Sometimes I get looks of disgust and other times people really appreciated worms when I tell them about what I do.

@Saladon89 2 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms Thats hilarious, I think worms are cool. What creeps me out are roaches, especially the house American roaches with all them legs.

@percyblok6014 Жыл бұрын

Nothing better at catching monster brown trout than Canadian nightcrawlers.

@toneandersen2944 2 ай бұрын

I wish i could buy them. Its hard to get worms in Norway tho

@greencountryworms 2 ай бұрын

Have you looked at the website "Worm Farming Revealed"? They list a lot of worm farms that you can buy directly from.

@TheGardenAndWormLady 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome!! Where can I get the breathable bags?

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Uline sells a wide variety of sizes. They require a minimum purchase of 100 I think. You can find them on Amazon in smaller quantities. What you want to look for is polypropylene material. Polypropylene is same material that sandbags are made from.

@TheGardenAndWormLady 3 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms Thank you so much I appreciate it

@TheGardenAndWormLady 2 жыл бұрын

Where these European nightcrawlers harvested from the windrow outside or the black bins in the background?

@vistacendhani 2 ай бұрын

How do you keep compost worms in the bin for those who use uncovered bins on shelves?

@greencountryworms 2 ай бұрын

You can leave an energy efficient lightbulb 💡 on 24 hours per day and it will usually keep the worms down inside the bin under the surface. They try to avoid light.

@colbyhartman9467 2 жыл бұрын

Where at in Oklahoma are you located I would like to talk to you about getting some European night crawlers if your Operation is still going

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

Good afternoon Colby. My worm farm is still operating and is near Tulsa, OK. Right now I don't have any worms for sale from my worm farm. I am focusing only on vermicompost production and need all of my hardworking worms. Midwest Worms is the worm farm that I filmed in the video. They are located in Missouri and sell European Nightcrawlers from their farm year round. I have purchased from them several times. They are pros at shipping worms. You can find their online store at: midwestworms.com Send me an email if you have more questions. greencountryworms@gmail.com

@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674 3 жыл бұрын

So they can live outside..what temperature range suits them and what is the best food to feed them.ty

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

They can do really well in a wide range of temperatures. Right now it is 20 degrees fahrenheit and my Euros are doing just fine. I have them in bedding about 3.5 to 4 feet deep with mulch on top. They seem to tolerate extreme temperatures better when they have a lot of bedding to move around in. As far as ideal temperatures, the European Nightcrawlers like a range of 55 to 77 degrees. They do well in composted horse manure. Some say that they prefer more carbon materials and fewer nitrogen materials. I have found this to be true and they seem to eat the carbon faster than the fruits and vegetables in my bins. My Red Wigglers eat the nitrogen sources much quicker than the Euros.

@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674 3 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms Thnx...I should have some here nxt week...tc

@Saladon89 2 жыл бұрын

How big of a bin should i use for my 200 euro nightcrawlers? I want to try to keep a steady colony of 500 worms. I am currently using a bin that is 16 L x 11 W inches and is 7 inches deep. Is that enough for 200 worms? and will it be enough for 500 worms??

@greencountryworms 2 жыл бұрын

For the best reproduction rates, use 1/4 pound of nightcrawlers per square foot of space. 200 Euros will weigh differently depending on their size. The square footage for your bin is just a little over 1 square foot. It's possible that your 200 Euros weigh more than 1/4 pound, especially if they are full sized. You may need to either decrease the amount of worms in the bin or increase the bin size to maximize breeding.

@Saladon89 2 жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms yea, i thought so too, thanks

@patriciarussell8450 11 ай бұрын

Im in CA USA and raise my canadians in a refrigerator.

@greencountryworms 11 ай бұрын

That's cool. You don't hear about too many people raising Canadian Nightcrawlers.

@viobadescu1155 4 ай бұрын

Where can i get the fine sifted peat moss from thanks

@greencountryworms 4 ай бұрын

Hey there! I've never seen it for sale anywhere. You can sift it yourself through a 1/8 inch screen.

@user-dp6my7nn9q 3 жыл бұрын

How many days will last during shipping?

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Hello. The worms can survive about 1 week inside the shipping box. It's usually not recommended to keep them in the box for any longer than 1 week. Have a worm bin setup so that when your worms arrive you can immediately install them.

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

A lot of worm farmers will only ship their worms within their own country. If you do buy worms and have them shipped to another country, there is a good chance that there will be no guarantee of live delivery.

@paulsoutbackgardenaustrali7674 3 жыл бұрын

Also maybe add shredded newspaper???

@greencountryworms 3 жыл бұрын

Some people will use shredded paper in their compost bins. I don't use it anymore because I don't like the finished worm castings that come from shredded paper (they dry out too quickly). If you have access to composted horse manure, you could consider that as a bedding and food source. It's important to not use fresh manure because it gets too hot and can kill the worms. Look for horse manure that has composted down over several months. Also, properly composted horse manure can be safer to use and have reduced pathogens.

@townbell2248 3 ай бұрын

@@greencountrywormshow should I go about composting fresh manure to use for worms so it is safe to use?

@greencountryworms 3 ай бұрын

@@townbell2248 get with your local extension service and they should be able to point you in the right direction. You definitely want to compost the manure properly before using it to eliminate pathogens.

@RayCripps-jy9wh 23 күн бұрын

Can you ship euros to Louisiana during summer months?

@greencountryworms 21 күн бұрын

Hey there. It all depends on the temperature on the anticipated delivery date. If the worms can't be delivered on the date that your wanting because of high temperatures in your region, the order will be delivered on a later date when the worms are more likely to survive.

@timmooney2460 Жыл бұрын

looking for a reputable supplier for European crawlers. I am here in Central Florida

@philiphapeshis1226 2 ай бұрын

I ordered from Uncle Jim’s.

@mikewalters4994 Жыл бұрын

They sure are pretty!!! And Fat !!.. what do you feed you worms??...

@greencountryworms Жыл бұрын

You can feed the European Nightcrawlers worm chow to fatten them up more. Start slow with the worm chow. Worms will eat themselves to death if they are over fed.

@dhammikaherath1800 2 ай бұрын

How get

@greencountryworms 2 ай бұрын

Check with "Worm Farming Revealed" their website lists worm farms. Sometimes you might be able to find a worm farm that is local to you.

@FM-ce1ek Жыл бұрын

Why not rinse with water?

@greencountryworms Жыл бұрын

Hi FM, Which part of the video are you referring to?

@FM-ce1ek Жыл бұрын

@@greencountryworms instead using the drum to separate worms from compost, why not rinse with water?

@catdaddy349 Жыл бұрын

@@FM-ce1ek I've never actually tried that before.

@I.am.Mumma.Bear.1 Жыл бұрын

He is literally choking his worms .. worms need moisture to breath 💧🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

@greencountryworms Жыл бұрын

They do surprisingly well in dryer bedding during shipping. You have to add lots of moisture as soon as the worms arrive. If you ship worms in a lot of moisture it can actually kill the worms pretty quickly. Shipping them in their own worm castings helps with the stress of shipping in dryer bedding.

@jshkrueger 7 ай бұрын

@@greencountrywormsNot to mention that if any worms do die, the dryer bedding will keep them from smelling. Dead worms smell terrible. The post office would not like that one bit. 😂