the essentials in brief
- Compost worms convert organic waste into nutritious compost as an 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 a price from 19.49 euros for 500 copies in the worm-composter and at a price from 35.04 euros for 1000 copies as a starter set for compost heaps or Dung heap.
- Luring compost worms in a shady location is possible with slightly damp cardboard over a mix of coffee grounds, rotted leaves and potato peel as bait.
What are compost worms?
Compost worms eat kitchen waste and vegetable scraps from the garden. The beneficial insects process this biowaste into valuable material within a few hours humus. With a great appetite, the hard-working earthworms convert half of their body weight into worm humus every day and thus make an invaluable contribution to composting. A triumvirate of three native worm species colonizes the compost heap in the garden, the dung heap on the farm or the worm composter on the balcony:
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| Worm species | Eisenia foetida / Eisenia fetida | Eisenia andrei | Eisenia hortensis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name (german) | Dungworm, stinkworm | Red worm | Giant red worm |
| coloring | red-brown, furrowed white-yellow | solid red-brown | reddish-blue-gray, pink ringed |
| body length | 60-120 mm | 60-120 mm | 80-140 mm |
| diameter | 3-6 mm | 3-6 mm | 4-8 mm |
| Main function | Compost worm | Humus production | Fishing bait, feed worm |
| Biological peculiarity | Hermaphrodite | Hermaphrodite | Hermaphrodite |
| family | worms | worms | worms |
The dungworm is one of three native species of compost worm
All three species of worms prefer to live in the litter layer of garden and forest soil as well as in dung or compost heaps. Because compost worms have no teeth, they first crawl over the organic waste and give off bacteria to decompose. Then the earthworms slurp up the prepared meal. After 3 to 8 hours, adult compost worms excrete the digested food as fine-crumbly, nutritious worm humus. In contrast to conventional Compost soil In hot rots, dungworms 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 multiply in a snake dance
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 kitchen waste to compost. Eisenia earthworms are available from worm farms and online shops. Compost worms can only rarely be bought in hardware stores because there are no suitable framework conditions for living things. The following table gives an overview of purchasing sources with prices:
| Shopping source | Price (500 pieces) | Price (1000 pieces) | Shipping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wurmwelten.de | 19.49 EUR | 35.04 EUR | from 5.95 EUR |
| Superwurm.de | 19.80 EUR (0.5 kg) | 34.80 EUR (1 kg) | flat rate of 5.60 EUR |
| Bestwormshop.de | 19.99 EUR | EUR 36.99 | flat rate of 5.00 EUR |
| Amazon | from 29.00 EUR | from 32.90 EUR | from 6.00 EUR |
| Hardware store (Obi) | 34.11 EUR | 68.22 EUR | 4.82 EUR |
| Wurmkiste.at | 38.00 EUR | 76.00 EUR | from EUR 4.50 |
Please note that this table is a snapshot of current offers and does not claim to be a representative price comparison.
The rule of thumb for the correct number is: 500 compost worms are sufficient for worm composters and worm boxes, 1000 compost worms are sufficient for compost heaps and raised beds. The scope of delivery includes live compost worms as sexually mature worms, young worms and cocoons in ripe compost as feed stock for the trip and the first two weeks.
Attracting compost worms - how does it work?
Compost worms usually find their way into delicious compost all by themselves
If you do a compost right invest, numerous compost worms appear by themselves. If the population in the compost heap leaves something to be desired, you can attract the hard-working beneficial insects in a targeted manner. The following trick invites dungworms and their fellow species to linger if you want to recruit a starting population for your first worm box for free. Attracting compost worms works like this:
- The best time is in mild, humid weather
- Lay out cardboard boxes, newspaper or egg cartons in a shady location
- Moisten slightly, ideally with rainwater from the spray bottle
- Spread a mix of coffee grounds and rotted plant leaves under the cardboard box every 1 to 2 days
- Keep the bait regularly moist
Organic kitchen waste, such as potato peels, eggshells or withered remains of flowers, are also suitable as bait for compost worms. After a few weeks, life pulsates at the feeding place, because flocks of Eisenia worms could not withstand 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 worm composter.
Tips
As a living Compost accelerator make compost worms in the Horse manure useful. The dream team of the worms Eisenia fetida, Eisenia hortensis and Eisenia andrei comes with one With a population of 6000 specimens used, a whopping 6 cubic meters of horse manure turn into nutritious Vermicompost.
Growing compost worms - how does it work?
Worms can also be grown at home
Beginners in their own breeding can buy a Worm farm order as a complete set including compost worms. The well-known provider Wurmwelten.de is setting a good example. The scope of delivery includes a worm box on legs with three working levels on the side Drain valve as well as attachable lid, whose capacity for the kitchen waste is a four-person Family is enough. As a pioneer people for their own worm farm, 1000 compost worms (Eisenia-Mix) are involved in all stages of development, including worm feed, jump starter substrate, mineral mix and hemp mat for shading, ventilation and Moisture regulation. So that the meandering pioneers feel comfortable and multiply as sexually mature compost worms, proceed as follows:
- Assemble the worm box according to the manufacturer's instructions
- Fill in the starting aid substrate in the first working level
- Cover the substrate layer with newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons
- Moisten the paper with water from the spray bottle
- Distribute organic waste
- Use compost worms together with worm feed
- Spread out hemp mat
The pioneering people of 1000 compost worms weigh around 400 grams. Since compost worms eat 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 experience a worm box in action, in which compost worms multiply happily and diligently produce worm compost:
Youtube
frequently asked Questions
Which compost worms multiply the fastest?
The front runner in terms of reproduction rate is the red worm (Eisenia andrei). In contrast to the other two types of worms, these compost worms score with a reproduction rate that is up to 10 times higher (33% compared to 3.5%). Furthermore, in 2003 scientists were able to observe that significantly more worms hatch from red worm cocoons than from dungworm cocoons.
What do compost worms prefer to eat?
Compost worms love mushrooms that grow on rotten vegetable waste
Microorganisms of all kinds, especially fungi, are at the top of the compost worm menu. Rotten kitchen waste is littered with fungal microorganisms and is preferred by dungworms, redworms and other Eisenia worm species.
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 species of worms feed on dead plant materials and organic waste. In addition, earthworms have no teeth or comparable mouthparts with which living roots could be eaten.
Does the worm composter compost kitchen waste faster by adding certain mushrooms?
Inoculating biowaste with fungal microorganisms to accelerate composting is basically possible. For hobby gardeners, this measure is of course far too time-consuming and in any case not necessary. In the case of compost worms, slurped organic waste passes through the intestines within a few hours and is excreted as worm humus. This time window is usually sufficient in the private worm composter for an adequate production of organic fertilizer.
What should I do if there is a large amount of kitchen waste?
After public holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, mountains of kitchen waste give hobby gardeners and vermicompost operators a headache. 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 smelly, damp mass because the composting is out of whack. Discard the normal amount of Organic waste in the worm-composter and throw everything else in the organic waste bin or, exceptionally, in the household rubbish.
Can the worm box become overpopulated with compost worms?
Compost worms adjust their size and reproduction rate exactly to the local framework conditions. There is therefore no reason to fear that dungworms will multiply in a worm box beyond a natural saturation limit.
How can you tell whether a dungworm is sexually mature?
A sexually mature dungworm is 60 to 120 centimeters long with a diameter of 3 to 6 millimeters. The body is clearly divided into 80 to 120 segments. The puberty ridges remove any final doubts about sexual maturity. These are annular thickenings between the twenty-fourth and thirty-fourth segments.
Tips
Did you know that conventional earthworms and compost worms are very different. The common one 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 a life in a worm-composter and will not multiply in them.
