Worms

[Gingerbeard]

A buddy just gifted me two little containers of mealworms and one of nightcrawlers. I have no soil or compost or scraps to put them in to get them doing their thing. I can store them until the end of the month when I get new soil. An option is to dig up some dirt from around the property and keep them going that way.
Thoughts?

 

[homegrown]

hey Gingerbeard, Did the nightcrawlers come with any soil? You dont need much at all..just put them in a tupperwear container or old take out plastic container, tear up some newspaper into little strips and moisten the paper a bit..squeeze out excess. Put the paper and worms in, a little dirt if you got it(not mandatory), poke a couple of holes in the lid and stick um in the fridge...they'll last for months. I think mealworms are stored in sawdust if i remember correctly. But im not positive about that..

 

[Gingerbeard]

Thanks, homegrown The worm type worms came in some sort of newspaper mulch. They seem happy and wiggly. I saw one reading a part of the newspaper. You are correct about the meal type worms. In sawdust. They also seem happy and wiggly. No newspaper reading.
I'm going to talk with two of my neighbors about saving me some of there fruit and veggie scraps. Mix them with soil. Pee on it. I'm a guy. It's okay. What would diatomaceous earth do for compost? The worms probably wouldn't be happy and wiggly. Huh? Yeah, forget I said anything.
Now I feel like sprinkling DE around a worm to see if it crosses. Geez, I hope alltatup doesn't read that. Talk about opening a can of worms! HA!
When you dab Lemon Cookies with Tropicana Cookies shatter, and do, like, three, in five minutes, after not dabbing all day, your brain feels like Lemon Tropicana Cookies.
http://mealwormcare.org/recipes-nutrition/
http://www.eattheweeds.com/cooking-with-earthworms-2/

 

[Rwise]

Food Grade DE should not harm any thing that has skin (us, worms etc.), it does harm exoskeletons by cutting them up like broken glass.
Crystallized DE is poison to us and everything!
It would be like adding egg shell as it is used up.

What are the meal worms for? I know chickens luv them,,, but what do they do for weed?

 

[Gingerbeard]

All the worms came from a buddy who got hisself some turtles. He was sold earthworms that are too big and meal worms that were too small. I took them to see what I can do. My space is very limited so I have to think 3 gallon pot to work with.
What will mealworms do? Just break down any compost I can get going, I guess. Not so much directly for the plants.

 

[Gingerbeard]

… what about when worms eat soil or compost that has DE?
And snails? I'm not arguing. Just asking.

 

[Rwise]

LOL, take the earth worms and go fishing, feed the meal worms to the chickens. Then use the chicken poo in the compost, collect the eggs for breakfast, use the shells in the compost,, double whammy.