1. Worm beds (made up mostly of moistened cow manure and peat moss) are set up under the rabbit cages, where the droppings will feed the worms and help them multiply.
2. The worms are taken to a
1. Worm beds (made up mostly of moistened cow manure and peat moss) are set up under the rabbit cages, where the droppings will feed the worms and help them multiply.
2. The worms are taken to a cooler and darker growing area where they will be fattened with more rabbit manure pellets (crushed into powder using a blender), cow manure and peat moss. The worms will develop a clitellum, a reproductive ring that will mark a worm as an adult breeder. The worms will feed, fatten and reproduce for the next six weeks.
3. After six weeks, beds will be harvested for the eggs (each bed can produce up to 2,000 eggs)
4. Eggs are placed in peat moss and cow manure for hatching (worms can lay eggs every seven to 10 days; eggs will hatch in 21 to 35 days; and worms will become adult breeders 65 to 72 days after hatching).
5. The castings (worm excrement) produced by the worms are harvested in a turn-filter, separating the worms from the castings. Worms can be used for bait or placed back in the cycle again. Castings are ready to be used as fertilizer.
Dennis Holman's crop is ready for market, though in his case, it's the fertilizer produced by his more than 1 million wriggling earthworms.
The Georgia Red Wiggler Farm specializes in the raising of the Georgia Red Wiggler worm, or Eisenia fetida, an earthworm ideal for composting. The worm droppings, or castings, are used as fertilizer for natural farming. The castings can also be used to create worm tea, which is simply liquid fertilizer.
"People think worms are just a big, slimy mess, that they are dirty, u