#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Worm farming aka Vermiculture

## Mr Earl

I been doing this for a couple years now.
Finally getting around to posting.

Worm are a great way to convert organic matter into fertilizer.

I'm using two types mainly African night crawlers and Red Wrigglers.

These are the Africans:









They have their own house too



The inside



And outside 20 of these 1.5 m concrete rings.



They eat mostly coffee shelling and chopped up palm fronds which we get free.
They also get watermelon and whatever veggies aren't quite up to snuff for the market. 

When we prepare a bin we mix in a solution of fresh cow shit. This is chock full of enzymes which helps break down cellulose in the palm fronds making it easier for the worms to eat.

Pics of the finished product later.

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## Happyman

I wouldn't mind a bucket of them next time I go fishing  :Smile:

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## Mr Earl

Here's a shot of red wrigglers I have going in a small plastic bin at my hotel in bkk.

Look closely and see the tiny white hair like things. Those are the newly hatched babies. :Smile: 
I couldn't see them before taking picture.

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## Davis Knowlton

Lovely worms, Earl. What do you do with them?

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## Mr Earl

> Lovely worms, Earl. What do you do with them?


They make fertilizer for the palm trees. Each worm consumes it own body weight a day of organic material, what comes out is a very soluble and easily absorbed fertilizer for the trees. I got about 1000 trees.

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## Davis Knowlton

Very neat.

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## sabaii sabaii

For some strange reason I fancy some noodles now

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## sabaii sabaii

What are the trees used for?

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## Mr Earl

^oil palm ^^ :Yup:  I just had a nice noodle soup

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## dirtydog

earl, why have you driven a tub of worms 1,000km to keep at your hotel with you?

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## Mr Earl

> earl, why have you driven a tub of worms 1,000km to keep at your hotel with you?


Kind of an experiment I reckon. I brought a cup with about 20 worms up with me.
I picked up one of those cheap plastic 40x60x40cm bins and threw some garbage and newspaper in.
They all died except for 4 worms, I waited for 3 months for them to start multiplying again, I was about to toss the whole lot when I looked closely someone had laid an egg. Now after about 6 months they're going strong.

They be my little pets. Some folks have dogs. I got me little worms! :Smile:

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## toslti

What's the reason behind the newspapers?

When I lived in Africa as a kid our houseboy had his own worm farm but just for fishing purposes.

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## forreachingme

I've once read somewhere that they are the most populous specie on this planet !

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## Davis Knowlton

^I thought that honor went to cockroaches.

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## Mr Earl

> What's the reason behind the newspapers?



The newspaper serves several purposes.

As food for the worm, shelter from light, they're very light sensitive, a few minutes in the sun will kill a worm.

And they help keep flying bugs and ants from going after the rotting material also.

Soaked and separated cardboard boxes serve the same purpose as well.

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## harrybarracuda

> I've once read somewhere that they are the most populous specie on this planet !


That's nematodes I think. They've adapted to virtually every ecosystem. There's one species that only thrives in one particular make of beermat in Germany.

Buchsbaum, who wrote the bible of invertebrate biology, "Animals without Backbones", said that if you removed everything on earth, you'd still be able to discern everything from the nematodes.



I've just realised I remember some really useless shit from years ago.

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## nedwalk

I too have a little worm farm, though not to the size of the one you have..i cut a plastic 44 lengthways, put a drain tap in it sat the 44 in a pine cradle elevated at one end, heaps of cow/alpaca poo, all the scraps and newspaper with a bit of hessian on top, keep it moist and every now and then open the bung and bewt worm juice comes out, give ema bit of time and heaps of casteings too..great fertiliser

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## Mr Earl

Just just got another shot of by newest babies. There's been a major hatch. :Smile: 
I hope the flash doesn't fock them up.

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## Mr Earl

> I too have a little worm farm, though not to the size of the one you have..i cut a plastic 44 lengthways, put a drain tap in it sat the 44 in a pine cradle elevated at one end, heaps of cow/alpaca poo, all the scraps and newspaper with a bit of hessian on top, keep it moist and every now and then open the bung and bewt worm juice comes out, give ema bit of time and heaps of casteings too..great fertiliser


Do you know what variety worm they are?

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## nedwalk

no..i bought a bag of em from the bloke at the market where i have my stall...

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## Rural Surin

> ^oil palm ^^


One thousand oil palms! Quite substantial, Earl. Keep them perpetuating, as palm oil is making a gradual comeback and a strong future market. Good luck!

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## whakatane

Hi Mr Earl,
  Where in thailand are you, and how does one get hold of worms ??
  I am in Ranong, and ordered some from a company in Chiang mai.  however, they were all dead on arrival. Got money back, which was just as suprising!!
   Kept worms for many years in Australia.
  I look foreward to your reply,  or you can email me on ,, natoy_123[at]hotmail.com.
                     CHEERS

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## skyrack

Hi,

I would like to start farming worms.
Can I buy some to get me started?

I am in Chachoengsao.
I guess the worms may travel ok by post?
Or need to collect?

Skyrack

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## pone

doe's the chinese eat them?
big market!

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## Deerculler

How do they cope with heat?

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## PaulBunyon

Earl, You say the worms make fertilizer for you. How do you get the worms out of the 'fertilizer' or does the whole lot get put down around the trees? Also I wonder how often you run a spade through them while turning the mush pile? I remember as a kid digging worms for fishing and cutting them in half in the process. Do they grow back as two or does one half die off?

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## joannevel69

An interesting tale -I'm not sure that handling so many little wriggly things would be my cup of tea though.

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## Chronicle Man

So, who buys your "crop" of worms?

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## Mr Earl

I don't sell the worms. But I'm willing to give some away to help anyone start up a colony. It's pretty easy to set up.

I usually hand separate them out of the finished pile of casting.

They multiply very quickly when they have a food source. As the food source dry's up the population will decrease. I will start picking them out prior to the die out.

Chinese don't eat them to my knowledge.

Also there are many native worm varieties which seem to do well in a cultivation environment.
Just go looking along a stream or river in a moist area under a tree where leaves have been piling up over the years and start digging. You'll invariably find a few worms to start a colony.
They will eat most any organic material. Including newspaper and cardboard.

Don't feed worms papaya seeds or pineapple. The enzymes in these will kill your worms.
Google "vermiculture"
There's a ton of info out there.

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## roadking96cube

Mr Earl I would sure like some of your worms my house is nearly finished and have a rai and a half for gardens so soon will be full on gardening.My friends girlfriend used to farm them in Australia in a stack of 4 plastic containers the bottom on had a tap which she drained off the liquid gold as she put it.Each container had holes in it and the worms used to fall through these holes into the next container except for the last one had carpet over the holes so the worms couldn't fall into the liquid and drown.If it was quiet you could hear the worms happily chewing away.I live in Non Sang about 1 hour from Kon Kaen and the same from Udon Thani so how does one aquire worms from you please let me know thank you.

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## Mr Earl

^You'd have to come to BKK and I can fix you up with a small starter colony of red wrigglers and information how to handle them.

As an I'm sure you probably have a viable local variety which just needs to be dug up and provided with some bedding and rotting organic material.

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## roadking96cube

You say to dig my own worms yet every body seems to think you can only use certain types of worms and one worm looks like the next to me. Tried today to buy a worm farm and worms off Thai worms.com until my Thai wife rang him apparently he's in Bangkok at some university and wont freight to Nongburalamphu even though his checkout asks what country your from.Reasonably price 1500 baht for a 4 draw farm and 200 worms does anybody know anywhere around udon thani or kon khan where I can buy the lot or just worms.Got the wife to ring another 3 numbers off the net 1 answered and said he dosent do it anymore and two didn't bother to answer the phone thank's all

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## dirtydog



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## Mr Earl

> You say to dig my own worms


The local varieties will work. There are many many different types.
I've tried them and they seem to do well. I find them all the time now in my outside piles of coffee shells.



Put together a bin like the one described in the last video^. It's cheap and easy.

If you get down to BKK I'll split my bin of red wrigglers with you.

Worms don't travel well and will get stressed and upset pretty easily.
It's best to minimize the traveling and when you do transport do it it in a container with their familiar environment.

I suppose I could start a business here in Bangkok setting up worm bins with the crop of little fellers I got now. :Popworm:

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## LoongUdom

Just got a look at your worm post on Teak Door.  Where are you living?

Doug (LoongUdom)

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## Mr Earl

I divide my time between BKK and Ranong mostly.

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## roadking96cube

Mad if you didn't start your own buissness could be quite a earner for you i'll be your first customer if your fair dinkum.Also have endless supply of coffee grounds as Thai sister in-law runs a bon coffee shack in town.Will have a go at attracting some wormssee how i go

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## roadking96cube

MR  Earl when you say feed the worms cardboard does it have to be clean carboard or the printed varitey your electric jug came in because of new house plenty of printed carboard but dont know if it's safe to use.still no worms but getting the condo done cheers

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## Mr Earl

> MR  Earl when you say feed the worms cardboard does it have to be clean carboard or the printed varitey your electric jug came in because of new house plenty of printed carboard but dont know if it's safe to use.still no worms but getting the condo done cheers


Avoid the really glossy printed stuff. The boxes beer, TV's and regular newspapers all would be fine.

Also don't feed them pineapple or seeds from ripe papaya.

They like cow manure, and all kinds of fruit and veggie scraps, especially watermelon.

I just started my first "for sale" colony. I see how they take in a couple of weeks I reckon.

What do you reckon the market will bear for a start up colony of red worms? 1000 baht maybe?

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## roadking96cube

Won me Mr Earl put me down for the first shipment sold.When your ready let me know how to pay you deposit bank account is ok and I,ll give you a address.I know the bus from Mo Chit to Non Sang roughly 9-10 hours overnight but might get hot in baggage compartment.Ileave the shipping to you might know a better way.

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## Mr Earl

> Won me Mr Earl put me down for the first shipment sold.When your ready let me know how to pay you deposit bank account is ok and I,ll give you a address.I know the bus from Mo Chit to Non Sang roughly 9-10 hours overnight but might get hot in baggage compartment.Ileave the shipping to you might know a better way.


I've got to wait a week or so to make sure the colony takes.

Shipping these guys is a proverbial "can of worms"! It's really easy to kill them.
The best way to transport is in an air conditioned car. 
My first starter batch I carried 700 kms in a cooler on the back of my bike. 
Let me think on it. 
Non Sang is near Khon Kaen right? I could ride up there in about 4 hours.

Do you ever drive down to BKK?

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## roadking96cube

No havent been to Bangkok for ages because of building house now just moved in 1 week ago I'm about a hour and a half from Khon Khaen by bike as well.If you want can meet you there pay you cash.

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## justincase 13

Hey Earl nice thread have you ever looked into a product called EM 1 ( Effective Microorganisms) i just found it in Thailand at a health food store in Chiang Rai across from the bus station. you mix this with Unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses and water 1:1:20 parts and brew for a week and you have activated EM 1  this is great stuff to spray on your trees and in the garden also it will help the the break down process for the worms and they will be able to eat 200 to 400 times more food. I want to start a worm farm here in the Thailand soon.  if you wanted to market your worms one kilo about 1000 worms would bring you around 1200 to 1500 baht 
you might have to ship in small ice chest with some dry ice wrapped in new paper or something might be worthwhile..

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## Mr Earl

> Hey Earl nice thread have you ever looked into a product called EM 1 ( Effective Microorganisms) i just found it in Thailand at a health food store in Chiang Rai across from the bus station. you mix this with Unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses and water 1:1:20 parts and brew for a week and you have activated EM 1  this is great stuff to spray on your trees and in the garden also it will help the the break down process for the worms and they will be able to eat 200 to 400 times more food. I want to start a worm farm here in the Thailand soon.  if you wanted to market your worms one kilo about 1000 worms would bring you around 1200 to 1500 baht 
> you might have to ship in small ice chest with some dry ice wrapped in new paper or something might be worthwhile..


What I do is mix fresh cow/buffalo poo with water and mix that in with coffee shells and chopped palm fronds or whatever. That helps break down the cellulose for the worms to eat easier. The cow poo is full of enzymes and stuff.

Lately though I've had a couple of bins affected by some parasite which eats the mature worm from the inside out. Someone said that parasite might be from the cow shit. Hasn't affected many yet.
I'd have to check on the cost effectiveness of using EM 1 and molasses.

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## fisherman

Hi Earl,

are you still doing worm farming ? 

Fisherman

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## Hatyai Ratter

Hi Earl,
         i would like to start farming worms down here in Hatyai.  I will be coming upto to BKK next week, is there any chance i could purchase a starter kit from you ?
My email address is grahameverett69[at]gmail.com,
                                                                 brgds  Hatyai Ratter

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## Mr Earl

> Hi Earl,
>          i would like to start farming worms down here in Hatyai.  I will be coming upto to BKK next week, is there any chance i could purchase a starter kit from you ?
> My email address is grahameverett69[at]gmail.com,
>                                                                  brgds  Hatyai Ratter


I've moved out of bkk for now. I can get you in touch with a fellow in Suphan Buri who got me started. I have a bunch of worms in Ranong, but I wont be back there for a couple of weeks. I'll shoot you an email.

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## BaitongBoy

^They lie around naked reading the newspaper all day long...
When they aren't copulating, of course...

 :mid:

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## BaitongBoy

> How do they cope with heat?


see above

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## Mr Earl

For worms copulating involves simply rubbing against each other, it's group things too usually. Kinky little slithery things.

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## palexxxx

The night-crawlers are also very good bait for fishing.

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## Mr Earl

Absolutely! Fish go crazy for them!

Fish breeders use worms to get the breeding into a frenzy!

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## latis

I have a very small farm in Ubon and last weekend built two concrete containers to hold waste for decomposition.  Is it possible to buy some of your African worms. I am totally new to worm farming but keen to go eco on my farm.

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## Mr Earl

I'm not in the country right now.
There's likely someone localy who has worms.
You can also look around a small local river or stream and dig some up.
You can find native worms there under trees where it's moist and the leaves have been building up for years.

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## billy the kid

alien worms are causing havoc in the uk
in some forest areas.

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## Mr Earl

^more eco-alarmist nonsense.
Studies in Vietnam show earthworm presence is net a benefit for soil health. :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## IsaanAussie

> ^more eco-alarmist nonsense.
> Studies in Vietnam show earthworm presence is net a benefit for soil health.


Have both. Brew vermitea and use it as a drench or foliar spray and watch that garden jump. Can even fix you up with a brewer. Use the castings in potting mixed with biochar (rice hull). Top dressing lawns. Even as nutrients for hydroponics. Great stuff.
For those wanting compost with a kick, I compost pig manure with biochar and EM. Alive with the good guy microbes get those roots working.

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## ray23

Earl we have a mushroom farm so lots of left over packets of saw dust and whatever else they put in them. Saw a place that said you could use them in worm farming. We also have Fish pond with 2K Pla Nin, we current use a high grade fertilizer to produce algae. From what I can see this would be good for that. The fertilizer runs about 900 baht a bag so not cheap. Like everyone else looking for a starter batch.

I see you a rider are going to Khan Kean Bike Week?

We live in Udon and will be going to the bike week.

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## Lord Lonnis

old thread... but maybe yer still around.  how much space do you need to grow worms?  I live in a condo and have an unused patio... would a 120litre trash can work?.  How much casings and how often can you expect from 120litres?
yeah its easier just to go buy a bag at jatujak, but like the idea of not throwing away scrap food, and harvesting my own potting soil.

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## Samantha

Great looking worms. Do you sell them in the BKK area? I am in the market for at least a kg. Needed for a worm far/ science fair project. Much thanks!

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