A ‘Bag of Worms’ – In More Detail

August 19, 2009

Bag of Worms
My new Red Worm starter culture bags as compared to a ‘Compost Ecosystem’ bag (foreground)


***NOTE: This post was written in August of 2009. Please visit the Red Worm page for current pricing and shipping information. You will see below where changes have been made (and explanations added)***


As I mentioned yesterday, I am no longer offering specific quantities of worms. Instead, I have decided to switch over to a ‘Red Worm Starter Culture’ approach, in an effort to keep the business up and running while I put my focus elsewhere for the next few months. My hope is to be able to bring back the smaller (specific) quantities in time for next spring, when I should be able to dedicate a lot more time to this endeavour.
[UPDATE: I am very happy with the way the ‘culture’ and ‘ecosystem’ products have been received by customers thus far, and plan to continue focusing primarily on this approach. That being said, if you are in need of specific (larger) quantities of worms, don’t hesitate to get in touch]

In a lot of ways, I think this is still a win/win situation, since customers will be getting worms that have been handled (and stressed) a lot less, and packed with loads of great ‘compost ecosystem‘ material (containing plenty of baby worms and cocoons, along with other beneficial compost critters). Aside from being a great inoculum for your worm bin, compost ecosystem also has a lot of ‘habitat’ and ‘food’ value to help your worms get adjusted to their new home much more easily!

Just so you know, research has shown that each Red Worm cocoon, on average, releases three new worms, and as I’ve discovered via my own experimentation, baby Red Worms can grow to adulthood in a matter of a few weeks under the right conditions. In other words, aside from all the adult worms that are already included your starter culture, you should expect to see plenty more before too long!

So where does this worm-filled material come from?

The material selected for my starter culture bags will only come from highly productive worm beds. It will also typically be further concentrated to ensure that there will be lots of adult worms in the mix. [UPDATE: Culture is still harvested from highly productive zones, but it is now always concentrated further as well]

Fistfull of Worms
A typical hand-full of material (and worms) that will go into a starter culture bag (along with plenty more just like it)


I can’t guarantee any specific exact number of adult worms, or worm weight – but customer satisfaction is extremely important to me, so rest assured you will get good value.

As you can see in the first picture, the bags themselves are somewhat larger than those used for compost ecosystem (and previously used for concentrated worm orders). When full, they’ll typically weigh around 3 1/2 lb or so (at time of packing – will likely lose moisture if shipped), and contain close to 3.5 litres of ‘stuff’ (worms plus material).

In all honesty, I had hoped the bags would be somewhat larger so that I could offer ‘small’ and ‘large’ options, but as it turns out the difference in size between these and the compost eco-bags isn’t enough (in my mind, anyway) to bother with this approach. If I get some larger bags sometime in the future, I may explore this option then.

Ok – well, I think that basically covers it! If you have ANY questions, and/or would like to order one or more of these bags, please visit the Red Worm page then send me an email.
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Buy a Bag ‘O’ Worms!

August 18, 2009

I just wanted to write a quick update regarding some upcoming changes I’ll be making here at Worm Composting Canada. For the time being I will no longer be offering smaller, specific quantities of worms – I need to take some time away from the business, which means I’ll have far less time to dedicate to actual harvesting of worms.

In an effort to keep things rolling along (and to help streamline the business in general) I’ve decided to offer a new line of products – appropriately called “Bags of Worms”. There will be two sizes available – small and large. The small size will be the same as our standard ‘compost ecosystem‘ bags, and the large ones will be somewhat…uhhh…larger! [UPDATE: There is actually only one size available]
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All joking aside, I will be writing another post very soon with some pictures and exact specifications.
[UPDATE: That post can be found >>HERE<<]

The bags will be filled with material and worms from thriving worm beds, so there will still be a lot of adult worms in the mix. Like our ‘compost ecosystem‘ product, there will also be a lot of small worms and cocoons, along with plenty of other composting organisms. One large bag should easily provide enough worms to populate a small to medium sized worm bin. With discount pricing for multiple bag orders, this product will also be a great option for those interested in stocking a larger system, or just generally starting with more worms.

Aside from helping the worms to make a much easier transition into a new system in general (due to all the food/habitat material that comes with them), this option also ensures that the worms don’t end up stressed out and injured due to all the handling/harvesting that typically takes place.

Stay tuned – more info to come soon!
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