Technology for growing earthworms. Breeding worms at home as a business

Entrepreneurial activities for breeding worms are characterized by a high level of profitability and low capital costs. Among other things, you can even do this at home or in an apartment (by allocating just one room).

In addition to the fact that worms themselves are a product of sale, they can provide additional income as fertilizer and worm tea, which significantly accelerate the development of plants.

This idea will be especially interesting as an additional business for gardeners, poultry and fish farmers. This production will perfectly supplement agribusiness with useful humus, and poultry and fish farms will be supplied with healthy complementary foods at cost.

Advantages of a business idea with minimal investment

The economic justification for breeding worms at home is due to the clear advantages of a profitable business with minimal investment.

Benefits of breeding worms:

Simplicity of the equipment used.
High rate of reproduction of individuals.
The presence of a high level of demand, as well as ample opportunities to open new sales points.
Minor ongoing costs for care and feeding.
Waste-free production.

In just one year, an entrepreneur can receive more than fifteen thousand individuals and up to one ton of fertilizers (with a nursery size of 2 m2). Having made simple calculations, you can see that the net profit from the sale of 15 thousand individuals will be about $700. In addition, the profitability of this business can be increased by selling the collected ton of worm tea and humus. In today's economic situation, the profitability of breeding worms for humus production reaches 145%, which is an excellent indicator for such low initial costs.

Which worms are best for breeding?

Any type of worm can be used for breeding worms as a business. The most popular and cost-effective are the types presented below.

"Prospector"

Appears to be a key competitor of California red worms. "Staratel" is distinguished by its high ability to quickly process biomass into fertilizers. Characterized by high activity. One of the advantages of breeding this species is its high resistance to temperature changes; it can withstand from +9 to +30 degrees.

Earthworm

It is characterized by a high level of adaptation to the environment, which makes it an excellent tool for making a profit even in a city apartment. The only drawback of this type of worm is its low reproductive activity, which, however, can be compensated experimentally.

California (red) worm

To effectively and profitably breed California red worms at home, you need to maintain (at least) three families, each of which contains a thousand individuals. This species is characterized by a whimsical appetite for food (special food is required). Reacts sharply to temperature: the room should not be below +10. A distinctive advantage is high-quality humus.

Dendrobena

This type of worm was specially bred by farmers as bait when fishing. Despite the low level of reproduction rate and life expectancy, dendrobena are quite large and fleshy. Also, worm cocoons are able to withstand temperatures down to -18 degrees, after which they are hatched at a positive temperature level. Excellent for soil improvement and, as a result, may be of interest to companies involved in agricultural activities.

Muckworm

The advantages of this type of worm lie in its distinctive characteristics for vermicultivation. Previously it served as the basis for breeding such species as the Prospector and the Red Californian worm. Based on the dung worm, a new population can be developed, characterized by greater gluttony, growth and reproduction speed, depending on the needs of customers.

Mealworm

Like the others, this type does not require any specialized knowledge and significant capital to build a profitable business process. It is characterized by a high reproduction rate and resistance to temperature changes.

Helpful advice! It is worth noting that the natural habitat of one type of worm can be destructive for other species. For example, if an earthworm and a dungworm live together, the earthworm dies. Since the waste products of a dung worm are toxic to others. Keeping all types separately will reinsure the business against losses.

Conditions for breeding worms

Worm care consists of the following:

loosening the soil;
maintaining the required temperature range;
timely feeding;
watering the soil.

Almost all types of worms do not require special conditions for feeding. The temperature level, as mentioned above, should not fall below +9 degrees and rise above +30. Worms love moisture, but don't overdo it. The soil moisture level should not exceed 85%.

After the population has grown, the “extra” individuals should be moved to another container. Otherwise, the worms will stop reproducing. Also, after increasing the level of compost in the soil with worms, it is necessary to loosen it. In the vast majority of cases, this is no more than twice a week. Correct and timely loosening of the soil makes it possible to provide insects with the necessary access to oxygen, which has a beneficial effect on their reproduction rate.

Ways to sell finished products

The worm farming business has a wide range of marketing opportunities. For example, after reaching a sufficient number of individuals, you can safely establish contacts with various pet stores, as well as fish farms. Moreover, the geography of sales of finished products is not limited solely to one’s own city of residence. Using the Internet, you can find websites of pet stores in other cities. Recently, an online store has been an effective way to promote products sold.

Another, no less important method is direct sales in urban markets. One package of worms (thirty individuals) will cost on average $1-1.5.

As for humus and worm tea, this is an indispensable fertilizer for many gardeners and summer residents. By setting the average market price, you can quickly develop a significant customer base of retail buyers. You can find out more in this video.

For a long time, people have known that a good and rich landowner is considered to be one who cultivated and tilled the soil that produced a good and rich harvest. In the past century, the lands of Russia were on the verge of depletion due to the use of mineral fertilizers, but nowadays organic farming is slowly beginning to develop.

One of the most fertile soils is one that is rich in animal and plant waste and, as a rule, earthworms make it so. Thanks to them, all organic matter is processed, the soil becomes fertile and turns into humus. In the West, scientists even breed special breeds of worms that cultivate the soil and reproduce more efficiently. All this allows us to consider earthworm breeding as a business for the village, which does not require special efforts and investments. At the beginning, take care of drawing up a business plan.

Types of worms that are best to use

Absolutely any type of worm is suitable for your own home worm farm. You can focus on the most popular varieties. These include: the common earthworm, the California red worm and the prospector worm.

An ordinary earthworm adapts well to any terrain; a closed farm does not become a particular problem for them. Worms of this species reproduce quickly, but also have their drawbacks; their vital activity is much lower than that of more purebred representatives of other species.

A fairly popular species is the Californian red worm. The main thing when purchasing this species is to ensure that the individuals are particularly active and have a rich reddish tint. It is recommended to immediately acquire breeding stock of 1,500 individuals. One to three families are required per cubic meter of soil. The main features of this species are rapid reproduction and unpretentiousness to food; these worms produce high-quality vermicompost. They must be diluted at temperatures above +10 degrees.

The high activity of the prospector makes this type of worm quite popular among its fellows. The prospector processes the necessary food efficiently, quickly gains biomass, and is good and unpretentious about temperature changes. One thousand kilograms of substrate will yield up to sixty percent vermicompost.

If you decide to make money by breeding and selling earthworms, then it is better to choose the last two species - the prospector worm and the Californian red worm; they are more popular among modern farmers.

Choosing a room for breeding earthworms

An earthworm breeding business can be built without much effort. For example, even choosing a room for a vermifarm will not be difficult.

The most important thing is that the area meets all the needs of an entrepreneur who decides to start a worm business. It is recommended to breed worms in a well-heated area.

A garage or cellar is well suited to such an area. If this is not done, then the worms will hibernate in the cold season, at temperatures below +4 degrees, and you can forget about breeding earthworms at this time.

Breeding earthworms, as a year-round business, recommends choosing larger areas. The main thing is to calculate the territory taking into account the natural reproduction of these individuals. On large vermifarms their number reaches up to millions of individuals.

Worm boxes

Making money from breeding and selling earthworms is quite simple if you follow all the recommendations and adhere to the necessary rules. For example, you need to take into account the characteristics of the habitat of worms in wild natural areas, where the soil is divided into three main layers.

The first “level” of soil has an abundance of organic waste products of the plant and animal environment - this layer serves as a place for feeding and eating. In the lower layer, waste products of worms accumulate, that is, humus and the so-called worm tea. The middle layer is the most comfortable habitat; it is in it that the bulk of individuals accumulate.

What soil is preferable to use for breeding worms?

The activity of worms, their speed of reproduction and processing of organic waste directly depends on the quality of the soil. It is important to follow the rules when breeding earthworms:

It is recommended to fill the container halfway with humus, and add a small amount of cardboard, which is chopped into small particles;
humidity should be at the level of seventy to eighty percent;
after a couple of days, having made small holes in the soil, transplant the worms with part of the soil in which they lived before moving into the box;
After this procedure, it is necessary to carefully level the soil and moisten it. Then it is recommended to cover the box with cardboard and wait a few days;
After the worms have successfully taken root and acclimatized in their new “home,” you can begin to feed them.

In order to find out whether individuals will take root in the new soil or not, transplant them fifty worms into small containers. This way you can see if the acidity of the soil is suitable for your pets.

The most optimal acidity level is from 6.5 to 7.5 pH. If you notice several dead worms, this is a signal that the acidity has changed.

To improve performance, you can use sawdust or ordinary straw. Tops from plants also work well.

If increased acidity is observed, it is recommended to reduce it. In such cases, add chalk, ground eggshells or limestone to the soil.

Worm food

To breed earthworms, it is recommended to prepare certain food, namely a compost heap.

Such food is prepared from waste human food; shells, waste from vegetable and fruit crops, tea leaves, coffee grounds, flour products, as well as different types of grass, leaves and of course manure are perfect here.

The finished feed mixture must be laid in a thick layer on top of the soil. The layer should be approximately ten centimeters thick. It is recommended to feed the worms once a week. In order to determine whether they have enough food or not, newspaper or any other paper is placed on top of the fresh layer of their food, which must first be wetted. When the worms begin to absorb this paper, it means it is necessary to update the fresh portion of food.

Reproduction of worms

The worms reach sexual maturity at the age of two to three months, then regularly every week for four months, lay their offspring in the form of cocoons. Cocoons ripen in approximately two to three weeks, then up to twenty individuals can emerge from one deposit, which after two to three months already give birth to their offspring. Consequently, after just five to six months, the number of individuals in the nursery increases fiftyfold.

In the case when there are more than fifty adult worms per liter of soil in the nursery, it is recommended to move to another box or start selling the product and make the first profit. If you do not do this, the worms will stop reproducing and laying offspring.

Sales of finished products

It is recommended to sort worms after five to six months. To do this, the top layer of soil is removed and set aside, then the middle layer of worm habitat is removed from the nursery and the humus is removed in the same way. After the work has been done, the most important thing begins - sorting the worms. Mature individuals, as a rule, go on sale or are embarked on further business expansion.

As for the small ones, they return back to the seedling boxes for further growth and development. Once sorting is completed, worm breeding can continue. It happens that a novice businessman is not entirely clear where he can sell his “freshly baked” product.

Of course, fishing. Almost every businessman who is planning to breed worms comes to mind with this method of selling goods. Since the worm is one of the most common types of bait, it is a great seller in the fishing industry. This may seem like a rather stupid idea to many, but in fact it is far from true. There are a huge number of fishermen in the modern world, but almost none of them are eager to dig into the ground, but prefer fishing stores where they can purchase the required amount of worm bait. It is to such stores that earthworm breeding entrepreneurs supply their goods.
Pet stores. This is a goldmine for people who raise worms. In stores of this kind, worms are quite in demand. They are in demand for feeding fish, birds and other inhabitants of pet stores.
Fish farms. In such places, all fish are grown artificially, therefore, worms are a kind of delicacy for fish. Such enterprises are wholesale buyers of this type of feed.
Sales of humus. This waste product of worms is the main fertilizer for growing any crop. The sale of humus can be organized for summer residents, gardening organizations, or used for your own garden.
Worm "tea". This liquid is practically the most valuable and in demand in the entire worm breeding culture. To collect this liquid, a special hole is made in the “home” of the worms. In the modern world, the demand for environmentally friendly fertilizers is growing - worm “tea” is one of them.

How much can you earn from farming earthworms?

Over the course of one year of work with earthworm breeding, approximately twenty thousand individuals and more than one ton of humus emerge from two square meters of a nursery. One worm costs on average two rubles apiece, therefore, a year comes out to forty thousand rubles, excluding the cost of humus, worm “tea” and large seedling areas.

Taking into account the conditions of waste-free production and minimal costs for breeding earthworms, as a business, economic efficiency reaches impressive proportions.

Breeding earthworms at home.

It is possible to breed earthworms at home, but it is not at all cost-effective. The earthworm reproduces slowly, is picky about food, and lives for a short time. Of course, you can work hard and, after a few generations, breed your own breed from an ordinary earthworm, but I didn’t.

Russian professor Anatoly Mikhailovich Igonin managed to breed a special breed of earthworm and called it “Prospector”. This worm, unlike an ordinary earthworm, lives longer, tolerates changes in the type of food well, reproduces quickly - it is completely adapted to human needs.

After scouring the Internet in forums and stores, I found boxes that were suitable for me. They have no extra holes, are strong and fit comfortably into each other. Dimensions 590x360x180mm (My first boxes were smaller, but I was uncomfortable with them.) If you choose very large boxes filled with vermicompost, they will be too heavy.

Minimum set of three boxes.

Boxes for breeding worms at home.

Holes are made in two using a drill (the bottom and all sides along the top edge - see photo).

Top boxes for keeping worms.

In the bottom box, holes are made only in all sides along the top edge in one row for ventilation; vermicha will flow into this box. The number of holes depends on the size of the boxes - so that it does not lose strength.

We place one perforated box on the vermicha box. We put food in it and populate it with approximately 1500 - 3000 worms. Close the lid - the worm loves the dark.

Caring for Prospector worms at home.

When the worm eats a layer of food in the box (this will be easily noticeable, the top layer will take on a smooth, loose surface), lay the next 5 cm layer, etc.

Breeding worms at home. We put food for the worms.

When the box is full, we place a second one on top, which also has a perforated bottom and sides, into which food is poured, and the worm from the first (lower) box, through the holes, crawls into the second (upper) box for fresh food (in the bottom box all the food is processed and there is nothing to eat).

With each new feeding, I powder the top with a thin layer of sand and a little ash (which has been sitting for a month), or chalk. Sand helps worms digest food, and ash serves to deoxidize and saturate vermicompost with additional microelements. For better, faster processing of feed, I spill each new batch of feed with undiluted vermicelli.

When the second box is filled to the top, we put the third one on top and the worm, in the same way, crawls there through the holes. I always close the top drawer with a lid - the worm does not like light. Thus, up to 5 floors can be accommodated. The optimal temperature for maximum vital activity of the worm is 20° - 25°C. At sub-zero temperatures it goes into hibernation (it can spend the winter outside in a compost heap). Worms live only in organic matter and will not escape from the box.

Obtaining vermicompost.

When, for example, all three boxes are filled with vermicompost and there are no free boxes left, I remove the bottom box with vermicompost, empty it of vermicompost and put it on top of the last one, pour in new food, spill it with vermicompost and close it with a lid. The worms will crawl into it themselves.

Breeding worms at home. Ready vermicompost.

I put the finished, raw (raw) vermicompost into a woven plastic bag or into a simple wooden box for subsequent fermentation and readiness. The finished vermicompost takes on a free-flowing appearance. Almost always, some of the worms still remain in the bottom drawer filled with vermicompost. You can simply collect them by hand, or you can leave them in vermicompost.

What to feed worms when breeding at home?

Everyone who gets worms adapts them to their existing food. But first, I recommend asking the seller what the worms ate and adding your food gradually as they are eaten. Worms love a lot of our kitchen waste (this can be various vegetable waste: fruit and vegetable peels, leftover tea leaves, etc.).

If the food sits there for several days and starts to turn sour, then they obviously didn’t like it and it’s better to remove it. To speed up the process of eating food, I grind it with chops in a wooden trough. But you can also use a meat grinder or simply cut with scissors or a knife. I like to grind in a trough, because I don’t have to wash a bunch of meat grinder parts every time and any waste can easily fit into the trough. If you put waste without shredding, it will take longer to process and may even rot. Sometimes I sprinkle sunflower husks to loosen the substrate so that the vermicompost doesn’t turn sour (just in case 😊)

Breeding worms at home. How do worms reproduce?

If the worm lives happily and eats well, then sooner or later it will begin to reproduce. It lays cocoons - small sand-colored balls. They can be easily noticed.

Reproduction of worms. The worm lays cocoons - small sand-colored balls.

Each cocoon contains several eggs, and after 2-3 weeks new worms hatch. And after another 7-12 weeks, these worms are already able to bear offspring. Over time, you understand how your pets live, whether they are dry or damp, when they need to be watered or fed. In any business there are always mistakes and discoveries, and it is impossible to give clear instructions. Each person has their own type of worm food and room temperature. We must be attentive to these little helpers.

When breeding worms at home, we get vermicompost and vermicelli.

Worms create a wonderful vermicompost from a pile of organic matter, with a special pleasant smell familiar to every gardener. The same magical vermicompost that our seedlings and plants in the garden enjoy. The worm, in which colonies of microorganisms live, moves in the soil, processing organic matter. It secretes coprolites (copros - feces, litos - stone) with a large amount of its own intestinal microflora, enzymes, vitamins, and biologically active substances.

They have antibiotic properties and prevent the development of pathogenic (painful) microflora, putrefactive processes, the release of fetid gases, disinfect the soil and give it that same pleasant earthy smell. I will talk about the use of vermicompost for growing seedlings later.

Vermichay is an aqueous extract from vermicompost. It is usually called vermicompost tea or simply vermi tea. It is similar in color to regular strong brewed black tea with a faint soil aroma.

Vermichai is an excellent tonic for all plants, from indoor flowers to fruit-bearing trees. It nourishes, protects from stress and pests, prevents diseases, develops a strong root system and helps to quickly adapt after transplantation.

Getting vermichay.

There are different ways to obtain vermichai - an aqueous extract from vermicompost. I chose the right one for myself. Once every two weeks, I spill water from a watering can for indoor plants in the top drawer. Water gradually passes through all the boxes. Calculation: two liters of water per box. The thicker the layer and the more boxes, the richer the tea. The next day, I pour the tea into bottles and store it in a cool, dark place.

Most often, I use vermicelli collected over the winter in the garden in the spring.

I dilute tea with water in a ratio of 1:10 or in its pure form. I know that some people use it for indoor plants, but I don’t practice it myself.

In the summer I keep worms in a bath in the garden and collect vermicelli in buckets and water (1:10) the entire garden.

I will talk about this in the next article.

You can read about purchased vermicompost and Vemikofe -

©Alexey Lesnykh (2017)

I will answer your questions in the comments.

Many people are constantly worried about the thought of not even a million, but a stable income. And if you are also partial to fishing, then you will like worm breeding as a business idea.

What kind of serious business can be built on ordinary earthworms, you ask? The most real, promising and very financial.

How?

Very simple. But first things first.

Prospects for breeding worms

Breeding worms can become not only a source of additional income, but also a multi-million dollar business. And in cash.

Prove? Please.

How many fishing stores are there in your city?
About 4 or 5 pieces, if the town has a population of 35 thousand and is not located on the banks of the Volga or Don. This is experimental data, you can check it if in doubt.

What is the seasonal need for earthworms in such a small town or urban village? Let us take into account that this is not Semikarakorsk or the village of Veshenskaya, or even Konstantinovsk, where in the summer fishermen flock not only from the entire Rostov region, but also from other regions.

So, the seasonal need of one store for worms in our town is approximately 300 boxes. Each piece contains 30-40 live or not very live dung worms.

300 boxes is 6,000 rubles, which you can earn at one fishing store over the summer and a couple of warm months of autumn and spring. Only at one fishing store. Please note that in the July heat it is impossible to dig up worms in manure heaps, so there is no competition for those who professionally breed worms.

Determining the size of the market

The approximate market volume of a small city will be 30,000 rubles. per season.

And if you take Rostov-on-Don? This is a large city with a population of millions. Fishing is respected there. Where can you get worms? Market, shops, because dung heaps are difficult to find in Rostov.

How many worms are needed per season in Rostov?

By analogy, if for 35 thousand inhabitants we received a sales market of 30,000 rubles. for 6 warm months of the year, then a city with a population of one million will be able to provide us with a sales market of more than a million rubles per season. You can safely double this figure, because Rostov is, after all, on the Don, and they love fishing on the Don.

We received about two million rubles a year, which we could earn by providing one regional center with fishing bait in the form of earthworms.

What if we take the entire Rostov region? This is about another million rubles, or maybe two per season. In total, we found that one region consumes earthworms worth about 3-4 million rubles.

How do you like these numbers? Still doubt the seriousness of the worm business?

We carry out market analysis

If you are inclined to doubt the above thoughts, then do the following. Just post the following announcement on the PulsePrice website in your region:

“I sell earthworms. Wholesale, in batches from 10 kg. Price 1000 rub. per kg."

Let it hang online for 3-4 months. It is best to do this in early spring and keep the announcement until the fall. You won't have any questions. You can evaluate the sales market without leaving your home.

And the price for a pure earthworm, that is, lured out of the substrate in which it lives, is about a thousand rubles per kg, and this is in bulk. At retail it's twice as expensive.

Go to any fishing store and ask how easy it is to get a worm in winter or in the summer heat. This is almost impossible if there are no large dairy farms nearby.

Therefore, the price is quite realistic. This is not nonsense. Earthworms are very expensive. Just do the math yourself:

One box of worms costs from 40 rubles. at the market or in a store. There are 30-40 worms in it. The weight of one worm is up to 1 g. And it's a pretty plump worm. On average 0.25-0.50 g. One box contains about 20 grams.

20 grams of worm for 40 rubles! They sell you 1 kg of worm for 2 thousand rubles!

You could very well earn half of this money. This despite the fact that we took the minimum price for one box. And they sell for 60 and 80 rubles.

Production difficulties

The technology of growing an earthworm for fishing is a long and complex process that requires not only financial costs, but also your personal participation. Because if you yourself do not delve into all the intricacies of vermicultivation, or breeding worms, then you will not succeed.

How and what to feed worms? How to organize the process of selecting a worm from a substrate? How to supplement worms? What kind of worms does it make sense to breed?

Not every person, even those who understand the topic, will invest so much effort and money in this business.

And worms are not predictable people. They can simply order their entire wormy society to live a long time, because they were fed sour food for breakfast.

Yes, they are unpretentious, do not require every second control, and do not moo or quack. But if you don’t water them daily, don’t create peace and quiet for them in their habitat, don’t provide them with fresh air and high-calorie, neutral acidity food rich in phosphorus, nitrogen and microelements, then they simply won’t grow and may even die .

In the matter of breeding worms for fishing, there are a lot of subtleties that you need to know and take into account if you hope for results.

And the result will be a constant increase in worm biomass, population growth, satisfied faces of business partners and a good mood for your wife. Why not be happy when the family has money for another vacation abroad and shopping trips.

Despite all the difficulties of the worm business, it is quite attractive and will provide you with a constant supply of cash. Because payments are made in real money.

Instructions: “How to make a million”

Where to start if you decide to start breeding worms and become a worm tycoon in your region:

1) Study the sales market.

Place advertisements of the type above on large portals Pulscen.ru, Tiu.ru, Avito.ru and others.
Indicate your phone number and focus specifically on wholesale supplies, not in jars, but in live weight in large containers (closed plastic vegetable boxes, for example).
Visit fishing stores in your city and ask at what price and under what conditions they accept worms. What are their seasonal needs and are they short on worms?
Go to your regional center, if you do not live there, and do the same operations. Visit markets and chat with local traders.
Your main task: to find those people who are engaged in intermediary activities. The worms are delivered directly to stores, having first purchased them from villagers who dig for worms and packaged them in jars.

Try to avoid the responsibility of delivering worms and packaging. With large volumes, this will significantly simplify your work and allow you to create a business in the future in which you will only perform control functions.

2) Become a vermiculture expert.

When the market has been studied, the first potential customers have appeared, and you know how much and at what price you will sell your product, you need to start organizing production.

Research all the available information you can find on worm farming. Websites, blogs and fishing sites, forums, printed materials and periodicals.
Get yourself some worms and practice on them. It’s not difficult to buy them in the same markets or by ordering them online.
You can even get vocational training at vermicompost plants.

3) Start small and gradually expand.

Growing worms at the initial stage does not require too much material costs and time.

By buying a thousand individuals for 500 rubles, and investing another couple of thousand rubles in purchasing a ton or two of manure and arranging a place for a worm hutch, in a year you will be able to expand production due to population growth.

And worms reproduce quickly. Under normal conditions, one worm will give birth to five hundred new ones within a year. This takes into account the fact that more than half will die. And under ideal conditions, more than one and a half thousand individuals can survive in a year, born from one worm.

A worm business is the very type of business that can be created in your free time from your main job and practically from scratch.

In two or three years, when you have gained some experience working with worms, you will be able to reach large production volumes.

4) How to make a million on worms?

A million rubles is one ton of earthworms.
A ton of worms is 30 tons of manure that they must eat.
30 tons of manure per year is 30 m2 of production areas, beds or boxes in which your worms will live and reproduce.
Plus you will need straw, deoxidizers, manure storage areas, a straw chopper, a wheelbarrow, a couple of shovels, and water.

5) Features of breeding earthworms for fishing:

You should have no more than 20 thousand worms per 1 m2.
The higher the substrate moisture, the faster the worms grow (up to 85% substrate moisture).
The more air the worms have, the faster they will reproduce and gain weight (for this you need straw, which is mixed with manure in a 1:1 ratio).
The less energy a worm spends searching for food, the more energy it spends on reproduction (feeding more often than producing humus).
At temperatures up to 25 degrees, reproduction occurs at maximum rates.
After sampling, the worm needs to be fed for another week or two separately from the main mass, preferably with fruit peelings, the remains of oatmeal porridge, in a very humid environment.
If during this period you also add finely chopped dill and parsley to the nutrient substrate, the worms will acquire a peculiar smell that will drive the fish crazy and make them simply hang themselves on the fishing hooks of your clients.

The main thing is to lure out the worm!

The biggest problem when breeding worms is not even protecting them from pests, moles, mice, which can destroy the population. The biggest difficulty is to lure the worm out of the substrate and prepare it for sale in its pure form without soil.

That is why few people breed worms in large quantities and carefully keep the secrets of forcing a worm and keeping it alive for a long time.

But if you seriously decide to get into the worm breeding business, then you will find your own ways to solve these problems. How can you make a million if you don’t think with your head, don’t search and don’t strain?

Good luck in building your business!

Breeding earthworms is one of the most promising options for starting your own business due to the fact that with minimal investment, a worm farm is highly profitable, and the final product is in constant demand among summer residents and farmers who prepare compost.

It is worth noting that the breeding of worms can be carried out in the basements of private houses or on plots, and the technology of their cultivation itself does not require highly specialized knowledge, thanks to which minimal investment in such a business can bring consistently high profits. However, lack of awareness leads to the fact that most potential breeders do not know about the worm business: where to start, how to feed and breed them correctly.

What does a new earthworm breeder need to know?

Growing worms requires a lot of preparation. First of all, you need to decide for what purpose you will raise worms, since different types are in demand for different activities.

Earthworm

A worm that lives in your area. It adapts well to the soil, quickly adapts to nursery conditions, and reproduces effectively. However, the earthworm has low vital activity compared to other species.

Red Californian

Among owners of worm farms, this type of worm is extremely popular due to its unpretentiousness to food, high vital activity, and rapid reproduction. It is worth noting that the standard number of red worms reaches 1,500 units. When choosing a family, you need to pay attention to the color and mobility of individuals. A distinctive feature of red worms is the increased amount of vermicompost formed as a result of their vital activity.

Prospector Worm

Unlike “Californians,” “prospectors” are more resistant to sudden temperature changes. High activity, efficient feed processing, rapid biomass growth, unpretentiousness in feed, excellent substrate properties and a huge amount of vermicompost determine the high popularity of this type of worm.

It is recommended to start a worm business with “thoroughbred” species: their efficiency and productivity are much higher than that of ordinary earthworms living in local soils. Moreover, these varieties are distinguished by an increased amount of by-products, which is also one of the most important conditions for maintaining a vermifarm.

Secrets, nuances and subtleties of earthworm breeding

The main task of a novice breeder is to create acceptable conditions for the life and reproduction of individuals. Particular attention should be paid to several important parameters: land, living conditions and temperature conditions.

Earth in a nursery

High vital activity and normal functioning of worms, especially purebred species, require ensuring the most optimal soil conditions by dividing the soil in the nursery into three main zones:

1. The bottom layer, in which by-products of worm tea and vermicompost are formed and accumulate;
2. Middle layer, the main habitat of individuals and families;
3. The top layer through which the worms feed. The choice of soil for the top layer must be given special attention.

Rules for using soils

The quality of the soil determines the activity of the worm, the speed of reproduction and food processing. Maximum efficiency can be achieved by following a few simple rules:

The container for dilution must be filled with a dense layer of humus mixed with crushed cardboard;
Make sure that the soil moisture does not fall below 75 and does not rise above 80%;
Move in the family 2-3 days after laying the soil in the container;
Cover the nursery with cardboard;
After acclimatization of the worms, add bait.

In addition, special attention must be paid to the level of soil acidity. For breeding worms, the optimal indicator should be within the established norm of 6.5-7.5 pH. If dead worms are found, it is necessary to measure the soil acid level. Acidity can be increased by adding impurities from straw or sawdust, while chalk, eggshells or limestone can help reduce the acidity.

Room

The choice of premises also needs to be given special attention, because the high rate of reproduction will eventually require expansion of the worm farm. Any heated room with high humidity is suitable for breeding worms. As a location you can use:

Basement or cellar;
Garage or outbuilding;
Attic space.

As their business develops, most wermifarmers face the need to expand. It is worth noting that a separate room for a farm is relevant only when it is required by a high volume of products sold.

Temperature

When the temperature drops sharply to +4C, some of the individuals die, while the rest fall asleep. That is why the most acceptable temperature for maintaining the activity of earthworms is considered to be +15…+25 degrees. Nevertheless, modern markets offer species whose peak activity occurs at temperatures above +8C.

Equipment for breeding earthworms

At the initial stages, a worm breeding business requires a basic set of equipment. In addition to packaging, it is important to purchase or find:

1. Industrial scales;
2. Sieve for sifting soil;
3. Wheelbarrow for transporting containers;
4. 10 l. bucket for carrying soil;
5. Shovel, pitchfork and rake;
6. Instruments for measuring soil parameters;
7. Room and soil thermometer;
8. Racks for storing containers.

Containers for breeding worms at home

As a breeding ground in the initial stages of organizing a business, you can use:

1. Wooden nursery.

The best option is a wooden box measuring 1x2x0.5 m with a board thickness of 25 mm or more. The lid for such a nursery is made in accordance with the materials and dimensions of the box. Don't forget about ventilation. To ensure a stable supply of worm tea, it is necessary to drill several holes in the bottom of the structure, and also adapt a container for collecting liquid.

2. Chamber of an old refrigerator

The most optimal nursery option for beginner vermifarmers. An old refrigerator, devoid of internal parts, is installed horizontally, the bars are inclined. The flow of fresh air requires holes in the door.

3. Cardboard boxes

The least expensive option for organizing a nursery. In addition to the fact that cardboard is one of the most environmentally friendly and “breathable” materials, worms use it as food. In case of getting wet or thinning, it is enough to bring a new box, slightly larger in size than the one used as a nursery.

4. Plastic containers

Plastic is one of the most popular materials for creating a worm nursery. In this case, you can use both ordinary flower pots and large containers, but in both cases it is necessary to ensure ventilation of the container.

5. Professional vermicomposter

One of the most expensive and effective nursery options, which has many advantages. A multi-level design, including several waste compartments, a liquid container, means for maintaining soil moisture, as well as an advanced ground ventilation system ensures maximum efficiency of worm reproduction.

Feeding earthworms

Worms are extremely unpretentious to food, however, properly selected food can accelerate the release of substances responsible for the production of vermicompost. The best food for an earthworm is dead or rotting plant debris. To increase vital activity, it is recommended to feed the worms:

Plant residues;
food waste;
stale baked goods;
eggshell powder;
residues after washing kefir or sour cream containers;
fermented cattle manure or poultry droppings.

However, some feeds can lead to decreased worm activity, increased or decreased soil acidity, and the death of certain species. Therefore, the following is prohibited as food for worms:

1. Meat waste;
2. Citrus fruits (affects soil acidity);
3. Kefir, not diluted with water;
4. Whole cores, unground plant residues;
5. Fresh manure, which releases heat during the process of rotting.

It is important to remember that a new portion of food should be added only after the old one has been eaten. If there is a surplus, the soil fermentation process is activated, resulting in a significant increase in pH values.

Scheme of an earthworm breeding business

The scheme for breeding a worm for further sale looks like this:

1. Site preparation;
2. Purchase of breeding stock (family);
3. Check-in at the nursery;
4. Processing compost into humus;
5. Reproduction of individuals;
6. Collection of soil, liquid and worms for sale;
7. Adding nutritious bedding for further reproduction.

After this, the cycle can be repeated.

Sales of finished products

Before starting a business, you need to decide on the category of product buyers. In addition to the worms themselves, the by-products of their vital activity are also extremely popular. For example, humus formed as a result of the activity of worms is actively used in agriculture as one of the best fertilizers. Worm tea is no less popular among summer residents and gardeners for feeding indoor, greenhouse and outdoor plants.

At the same time, the main clients of werm farmers are considered to be:

Gardeners and summer residents who turn to breeders for humus and vermicelli - fertilizers that increase soil fertility and crop quality;

Owners of fishing shops. Based on how much worms for fishing cost, modern fishermen prefer to purchase them in specialized stores. The fairly long lifespan of the earthworm ensures a constant demand for this product;

Pet store owners who use worms as food for animals, fish and birds. It is worth noting that pet stores prefer to purchase worms in bulk;

Owners of fish farms in need of huge quantities of feed. Unlike pet stores, representatives of fisheries purchase worms wholesale in large quantities from several suppliers at once.

That is why the cultivation of earthworms can bring profit, although small, but stable, since the worms themselves, as well as the products of their vital activity, are in great demand.

Breeding worms is a cost-effective and profitable type of business

With minimal investments throughout the year, growing worms as a business allows you to earn up to 40 thousand rubles from worms alone, because today the cost of one individual fluctuates between 2 rubles, and 2 cubic meters. m. the nursery has the potential for 15-20 thousand individuals. In addition, about a ton of vermicompost and several hundred liters of worm tea are collected from the same nursery. To start a business, it is better to immediately buy 2-3 families of worms; the cost of such an acquisition will be from 3,000 rubles. To populate 1 m3 of soil you will need 1-3 families.

The high profitability rate and potential of the vermifarm is explained by:

No production waste;
minimal costs for feeding;
rapid reproduction;
low production costs;
availability of materials;
extensive sales markets;
steady demand not only for worms, but also for fertilizers.

It is worth noting that worm breeding as a business pays off by optimizing production capacity and expanding the number of nurseries.

Advantages and disadvantages of a worm farm

Most worm farmers claim that earthworm farming as a business has no disadvantages. Starting with a small home farm, using an old refrigerator, cardboard box or plastic container as a nursery, you can master all the nuances and subtleties, building up a customer base. Over time, earthworm farming can be expanded, but this will require greater investment. However, statistics show that a worm farm passes the break-even point quite quickly, so worm farming with a business plan drawn up by a specialist can attract serious investment.

Starting with a home mini-farm, you can settle on a stable income, but the money collected from the sale of worms and fertilizers should be enough to open a more serious production.
In addition, breeding worms is very beneficial for the environment, because the fertilizers sold by breeders have a positive effect on the soil, as well as plant growth and increased yield. Today, entrepreneurs receive their main profit from growing worms for fishing, since summer residents do not yet know everything how to make compost correctly and what the role of the worm is in obtaining high-quality soil for growing vegetables.

By the way, a business based on worms can become a business in the form of an addition to the main one. Good luck!