Raising Earthworms to Feed the Flock
At least since Charles Darwin's The Formation Of Vegetable Mould, we have understood how vital earthworms are in most of the world's ecologies. They are tillers of the soil, converters of dead plants and animals into new soil, and are fed on by countless other animals in the ecology. Harnessing this useful and amazing animal opens up many possibilities on the homestead.
Most of the soil practices I discuss elsewhere on the site—minimizing tillage, mulches, cover crops, etc.—are conducive to high populations of earthworms in garden and orchard soil. It is possible, however, to cultivate earthworms as a separate enterprise, in order to manage organic residues (manures, kitchen wastes), produce castings (earthworm poops) as a source of garden fertility, and obtain a source of live food for our poultry.
I experimented with a 3x4-ft “worms eat my garbage” type worm bin for about four years, before deciding to scale up. A year and a half ago, I redesigned the greenhouse to include two 8x8-ft chicken pens for overwintering chickens, and 160 sq ft of earthworm bins (plus an additional 128 sq ft in the summer, when the chooks are not in residence). Sheltered by the greenhouse, the vermicomposting continues uninterrupted in the winter. The worms are converting “pony poop” by the pickup truckload to castings. And I have begun regular feedings of worms to my chickens.
I'm excited about these developments, and plan an article describing my setup and earthworm management. I'll share it with you as soon as I can. ~February 2007