Worm Farm

[Boo]

All

My father sadly passed away last week in spain where he has been living for the last decade, he was in the process of setting up a worm farm & the last 5 years were dedicated to this. He has a website set up (but not yet put on the web), bags printed with soil anaylsis information, thousands of litres of worm tea, & piles & piles of the worm meal, he never got to the point of actually selling anything beyond giving to neighbours for a few euros but I have been told that the tea will sell for 2 euros a litre (100baht) & am getting info through on the price for the meal once properly bagged. He has approx 5 large worm beds (with canadian wigglers) that are in a rotation but as I am an investment banker & my sister is in the metropolitan police, to say we know nothing about this & or how to keep it going is an understatement.

Rather than let the worms die or release them & waste all the effort my dad put in, one of his friends has approached us with a view to buying it (plus all his land but we aren't even considering that) & some organic farmers from another village have also expressed an interest too via the women who helped him set up the admin side of the business with the promise that they would keep the name, logos everythign as a kind of tribute to his work. She told us it is virtually ready to go & all he needed was a few local stores to sell on a sale or return basis & a bank account but he sadly got sick & had an embolism 22nd March so never saw it to the final event.

We luckily have a trusted someone already who has been helping dad (for salary) from day one & who is happy to keep it going for now but we really need to decide what to do with it soon as the worms can't be left indefinatley.

So the question is, does anyone know of any organisations I can approach to get a general idea on how much work the wiggly little bastards (WLB, my dads business name ) would need to be kept going if we had an overseaer or how much we should be expecting to get if we do sell?? My dad wanted us to keep it so if we can we will try but otherwise we will try to sell it as a going concern with an agreement to keep the names & logos so that it wasn't all in vain.

Any advice on this would be gratefully received as we have had a lot to take in this last week & to be caretakers for a shit load of worms in spain (plus 4 dogs, a horse & a bunch of semi feral cats, thank god for his neighbours!!!) is getting a bit overwhelming.

Cheers

[Beardog]

Hi Boo I contacted these 2 gentleman around June last year. They might be your best source of info on the farming forum!

Thanks for your mail. I do have some red wriggler now. HOw many kg of worms u like to start with ?

Rb

Hi Redbicycle,

I am not sure the last message sent. How many worms are in a kg. I used to farm nightcrawlers when I was a kid.......that was a long time ago!

could you send me some data about how many & how they come (shipping) & are they alive. I want to use them for fishing. I live near 2 lakes & I know fish usually love worms.I also have an4rai 2nahn parcel I bought & will use some worms for reproducing for the small kind orchard.

I leave for the U.S. tommorrow till July 13th & will contact you when I get back! If you PM till 11am tommorrow I can view the info.

Hi Barry

1kg=4000 worm approximately..... the price will include in your transportation and the worms is alive.

Rb

I think Jungle Biker is a worm grower also. If they don’t respond PM. Them . I am sure they can help you out if your trying to get started growing worms or using them for casings to grow with. Either of these 2 guys would probably be your best bet on worms.

Good luck

Barry

[Latis]

I am planning to start a small worm farm to compost waste on my very small farm in Ubon. Anyone know where I can buy worm eggs to get started?

[IsaanAussie]

Boo and Latis,

Welcome to the world of worms happy to help if I can.

Easy one first, Latis how about you come over to Sisaket on the 17th for our farmers get together (see farming forum) and we can get your organised with some worms and I'll show you how we go about it. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/489163-isaan-farmers-idea-exchange/

Boo, sorry for your loss. I have a small worm operation but have enough marketing experience to know that you have to get sales or it is just a money pit. Doesnt matter what it is. It seems that you have someone to take care of the worms for now, and you have buyers for the property and business so my advise would be to look for a market before making any decisions. Hire a market development resource if you cant do it yourself. There should be market size and descriptions from the Spainish Government available and interviewing the local farmers you should be able to determine the opportunities for all the possible products locally. Business plan is what you need. Again if you are close enough to me, you are welcome to attend the gathering.

Isaan Aussie

Edited September 6, 2011 by IsaanAussie

[WormFarmer]

I am planning to start a small worm farm to compost waste on my very small farm in Ubon. Anyone know where I can buy worm eggs to get started?

You could try my website, as listed in my profile. Also I'll be at IsaanAussie's place on 17/18 September, he got his first worms from me!

[andycrosby]

I am planning to start a small worm farm to compost waste on my very small farm in Ubon. Anyone know where I can buy worm eggs to get started?

You could try my website, as listed in my profile. Also I'll be at IsaanAussie's place on 17/18 September, he got his first worms from me!

SORRY are these worms not the same ones you can dig up from anywhere in Thailad or are they red worm, they as I remeber used to be the big seller back in the uk

[IsaanAussie]

AC,

They are red worms, not earth worms but surface dwelling compost worms.

IA

[WormFarmer]

SORRY are these worms not the same ones you can dig up from anywhere in Thailad or are they red worm, they as I remeber used to be the big seller back in the uk

Andy,

As IsaanAussie says these are compost worms which are NOT the sort you can just dig up anywhere in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter. If you check my website as suggested you will see we have three types of compost worms:

(i) Eudrilus eugeniae (common name: African nightcrawler);

(ii) Perionyx excavatus (common names: blue worm, Indian blue); and

(iii) Eisenia fetida (common names: redworm, tiger worm).

WF

[andycrosby]

SORRY are these worms not the same ones you can dig up from anywhere in Thailad or are they red worm, they as I remeber used to be the big seller back in the uk

Andy,

As IsaanAussie says these are compost worms which are NOT the sort you can just dig up anywhere in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter. If you check my website as suggested you will see we have three types of compost worms:

(i) Eudrilus eugeniae (common name: African nightcrawler);

(ii) Perionyx excavatus (common names: blue worm, Indian blue); and

(iii) Eisenia fetida (common names: redworm, tiger worm).

WF

ok one last question your red worm or they the type when they get handled give off a fowel smell. The reason I ask is I am looking for a good fishing worm I know some red worms do and some dont and I gess you guys are the right people to ask. What would you recomend as a fishing worm please dont say the ones you find here there rubbish

[andycrosby]

SORRY are these worms not the same ones you can dig up from anywhere in Thailad or are they red worm, they as I remeber used to be the big seller back in the uk

Andy,

As IsaanAussie says these are compost worms which are NOT the sort you can just dig up anywhere in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter. If you check my website as suggested you will see we have three types of compost worms:

(i) Eudrilus eugeniae (common name: African nightcrawler);

(ii) Perionyx excavatus (common names: blue worm, Indian blue); and

(iii) Eisenia fetida (common names: redworm, tiger worm).

WF

ok one last question your red worm or they the type when they get handled give off a fowel smell. The reason I ask is I am looking for a good fishing worm I know some red worms do and some dont and I gess you guys are the right people to ask. What would you recomend as a fishing worm please dont say the ones you find here there rubbish

[WormFarmer]

ok one last question your red worm or they the type when they get handled give off a fowel smell. The reason I ask is I am looking for a good fishing worm I know some red worms do and some dont and I gess you guys are the right people to ask. What would you recomend as a fishing worm please dont say the ones you find here there rubbish

Andy,

No our red worms do not give off a foul smell when handled, I have heard of this phenomena but never encountered it. Nevertheless they are quite active so should be good for fishing.

WF

[andycrosby]

ok ill build myself a box today and start up the factory , you talked me into it. Ill be in contact about a starter pack thanks chaps

[andycrosby]

ok ill build myself a box today and start up the factory , you talked me into it. Ill be in contact about a starter pack thanks chaps

[sanchin]

I For years I owned a large worm farm in Kanchanaburi but sadly had to close it down due to lack of funding. 6 weeks after I was on National radio and since must of recieved 500 calls easily requesting worms, compost, info etc. I still breed a few worms at the rear of the house and would like to start again on a commercial scale, if any one is interested please get in touch.

[IsaanAussie]

I For years I owned a large worm farm in Kanchanaburi but sadly had to close it down due to lack of funding. 6 weeks after I was on National radio and since must of recieved 500 calls easily requesting worms, compost, info etc. I still breed a few worms at the rear of the house and would like to start again on a commercial scale, if any one is interested please get in touch.

I hope you get someone interested. Out of personal interest can I ask what went wrong? I have a small worm farm which I am planning on expanding and to me the issue is getting a market as it is in most farming enterprises. In my case worms are very much an add-on but have proved to be a valueable one. In fact I would like to be able to use more myself but struggle to stay ahead of demand.

[WormFarmer]

I For years I owned a large worm farm in Kanchanaburi but sadly had to close it down due to lack of funding. 6 weeks after I was on National radio and since must of recieved 500 calls easily requesting worms, compost, info etc. I still breed a few worms at the rear of the house and would like to start again on a commercial scale, if any one is interested please get in touch.

Sanchin,

Do I know you by another name? We visited you in Kanchanaburi I believe.

WF

[redbicycle]

on

Dear all

I used to have a worm farm in various location when the demand in spain(80%) malaysia(15%)singapore (5%), the price i got used to be 3500 baht to 5000 baht per kg but there are tons of suppliers from china hei long jiang sell the worm @ 250 baht per kg i deceide to keep the business as hobby and service my customer in malaysia ........

Hi Boo I contacted these 2 gentleman around June last year. They might be your best source of info on the farming forum!

Thanks for your mail. I do have some red wriggler now. HOw many kg of worms u like to start with ?

Rb

Hi Redbicycle,

I am not sure the last message sent. How many worms are in a kg. I used to farm nightcrawlers when I was a kid.......that was a long time ago!

could you send me some data about how many & how they come (shipping) & are they alive. I want to use them for fishing. I live near 2 lakes & I know fish usually love worms.I also have an4rai 2nahn parcel I bought & will use some worms for reproducing for the small kind orchard.

I leave for the U.S. tommorrow till July 13th & will contact you when I get back! If you PM till 11am tommorrow I can view the info.

Hi Barry

1kg=4000 worm approximately..... the price will include in your transportation and the worms is alive.

Rb

I think Jungle Biker is a worm grower also. If they don’t respond PM. Them . I am sure they can help you out if your trying to get started growing worms or using them for casings to grow with. Either of these 2 guys would probably be your best bet on worms.

Good luck

Barry

[IsaanAussie]

I For years I owned a large worm farm in Kanchanaburi but sadly had to close it down due to lack of funding. 6 weeks after I was on National radio and since must of recieved 500 calls easily requesting worms, compost, info etc. I still breed a few worms at the rear of the house and would like to start again on a commercial scale, if any one is interested please get in touch.

Sanchin,

Do I know you by another name? We visited you in Kanchanaburi I believe.

WF

Hey WF,

Have we got a worm in our apple?

[cloghead]

More like a snake. Better not open this can of worms...

Edited October 24, 2011 by cloghead

[WormFarmer]

Hey WF,

Have we got a worm in our apple?

Hi IA,

Not really, I was just curious. I had contact with a chap in Kanchanaburi several years ago and we visited his worm farm there. Also met up with him in BKK. If it is the same guy he also contributed to several threads on this forum, but under a different name, so I was just wondering if it is the same chap as I don't think there were that many worm farms in Kanchanaburi. Maybe I should PM him, but he knows me and my TV name so if he sees this he'll answer.

Cheers, WF

[IsaanAussie]

Hey WF,

Have we got a worm in our apple?

Hi IA,

Not really, I was just curious. I had contact with a chap in Kanchanaburi several years ago and we visited his worm farm there. Also met up with him in BKK. If it is the same guy he also contributed to several threads on this forum, but under a different name, so I was just wondering if it is the same chap as I don't think there were that many worm farms in Kanchanaburi. Maybe I should PM him, but he knows me and my TV name so if he sees this he'll answer.

Cheers, WF

Let the curious cats and apples be. But this is news.

I have just changed feed for my worms. Yesterday I took up some advice I got from Vietnam and loaded a bed with high carbon composted pig manure. Unlike you I dont have any cows and I thought why not if it will save the few baht buying the cow manure. Well if 24 hours is any gauge it is the best thing I could do, the worms are into the pig leaving like I cannot believe. Admittedly there was little cow stuff left and a good number of worms were in the bedding layer. This morning every one is in the top inch and I have castings on the surface in a day.

Isaan Aussie

[WormFarmer]

I have just changed feed for my worms. Yesterday I took up some advice I got from Vietnam and loaded a bed with high carbon composted pig manure. Unlike you I dont have any cows and I thought why not if it will save the few baht buying the cow manure. Well if 24 hours is any gauge it is the best thing I could do, the worms are into the pig leaving like I cannot believe. Admittedly there was little cow stuff left and a good number of worms were in the bedding layer. This morning every one is in the top inch and I have castings on the surface in a day.

Isaan Aussie

IA - No surprises there, they'll eat any nice rich dung provided it's not still hot, I always thought that it was intention anyway to feed them composted pig manure and I was surprised when I saw you giving them cow manure. So good for you, long may your worms eat, multiply and <deleted>.

Cheers WF

Edited October 25, 2011 by WormFarmer

[IsaanAussie]

WF,

I am no scientist but the difference between ruminants and pigs is obvious even to me. I have read heaps about the dangers of using pig manure with worms, the heat generation cycle being insignificant to the pathogen issues. I made up a small test bed early on and fed it with raw pig manure. The answer didnt take long, worms left faster than the current Bangkok flood exodus. They like my orginal 30:1 pig compost bedding and breed well, but what I am using now is a much higher manure content, and balanced with burnt rice hulls with very little if anything else. Past the thermophyllic stage though. The objective here is maximising the nitrogen content of the compost. The cost is a reduction in compost volume output.

We will see what the result is but the basic research indicates I should maximise the throughput of the worms and the NPK values of the worm castings. If this works I will be pelletising the castings rather than screening them. No way am I going to loose the carbon content from the biochar.

[WormFarmer]

IA - I too am no scientist, but I read a lot about theories that worms destroy the pathogens you can find in manure. As far as I know the main risk of pathogens is to whoever is handling the manure BEFORE it gets to the worms. I agree too that feeding fresh manure of any sort will send the worms away because of the heat generated, but after washing and composting any manure should be good for them. Lightening a bit with rice husks will help too. With cow manure we let it compost and sometimes mix in race grass if it is not already there from the cowsheds. We have tried using dessicated cocoanut husks to lighten the manure a bit but find that the worms have eaten all the cow manure, turned it to wormcast and moved on before eating the more indigestible cocoanut husk even though we shred it. We have more or less abandoned that idea and are using the shredders to shred banana trees and leaves (we have many banana trees which once they have produced a crop are surplus to requirement and come down to make room for their babies). The worms seem to like it if we spread the resulting pulp in lines on the surface of the beds.

[IsaanAussie]

WF,

Agree with all of what you have said. I didnt explain the pathogen issue very well. Its not the worms that are at risk it is the pigs.

[sanchin]

Still here, still trying. Open to the critics. I used to use syduan as my user name, it's a long story but anyone is welcome to contact me on [email protected] if they wish to do so.

Hey WF,

Have we got a worm in our apple?

Hi IA,

Not really, I was just curious. I had contact with a chap in Kanchanaburi several years ago and we visited his worm farm there. Also met up with him in BKK. If it is the same guy he also contributed to several threads on this forum, but under a different name, so I was just wondering if it is the same chap as I don't think there were that many worm farms in Kanchanaburi. Maybe I should PM him, but he knows me and my TV name so if he sees this he'll answer.

Cheers, WF

Let the curious cats and apples be. But this is news.

I have just changed feed for my worms. Yesterday I took up some advice I got from Vietnam and loaded a bed with high carbon composted pig manure. Unlike you I dont have any cows and I thought why not if it will save the few baht buying the cow manure. Well if 24 hours is any gauge it is the best thing I could do, the worms are into the pig leaving like I cannot believe. Admittedly there was little cow stuff left and a good number of worms were in the bedding layer. This morning every one is in the top inch and I have castings on the surface in a day.

Isaan Aussie

[WormFarmer]

WF,

Agree with all of what you have said. I didnt explain the pathogen issue very well. Its not the worms that are at risk it is the pigs.

IA - why are the pigs at risk from pathogens in their manure, that's a bit late isn't it, I mean it (the manure) has already gone from them?. Or do you mean that they are at risk because your worm beds are in your pig-palace so the manure and it's contained pathogens remain in close proximity to the pigs?

Apart from that I see Sanchin has replied, it was the chap I thought it was, whom I met in Kanchanaburi so I'll email him separately.