Sorry, about the misspelling!

I do "catch-and-release" vermicomposting using worms from my garden. This time of year I let a few small night crawlers hang out in my bins, but I do pick them out and put them to work in the garden as soon as the weather warms. The smaller redworms (L. rubellus) make great bin worms year round.

Night crawlers prefer living free, where they can build their galleries and enrich the subsoil. Keeping some captives so you'll have fish bait is practical, but the crawlers' best talents are wasted if you don't let them work the subsoil.

As for mixing species, there is some evidence that having closely related species in the same area (for ex., night crawlers and redworms) increases overall reproductive rates. However, these are somewhat natural communities, so that trend may not apply if you are using tiger worms or another "cultivated" species.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

bcomplx,

Okay, I'll release my nightcrawlers in my garden I only have about a dozen of them. So they primarily work on the subsoil, huh?

Really depends on what kind of nightcrawlers you have. There are a number of types. Canadians will not do well in a redwiggler bin as they like cooler temps than reds and don't like their burrows disturbed. Africans and Europeans would probably do ok.

I'm not sure what kind of nightcrawlers I have. I bought them at a local convience store sold as bait. I've decided to put the nightcrawlers in my garden.

Night crawlers can survive with red worms, but, need much more space, and they like soil. Something must indoor worm bins don't have
Telling what kind you have, well, size would be the first clue, canadains are somewhat larger, than their american cousin's, perhaps a little darker, than our garden variety crawlers.
But, by in large they do their best out in the lawns and flower bed's. I believe the american variety reproduces quicker, as well.
My rule of thumb, is the worm count per cubic foot of soil, this can vary from only a few (poor soil), to fourty-fifty, very good soil, and best growing soil. The grass will be very hardy, at this count, and more resistant to weed invasion. As a side note, your castings, from the red worms, makes a great 'worm tea', or hydroponic tea, for lawn application.
If, you want to see a really large earthworm, then the African earthworm is really large and looks flater, along with dark markings. how they get along with other varieties, hard to know for sure. The first african, I ever saw, I thought it was a small snake, until further examination, streched out, it had to be at least 13 inches long. Kind of ugly, too.

budlawry,

Thanks, for the information. I look forward to my worm tea.

Dean