The best reading, which starts out very basic, is "Worms Eat My Garbage". It will give you plenty of info to get started.

YOu may not be hapy with your nightcrawlers. Most worms found outdoors are not surface feeders. The dive deep and tunnel through the soil. THey probably wont seve you as well as the tiger worms and the eisenfoetids(spelling?) They are worms that would not survive outdoors over winter. they stay very close to the surface and feed there.

Also, the worms actuallly eat the tiny critters that feed on the garbage. The book I suggested goes over all the garbage feeders you want to attract to your bin. So, your garbage has to be available for a while before it can supply your worms with what they want to eat.

Your library probably has a copy of Worms Eat My Garbage. It has a wealth of information on vermiculture.

There is a wealth if infomation on this site about setting up a bin and looking after worms. Put aside some time and read, and read, and read, and read.

You can also google "compost worms" and that will keep you busy also.

Let us know how you go.

Marshall

Sorry, mate, but not only are they not the 'most desirable', they just wont do what you want, i.e. convert your kitchen scraps into compost.

You need compost worms for that.

If you want to keep your collection of worms alive, and watch them grow and multiply, I suggest you build a bottomless compost bin/heap and put them in that (bottomless so they can come and go as the pile heats up and cools down). You will also attract worm bin species.

Sounds like you are enjoying planning your garden, so you should be planning a compost pile. The worms in my compost pile are my "Wild Worm Friends". I like them almost as much as my worm bin ones.

Amazon has a couple of books on worms. Read the feedback to decide which one suits you. I have "The Worm Book" by Nancarrow.

Good luck.
Raphael in Australia

I should be more specific.
I've got compost, its going great guns. The worm idea is something run by me on the compost board as a way to use up more waste paper.
I HATE to spend money on anything, witness that my worm bins are reused strawberry containers. Thats the big reason for not buying worms.
Anyway the worms in my bins seem happy enough, I've poked down and found 'em and they squirm around like they did when I first pulled 'em out of the ground. I'll give 'em a week and if they start looking unhappy I'll put them back.

I think 63 is pretty cool. My bins are much more active in the summer when it warms up, so you might want to bring the critters outside at least for the summer. Don't put them in the direct sun, though.

If you finally break down and decide to purchase worms (breathe!), you might be able to pick up a couple of small containers of red worms at your local fishing store which wouldn't break the bank. They can proliferate from those small numbers. It should be a one-time purchase.

It really is a fun and interesting way to recycle your kitchen scraps, but I would encourage you to get the right worms. And get or borrow from the library Worms Eat My Garbage (Mary Appelhof, rest her soul).

Curt- I have worms here multiplying like crazy in my compost bin and garden. Had like 3-6" pure worm castings in the garden at the end of the summer.

I also shred up paper by hand and throw it in the compost or use it as mulch.

Moral of the story is- you can make an outdoor worm bin or sheet mulch and make them a great environment, use native worms, and not buy a thing. I had poor luck/skill at an actual worm bin.

I do have a good population of red wigglers, so later this spring/early summer you can come get some if you want.

Well its been a couple weeks. The worms at all the food I'd put in, so that seems to be a good sign. The big nightcrawlers I'd put in are gone. All thats left are little fellers. I haven't spent any time trying to identify them, we'd put cardboard on the garden and these are what we found right under the cardboard which was a worm haven.
The worms I did find (maybe half a dozen) seemed happy as any worm I've ever seen. They were pretty evenly distributed through the bin and squirmed a bit as I uncovered them.
So I stuck in some pieces of green pepper and covered 'em back up. I'll give 'em another week and see what happens.

I guess they can double in population every 2 months or so under ideal conditions. When the weather warms up a bit they'll be more active. Keep adding the ones that you can find, and feeding in pockets so that you can see what happens. If you don't have many- then feeding in pockets may have the added benefit of condensing the group for mating.

A little Barry White doesn't hurt either.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kick butt site on larger scale vermiculture/vermicomposting

LOL Barry White.
Actually the worm bin is in the basement underneith our bedroom. I wonder if I could get double duty from that Barry White recording...

Pablo--great link. Thanks.

Absolutely, productivity grinds to a halt while I read... My boss loves you.