Should be able to pick worms this week

[bbfrogger]

They were out either Wed or Thursday evening at my house when I checked, but I didn't have my worm boxes ready yet so I passed- now 5" of snow later I wish I had picked, but this week should take care of the snow and we should be ready to get them  !!  :-)

[Raquettedacker]

Not in my yard..     

[gotagetm]

i dont have a flake of snow in my lawn ,so wet cant even walk in it without sinking, im sure theyll be out here esp in my garden

[skinny40]

Ive got the old coon hunting headlamp charged up and im ready to go. I got a new farm field to try. Its tilled up so nice the worms should pull right out. Some heavy mud boots for sure. Use to catch them for fun. Now i catch them cause i have to. Cant afford to pay the price in the store anymore.

[bbfrogger]

'Dacker - yikes - thats not good !!  I'm the same way Skinny - I usually pick about 500-600 early and it lasts me a good part of the summer. Saves a good chunk of money.  I'm sure I can afford to buy them but when it comes to stuff like that it burns my butt to pay for something that I can get for free in my yard with a little effort.

[fishinjohn]

Last year was the first year in a long time I didnt pick my own..AND I shouldve!  I used almost 2 flats of crawlers and that's over $100 JUST for bait... lol
I'll be picking as soon as I see those tell tale holes in the yard suggestion are out

[gotagetm]

Yea I'll be out this week last year me and wife used  ALOT of crawlers on harnesses, I didn't pic my self
We were buying 4-5 containers of 18 several times a week for Erie

[bbfrogger]

No it isn't prime time yet at my house either - I like to pick them as early in the season as I can, before the grass gets too high and makes it hard to see them, and before I have to stay up till 11 pm to go out and get them.  And yes I know, I am getting old.  hahaha

[Raquettedacker]

Whats the best color light for  you guys? 

[gotagetm]

I just use my white headlamp it has 5 brightness settings usually use it on lowest setting

[fishinjohn]

Sooo.... I've experimented some in past years with different lighting... I've come to use my headlamp that has a red bulb in it.. it takes a little while to get used to seeing the crawlers as they dont stick out as well..HOWEVER.. they dont scare off with the red light which makes it a little easier

[Raquettedacker]

Me to John, my head lamp has white, green and red..   Red works best for me...   

[icefisher47]

How do you store the worms for the season?

[rgfixit]

I store mine in a plastic bin. The top bin has small holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. It sits inside another that catches any liquid. They stay on the floor in the basement and last most of the summer with a little feeding. I mix compost with last fall's partially composted leaves for bedding. Check it regularly and remove any dead or bad looking worms. Add compost as needed. They reduce it to really good worm compost in short order. I routinely use that compost to fertilize my house plants.

I harvest most of mine at the park where I walk in the early morning. After a nice rain the road and parking lot are full of them. No lights for me. But when I did use a light, red was the most effective.

Rg

[bbfrogger]

How do you store the worms for the season?

I have some decent sized styrofoam containers - from Omaha steaks - I put about a 2 inch layer of compost in the bottom them pack the rest with as many old damp/wet leaves from last year that will fit, and put a few layers of wet newspaper on top.  I limit the containers to about 250-300 worms each and fed them coffee grounds and filters during the year. A few times a year I have to add more leaves.  I cut about a 2-3" hole in the top of the cover and put a fine mesh screen over the top of the hole to allow the whole mess to breath, and so the worms can't get out - I found if I don't do that it stays too wet and gets moldy and I lose the worms at times.  Of course keeping them cool is key - I keep them in our cellar or under our camp which is cool just about all year even in hot weather.  I have a ton of small worms in the boxes by the end of the season - they breed like crazy in that environment.  Possibly because of the coffee (caffeine), I have the liveliest worms I've even seen - even the vibrations from pulling the box across the floor freaks them out - don't even have to search for them in the box - they come boiling to the top - hahaha.  ** Modified ***  I just read rgfixits post - sounds like he and I have a similar system.....