Full Grown Malaysian Blue Worm - Perionyx excavatus

Ever wondered how big a blue worm, perionyx excavatus can grown up to? Take a look at our video below and be amazed at how big these worms can grow.

Happy Composting people!

For more enquiries do contact us at +65 9386 4388 

Worm Diet Part 2

A continuation from our first part on worm diet can be found here

Recently we decided to give our worms a better treat, and guess what we decided to feed the worms now?

Dragon Fruit Peels

Yeap! We were quite amazed to find that the worms actually eat the dragon fruit peels , of course we eat the fillings :) , rather quickly. We do hope that it was not because of they were bored of the normal diet though!

Some of you may think that your worms eat rather slowly, but we found out that they tend to consume food that are easily digestible. Dragon fruit skins are very soft and hence possibly very easily digestible by our worms. So in the mean time if you are thinking of what to feed your worms, try dragon fruit skin. Well the only problem would be that your grocery expenses may start to escalate!

So tell us about your experience in the comments section below! 

Till then,

Happy composting!

How the Worm Factory 360 works

This is a short video on how the Worm Factory 360 works.

 

For more info, visit our International Page to purchase. Happy composting!

For more enquiries, call us +65 9386 4388

Worm Factory 360 Available Internationally!

• Suitable for HDB, Apartments and Landed Property
• Multi-tier system for efficient waste recycling
• Simple to use design
• Odorless and clean, suitable for all homes
• Designed for easy harvesting of worm castings and worm tea (leachate)
• Able to house up to 20,000 composting worms
• Keeps pests and insects away

Introducing the Worm Factory 360. We are pleased to announced that we are now partners with Amazon and hence able to bring the Worm Factory 360 to your home now! Good news to Singapore customers as now Amazon ships it here! 

For more info, you can view the product here, in our International Product page. 

As for the composting worms, you can purchase it from us. 

For more enquiries, call us +65 9386 4388

What to feed your worms?

Often many queries that we received from our customers would be, " What should we feed our worms?" Or " What waste will the blue worms eat the fastest?". We have already written an article over here but this time round this post will be a little more light hearted.

One of our worms' favourite diet would be red apples. As mentioned previously, " An apple a day, keeps a worm happy :)"

This is certainly not true if all our apples are eaten this way. 



For us, we always like to have the thought that no food shall go to waste and thus we feed mainly apple cores to our worm bin. We do believe that most average people, actually eat apples with their cores intake. After all, what is wrong by eating that way? We do get more worm castings and not to mention worm tea.

For more enquiries, call us +65 9386 4388

Worm Leachate is an Excellent Garden Fertilizer

Worm leachate is a liquid produced naturally in the worm composting process. Worm compost has an extremely high level of microscopic activity within it and it contains a large amount of microscopic bacteria breaking down your waste within the compost bin. The level of microbes and microbial activity within the worm bin is extremely high, far exceeding the levels found in normal soil, by 10 to 20 times. When liquid is passed through the worm bin, it mixes with the microbes and the resultant by product liquid is called leachate. Leachate is more commonly known as Worm Tea or Compost Tea, all referring to the same by-product of a liquid collected at the bottom of the worm bin.

Leachate is commonly collected 1-2 months after setting up your compost bin. While you may experience some liquid collection in the first few weeks, it is advisable to pour it back into the compost bin. After all, reintroducing additional microbes into the bin does no harm and all good! However, after the worm bin has ‘stabilized’ and the worms are doing their job with much efficiency, you can start collecting the Worm Tea which can be put to many uses.

Worm Tea as mentioned, contains a very high concentration of microbial activity. This is usually in excess of what plants require. To get the most out of this precious worm leachate, consider diluting it with tap water. The Compost Tea can be used as a fertilizer by applying it directly to the soil, or it can be used as a pesticide by spraying it on the plants leaves.  This will prevent insects and other unwanted garden pests from infecting your plants with diseases and eating its leaves.

Usually, self-made home compost bins are unable to collect such worm leachate as there isn’t a specialized way to harvest this useful garden liquid fertilizer. However, you can still attempt to do so by drilling holes at the bottom of your home-made worm bin. Put a tray beneath it and the dark brown liquid that you will find there is Worm Tea! For a more fuss-free way of collecting worm leachate though, use a specialized worm composting bin like the Can-O-Worms of the VermiHut. Each of these systems has a liquid storage compartment and a tap attached to it. To collect the Compost Tea, simply turn the tap and you can start using it on your plants instantly

Adopted from our website, www.worm-compost-bins.com

For enquiries contact us + 65 9386 4388

Worms are Hermaphrodites

Not many people know what is the meaning of hermaphrodites. Hermaphrodites means that one possesses both male and female organs. All worms are hermaphrodites. This is means you will only require two worms to breed and make many more babies.

Each mating partner produces a capsule (sometimes called a pod/cocoon)  or egg. Two of the species mentioned in this blog are the red worms (tigers) and blue worms. Tigers always require two worms to reproduce. The blue worms wherever, can reproduce on their own. Some claim that they have never seen two blue worms coupling and it seems like the blues are permanently parthenogenetic.

This means that when a blue worms had reached sexual maturity, it will start to reproduce on its own. How amazing is that!! Unlike other worms, no time is wasted in pre-mating courtship or finding a mate of the same species etc. This is one of the main reasons the blue worms are such great breeders!! give them a try and the next thing you need to worry is to build another worm farm. As mentioned in the precious post, they are ferocious eaters and can be great composters. 

Call us now for enquiries +65 9386 4388

Baby Composting Worm

Took a video on a baby composting worm. Trust me they can actually be way smaller. Hope it is clear. It's a Malaysian blue worm or Perionyx Excavatus. Stay tuned for more articles on how to breed your worms right. Meanwhile, enjoy the short video.


 

For more enquiries, call us at +65 9386 4388 

Malaysian Blue Worms - Perionyx Excavatus

The blue worms or perionyx excavatus orginal home stretches from the Himalaya Mountains into the lowlands of Malaysia. Till today, some are still debating whether there are some in Singapore. Nevertheless, these worms are more commonly know as the Malaysian Blue Worms. They operate efficiently in a fairly wide range of warm temperatures and moisture levels.

Having know that they orignate from Malaysia, they are more suited for the tropical climate. They prefer very moist conditions and often seek for dark areas. In Malaysia, they have been found in jungle treetops during tropical downpours. They are mostly happy to stay in the worm beds, where there is ample of food, and trust me they breed like crazy. I personally have found them to be a very versatile worm and the most valuable type to me. If you are looking to have the fastest breeding rate, try the blue worms for yourself.  Do note that when well fed and given loads of love, they will reciprocate by breeding a tonne for you :)

The blue worms display four distinct type of colours at different stages of sexual maturity. They also display a fifth type of colour when approaching full body size. Once the perionyx excavatus reach a length of about 7.5cm. they begin to phosphoresce a deep blue/purple on exposure to light. This is why they are called the blue worms and not because they are blue in colour. As their size continue to increase, so does their degree of phosphoresce so that at their full size (15 cm contracted and 20 cm stretched out) they flash a regal purple. They are really beautiful.

Besides great composters, they are also often used as fishing bait. This is because when hooked, the blue worms will be flipping about on the hook and thus attract attention. Give it a try today!

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Vermicomposting - Worms consuming apple

A short clip on our red worms eating an apple. Reducing waste via vermicomposting is the way to go!! try it out today!




Call us at + 65 9386 4388 if you are interested in vermicomposting!

Red Worms - Eisenia fetida/doetida

The Tigers orginally originated from Europe. They are often called Brandlings in Europe and Redworms in America. Thier scientific name would be Eisenia fetida. They are rusty in colour with a distinct brownish tinge.

The Red Worms are surface dwellers. This means they naturally tend to go to the surface area of forest litter or thicker green grass. Because of their surface dwelling nature, they often make good bird food and fish food after a heavy rain. Some of you may notice that after a heavy downpour, there may be some worms crawling on the surface of your pavement. Those worms are the red worms. Besides that, they develop a very interesting defence mechanism when under threat. Often they emit a foul smelling and tasting liquid. Hence they do not make good fishing bait because the fishes tend to avoid them and even spit them out. Some may say that any catch using the red worms is simply luck as it is bad for the fish and good for the fisher.

Once common misconception would be that the red worms are often confused with their close relative Eisenia fetida andrei. Their relative, differs in a bloody red colour and has not clear bands or rings.  In Australia, they are now more know as teh Red Tigers. To simply things, let's just call them the Tigers. One feature to distinguish the two would be the tip of the E.fetida andrei tail is often yellow.

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Red Worms in Worm Composting

Red worms, or Eisenia foetida, are a species of earthworms that are adapted to survive in decaying environment. This is unlike the other species of earthworms, which are more suited to live in common soil. In another words, Eisenia foetida are the species of worms most cut out for the job to produce worm castings!

So, how do red worms actually convert organic waste to castings? Red worms do so through a process known as composting. These composting worms would eat and digest the organic decaying matter that is available to them, and the ‘poo’ that is pass out is known as worm castings. Thus, you could see how easy it is to do worm composting, as the red worms would do everything for us! Our task is to provide a proper and suitable environment for the worms to live, reproduce, and thrive in.

Red worms are hermaphroditic, which means that the worm has no sexes, and each worm have both male and female organs. However, it still requires two worms to reproduce. Each pair of worms produces white cocoons that contain many eggs, which would later turn brown when a few worms hatch from their eggs. Do not worry about red worms reproducing too much, as they reproduce according to the amount of space they have. If the population is overcrowded, they will simply stop laying eggs.

Red worms’ form of defense mechanism is to produce a pungent liquid when threatened. Therefore, when roughly handled by humans, they may release this pungent liquid to ward off predators. To humans however, this pungent liquid is barely noticeable and will not cause any odor issues within the home.

Red worms are native to Europe, but have been brought to other parts of the world, including Singapore. Companies like us breed red worms for sale for people who have a heart for nature and would like to do their part in recycling.

Do contact us for more information if you would like to purchase red worms for your composting purposes.

Worm Diet

How do we keep our worms happy and healthy? The saying goes, "An Apple a day keeps the doctor away" but in this case, " An apple a day, keeps a worm happy :)"

One of the most common misconceptions are that compost worms are able to compost any organic material. This is however not true because worms, just like us humans, are also living beings and their diet must be carefully taken care.

I normally feed my worms vegetables and fruit peels. This is by far the best way to keep them alive and happy! Vegetable left overs are an excellent diet for the blue worms as they do not attract fruit flies. Almost all vegetables are suitable for the worms. Tubers such as onions and garlic,however, are not suitable to be fed to the worms

Fruits on the other hand, is otherwise. Acidic fruits such as orange peels, pineapples, lemon and etc are a big no no for the worms. This is because worms dislike them and will not compost the above. Apples is a good choice and trust me, the worms love the apple cores the best. Watermelons on the other hand, provide a good amount of water content in the worm bin.

Other daily wastes such as coffee grinds and tea bags are also suitable to be fed to the worms. Coffee grinds however must be left isolated for a week or more for the alkaline content to be reduced. Cooked and oily food should be avoided at all means. This is because the worms do not compost the cooked food and it will most likely kill them. Besides that, feeding cooked food to the worms encourages maggots and other pest. This will also make the food rot and eventually emitted a very foul smell. You probably don't want your backyard to stink!

Remember, a happy worm is a happy you ;)

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Worm Composting

Composting is the process of breaking down organic matter through aerobic decomposition. This form of decomposition makes use of bacteria, heat and oxygen to decompose plants, leaves, wood, paper, animal dung and other forms of organic matter. Worm composting therefore is composting with the aid of composting worms. This is also known as vermicomposting or vermiculture. The advantage of vermicomposting over that without the use of composting worms is that the worms speed up the composting process. However, composting can at times be as fast, if not faster than vermiculture under optimum conditions. This is usually only achieved in industries that specializes in making organic compost for sale.

For the home garden purposes, worm composting will almost certainly be faster in producing compost. There are three main types of worms that are suitable for worm composting. In layman terms, they can either be classified as ‘red worms’ or ‘blue worms’. The red worms consist of two species, the Red wigglers (Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei) and the European Nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis). The blue worms (Perionyx excavatus) are known either as Indian blue worms or Malaysian blue worms. Blue worms are more suitable for tropical countries as they live and thrive in temperatures between 20 – 35 degrees Celsius (70 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit).

All these composting worms belong to the earthworm family, and as such are hermaphrodites. Each worm has both the male and female reproductive organs. Hermaphrodites do not have males or females, but simply mate with one another to reproduce. Each cocoon produced contains about 5-6 eggs on average, depending on the environment and diet of the worms.

Worm composting is a very simple and eco friendly project that everyone can adopt. The main tools required are simply a worm bin to house the worms, the worm themselves of course, food to feed the worms, and knowledge on how to ensure that are constantly producing compost, also known as worm castings, for you. You will also be interested in knowing how to breed your worms so that your worm population can multiply and your worm farm can work at its optimum capacity.

One common question asked is do worms breed to fast, resulting in an overpopulation scenario? The answer is that worms know how to regulate their population in terms of the space and food available to them. If conditions are not suitable for a larger worm population, they will not reproduce.  Therefore, you do not have to worry about an overflowing worm bin! What you are likely to have instead is a very active worm farm continuously converting your waste products to useful castings that can be used as a fertilizer for your garden and potted plants.

Call us now +65 9386 4388

Free Delivery Islandwide

Worm Composting

Composting is the process of breaking down organic matter through aerobic decomposition. This form of decomposition makes use of bacteria, heat and oxygen to decompose plants, leaves, wood, paper, animal dung and other forms of organic matter. Worm composting therefore is composting with the aid of composting worms. This is also known as vermicomposting or vermiculture. The advantage of vermicomposting over that without the use of composting worms is that the worms speed up the composting process. However, composting can at times be as fast, if not faster than vermiculture under optimum conditions. This is usually only achieved in industries that specializes in making organic compost for sale.

For the home garden purposes, worm composting will almost certainly be faster in producing compost. There are three main types of worms that are suitable for worm composting. In layman terms, they can either be classified as ‘red worms’ or ‘blue worms’. The red worms consist of two species, the Red wigglers (Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei) and the European Nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis). The blue worms (Perionyx excavatus) are known either as Indian blue worms or Malaysian blue worms. Blue worms are more suitable for tropical countries as they live and thrive in temperatures between 20 – 35 degrees Celsius (70 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit).

All these composting worms belong to the earthworm family, and as such are hermaphrodites. Each worm has both the male and female reproductive organs. Hermaphrodites do not have males or females, but simply mate with one another to reproduce. Each cocoon produced contains about 5-6 eggs on average, depending on the environment and diet of the worms.

Worm composting is a very simple and eco friendly project that everyone can adopt. The main tools required are simply a worm bin to house the worms, the worm themselves of course, food to feed the worms, and knowledge on how to ensure that are constantly producing compost, also known as worm castings, for you. You will also be interested in knowing how to breed your worms so that your worm population can multiply and your worm farm can work at its optimum capacity.

One common question asked is do worms breed to fast, resulting in an overpopulation scenario? The answer is that worms know how to regulate their population in terms of the space and food available to them. If conditions are not suitable for a larger worm population, they will not reproduce.  Therefore, you do not have to worry about an overflowing worm bin! What you are likely to have instead is a very active worm farm continuously converting your waste products to useful castings that can be used as a fertilizer for your garden and potted plants.

Can O Worms

• Suitable for HDB, Apartments and Landed Property
• Multi-tier system for efficient waste recycling
• Simple to use design
• Odorless and clean, suitable for all homes
• Designed for easy harvesting of worm castings and worm tea (leachate)
• Able to house up to 20,000 composting worms
• Keeps pests and insects away
• Awarded Australian Design Award

CALL US TODAY: +65 9386 4388

Blue Worms For Sale – Free Delivery Islandwide

BLUE WORMS FOR SALE

FREE DELIVERY ISLANDWIDE

CALL US TODAY: +65 9386 4388

• Compose any waste into fertilzers/worm castings!
• Newspapers, Vegetable/fruit peels, leaves,tea bags etc
• Suitable for Singapore climates and HDB homes

Price: 500g for S$125

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Worm Composting Survival Guide Part 2

Continuing from the previous article,  another reason why worms tend to crawl out of the compost bin is due to,

2) Lack of food

Common assumption: These compost worms are able to feed on the bedding material and hence we don't need to feed them any waste.

Solution: Composting worms are just like any other living organisms. They require the basic necessities such as air,water and food. Yes it is true to a certain extend that the worms are able to survive on the bedding material for a few days but this doesn't give us an excuse not to feed them. After all, it's an easy task. Remember, do feed your worms regularly with appropriate food :)

3) Bedding material too damp/dry

Solution: If the bedding material is too damp, drill tiny holes at the bottom of your compost bin to drain the excess water. If you do notice that the worms tend to get a little more active during rainy days? This is because their sensitive nature is able to detect the slightest change in humidity and temperature.

If bedding material is too dry, just sprinkle some water over them. You don't want to drown your worms and upset their environment do you?

Coming up next, what to feed and not to feed your worms!

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Composting Worms Survival Guide

We have been acquiring a lot of enquiries recently on how to handle composting worms and the next few posts will be a short and quick reminder on how we keep our worms healthy and alive!
One of the common feedback we often get is, " My worms seems to be very crawling out of my composting bin often, what should I do?"


First things first, we must always try to understand our worms. Worms are living creatures and they will tend to get uneasy if their environment is not suitable/good. Remember they are sensitive creatures and should be given adequate attention as well.

On of the main reasons why the worms keep crawling out of their habitat is because their environment is not suitable. This could due to

1) Lack of oxygen in the compost bin.
Assumption: Like all living organisms, worms need oxygen to survive as well. Some may debate that they are able to live under the soil hence the need of oxygen is less which  is often a misconception. Worms need a similar supply of oxygen as we do. However, they are able to extract their oxygen efficiently from what we would find to be a very uncomfortable environment, like soil. This is because  their blood's haemoglobin has a much greater affinity for oxygen than humans and hence, able to cope with much lower oxygen levels.

Solution:Drill more holes on your compost bins to create more ventilation and aeration in your compost bin. You can also put your compost bin in a cooler/windy place. Alternatively, you can place a damp sheet of newspaper/cloth, something organic, over your worm bedding

Damp newspapers to keep your worms breeding and alive!

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