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.
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Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Thursday, 27 December 2012
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!
Call us at +65 9386 4388
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!
Call us at +65 9386 4388
Monday, 3 December 2012
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!
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.
Contact us now +65 9386 4388
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.
Contact us now +65 9386 4388
Thursday, 8 November 2012
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.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
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 ;)
Call us today +65 9386 4388
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 ;)
Call us today +65 9386 4388
Monday, 24 October 2011
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.
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
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