Practical Techniques for Rapid Earthworm Breeding in the Courtyard

The earthworm is a high-quality animal protein supplement feed; its fresh body contains 12%-20% protein, and its dry body contains 50%-70% protein, of which the effective amino acid content reaches 58%-62%. Breeding earthworms in the courtyard offers abundant resources, a suitable environment, and convenient management.

1. Living habits of the earthworm. Earthworms like moisture, warmth, and quiet, and fear light and salt. The suitable temperature is 15-25 degrees; after the humidity becomes 60%-70%, the pH value is 6.5-7.5. Earthworms are omnivorous animals; they like eating sweet, sour, and salty food, and they dislike bitter things. Earthworms are hermaphroditic and cross-fertilize with other individuals; they generally reach sexual maturity at 4-6 months of age, can lay eggs 3-4 times a year, and live 1-3 years.

2. Collection of seed earthworms. There are many collection methods: manual digging; capturing them by pouring water at the cave openings and before dawn in the early morning when the earthworms come out of their holes and have not yet returned; and also methods such as catching by spraying chemicals and luring them out with heaped material. For catching by spraying chemicals, the chemicals used are 1.5% potassium permanganate solution or 0.55% formalin solution, and the amount used is 14 liters of chemical solution per square meter.

3. Earth-pit breeding method. Use the field edges and corners in front of and behind the house for breeding. Dig a breeding pit 100-130 cm long and wide and 33-50 cm deep. Line the surroundings of the pit with plastic sheeting. Feed, fertile soil, and the like can be placed in layers, mixed in, or made into block feed for spot feeding. The stocking density of earthworms is 500-750 worms per square meter, and they should be placed at multiple points.

4. Earth-trench breeding method. Near a pig farm, chicken farm, or fish pond, dig a trench 50-60 cm wide and 22-50 cm deep; spread a 10 cm thick layer of soil and pond-mud-like material on the bottom of the trench; add a layer of poultry and livestock manure or heating materials such as chaff, wood shavings, sawdust, and garbage on top; then add another layer of fertile soil; afterward place various organic matter and feed in layers. Put about 500 earthworms per square meter, and place them in sections; keep the density appropriate and maintain spacing.

5. Mixed breeding method. In a flat, moist place, collect and heap the raw materials for making compost, such as weeds, fine soil, straw, garbage, and human and livestock manure. After the compost heap ferments and decomposes, put 300-500 earthworms into each square meter of compost on average.

6. Wooden-box breeding method. Use wooden boards 1 cm thick to make a wooden box 50-60 cm long, 30-40 cm wide, and 25-35 cm high. Spread relatively thin fertile soil on the upper and lower layers of the box, with various feed materials rich in organic matter sandwiched in the middle. The suitable stocking density is 500-800 earthworms per cubic meter of soil. Clean out the excrement once every 40-60 days, and avoid the egg-laying and hatching period.

7. Methods for harvesting earthworms. When using earth pits, cement pits, and the like to breed earthworms, generally harvest in a certain order, at fixed intervals, and in cycles; when using earth trenches and the mixed-compost feeding method to breed earthworms, before harvesting, roughly divide the earth trench or compost heap into several portions according to the needed quantity of earthworms, and harvest in sections as needed; when breeding in wooden boxes or bamboo baskets, generally harvest box by box and basket by basket in turn.