Well… Not me personally mind you, but rather my grow beds. 🙂
The addition of earthworms (many refer to them as red worms) to aquaponic grow beds is nothing new. Folks have been doing this for quite some time really. In addition to bacteria, the worms provide another layer of decomposition. They help to recycle much of the organic waste that makes its way into the grow beds. Whether it’s plant detritus, uneaten fish food, or fish waste, these worms devour and help to break it down further. This means more bio-available nutrients for the plants in a shorter time. Now, there are systems out there that use filters in order to remove organic waste, but I always liked the idea of using living creatures instead. More of a holistic approach you see. Less waste. These worms will eventually reproduce, which means more recycling ability. It also means there will be extra that you may then harvest in order to feed your own fish, or take to your favorite body of water and feed the fish there, which will in turn feed you. 😉
So then, it was only after much deliberation as to whether or not it was truly worth it, that I decided to go ahead and try it myself. Of course, finding worms in the middle of a Minnesota winter is not as easy as you might think, so that played into my hesitancy a bit as well. It was only after a routine trip to what some would describe as my home away from home, Fins and Friends, that I encountered containers of earthworms in the middle of winter. Nice big, red, and juicy ones at that.
At the time of this writing, the price is currently $4.99 per container.
Now there are plenty of videos out there showing how to add worms to grow beds, but there’s always room for one more. As you will probably notice, this was not the first take. More like the third or fourth. Fifth? I can’t recall. Anyway, it demonstrates how ridiculously simple it is to add worms to grow beds. Mildly entertaining too.