I understand that European Nightcrawlers reach maturity and begin laying eggs at about 90 days from hatching, lay 1 to 2 pods a week which will hatch 4 to 20 worms per pod in 17 to 21 days (maintained at 65 to 75 degrees F.). Is this accurate? What are the maximum temperature extremes for happy European Nightcrawlers? Thanks.

-- Lee Shere (shere@snowcrest.net), December 18, 2001

Answers

Type ATTRA into your search engine, its a free service of the Dept. of Ag. and they have all the info.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), December 18, 2001.

Thanks for the response. I checked out the ATTRA site, but a site search for "European Nightcrawlers" yielded no matches. I did download their 8-page PDF file on vermicomposting but there is no detailed information on the life cycle and optimum conditions for European Nightcrawlers. I did find a list of websites... one of which indicated an acceptable pH of from 5 to 9! Isn't 6 to 7 more approiate?

-- Lee Shere (shere@snowcrest.net), December 19, 2001.

I meant "appropriate"...

-- Lee (shere@snowcrest.net), December 19, 2001.

Lee, we have a vermiculture catagory at the bottom of the answer page, a lot of good answers there already.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), December 19, 2001.

lee try the forum on my web site http://www.earlybirdwormfarm.com i raise and sell euro's

-- paul (wormfarmerone@yahoo.com), December 19, 2001.

Jay Blair is quite an expert on worm vermiculture, he might can help you with this and he posts quite frequently.

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), December 20, 2001.