Yes, those wiggly, squiggly, slimy things that are soooooo good for your garden. Worms are the most beneficial life form you can have in your soil. They consume large quantities of organic matter and soil particles. Their digestive system modifiys it into castings which has many uses. The tunnels they make help to supply air to the soil and allow plants to take up water and nutrients more readily. Adding organic matter to your soil will be an open invitation to worms.

Any earthworms are good for your soil, but if you are going to raise them, or use them for composting, specific types of worms are recommended. These are "compost" worms with such names as Red Wiggler, Red Hybrid or California Red. There are others that give the same results. These pampered worms thrive better in your compost and do poorly in your garden soil.

Raising worms to eat your garbage is a fairly easy thing to do. All you need is something for them to live in and food for them to eat. You can use a wooden box, a trash can, barrels, large plastic storage boxes or what ever you might have on hand. You can also purchase "worm bins". The bin needs drainage holes and has to be raised off the ground. You can accomplish this by setting your bin on bricks, wooden blocks, cinder blocks or tin cans. Put something under the drainage holes to catch the liquid. It has lots of nutrients in it and can be used to water your plants. A 1 X 2 X 3 box will take care of the food waste from a family of four.

Put the box someplace where it will be protected from freezing temperatures or over 85 degrees and out of direct sunlight. If your box is going to be outside, put a cover on it to keep out unwanted critters like cats, dogs, raccoons, rabbits and such. Fill the box with shredded newspapers (or any shredded paper), the little strips of computer paper torn off form fed printers, manure, compost or leaf mold. Add some worms, then dump in your garbage. One pound of worms will take care of 1/2 pound of garbage daily. The garbage you feed your worms is anything you eat except meat. The worms can digest the garbage easier if you run it through the blender first. Just put the garbage in the blender with a enough water to chop it up and pour it into the worm bin. The excess moisture will go out the drainage holes into the catch pans.

When the worms have eaten all the garbage it is time to harvest the castings. Simply move the bedding and worms to one side of the container. Add new bedding and garbage to the now empty side. The worms will migrate to the new food source and you can then remove the castings from the other side.

The worm castings sort of look like coffee grounds. These castings are several times richer then soil and have lots of good microorganisms in them. Use the castings on potted plants or flower beds as a top dressing. Add some to the holes you dig to plant flowers or vegetables. It can also be used as a medium for starting seeds. Put a handful in water and let them soak for 24 hours or so. Then use that water for your plants. Mix it into your finished compost.

If you don't want to raise worms, just bury the garbage in you compost pile.

These links are where to buy them, how to raise them, worm bins and things you may or may not want to know about the little critters.

The Wiggle Works
Cosmos Red Worms
The Happy D Ranch Worm Farm
Vermi Co.
Impact Worm Farm
Soil Solutions
Uncle Jim's Worm Farm
Yelm Earthworms and Castings Farm
Can-O-Worms
Worm World