Uncle Jim's Worm Farm 500 Count Red Wiggler Composting Worms Mix for Garden Soil or Fishing | Starter Pack of Compost Worms Improves Soil Structure and Quality for Healthier Gardens

We are growing vegetables and blackberries using regenerative farming practices. As part of the process, we create our own compost. Worms and worm castings enrich compost and help aerate soil. Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm has sold worms for years and has a good reputation for quality, so when we needed worms, we bought them from Uncle Jim’s. We bought both Night Crawlers and Red Wrigglers, but if we were to order again, we would buy just Red Wrigglers as the more efficient composter. Meanwhile, Night Crawlers will come on their own as we improve the soil. The Uncle Jim’s worms arrived about 2 days after ordering. The soil they were shipped in was still moist. The worms appeared healthy and were even more active than we anticipated. To house the worms, we created double bucket towers using 5-gallon plastic buckets. For the top buckets, we drilled about a dozen 1/4-inch drain holes in the bottom. We also drilled about a dozen 1/4-inch air holes around the rim. To prevent escape, we covered the air holes with wire mesh put on the outside of the bucket. (Putting the covers on the inside of the bucket works too.) We secured the mesh to the bucket with caulking. To create the worms’ living conditions, we added a layer of bedding to the bottom of the top bucket. Bedding can be things like torn up cardboard and leaves. We then added garden dirt and compost to fill the bucket about half full. Next, we thoroughly moistened the bucket’s contents and let the excess water drain. Finally, we set the top bucket inside the bottom bucket; the bottom bucket has no holes. (Numerous videos on how to build these towers are on the Internet.) The worms, of course, need food. What we feed the worms is based in part upon suggestions found online and also our own trial and error of what the worms seem to like. Our worms seem to favor fine cornmeal; in fact, once we started feeding cornmeal the attempted prison breaks stopped. Worms eat all kinds of things, including vegetables, some fruit, brown paper (e.g., craft or shipping paper), cardboard, napkins, mushrooms, eggshells, leaves. Our experience, also supported by experts, is worms love brown paper, watermelon, and finely ground cornmeal. The type of compost desired also influences what to feed the worms. Per the experts, “brown” feedings (e.g., brown paper, cardboard, leaves) tend to promote beneficial fungal growth; “green” feedings (e.g., veggies, grass) tend to promote beneficial bacterial growth. A very general guide would be to feed the worms every 4 to 7 days, but the actual frequency depends on how much the worms eat. Worms need water too. The dirt should be kept moist, but not wet. An example of moist would be a wrung-out wet sponge. The worm towers should be kept out of the sun. They should not be allowed to get too hot. In addition, we put a piece of cardboard over the very top of the dirt. When we remove the lid, the worms are still protected by the cardboard. We use worm castings to make tea. We use the castings to mix into compost. We use worm casting directly as a dip as we plant. These are just a few examples of how castings can be used to improve compost, soil, and plants.

Folks, buckle up because I'm about to take you on a little journey. We're talking about Uncle Jim's Worm Farm Red Wiggler Composting Worms. These little guys are nothing short of miraculous, really. First off, the delivery—right on time, like clockwork. And the packaging? Secure as a bank vault. These worms arrived at my doorstep ready to work, not a single lazy bone—well, worm—in the bunch. Now, let's get down to business—the composting. These red wigglers, they’re like tiny, wiggly gold miners, turning my regular old kitchen scraps into black gold. Compost gold, that is. It’s rich, it’s nutritious, and my garden? My tomatoes are the envy of the neighborhood, let me tell you. They are thriving, blooming, and absolutely bursting with flavor, all thanks to these diligent little workers. And for those of you who might cast a line now and then, these worms are like fish magnets. Seriously, I've never caught more fish than when I've used these wrigglers. They wiggle just right—not too much, just enough to make those fish curious. So, to wrap this up, if you’re thinking about composting, or if you need a surefire way to up your fishing game, Uncle Jim’s got you covered. These worms are top-shelf, five-star, can’t-miss performers. Treat yourself and your garden (or your fishing pole) to a batch of these beauties and watch the magic happen. Rock and roll, baby!

My order arrived quickly. The worms are adjusting to their bin and thriving. Well pleased.

The worms were in great shape, they were dry, orderless and mixed with dirt, they arrived 6 days early (and the bin I ordered is held up in transit due to weather. They were due to arrive within a day of each other originally), so I had to do a makeshift bin, which, the only problem was that I had to find something to make a bin with. I ended up using an old office trash can that didn't have any holes in it. I used some kraft paper, corrugated cardboard and pulp egg crates all damp and tore up. I didn't add dirt, because the worms came in what looked like potting soil. I emptied the worm bag into the bin, added more paper stuff and a small amount of damp kitchen compost (used coffee grounds, vegetable peels, oatmeal scraps, crushed eggshells...). I covered the lot with a large piece of damp cardboard and left it in the kitchen under the light. Before I got the compost put in, I had placed the damp cardboard over the top and went on with things I was doing. When I went back to add the compost, the worms were trying to escape, crawling all over the cardboard and up the sides of the bin. I added the compost, replaced the escaping worms back in the bin and replaced the cardboard, placing it down on top of the compost, leaving several inches between that and the top of the bin. I then left the whole works in the kitchen under the kitchen light (as per included worm instructions). The worms settled down, and I haven't had any other issues. I do have a multi-level worm bin coming, but it got held up in shipping and won't be here for a couple of weeks now. These were in great shape, live and moving. If I ever want more worms, I would consider buying from this vendor again.

I have ordered worms twice from Uncle Jim's. I goofed up and starved my first batch. About 6 months later I decided to try again and ordered from a vendor close to my home in California. They were terrible. Less worms than advertised, very lethargic and small on delivery, and didn't respond well at all. I decided to order more from Uncle Jim's since my first order was good and it was my fault they didn't survive. The second batch was also very good. Lots of worms evident, somewhat lethargic but bounced back right away and are now thriving since I'm feeding them correctly. I wouldn't hesitate buying again even though they ship from across the country, they still did better than the one's I bought closer.

Great worms. We're dry upon arrival but that is expected after a week in transit. Unless they spend money to get a container that has a humidifier humidity pack in the container with the coco coir as worm substrate/worm bedding and nessasary moisture for transit. A year later I now have over 6,000 worms in 4 different 5 gallon buckets with soil and feed the worms weekly then months later I collect worms and add them to a new 5 gallon bucket and use all that 5 gallon bucket of worm casting soil that has been thoughly sterilized by the worms!

A few years ago I ordered worms from here and they were great. They were all or mostly alive and established a colony quickly. It thrived, and I only left it behind because we moved across the country (same reason I had to gift the composter before that one!). I got a new composter and my wife actually ordered me worms from Uncle Jim’s through Amazon as a birthday gift for me (my son’s idea). They arrived early (great!) and I got shredded paper in the bin, moistened it, and threw in some coffee grounds and white bread. We dumped the worms in and…nothing. A few wiggled out of the peat clump they came in, but the rest were just in a couple of tangled balls. I re-read the enclosed instructions in case I missed something even though I’d had two successful worm composters before. Everything was fine and in line with the instructions. The next day there was still just a mass of motionless worms. This time I misted them with a little water (photo is of some of the in-alive worms, after misting, before molding) thinking they just needed a bit more moisture. Then I put the lid back on and left them alone for another 48 hours. I came back to motionless worms that were now actually growing mold. I dug through the paper and found three living worms. Now, while I was perfectly happy with the last order, this one was a 100% failure. I’m sad, my wife is mad, my son is devastated that “his” gift to me was DOA. Now the enclosed info slip says that you can call but must do so in 48 hours of receipt. We waited longer than that just to make sure we weren’t being alarmist. Even after the 48 hours, my wife said she’d call since she ordered and it was a gift, but she’s been working until after UJ’s hours. Like I said, I was happy with this product before. But like with restaurants I guess, when people live a thing they tell one person and when they don’t they tell 10. I hope this was a fluke, but 50% of the orders I’ve gotten from Uncle Jim’s was not viable. A 50% failure rate is too low to stick with.

Gardening has become a passion of mine and each year I learn new things. This year was that the regular composter takes way too much time and is a balancing act of "brown/green" and maybe after a year you'll have some decent compost if you did it right. I started buying worm castings and adding kitchen scraps around some of my fruit trees to attract worms while adding organic matter. I randomly happened to come across worm farming. If you've purchased castings they're not cheap, but when I was buying I thought my garden deserves it so it was worth it to introduce this awesome material. I researched reading articles (seemed pretty straight forward), watched YouTube videos and then everywhere I looked Uncle Jim's Worm Farm Red Wigglers were recommended. After speaking to a garden friend brag about his neighbor worm farming I pulled the trigger. The worms arrived a day early, same day as my Worm Farm 360. Luckily I was prepared and had all my scraps ready to go. Opened the FEDEX box marked "perishable", read the clear instructions and got to work putting the farm together. When I introduced the worms they all seemed to be alive, no foul odors. Not super active but if touched they move. I placed them in their new home under the wet paper in non direct sunlight as suggested on the instructions. They are definitely burrowing in and burying themselves. I'm so excited to start collecting their castings and adding to my garden!! I've added photos of after, I didn't think to take pictures when they arrived due to being in a hurry to get then in the farm. So farm I'm really impressed with the presentation and how quickly they arrived. I'm hoping to see them hydrate and get to work! Very good experience with seller, would recommend highly.

I was very disappointed with my purchase. I had ordered 500 worms, but if there were 100, I’d be surprised. For what I received $60.00 was an outrageous price. The worms I did receive seemed healthy but very small. They were inside a cloth bag approx 4” x 6” with what appeared to be full of worm castings. I didn’t return them as they were live animals, but will be calling Amazon’s customer service for assistance. I think what may have happened as I ordered 500 and received the smaller package that what was ordered which I believe was 100.

When I ordered the package, they arrived at my mailbox instead of at my door. In the winter, without a heating pad, all of the worms froze and died! I will not be ordering again!!