Temperature
White worms need cool temperatures to survive and do best between 50 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 20 degrees Celsius). They can survive short periods in slightly warmer temperatures but will start to die once the temperature gets up to 85 F or so.
We keep our worm cultures in wine coolers where it is easy to maintain ideal temperatures. Having a wine cooler is not necessary as long as you have a way to keep your cultures within the acceptable temperature range.
Container
You have lots of options when choosing the right container for your worms. You will want something that fits in the space you have selected where you can maintain the right temperatures. White worms like the dark so if they will not be stored somewhere that stays dark you will want to use opaque containers to block the light. The lids will need to fit snugly enough that your worms cannot get out. And, lastly, they will need air holes. Be mindful with the air holes that you are not creating lots of worm escape routes.
We have found that food storage containers work ideal for us in our wine coolers. We punched air holes in the lid through the top.
Substrate
You will need about 2 inches of bedding for your white worms. White worms do quite well in potting soil, peat moss, or even coconut fiber. There are even soil-less methods, although I have never used such techniques.
We use organic potting mix and suggest baking it at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes to kill any pests that may be present in the dirt.
Humidity
White worms need moisture and do best in damp, but not wet, bedding. The range of dampness that they can live in seems to be quite broad from my experience. Depending on the conditions in your area, your cultures may tend to get even moister or dry out with time so it may take some experimenting to find the ideal level of moisture to start your cultures with.
We live in a very humid region so we start cultures with very little additional moisture beyond what is it in the starter portion so that as our cultures collect additional moisture slowly over time, they do not become too wet.
Food
There is a wide range of acceptable foods for white worms. We use whole grain bread, full fat yogurt, and nutritional yeast. You will want to be careful to offer plenty of food without overfeeding as the excess will get moldy.
We cut a slice of whole wheat bread into squares, then top generously with whole fat yogurt and sprinkle heavily with nutritional yeast. The pieces are then placed topping side down on top of the worm bedding.
Collection
When you get ready to harvest white worms, you will want to have a bowl or glass of suitable water nearby. Dampen your finger and use it to gently collect the worms off the sides or lid of the container. You can also place a piece of plastic mesh or glass on top of the dirt so that you can lift it and collect from there as well.
Crashing
What goes up must come down! Your white worm culture exists in a closed environment where waste collects over time. When the waste reaches a toxic level, your culture will crash.
A major sign that a mature culture may be nearing this stage is when the worms collect on top of the dirt and do not go back down when exposed to light. Your worms may also stop eating food at this stage.
When you notice that your culture is nearing the crashing stage, you can either use portions of that culture to seed new cultures or you can flood the culture to collect the worms at the top and move them to fresh substrate.
