Here are my questions.

How can someone stat a worm casting farm for free, out of your backyard worms.

1. SO, to make a warm casting all I have to do is collect few types of rainworms into a container and start feeding them? I see those jumpers all over my backyard and I see calmer ones too.

2. What type of feeding makes a fluffy casting?

I used to put worms in my trees for fertilizing and helping get oxygen to roots. I stopped doing that, because I was concerned that they may be feeding on the roots. I was thinking a small amount is good, but to many might hurt the tree.

Aaron, you may indeed have them, as often they are referred to as CA worms.  Red Wigglers. They are tiny, and very fast.  they are hungry and eat and multiply like nothing I ever seen.

I too have seen a few 'outside the area where I have my bin'. I don't know if they fled the bin, or they are here from long before I got my batch.

you make a pile of leaves and  top them with cardboard for shade, leave it alone for a while.. upon inspection you should see, the leaves totally disappear, instead there is this 'fluffy' material, which is the worms product.

I had mine in a wooden box, but it rottened from the bottom and yes, they scaped, but now, I have a couple of plastic tubs, and the factory tower.   There must be a hole to drain their juicy product which is a great liquid fertilizer.   I keep 2 piles inside my bin...they migrate to the new pile and I remove the fluffy material and start a new pile with crumbled paper or carboard under.  I add leaves, left over food scraps, banana peels, rotten figs... and cover with a layers of leaves. on hot days, i put them in the refrigerator and give them the icy chunk of food.  they multiply so much that it is unreal... When I bought them it was just a hand full of 'mostly wet newspaper.  Their box must be located in a shade at all times. their excess moisture has to drain...so I have my bin a bit on a incline, so it drips the excess all the time.

Earthworms eat decaying material and do not touch good healthy roots. They will speed up the decomposition process and before you know it, your container will be void of the mulch you place on top and organic material you buried in the soil to promote air spaces and water retention.
check this out;

Frequently Asked Questions About Earthworms

So, do they sell them locally everywhere? Different types?

I'm with Grasa on the wild worm scenario, my favorite method and the least work.  Give them a pile of what they like, cover it to keep sun and overabundance of water off but allow a light, soaking rain to water the pile.  They will do what they do best.  

On the plastic bins and the juicy drippings, a word of caution.  I'm sure it most likely does have some nutrients.  Basically it is leachate.  Water passing through the worm bin.  It can lead to anaerobic conditions and kill the entire colony or cause them to mass exodus in one night.  It can also contain nasty pathogens associated with anaerobic conditions.  Notice I say "can" and not "will" absolutely. Just a tricky deal when the worm bin is so wet that it drips.  If it starts to smell any way other than earthy, get ready for worm stampede and they can go right through a window screen size mesh.

This leads to question #2.  Not so much the type of feeding that produces fluffy castings in my opinion but rather back to water amounts.  If one figures out the water, there is no choice other than one will have fluffy castings.  They are moist but one can take a handful, squeeze it hard and try to make a clod but it crumbles straight away.

Not so with castings that come from constantly soaked bedding.  These more resemble mud that has to be dried and rubbed over a screen to bring it back to small particles but it never will be what it could have been.  Add water and it will turn back to mud.  It is likely void of the beneficial microbes in healthy castings and then if it is sealed in airtight plastic bags and sits on the shelf for a couple of weeks you can bet it is essentially dead.  

How to water then?  Field capacity as it pertains to mycology is pretty good for feeding worms and bedding moisture.  If you squeeze a handful of bedding and get a drop or two of water it is ok.  That is my opinion and as with all subjects there are a wide array of opinions.  This was taught to me years ago by good folks on Worm Digest forum who were and some still are very successful worm farmers.  I would not do it any other way.  Should have been there to see the comments when the plastic factories with their instructions for making worm tea came on the scene! 

Best as I can remember from worm digest forum days, worms do not like much dairy or meat, citrus may also be on that list.  If you do feed abundance of food scraps outdoors, be prepared for black soldier fly larvae but don't worry.  Their castings are good also and the adult flies pose no threat to humans since they do not have working mouth parts and avoid dwellings mostly.  BSFL process anything worms have trouble with and visa-versa.  Worms will also eat BSFL castings.

Top feed in small amounts, only what the worms will ingest over a couple of days and never mix feed down into the bedding.  Coincide your castings harvest with all feed particles gone.  A good way to harvest is the windrow method.  You have your pile as Grasa describes.  When it is getting close to being thoroughly worked, make a fresh pile right next to it.  The worms will migrate over to the new pile and leave you with a fairly clean pile of castings you can easily sift to remove any debris not yet castings.  

A good feed supplement if you so desire is chicken scratch that is void of antibiotics or any mammal manure that has first composted and also void of antibiotics.  Rabbit manure does not need to be composted first, they will go right to it, provided it is washed free of urine in high concentrations.  Rabbits usually pee in the same spot which is easy to see and so if you go gather rabbit pellets from some rabbit farmer, avoid the hot spots. 

Brewed worm tea, is a whole different thing than leachate.  You take good castings and aerate in water with a bit of molasses to feed the microbes.  Outstanding as a foliar spray.  Research "worm chitinase".

Ants love worm bins and outdoor beds.  Diatomaceous earth in the pile may help and won't hurt the worms.

That's all I can think for now. 

ok, thanks everyone, I think I'll start my own cover of Warm pile, hehe

Aaron, another way to 'attrack' them is to prepare a bucket with several holes all over, bottom, sides,etc... dig a hole deep enough to burry the entire bucket. put leaves and debris inside the bucket, put lid (which had small holes for air) back on.  each day or everyother day, continue to add plant debris, left over from the kitchen. If frozen ahead of time, they are moosh and easier for the worms to dig in... continue to add... as it shrinks, add more... in  a couple of months, dig the bucket and flip it upside down quickly.. you should see what kind of worms you are having there...should you see the tiny red wigglers, they are super wiggley and fast...you could collect a few and start another bin just with that kind... if the pile is not broken down completely you put the fresher portion down and the almost ready on top. it works best if you have 2 buckets, then from one to the other...the worms find their ways in and out through the holes, but like to live there since there is more food, leaving their castings for easier harvest.  I did this side by side with my newly planted Apples and I can assert you...these were pretty darn good fruits for a 2 y.o. plant.  

hope you found time to watch this video.. rather inspiring.

http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode112/

I was going to buy worms and talked to many suppliers. I was concerned about an environmental impact if they escaped because the best ones were not native to America. One of the suppliers informed me it was to late for many have escaped others. I then made a decision, I can attract them then, and that is what I did. I made a new compost pile 6 foot square, 5 foot tall. I dug a hole in the bottom of it 4 foot square, by 2 foot deep and in it I put the most desirable eats for the worms in the hole. I added horse manure mixed with straw, coffee grounds, egg shells crushed, fine sand, all the rotted vegetables, fruit, moldy bread, uncooked oatmeal, basically everything you find in a normal compost pile. Then a big pile of leaves to shade it and keep it from drying out and getting heated by the sun and air. After four weeks, I moved the leaves and discovered I had been invaded by several species of worms that like this type of eats. There was none of the normal type earthworms in the pile but all were either red wigglers, European night crawlers, or another type of what are called composting worms. Before long they had multiplied so much I was able to take them to other compost piles I had and now they are in all my planting beds too that I keep heavily mulched. I now have trouble keeping my beds mulched and my pathways between my garden beds mulched, because they process everything that is decomposing. They do not hurt my healthy living plants but sure make them grow better.
  As for as not adding certain things to your compost piles, such as meat, dairy, orange peels, and etc. do not believe it. If your pile is healthy and big, it will consume it. If you really want to know more about composting, read "The Human Manure Handbook" by Joseph Jenkins. You will be amazed at what compost can do for the earth and it is a free download. 

Wow Charlie, you sure do know a lot about worms!  Lol.

Seriously thanks for the insights.

A great video Grasa, thanks.

I saw once on a video and try to use the method of putting mulching and pallets over, so you walk on the pallets, not compacting the soil.  I was able to do one under my large fig tree, as I step on it and climb on the tree a lot, the soil was very compacted before. now, the tree is at its healthiest. Also one of my worm bin factory is under this tree, dripping all the excess juice on its roots, which share space with the understory raspberries. This year, I had the best raspberries, My caroline is still producing. The plants near the worm factory receive that drip of food round the clock.  

Worms are great for the garden. Minimize the garbage bill. They are my pets and helpers.

this is awesome everyone, have a lot to do, LOL

Tomorrow I am starting really early! I have several buckets and drill , have a compost bin to use compost as a bate. I want to use my entire garden area to set up different Worm Casting operations, and get healthier ground soil. I don't think my garden soil is a good one. I never liked the results I got from planting fruit trees,  Veggies and flowers and now...with Figs...? Things are going to change. 

I have my own little DIY indoor bin but I wanted to say there is a great facebook group with the nicest and super knowledgeable pple about worm raising. There is also a list of good venders and bad venders in the Files section over there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wormfarm/?fref=nf

I have worm towers in all my raised beds. They are maintenance free, just throw scraps in very once in a while to keep the worms fed.....

http://midwestpermaculture.com/2012/11/how-to-build-a-worm-tower/

One advantage of having the worms in the soil where the plants are growing is that they will create some fairly deep chanels.  This promotes aeration and good moisture penetration, carrying nutrients.  The worms will not harm roots.  All that is really necessary is to put some worm food on the surface.  About any organic material will do the job but meat and dairy are not a good.  Fertilize with some cheap dog food that is mostly grain or use rabbit food.  Those will be converted by the worms and microbes into nitrogen nutrients as well as having their other minerals broken down and taken deeper into the soil.  Soybean meal becomes 6% nitrogen.  Applying some lower doses of the trace minerals along with it and the worms will do the fertilizing for you.  Maybe some Azomite or Greensand along with some humates once or twice a year.  Put on some organic material once a month in the warm seasons when the worms are near the surface and active.

Thanks Charlie

Hi Charley,
Mulch (small bits of stems and leaves) will feed the worms. Burrow some straw or little branches or put them at the surface of the dirt.
The worms will come and take care of that food.
Just be careful as attracting worms, you'll attract their predators : Moles and voles ...

I see tons of RollyPollys in my Compost Bean. Are they beneficial as well or just taking free food? I see them multiply like crazy... they all stay inside the bean (thank God).

Proper name would be wood lice but yeah rolly polly is actually a land dwelling crustacean.  Boil some and you discover they smell like seafood.  Taste like crunchy little shrimps lol.  Anyways, yes they are ok in the bin and help breaking down the high cellulose items.

Been turning the wood chip/leaf pile today.  One of the residents saying hey it's cold!

 

   

Charlie, 
what variety of snake is that under your shoe :)

Rolly Pollies aka wood lice will eat on fig trees and figs. organic growers have a fit over  these little guys they are a pest not a friend like the worms are.  high amounts of organic matter makes a perfect home for them. damp, dark, and cool. they also eat veggies and seedlings also.