Alabama Jumpers For Sale. Alabama Jumpers are excellent fishing worms & composting worm for yard or garden areas.
Posts tagged alabama jumpers
Alabama Jumpers Now Available From Organic Worm Farm!
Jun 16th
It has been a while since I last posted here on the Alabama Jumpers web site and thank all of you for your patience. I am constantly getting contacted asking if we have Alabama Jumpers available for sale.
The problem arose originally with the extremely cold winter across the country this past winter. This sent the Alabama Jumpers grown outside in the fields down deep while also killing off a good number of them. Hence the other farms were left with no Alabama Jumpers to sell.
Before I realized this I sold off a larger portion of my Alabama Jumpers stock than I should have, leaving us short on our breeder supply. Over the past few months we have been breeding and studying ways to increase the growth rate of the Alabama Jumpers in our bins which are in a controlled environment. We are now seeing an increase in the weekly growth rate of 23% to 24%. I am hoping to see this about double in the coming weeks.
So what does this mean for you?
I am currently releasing limited numbers of Alabama Jumpers for sale again for the next few weeks. After this, I hope to be wide open offering unlimited numbers per week.
You can visit our online store to order your Alabama Jumpers today!
Thanks again for your patience,
Bruce Galle
Are Alabama Jumpers Good Manure Worms?
Mar 18th
Today I went to pick up some manure for a test to see if Alabama Jumpers make good manure worms since I get asked this about once a week or so. When I got to an acquaintances home, he had my bag, approximately 30 pounds, ready for me to pick up.
He asked me to look at his pile of donkey manure and inform him of what type of worms he had in the pile.
As he began to scratch off the top layers, worms began appearing. At first there was a good mix of red worms, including European nightcrawlers. Then he scratched off a little more and I jumped to grab some worms. To my complete amazement, here were Alabama Jumpers living naturally in his manure pile.
I was not sure how the Alabama Jumpers would do as a manure worm, especially since they seem to prefer hard packed material.
After examining the pile I noticed the Alabama Jumpers were residing below the top quarter of the manure where over time it had begun to become more compacted.
Well I ran home with my little bag of manure and realized my test was shot out the window. I decided just to setup a little manure pile outside and throw a quarter pound of Alabama Jumpers into it. I then grabbed a number of the small juvenile Alabama Jumpers and headed over to the manure pile.
Once I released the Alabama Jumpers they had all disappeared down into the manure in less than four minutes. They took right to the pile, even the young juvenile worms.
I plan to allow the pile to sit for a week or so before proceeding to scour through the manure to see where we are at. I will take pictures and post them at that time.
I do believe as the manure compacts a bit the Alabama Jumpers will do great as there is plenty of decomposing organic matter for them to eat and the temperature should remain a constant for now as the manure has already gone through its heating up process.
Bruce
Pictures Of Newly Hatched Alabama Jumpers
Mar 13th
Being I was running behind, I went to feed the Alabama Jumpers and my other worms the other night, which really should be done during the course of the day. The reason is that Alabama Jumpers as with other worms, earthworms feed during the evening hours. Alabama Jumpers especially are known to come to the surface during the night to feed on organic matter and return to the soil when the sun comes up.
In short this actually worked to my advantage for once since I have been trying to get pictures of the juvenile Alabama Jumpers since other sites claim raising Alabama Jumpers in captivity cannot be done while having a good reproduction rate.
Now the two pictures below of the juvenile Alabama Jumpers do not show a true 3D reality of what I can see since they are in 2D, they definitely prove one can raise Alabama Jumpers in a worm bin!
Below are to pictures which show thousands of newly hatched to one month old Alabama Jumpers raised in a worm bin which is three feet long by two foot wide. I have approximately a depth of one foot of bedding material.
The juvenile Alabama Jumpers are from a quarter inch long to approximately two inches long and literally covered the top of the worm bin.
Closer Look At Raising Alabama Jumpers In A Worm Bin
Mar 10th
I have been honing in on my shooting skills with my digital camera on the Alabama Jumpers as they burrow down rather quickly once I remove the lid. Today was a better day hence I figured I would post an update.
Now for those in disbelief that anyone can raise Alabama Jumpers which reproduce at a good rate in a controlled environment, here are some pictures for you. After all a picture is worth a thousand words or in this case worms!
These are just some of the juvenile Alabama Jumpers in the worm bin I have been raising them. When I dig down it literally will expose thousands more of the little guys from a quarter inch to about two inches in length.
The first picture below displays little stick like items in the photo which in reality are little Alabama Jumpers. This morning there were thousands on the surface area feeding on the remnants of some Purina Worm Chow I have been feeding them.
The following picture is a close up image of a few of the small Alabama Jumpers. As you can see from the picture, they start off as translucent before growing into the grayish color known to the Alabama Jumper.
That’s all on the latest Alabama Jumpers update however will post some more in the near future.
Bruce Galle
Alabama Jumpers Feeding At Night
Feb 18th
Alabama Jumpers come to the surface at night to feed and burrow back down into the soil during the daytime hours.
I snapped this picture of some Alabama Jumpers at about 5am this morning, showing them on the surface feeding. It is difficult to catch them for as soon as I lift the cover off, they scramble below ground. This time I was quick enough to catch some of them in the act!
One thing to notice is that there are a number of new born Alabama Jumpers also eating on the surface. You can see a few of them towards the center of the picture.
One thing to keep in mind is that Alabama Jumpers do not only feed on the surface as this worm bin also has food on one side of the bin buried below the surface. In short, if there is a food source below the surface, the Alabama Jumpers will munch on it also, converting over to worm castings.
This is one reason the Alabama Jumpers do well for garden composting in the southern half of the United States. They will locate and consume organic matter above and below ground, revitalizing and enriching your soil in your yard and garden areas.
To order Alabama Jumpers or any other of our worm varieties, visit the online worm store at Order Worms.
Alabama Jumpers
Feb 10th
I found out something interesting concerning Alabama Jumpers a while back from a fellow long time worm farmer located in Alabama. While one would assume that these worms would be called Alabama Jumpers in Alabama, they are not. Rather they refer to them as Wigglers.
This is not to be confused with the red wigglers most folks use for composting as the Alabama Jumpers are grey in color, hence also called Grey Wigglers.
Getting a little confusing? Well it gets better!
Since Alabama Jumpers are also called Georgia Jumpers, I decided to call on another friend and long time worm farmer from Georgia. Again, one would assume in Georgia they would call them Georgia Jumpers but wrong again. They call them Alabama Jumpers!
I just thought you might find this humorous and wonder whoever came up with the name Alabama Jumpers since apparently it was not the folks in Alabama!
Bruce Galle
Raising Alabama Jumpers For Live Fishing Bait
Feb 2nd
Anyone can raise Alabama Jumpers for fishing or composting either outside in a compost pile or contrary to what most other web sites state, inside in worm bin.
Alabama Jumpers have a tougher skin allowing them to stay on the hook better than many other types of worms. The name itself, Alabama Jumpers should give it away to the type of action they perform when dipped into your local fishing hole.
Alabama Jumpers originate in the tropical and subtropical regions however are known to live in the soil as far north as Chattanooga, TN. They do well but become a little sluggish once the temperatures reach into the mid fifties inside a compost pile or worm bin.
Raising Alabama Jumpers outside for yard and garden composting as well as for fishing, you will need a compost pile basically consisting of shredded newspaper and cardboard or hay. As this decomposes it will generate some protection for your worms and their food source.
Alabama Jumpers survive well when fed vegetable scraps, heeding caution to heating up the entire pile at once. To avoid this, place your food scraps into one corner of the pile, under the shredded material or hay and move clockwise or counter clockwise as you continue to add more material over time, permitting areas to heat up and others to cool down enough for the Alabama Jumpers to begin eating.
To raise Alabama Jumpers for fishing inside in a worm bin is a bit different. I have personally been successful raising them in two types of bedding materials. Either way demands a good airflow on both the top and bottom of the worm bin.
The first way is to use partially decomposed hardwood shavings and sawdust. Keep away from softer woods, pines which can contain turpentine, oak which can be acidic or woods that put off an odor such as cedar. Mix about 5% sphagnum peat moss with the material. The bedding material should have a depth should be about 1.5 feet. Add about one half cup of sand per five gallons of bedding material. Again you may add vegetable scraps the same way you would raise red wigglers, by placing in one corner at a time and covering it up with some damp shredded newspaper or cardboard to avoid odors coming from the worm bin.
The second method requires another type of peat moss, Michigan Black Peat Moss. Do not attempt this with sphagnum peat moss as it does not work due to the decomposition stage and the way each retains moisture…
Here you will want to fill your worm bin with about one foot of Michigan black peat. Do not add food scraps to this system as I will explain in a bit. Usually the black peat comes at the right moisture level and is presoaked so there is no need to work it any further. You will find the bedding material becomes compacted within a week or two, something that you would be concerned about with most worms but nothing to be concerned about when raising Alabama Jumpers. Remember these worms do well in hard packed clay and seem to appreciate the hard packed bedding material.
As for feed, vegetable scraps will sour this mix too easily. The best food to use is Purina Worm Chow fed daily to your worms. The Worm Chow also makes an excellent supplement to feeding your worms whether in an outside compost pile or raising them in a worm bin.
Alabama Jumpers can lay cocoons that hatch rather quickly in either compost piles or worm bins as long as you maintain an eco friendly environment for them.
To learn more on this subject, be sure to drop by the Worm Composting Blog and sign up for the free newsletter if you have not already. Bruce Galle, the author of this article has been raising worms for over thirty years and continues educating the public on raising both composting and fishing worms from his Blog as well as his other web site, The Worm Expert.
Raising Alabama Jumpers In Michigan Black Peat Moss Part 2
Jan 30th
After thirty days, my experiment with raising Alabama Jumpers in Michigan peat moss has proven fruitful. The Alabama Jumpers are doing well and keep producing little jumpers.
I checked on the worms this afternoon and noticed I had newly hatched Alabama Jumpers and some up to two inches long in the breeder bin already. It appears they lay cocoons that hatch and grow rapidly to this point thus far.
The bedding material is packed tight again as I already loosened it up with a garden claw two weeks ago. My concern is the amount of oxygen able to penetrate towards the bottom since the deeper I go the more packed the bedding material is. I did not loosen the bedding this time as I plan to screen the worm bin one evening this week.
The Alabama Jumpers are thoroughly enjoying the Purina Worm Chow I have been feeding them daily.
Not only are there little ones in the breeder worm bin, however the adolescent Alabama Jumpers are in great shape, thick and healthy.
Going back to the original experiment with bedding consisting of hardwood sawdust and shavings, the material is over 50% composted now into worm castings. This bedding material does not pack hard as the Michigan black peat moss does hence the oxygen levels appear to be doing well since the Alabama Jumpers congregate throughout the bedding material. In this bin I still continue to feed them the Purina Worm Chow as well as some food scraps every few weeks. I noticed the other evening that this bin was covered with literally a hundred or more new juvenile Alabama Jumpers as I was adding some more feed.
This brings me to another point. I am still noticing that the areas with food scraps contain the larger mature worms and newly hatched juveniles. I am not seeing any of the two inch or so juveniles in the food scrap area as I am only finding them in the surrounding areas.
Contrary to what most web sites state, that one cannot breed Alabama Jumpers in captivity, when it comes to raising them in an environment favorable for reproduction to occur, these two experiments prove otherwise. In fact both experiments have proven to be an effective means by which anyone can raise prolific Alabama Jumpers in a worm bin. The only concern is the Michigan black peat compacting so hard over a two week period which can be eliminated by stirring up the worm bin bedding thoroughly every two weeks.
This is good sign since not only can Alabama Jumpers be raised for composting but they make an awesome live fishing worm. I have fished with them as bait myself in the past and was quite impressed. They remain on the hook apparently due to the tougher skin they have which enables them to borrow through hard packed clay and survive in course sandy soils. The Alabama Jumper lives up to its name as super live bait worm by wiggling more in the water than its relatives.
Bruce Galle
Alabama Jumpers Raised In Black Peat Moss
Jan 15th
Well the latest bedding for the Alabama Jumpers I have tried is black peat moss. This material is a little more difficult to come by but most nurseries and higher end places will carry it.
Black peat is a darker, richer looking material since it is decomposed further than the most familiar variety sphagnum peat which is browner in color.
I originally tried the sphagnum peat moss for raising Alabama Jumpers however being it has the highest water holding capacity of the peat moss family this raised an issue. The sphagnum peat held the water which eventually drained towards the bottom layers making them too wet. Much like a sponge will drain when full of water.
The black peat moss holds the moisture better without draining, hence keeping a balance of moisture throughout the bin.
I was fascinated when I released the Alabama Jumpers into the black peat moss as they appeared right at home. Usually there is an adjustment period of up to 2 weeks when changing the bedding material.
I released 275 Alabama Jumpers into approximately a half filled 5 gallon bucket with the black peat moss. I had predrilled holes on the top and along the bottom sides of the bucket.
Since the release of the Alabama Jumpers into the black peat two weeks ago, I now have some cocoons as well as young recently hatched Alabama Jumper worms.
This brings me to a couple points making Alabama Jumpers unique based on my observations thus far. First the Alabama Jumper cocoons apparently hatch much faster than other worms. The cocoons were laid and some hatched within a short two week period. On the down side, I have only noticed one Alabama Jumper hatchling per cocoon thus far. I believe the rapid laying and hatching of the cocoons could be away for the Alabama Jumpers to overcome the shortcoming of one worm per egg in order to compete in reproduction with other types of worms.
I have been feeding the Alabama Jumpers the Purina Worm Chow every other day.
Will post further news as it becomes available!
As usual, if looking for the best prices on Alabama Jumpers, Purina Worm Chow and other compost worms, we recommend Organic Worm Farm which has their new online store available at Order Worms.
Bruce
Using A Worm Bin To Raise Productive Alabama Jumpers
Jan 8th
Over and over it has been stated that one cannot raise Alabama Jumpers in captivity if you want them to be prolific. I am happy to be able to report I have finally proven this to be false as I currently have a good number of second generation Alabama Jumpers now growing in an interior worm bin on the farm.
The worm bin for this experiment was not large, rather only 4 ½ square feet of surface area. The depth is 18 inches with the original bedding material of 14 inches deep. I have approximately 800 Alabama Jumper worms in the worm bin.
As my original posts have stated, I have been able to hold these Alabama Jumpers and keep them healthy for approximately three months now. The problem was in having the correct conditions which would enable them to reproduce. As the last article mentioned, I was feeding them strictly Purina Worm Chow as they gobble it down. Currently I use it as a substitute which still disappears daily.
The difference came about when I began adding vegetable scraps, same as one would add to a red wiggler worm bin or worm farm.
I have noticed something recently with the addition of a second mound of pureed vegetable scraps once it cooled down. The majority of the Alabama Jumpers in this mound are the larger worms. I am not sure whether this is a coincidence or if there is some type of social behavior. I have never seen them to be aggressive to one another; hence I do not believe that the younger mature worms are being chased away. I do have to wonder if there could be some type of hierarchy to the Alabama Jumpers which is understood that only larger mature worms to take over an area suitable for breeding while maintaining an understanding that the smaller worms stay out. This definitely has me intrigued so I have a new theory to try.
Back to the original reason for this article, as the picture illustrates below some recently hatched Alabama Jumpers. As they are young and this is an experiment, I am not going to pull a lot of them out as I am trying to disturb them as little as possible to receive more accurate results.
I will be trying to watch these to see at what rate they grow. To accomplish this I am trying a new bedding material which I will screen after two weeks in hopes of harvesting some cocoons from the Alabama Jumpers to raise separately.
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