I like to check my worms on a daily basis, but I try not to unduly disturb them. I normally mist my beds about 3 times per week, or as needed. I'll lightly stir the top six inches of the beds once a week to guard against compaction, and keep the bedding light and fluffy, checking pH levels about once per week. After 3 or 4 months I'll need to split my bins and provide fresh bedding, removing most of the castings. Worms can, and do live indefinitely in their own waste, as long as the castings remain biologically active to provide food sources for the worms.As they use and re-use the castings they actually create a far superior casting product,but the issue here is air flow. Castings become very dense and retain moisture well and can get to the point where they restrict air flow in the bin, which can create anaerobic conditions. The following is a response by Kelly Slocum to a new worm enthusiast in a worm forum: Are you starving your worms? By not adding more feedstock you are not optimizing the system, but it might be too harsh to say your are starving them. Worms derive their nutrients from the bodies of microorganims that decay organic materials (OM). Once the OM has begun to rot it softens or fragments into small pieces that the worm can take in to its small mouth. Once in the gut the worm digestive process selects the microorganisms living on and decaying the OM as its nutrition source. The OM itself is moved on down the intestine where it is reduced by a different group of bacteria and fungi that live in the worm gut, then wrapped in a mucous coat and passed from the body as a cast. Vermicomposting systems are specifically designed to receive regular inputs of raw OM, (we typically refer to this as feedstock) which keeps the microbiology in the system at very high levels. Bedding materials in the bin are tyically high in carbon; things like shredded leaves, paper, cardboard and straw, and this carbon is balanced by the relatively high nitrogen in the food scraps or manure we add to the bin as feedstock. When the carbon and nitrogen are balanced there is an ideal source of nutrients for the bacteria and fungi pivotal to the worm diet, and their populations bloom in response. When microbes bloom, worm activity is optimized. Typically, the bedding in the bin, because it is primarily carbon with little nitrogen to balance, is by itself insufficient to grow the level of microbial life necessary to optimize worm growth. In your system, however, you used grass, a nitrogen source, in conjunction with leaves, a more traditional carbon bedding. The combination of the two sounds as though it worked well for you to maintain good nutritional conditions for all the living organisms in the bin. Keep in mind, though, that nitrogen resources are used up very quickly and need to be added on a regular basis in a worm bin in order to maximize activity. Since you are hoping to grow a very small worm population into a very large worm population it is in your best interest to continually add feedstock. 2) Let's debunk this myth that worm castings are bad for worms. Worms need the most biologically active environment they can find in order to grow at maximum. The cast of the worm can be as much as six times MORE biologically active than is the OM they ingest. As such, castings are beneficial in the system since they increase the microbial activity. In fact, worms will reingest their own castings over and over again, even in the presence of a rich food source. Some of the most productive worm beds in the world are maintained by removing castings just once per year. Now, having said that, castings can also be very dense. If you get a castings build up low in the bin it can sometimes restict air movement. You'll want to watch bin conditions and, if you find the worms are reacting to low O2 levels, clean out the castings. 3) When to replace the bedding and start over? That depends on a great many things! There is no one right time for this activity, except when the bin gets full to the top. As your intent is to grow worms you can leave them in their current container until their population reaches the maximum that can be supported in that space. There are approximately 1200 Eisenia fetida worms (redworms) in a pound, and a well run system can easily support two pounds of worms per square foot of bin surface area. Typically, when a bin raches about two pounds of worms per square foot the bin is divided into to two units and allowed once again to grow to maximum. In a new bin being maintained under optimal conditions the worms can double their weight every three months or so (individual results vary). Be very aware that the internet is loaded with overly complex and outright WRONG information about how to grow worms. This is not a complex issue and worms in nature do it without all the gyrations some humans seem to feel is necessary to aid them. 4) Are you being impatient? I would be shocked if you were exhibiting the patience necessary for vermicomposting! ::laughing:: None of us, when we first began our foray into worms, was patient, and some of us have never gotten over our impatience! You're being normal, which likely means you are expecting a bit too much a bit too soon. Do relax a bit about the little buggers and enjoy the process. And remember, Worms thrive on five things: Air Water Decaying organic matter (OM) Time Neglect Kelly S
'Worms and Weather'
Every year, as we go into the spring and fall seasons, the same questions keep popping up concerning extreme temperatures, whether it be heat or cold. Now obviously, if your worms are in a temperature controlled situation this won't concern you, but if your bin or bins are outdoors you need to know.
The good Lord created this animal with a specific purpose for existance, (if only people lived up to our purpose as well). In order to fulfill that purpose, the worms must survive, and survive they do in the wild and on their own. When we harness the earthworm, we also take on the responsibility for that worm's welfare.
Primarily, when we talk about temperatures, we're speaking of IDEAL temperatures for growth, reproduction, etc., but I've seen worms directly under ice encrusted cover, and crawling and feeding in 100 degree horse manure. I think the question here is how long they can take it and survive.
In the wild, when worms are stressed by heat, cold, drouth or famine, they breed like crazy and leave as many of those tough little cocoons behind as possible; they then find the best possible spot where they curl into a 'ball' of worms and go into 'diapause', a hibernation like state, where bodily functions slow way down and somewhat suspend until conditions improve. If conditions do not improve, they die, and those tough little cocoons take over from there, and life goes on.
In a bin, we control their environment...bedding, food, moisture and air...yes and temperature as well, to some degree. They can, however, move only as far as the confines of their bin, and bedding depth will allow.
Trinity Ranch is located near St. Louis, Missouri. Our midwest summers can be very hot and humid, and the winters can be pretty miserable as well, but nothing like the extreme northern states and Canadian provinces, though we've shipped to most of these areas.
Since this is being written in the fall of the year, we'll deal with winter first. In our area we'll get wintertime temps routinely in the teens, and infrequently in single digits. Sometimes we'll get below zero, and we do have wind and humidity. I can only tell what we do here, but plan to add regionalized info from veteran growers in other areas.
Here at Trinity our worms are housed in a drafty old horse barn (horses too), although they're under roof, there is no additional heat or insulation at this time. We get by in the winter by bedding deeper than normal, and feeding hotter food stuffs...fresh horse manure, etc. Remember, what we're dealing with here are ambient temperatures, not air temperature. I want temps in the beds warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the air outside. I've used a meat thermometer on occassion to check these temps.
I understand fish tank and reptile heaters work well if you have only a bin or two. I've also seen mention of heat tape, though I've never used any of these. Many folks will stack bales of hay or straw around their outdoor bins for extra insulation. Snow itself can be good insulation. Some sink their bins in the ground...in most places the frost line will be about 18 inches deep.
People moving to new areas very quickly learn to adapt to the special weather needs of that area. What we know about ourselves we need to apply to our worms. Common sense really works with these critters. Stay tuned, we have a lot to add in this section. Seeya, Bob
