compost bin worms

rugbyman

I almost feel foolish asking this.
I have had a compost bin for eight years. it has consumed probably 30/40 times its own volume.
my wally question is ,most mornings when I lift the lid ,there are perhaps a dozen worms under the lid or on the surface where it closes. i push them on it, but the question is "are they trying to get out or to get in"?

this week i put in a few inches of slightly damp grass clippings and next day there were prob 30 worms all over the top surface.

Rugbyman

slowburner

rugbyman wrote: »

I almost feel foolish asking this.
I have had a compost bin for eight years. it has consumed probably 30/40 times its own volume.
my wally question is ,most mornings when I lift the lid ,there are perhaps a dozen worms under the lid or on the surface where it closes. i push them on it, but the question is "are they trying to get out or to get in"?

this week i put in a few inches of slightly damp grass clippings and next day there were prob 30 worms all over the top surface.

Rugbyman

Why would you feel foolish?
Those brandlings are neither trying to get out nor get in, they have found an ideal place to party - if you know what I mean

doctor evil

If a gardener is unfortunate enough to have NZ flatworms, would they accumulate in the compost bin or is it too warm for them?

Hal Emmerich

rugbyman wrote: »

I almost feel foolish asking this.
I have had a compost bin for eight years. it has consumed probably 30/40 times its own volume.
my wally question is ,most mornings when I lift the lid ,there are perhaps a dozen worms under the lid or on the surface where it closes. i push them on it, but the question is "are they trying to get out or to get in"?

this week i put in a few inches of slightly damp grass clippings and next day there were prob 30 worms all over the top surface.

Rugbyman

The mix is off, it's to wet. Add ripped up newspaper and stir it up.

gloriacollins

slowburner wrote: »

Why would you feel foolish?
Those brandlings are neither trying to get out nor get in, they have found an ideal place to party - if you know what I mean

yeah you are correct...

shawnee

I have compost worms in a plastic worm box at the moment. I was thinking of moving this to my plastic compost bin. There is no bottom on this bin it is one of the large green bins. Will they escape through the ground on this and disappear ?

slowburner

shawnee wrote: »

I have compost worms in a plastic worm box at the moment. I was thinking of moving this to my plastic compost bin. There is no bottom on this bin it is one of the large green bins. Will they escape through the ground on this and disappear ?

Yes - if conditions are wrong. No - if conditions are right

rugbyman

tried the newspapers. Went back to it today, worms trying to get out big time, others squirming away, put my hands into the still damp grass cuttings, very warm, too warm I reckon, took all the grass out, think I was roasting the poor wee fellows.
Rugbyman.

trev44

hi
i ve got a lot of ants in my compost bin. they re not doing any harm per se but i dont what to encourage them. i have stirred it up a lot and can see signs of a nest. (just lots more ants!) do i need to do anything here?
thanks
t

slowburner

trev44 wrote: »

hi
i ve got a lot of ants in my compost bin. they re not doing any harm per se but i dont what to encourage them. i have stirred it up a lot and can see signs of a nest. (just lots more ants!) do i need to do anything here?
thanks
t

I would think this implies that your compost is ready to use and/or turn over.

rugbyman

Right, here i am again
over the winter i think my compost bin just became a veg, bread,egg shell, banana skin dump, but it is alive with worms. each morning when I lift te lid there are as much as 25 worms .i am coming to the conclusion that they are trying to get out, they all end up at the lower inner edge of the lid .

when I dig around inside to see what activity i have or to reinvigorate the composting I see masses of worms, like oodles of them.

to mix everything up effectively I will need to use a garden spade, which will unfortunately slice many of them up.

So, if i am right and they want out , why do they? there a few slugs inside the lid sometimes, these guys could not get into the final gap between the lid and the inner bin.

Yes i know there are important things to be wondering about but this is one for me.

regards
Rugbyman

doctor evil

I mix mine with a fork, sometimes I will use a bucket or the lid as a bucket and give it a big mix up by taking someout than back in. I also use a long metal rod which is shoved straight down into the heap and worked from side to side. This is great for ventilation and to help it mix.

The worms are what you want, if the bottom is open to the ground than they can get out that way.

planetX

doctor evil wrote: »

If a gardener is unfortunate enough to have NZ flatworms, would they accumulate in the compost bin or is it too warm for them?

I so wish I wasn't the one able to answer this:mad:
I've never found any in the compost bin....yet. Under pots is their favourite spot, and also underneath weed control fabric.
b@stards.

shawnee

Used do dig up a few sods nearby where there were worms and add it to the compost bin, great idea within a while they will increase. A bin without worms ain't really alive Get some worms wherever , much more active and fun.

rugbyman

I decided to commit a mortal sin and re open an old thread( could never understand why it is not only a venial sin)
but my comments echo those i made four posts up.
my bin is largely food stuffs ,some cardboard, egg shells and some rotting flowers.] so yesterday i gave it a good slice up with a spade and this morning there were fifteen worms trapped when i lifted the lid.

i imagine that yesterdays slice up invigorated everything and attracted these guys in.

ok ok on balance they are new arrivals ,rather than escapees.

by the way my bin has consumed, in about eight years well over 15 times its own volume. i often feel sorry for compost bin less folk, living out there.

my wife tolerates me and my children think i am mad

Rugbyman

baaba maal

Well it's enjoyable reading your compost-related dilemmas!
I wouldn't worry too much about individual worms- some will move to the lid to be warmer, others are probably heading in the other direction for more moisture etc. Once the overall population is healthy enough, then all is good.
Btw, people tend to focus on worms because they are the visible composting critters, but the vast bulk of the work is done by bacteria- hence, turning the mix is a good idea as it gets air circulating through the mix, this encourages more bacteria and speeds up the composting process.

The Princess Bride

Every morning when I let my hens out of their house, they head straight for the compost bin-on the off chance that some worms have decided to take a peak outside.
I never thought I'd get so excited to see so many worms in any one
spot-it's incredibly sad great!:o

Just think about the €€ you'd have spent on disposing of the scraps, if you didn't have the compost bin all these years.

tampopo

I was halfway through this thread when I realised it was so old, but, I have something to contribute that may help rugbyman.

When I had hens I used to turn the lid of the compost bin over and let them eat any slugs under the rim. cool for them, a bit disgusting for me, but they were put to good use at least!!!

There is an easy way to turn your dalek type compost bin. And here's how...

So you start off with your common or garden compost bin


And as luck would have it, the local and european elections are coming up. So get yerself a couple of posters and wedge one in under the edge of the compost bin, laying the second on top of the first. (if you do it the other way round, it can be messy)


You then remove the compost bin. You'll find it like this, well rotten stuff on the bottom, the fresher stuff on top. At this point I remove the fresh layer and set it aside, usually on the upturned lid.


Spread it out, good and proper getting a bit of air in the mix.



Give it a good mix before replacing the compost bin. At this point, I find that you get better results if you place a few twigs at the bottom of the empty bin. Cover these twigs with several layers of newspaper, a Herald or a couple of Metros would do, in a rosette/fan fashion.
Replace the fresher stuff that you set aside into the bottom of the bin first, followed by the more composted stuff. Take out any that you want to use at this point. (I have mine in the white plastic bag there)


Take up your election posters and noone would know you were there. There are no lumpy bits stuck in the grass or anything.


I usually turn my bin on a bank holiday. So, Easter, May, June, August and October but you could do it as often as every couple of weeks if you liked.

There's not much more rewarding than making your own good quality compost.

Oh yeah, I had this all typed out before and I lost it. But what I wanted to say was don't put bread in your compost bin. Only uncooked organic matter. Balance your greens/nitrogen with browns/carbon by occasionally adding some paper or cardboard - egg boxes or shredded newspaper-from time to time.

Good luck with it...
T.

wowy

I bought one of these last year:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dolmen-Compost-Mixer-and-Aerator/dp/B0050I2FB4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395674572&sr=8-1&keywords=compost+mixer

I've 2 bins and a large heap, so this made turning the lot of it a helluva lot easier.

RebelButtMunch

Im using a wheelie bin, with the bottom replaced with a wire mesh. Ive cut an opening on the front that a spade will fit it. I've left the wheels on, so its not too bad if I need to move it.

RebelButtMunch

I noticed yesterday, that in my bin there are really really tiny white worms. Way smaller than maggots. Could they be young worms or perhaps nematodes?

RebelButtMunch

I had another look. They are actually tiny insects. I wonder if they are larvae or worm pests. They seem crawling over some of the worms.

RebelButtMunch

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

I had another look. They are actually tiny insects. I wonder if they are larvae or worm pests. They seem crawling over some of the worms.

Found the answer. Springtail larvae