How many people have a worm bin / do vermicomposting (composting with worms)?
Weekend Recap, Part 1
Thursday night:
It was an eventful weekend of vermiculture. It started off badly when I went into the basement Thursday evening and saw more than a dozen dried up worms on the carpet surrounding my 2nd Wriggly Wranch, the one with the new european nightcrawlers. Uh oh!
When I opened the lid, there were several more ENCs all along the lip of the bin. So what happened? The lid was on tight, but my guess is that the worms still managed to escape through the tiny aeration holes covering the handles on the Wriggly Wranch . These holes are tiny, and no red worms had escaped the Wriggly Wranch in the month that I've had them, so it took me a while to figure things out. However, since I saw the ENCs being able to lift their head a couple inches above the rim of the bin, I assume that their longer and stronger bodies enable them to maneuver up the side of the bin and contort their bodies to climb over and then through the plastic screen. Any wandering red worms must hit the edge of the plastic screen and go around instead of climbing over. Undaunted, I moved the remaining ENCs on the sides of the bin back onto the bedding and left on the light in the basement for a few hours. Before bedtime, I turned off the light and put the cover back on.
It was an eventful weekend of vermiculture. It started off badly when I went into the basement Thursday evening and saw more than a dozen dried up worms on the carpet surrounding my 2nd Wriggly Wranch, the one with the new european nightcrawlers. Uh oh!
When I opened the lid, there were several more ENCs all along the lip of the bin. So what happened? The lid was on tight, but my guess is that the worms still managed to escape through the tiny aeration holes covering the handles on the Wriggly Wranch . These holes are tiny, and no red worms had escaped the Wriggly Wranch in the month that I've had them, so it took me a while to figure things out. However, since I saw the ENCs being able to lift their head a couple inches above the rim of the bin, I assume that their longer and stronger bodies enable them to maneuver up the side of the bin and contort their bodies to climb over and then through the plastic screen. Any wandering red worms must hit the edge of the plastic screen and go around instead of climbing over. Undaunted, I moved the remaining ENCs on the sides of the bin back onto the bedding and left on the light in the basement for a few hours. Before bedtime, I turned off the light and put the cover back on.
5 Comments
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Comment by Lesley Marie on July 16, 2008 at 8:38pm -
@ sherry, good to know.. I'll stick with the reds... I'm always poking around in there.
@ Bing, hope you don't have any more escapees!
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Comment by Bing on July 17, 2008 at 5:20pm - I don't think I rummaged much except checking the moisture level the day after setup. I have my own suspicions about the ideal habitat for these ENCs necessitating deeper bedding than the RWs.
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Comment by Sherry on July 20, 2008 at 5:43am - Yep, deeper bedding and cooler temps. I'm like Lesley Marie...I like poking around in my bins and giving them "high fives". Plus the reds are so much cuter. I know if I had a bin of ENC's I wouldn't get as attached to them. They kind of gross me out.
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Comment by Bing on July 23, 2008 at 3:20pm
- ENCs must be a man thing. I think they fit my image of worms more than the "cute" fetidas.
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Were you rummaging around in the bin beforehand? I've heard and read that they really don't like to be disturbed. They often go on a hike when interrupted. This is one reason why the reds are more suited to indoor composting.
Sherry