Hi. I’ve been adding stuff to this bin for about six months. Pretty sure it’s a good mix of about 2/3 brown (shredded cardboard and brown leaves) and the rest kitchen waste including lots of eggshells and coffee grinds. No sign of life in there, but yesterday I added some worms from a bait shop. I checked the internal temperature yesterday and today and it’s a stable 25 degrees which I think is right at the upper limit. So I feel like I should bring the temperature down a bit. Is that right? I’ve taken the lid off, made sure it’s damp and have cardboard covering it. Am I doing it right? You might notice it’s buried about 1 foot into the soil – not sure if that’s good or bad
by rasputinny
12 Comments
I’m not a worm, nor a professor in the education of worms. Worms if uncomfortable (too warm) are going to just navigate their way to somewhere cooler.
They’re like anything else and us. If we’re not comfortable somewhere, it’s best to move somewhere else. I wouldn’t overthink cooking your worms, they’ll navigate to a cooler spot.
if you’re consistently hitting 160 F
fahrenheit through hot composting then prolly honestly. I’ve been viewing composting methods a bit more black and white after simultaneously practicing hotcomposting and blackfly soldier larvae rearing which resulted in the larvae ultimately dying from exposure to heat. I guess the lesson is that there are many different methods to composting and they’re all awesome in their own right. I’ve been contemplating setting up some bins exclusively for worms and larvae as well
Just fyi bait shop worms are usually earthworms, which do not eat kitchen waste. You need red wrigglers, which are a lot smaller. If your bin has holes in the bottom you may attract them to your pile naturally if they exist in your area. But to answer your question, worms do a good job on their own of moving in and out of the pile based on moisture and temp so they don’t bake or drown
It’s better to put on one half or one quadrant. Not spread across the entire top.
Maybe but is there a bottom on the bin?
The worms won’t like the onions
Are you trying to hot compost or vermicompost?
It sounds like you’re building a hot compost pile, so lowering the temperature to make it hospitable for worms defeats the purpose.
The microbes that work in hot compost have very different needs than worms. My suggestion is keep doing what you’re doing with your compost bin and worm bin if you’re hoping for worm castings.
Should probably cut the food waste up a little more if possible. But it will break down regardless in time.
So ive added bait worms and they seemed to leave my pile but my red wigglers have multiplied and seem to be happy with my kitchen scraps and yard waste in my compost bin. My bin has direct soil contact and I havent seen any worm lower than my pile. I actually dug a deeper hole so my worms will have a nice place to thrive even when I harvest the material.
25°C is fine and won’t kill them. Since it might be getting warmer for you, I’d suggest just covering it with something light/reflective (like a white cloth) to help it cool a bit. That said, worms can survive and thrive at room temperature, so don’t worry too much.
Wrong worms! And should you ever add worms wait until the compost is done. Adding them now would be a catastrophe. Too much baby sitting. Too much risk
Red wigglers make that good shit.
Actually, 25°C (77°F) is a perfect sweet spot for most composting worms. Red wigglers are happiest between 15-27°C. Being buried a foot deep is a huge win, the surrounding soil acts as natural insulation to keep them cool when the air heats up.