Lizzie Borden

I checked the pH just now and it's 6.9-7. I haven't found any information on recommended pH for worm bins either, but I figure neutral is probably within their range. It's a little surprising that the pH is as high as that given the amount of acidic coffee grounds I've put in there (the caffeine in them is also supposed to increase the speed at which the worms eat and produce castings).

The bin does attract fungus gnats, which is another reason I suspect it is too wet. I have not seen mites in there nor have my plants suffered any infestations since I've had the worm bin.

Pepperpot

6.0 to 7.0 is a Good pH for worms. pH Over 7.0 or under 6.0 can be dangerous for composting worms like Red Worms, European Night Crawlers and other composting worms. The ideal pH of your worm bed should read approximately 7.0. You should turn the bedding weekly.

Acid forms in the worm bed when too much grain or wheat based foods are fed to the worms. Try to use scraps of food that do not contain wheat or pulverized corn products. Too much wheat based or corn based products will sour the bedding and cause acid formation. High acid levels can also cause the formation of mites in the worm bed. A small population of mites is normal in worm beds, but a large population can indicate a high acid condition.

Try turning the bed more often to let it dry out some and see if that helps.

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sientbob

I thought these were good links regarding vermiculture:

Earthworm Biology and Production
THE MIGHTY EARTH WORM-HARNESSING THE COLLOID MILL

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sientbob

I found this place that has neem cake, leaf granuals and bark powder.

Plasmaneem

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mr_chow

wow...guy's and gal...

i'm utterly speechless. i knew of composting, but never knew about the necessity to add worms. as i was reading your thread brindie, i asked myself, "why doesn't she order more worms?" wouldn't that help the process of hermaphriditic worm procreation? what is the gestation period for the worm? how many do they produce at once? when does a new worm reach sexual maturity?

just questions that popped into my head. i've always liked soil growing, for there's so much flavor.

do you think if you only feed pineapple to your worms (or take your pick of select few things), that your herb would taste like it? wine grapes take flavors from the soil in which they are planted...would mj?

peace,

mr_chow

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Lizzie Borden

Thanks for the helpful information, PP and Sientbob.

From one of Sientbob's links:

"Reproduction. Earthworms are usually not self-mating although they are hermaphroditic (each individual possesses both male and female reproductive organs). A mutual exchange of sperm occurs between two worms during mating. Mature sperm and egg cells and nutritive fluid are deposited in cocoons produced by the clitellum, a conspicuous, girdle-like structure near the anterior end of the body. The ova (eggs) are fertilized by the sperm cells within the cocoon, which then slips off the worm and is deposited in or on the soil. The eggs hatch after about 3 weeks, each cocoon producing from two to twenty baby worms with an average of four."

It doesn't go into as much detail on timing as I would like, but I have read elsewhere that they reproduce rapidly if conditions are right. I don't want to buy more worms because they're supposed to reproduce to sufficient numbers on their own, without any further investment. My worms do seem to be fat and active. With the additional information provided I suspect even more that the bin is too wet, because I have not been turning it as recommended. I have dumped it outside to air out a couple more times and will continue to do so on warm days.

I don't know about the flavored worm castings. Maybe if I get them to produce castings more rapidly I will experiment with something like that.

Does anyone know what these are? I frequently find them on the rim or lid of the bin. They kind of look like eggs but they crawl. I thought they may be worm larvae but from the description of their reproductive cycle above it seems small worms hatch directly out of eggs and these don't look like worms. Maybe mite or gnat larvae?

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Dig

Brindie those little amber dots are mites and it is a sign that your medium is too wet and too acidic. I know this from personnal experience. A buddy had a worm bin and he also brews beer. Well he added his spent grain to the mix and if I remember correctly it had too high of a carbon:nitrogen ratio. Example.. alfalfa has a 1:13 C to N ratio while wheat straw is like 1:400 and spent grain is like the later. What this affects is biological activity. The carbon quickly becomes the limiting factor in the equation. Advantitious bacteria take advantage at this point (I believe) and make the environment unsuitable.

Do me a favor and flip your media upside down. Check that you still have worms. They will try to "flee" out of the container. My friends was in his bathtub, and no it didn't stink, and before it all died the worms started committing suicide in the tub just getting away from the bad environment.

Also check other worm sites, not sure if silentbob gave it or not www.vermiculture.com. I did a search to get that info on the mites.

Later

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Dig

I should also let you know that mites are natural, it is when they have a pop explosion that it is a sign of problems.

later

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Lizzie Borden

Thank you, Dig. Another good link to add to my growing collection of worm sites.

I had read from Sientbob and PP's information that some mites are normal, but conditions that favor them disfavor worms so too many mites means conditions aren't right for the worms. I just didn't know those things were mites.

I definitely still have plenty of worms. Every time I dump the bin outside (it's out there right now to dry out some more) I see all kinds of worms for a few minutes, until they crawl inside the pile. They never escape from the bin, even though they can fit through the holes in the bottom.

So I'm convinced that too much moisture is the primary problem. I don't think it's too acidic because I checked the pH in a few spots and got 6.9-7 and I feed them hardly any grain products. My dogs eat those kind of scraps. Mostly the worms get trimmings from fresh fruits and vegetables, and coffee grounds from Starbucks.

pfrtheotherside

Looking at starting my own worm bin. Brindie - you started with 18 gallon containers. Would smaller containers work like maybe a 5 gallon size?

Do you add water through out the process or does it develope on it's own?

I drink about a pot of coffee a day - about 2 scoops. Adding that each day would that be too much coffee? And can you throw the coffee filter in also?

I know that oak leaves takes a long time to break down - would this be good or bad for the bin. Got plenty of oak lives.

Figured out apples and banna peels work well but will celery and tomatoes work well also?

Thanks for your time everybody - boy I really feel like a

TOS

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