Urban Organic Gardener

I am not sure what's happening, whether it has much to do with temperatures etc.

My worms have had their first birthday recently and all are still intact. I do keep them in the shed though. Away from noises, vibrations and light. They might find the kitchen sink too noisy in the pipes, maybe?

I am not sure whether or not the farm is starting to smell odd? That would mean you may need to sprinkle dolomote/garden lime in it to keep it from being too acidic.

Another thing, which I apologise in advance for not reading your other posts lately is whether or not you are buying the fireworms? Those are the worms which eat upwards but digs down if there are lights. This is different to the normal garden worms which dig down and disperse ...?

Good luck!

Rub it in. Rub it in. Hahaha. There are no odors coming from it. The other two batches (that I killed) lasted about 2-3 weeks and then they all died off.

These are red wriggler worms that I'm buying from a local ecology center.

Thanks for the advice.

We had a lesson in worm composting last week in my master gardener class. One thing they mentioned was that if there are too many vibrations, worms will try to escape. Maybe the garbage disposal bothered them?

Hmm, no garbage disposal, but that's where our garbage is and it gets opened and closed frequently. So maybe that could've been part of it.

Hi, i created my first worm farm similar to yours. But just slightly different.

Instead of one bin, i have two bins of the same size, and i put one bin inside the other. For the inner bin, i drilled holes into the base and lined with insect netting so that the water can escape into the outer bin but not the worms. And i also drilled holes into the cover so that will provide air. I also put a insect netting over the top of the bin before putting on the cover. The worms will climb up to the netting, but they can't get out. The netting also prevent flies from entering the compost.

Then i put the cover of the outer bin over the top, but NOT tight fitting so that the air can circulate through the gaps and holes, but the rain does not get in. This is because i have to put my worm farm outdoors.

For the bedding, i put a layer of potting mix first, as i think worms like some soil to hide in. If i put papers, i soak them in water overnight so they become soft and also provide moisture. I also blend up my scraps so that will be easy for the worms to eat.

That was my first worm farm and it worked fantastic.

I hope these suggestions help. Cheers, Kaikit

That design sounds much better than mine Kaikit. I'll definitely do something like that if I start another batch. Gotta see how this one turns out first. Appreciate your comment.

You may just have had too many worms. That really isn't that many to lose. Just don't touch them for a week. They'll work it out themselves. Also, I don't keep my worms in the dark other than the lid they are under. They won't come out if they have to go into the light. They could also just be adventurous.

I went back on forth on putting them in the dark of the light. It doesn't really look good for them at this point...

I decided to try worms last summer and have been successful but I think it's been "dumb luck". :) Mine are in a large rubbermaid tub which sits inside another tub so that the excess moisture can drain. I also keep the lid on tightly and so far have had no escapees. I rarely add moisture as the soil is quite moist. The soil my worms are producing is beautiful! Don't give up!! Best of luck!

I think I might be the one that has the dumb luck as this is my third set that I'm killin. Glad that you've had success. Mind sharing some of it with me?

Here is where I got much of my info, as well as "starter" food for my worms.
http://www.lavermesworms.com/ellen.php

Thanks!