Author Topic: Not a worm in the compost  (Read 6485 times)

ina

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Not a worm in the compost
« on: April 21, 2004, 18:21:57 »
Is it normal not to have any worms in the compost?

There's lots of them in the lottie but when I emptied out the compost heap today all I saw were wood lice and milipedes (or centipedes, I didn't count legs) and not a worm to be seen. The compost looks fine, not to wet, not too dry and a clean, earthy smell.

Will it do any good if I threw all the worms I see in the lottie in the compost heap or just leave them where they are?

gavin

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2004, 19:06:14 »
If the compost were right for worms, they'd have found their own way there?  Don't know - but I suspect so.

But if it looks good, feels good - and smells good (best bit :)), I'd not worry - just let it get on with its own business.

All best - Gavin

tim

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2004, 19:26:22 »
 - and leave them where they are. But funny, isn't it? You  strive to encourage them in the soil & then, as soon as you go out with your fork, the blackbirds are there, waiting! = Tim

PS - the compost worms are. of course, a different animal!
« Last Edit: April 21, 2004, 19:28:24 by tim »

ina

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2004, 21:22:39 »
Well, I find it very strange, why wouldn't they like my compost? Anyway, I'm happy that with almost every turned fork full of soil in the lotty there's a worm (but I still don't touch them with bare hands hahaha).

gavin

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2004, 21:51:57 »
I loved reading up on the technicalities of compost - what does what and when.  I've forgotten most of it.

But it was fascinating reading about how there are different bacteria and other creatures which predominate at each stage in the process.  Where they come from, haven't a clue - but as soon as the compost reaches a particular mix, of material, air, moisture, temperature, density, there's the ideal mix of whatever to bring it on to the next stage.  Which happens to be ideal for a different mix of creatures and bugs.

B....y h..l, you'd think I'd have remembered a bit more than that after ploughing through the reading!  Sorry!  :)

All best - Gavin

ina

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #5 on: April 21, 2004, 22:42:14 »
That must be it Gavin. I just happened to pull the heap apart right after the worms left for other parts of the lottie hahaha and now it was the time for centipedes and woodlice.

When I started the lottie, I read up on doing compost, kind of like using a cook book. I tried it that way too but after a couple of years I got sloppy. I just trow the stuff on, chop a bit, mix a bit, throw a bucket of water out of the canal on it every now and then and you know what? It didn't seem to make much difference. Mine never got warm and takes a long time but who's in a hurry?

I empty it out in spring, put back the top layer that's not composted much, add stuff all through summer and fall and empty it out again in spring.

gavin

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #6 on: April 21, 2004, 23:16:39 »
Yup - with you on method!  Life's too short - and whatever I do with the heap, there's the right magical mix!  So let it do its own thing! :)

All best - Gavin

tim

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2004, 08:19:52 »
The only  purpose of heat is to kill weed seeds?? As if the soil wasn't full of 100s of years of them!

Funny - when we have used a 'compost bin', as opposed to a 'contained heap', the whole thing has been squirming with the little 'brandling' worms. But virtually nothing in the heap. = Tim
« Last Edit: April 22, 2004, 08:25:18 by tim »

budgiebreeder

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2004, 09:10:12 »
So glad that someone else likes the smell of good home made compost thought perhaps there was only me.Like the feel too.Love the satisfaction of spreading it on my garden.
Earth fills her lap with treasures of her own.

Wicker

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #9 on: April 22, 2004, 19:16:13 »
Used our compost today and like you, Ina, I didn't come across worms but it it really nice stuff.  course I was being impatient again and used the top stuff for putting in ready for the peas, beans etc instead of waiting for Bill to take the bars off the front so it could all be turned - do you think the worms will be down there trying to escape the spade?  :D:D
Equality isn't everyone being the same, equality is recognising that being different is normal.

Shirley

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #10 on: April 22, 2004, 19:24:20 »
Slightly OT, but I bought some growbags last season from Somerfield supermarket.  The compost was fairly damp and full of "compost" worms.  Incidently, are the "compost" worms the same as the fishermen?

Wicker

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #11 on: April 22, 2004, 20:44:17 »
Just did a quick Google Shirley on composting worms and they show them as red, very different from earth worms.  they also show meal worms for composting.  I like earth worms but not at all sure of bright red worms so will just stick to normal ways!
Equality isn't everyone being the same, equality is recognising that being different is normal.

Hugh_Jones

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #12 on: April 22, 2004, 23:03:25 »
The `compost` worms are brandlings, or tiger worms (so called because they have a yellowish band round about a third of the way down from the head end), and they are indeed the same worms that are sold to fishermen as brandlings in angling shops (where they are usually cheaper than from specialist worm suppliers).

Ordinary garden worms rarely frequent compost bins and play little part in the composting process

Brandlings usually proliferate in compost bins where the actual rotting is still in process, and will multiply at an enormous rate, but once composting has finished they will virtually disappear - usually into the next bin or pile of rotting debris - because there is nothing left to keep them there.
I have 4 `rotting` bins and a large `finishing` bin, and while the compost in the rotting bins is invariably teeming with worms the numbers steadily decrease once the compost is transferred to the finishing bin until after a few months there are practically none to be seen.  So if there were once brandlings in your compost and they have now departed it usually indicates that the composting process is completed.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2004, 23:05:01 by Hugh_Jones »

Mrs Ava

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2004, 23:09:31 »
Okay, dumb blonde compost question coming up.... my various compost heaps, do the worms come find the heaps from the wilds of the earth, or....if you want worms in your heap you have to go buy them?  Am I making sense?  :-[ :-\

ina

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2004, 23:11:03 »
That explains it, thanks Hugh. I wonder where the compost worms went, I have only one big compost heap.

Hugh_Jones

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2004, 23:38:02 »
Sorry EJ.  I don`t know anything about compost heaps, I have used bins throughout my whole gardening life.  Where bins are concerned the simplest thing is to have them all next to one another, and the worms will simply migrate from one to another when occasion arises - if you put brandlings in one rotting bin then you will soon find that all your rotting bins have brandlings in them.

However, brandlings have the happy knack of appearing to some extent wherever there is a heap of rotting vegetation (or manure for that matter), and once you have had a compost heap with brandlings in it in one spot you should always get some brandlings in any succeeding heap on the same spot, although they will not appear in the numbers that you will get with a bin.  Although I would advise anybody starting a brand new bin to buy a few brandlings, I would certainly not bother to do so with a heap, where the conditions are nothing like as conducive to them and where they simply will not proliferate to the same extent.

tim

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2004, 07:09:33 »
It's mind-boggling the way they come from nowhere - in the most outlandish spots - & just take over! = Tim

ptennisnet

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #17 on: April 23, 2004, 14:37:35 »
Hi,

I'm a newbie here.  We've had our allotment for a year now and this winter's job was building a compost heap from broken down pallets.  Today I added some grass and kitchen waste etc and gave the top a quick turn to see what I could see.  I saw worms.  Yipeee :) :) :)

Is it true that the heap needs twice the volume of paper / cardboard / straw to green?

Nik

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2004, 06:53:13 »
Hi Nick

Yes, that proportion sounds about right. Not too much in the way of grass cuttings as they tend to clog together and/or go slimy. If you do use grass cuttings, mix with shredded cardboard, newspaper or some other dry matter.

There's excellent advice here
http://www.hdra.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.htm

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Re:Not a worm in the compost
« Reply #19 on: April 24, 2004, 22:16:49 »
I always seem to get tons of compost worms (brandlings - hmm thought so), I have never added any they just seem to appear as other folks have found.  They do a good job too, brandlings and good compost seem to go hand in hand I have found.

On a side note, I currently trying paper shreddings (including newspaper) in my compost bin to provide the dry/carbon content of the mix. This to go with all the lawn rakings being produced by the electric scarifyier/rake i now have. Time will tell if this makes good compost.

 

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