Topic: Have I done a 'silly'?

[tim]

Put my new compost bins on a nice tidy base of concret slabs.

Family now tell me they should be on soil.

Can't move them, so how about introducing worms??

[Mimi]

Go for it Tim...

"worms this is compost..... compost this is worms"   ;) :D ;)

[flowerlady]

I have a compost bin at home and worms spend their time moving out when the conditions are not right,  >:( so I don't see why they could move in!! ;D

Do your bins have a slotted base?   Can you wedge some tiles under the base to help the procedure?

[Doris_Pinks]

You could perhaps buy some to introduce them to your new abode!

[Kepouros]

No reason why you shouldn`t introduce some from your old compost bins. Trouble is that if the stuff in your new bins gets hot the worms will all climb up the sides to escape.

[Icyberjunkie]

You could go down to your local tackle shop and buy some red worms.

But then my bin in the garden is on very very hard and compact soil and is still full of worms so not sure how important it is for them to be on soil.  After all you find worms in the middle of roads at times!

[k@ren]

My bin was placed on concrete slabs, then someone told me it would leak onto the concrete if it got too wet, and make a right mess. They also said that worms could not get in. So I removed the slabs and placed it on the sand base underneath, It must be ok as there are now loads of worms in there, both the compost and worms seem happy enough.

K@ren

[Bionic Wellies]

I have a couple of the Delek type composters - all on 2'X2' paving slabs - always full of worms and always rots down quite quickly.  I have found that harvesting the compost is made a lot simpler when the base is hard.

-- Hope this helps

[Robert_Brenchley]

Worms always seem to find their way into rotting material on top of anything like slabs pretty quickly. I wouldn't worry.

[aquilegia]

My initial reaction to your title question was yes!

When I first constructed my compost bins, I put them on concrete slabs, not knowing they should be on soil. (It was the only place for them anyway!) They are still there and my compost makes itself just fine!

I put a layer of garden soil in the bottom of each bin and when I use the compost, I put any worms I find in the next bin. There are loads of worms in it now.

[Mrs Ava]

My skin and blisters dalek is on a concrete base, because when it wasn't the rats moved in!  She makes great compost in under a year - more than she can really use in her little garden!