Subject: WORM COMPOSTING HELP�����

From: [email-masked] (Jim Mcnelly)
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 1995 00:49:00 +0600

Beverly Erelebacher writes:

BE> Don't worry.  The worms won't breed too fast and outrun their food
BE> supply.  You will never have a problem with excess worms.  

Hi Beverly,

Actually, the worms *do* breed too fast, which causes them to outrun 
their feed supply. Most worm populations in home boxes are actually 
stressed due to overpopulation.

When redworms are in optimal conditions, adult worms are capable of 
laying 3.5 cocoons per week averaging 3.5 worms per cocoon. It takes 
about three to five weeks for the cocoons to hatch, depending on 
temperature and moisture. The young require around another seven weeks 
before they are of breeder age. So given 60-100 days, the worm 
population can double daily!

In actually, people keep worms in their castings, leave the bed too dry, 
have less than optimum temperature, and feed imperfectly. These 
conditions cause stress which limits the reproduction rate, causes the 
worms to loose weight, and in some cases die.

The *ideal* condition is to remove worms at a rate equal with the 
reproduction rate and ensure unstressed worms that eat voraciously. But 
your original point is actually true, a poorly tended bin will self 
regulate the population. But this is not an optimal vermicomposting 
system.

They can
BE> go a long time between feedings, they don't eat the garbage until it
BE> has rotted down quite a bit, and they keep reprocessing the compost
BE> with the newspaper or other bedding.

This is true. It is one reason why I recommend pre-digesting table 
scraps in a 5 gallon pail mixed with old compost to get it broken down 
before feeding the mess to the worms. The worms like it better, and it 
separates the composting action from the vermistabilization effort. 
Worms are actually poor composters of raw organics, they are better 
compost curers of compost that is partially cooked.

BE> I think your culinary style may result in a lot of moldy or stale
BE> bread, well-past-prime lettuce and other fridge surprises, banana
BE> peels and apple cores, etc.  I think you and the worms will get
BE> along just fine!

They do like these "soft things" which you described. Over the years, 
some of the favorite worm feeds I have seen have been pumpkins, 
watermelons, avocados, bread, tortillas, sweet corn silage, rabbit 
manure, horse manure, and any compost that has been cooking about a 
week. Make sure that you feed compost to worms in thin layers; never 
add worms to a cooking pile.  You just cook the worms too!

I can tell that you dig worms too.

The ~~~ in Mr Compost~~~ are worms, you know. ;-)

Jim~ McNelly
[email-masked]

 * RM 1.3 02460 * Anything you say will be misquoted & used against you.

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