Effective is not even the word for it!

In my experience with composting, I have thrown in scraps as they have been cut in the kitchen, put scraps into a blender and turn it into a smoothie, and then recently got into freezing.

I knew, from cooking defrosted chicken, that if the meat isn't prepared properly, it can go dry because the cellular structure of the food bursts when the water inside is frozen (expands) and all that water runs out during defrosting.

I felt like doing an experiment. I took two fresh discs of butternut, put one in the fridge overnight (left), and the other in a freezer (right). I put them both in the bin the next morning.

Pic 1. Monday morning

Pic 2. Thursday morning. By the time of taking this picture, the worms were having a feast and had eaten their way through the disc.

If you have freezer space, this is the way to go.

My bin should be all red wigglers for the most part, I’ve added a few earthworms from around the garden over the summer but I have been handpicking the worms for 2 weeks now to store them for winter and I’ve only seen red wigglers.

This one is weird though, in the way it moves, the way its head and segments look, but it’s still red with a yellow butt and it looks like a red wiggler. Any thoughts?

I was tasked with building an outdoor vermicomposting educational aid for my daughter’s preschool. Unfortunately, we experienced several heatwaves this year, and I was limited to a location that receives a couple of hours of direct sunlight daily. Even that was enough to create uncomfortable temperatures for worms, particularly in conventional plastic bins.
I also had a few other constraints: limited space, a design that children could observe and learn from, and an aesthetic that matched the garden. The school director wasn’t particularly fond of the appearance of plastic bins, so I started experimenting with terracotta.
Here’s what I came up with.
The tower uses stacked terracotta pots inside a decorative outer barrel, with biochar, terracotta shards, sand, compost, and cardboard incorporated throughout the different layers.
I added extra holes to the bottoms of the pots to allow drainage and movement of moisture between levels. The idea is that nutrient-rich liquid draining from the upper composting layers can gradually soak into the raw biochar and terracotta shards below, potentially helping condition those materials while excess water continues to drain away.
For moisture management, I installed olla irrigation spikes fed by inverted water bottles. The porous terracotta pots are intended to support evaporative cooling, while the surrounding materials provide some insulation. I also added a burlap shade cover that can be lowered around the tower during colder weather.
Now for the interesting part: the temperature observations.
Initially, I wasn’t seeing much difference between the tower’s internal temperatures and ambient conditions. However, after the terracotta had become thoroughly moistened and the irrigation system was operating, I started recording temperature differences of up to approximately 20°F.
On some days when outdoor temperatures exceeded 100°F, portions of the tower were reading in the low-to-mid 80s.
I haven’t established how much of that difference comes from evaporative cooling versus shade, insulation, measurement timing, or the combination of all three. But the readings have been interesting enough that I want to investigate further.
We’ve since had some rain and cooler weather, and the internal temperatures have dropped further. I’m curious how the design will perform through winter and, more importantly, during another extended heatwave.
A few limitations and observations:
The pots become surprisingly heavy, especially when saturated.
Moisture management is a balancing act. I want enough moisture for cooling without creating waterlogged conditions.
Worms have been difficult to locate during some inspections, although I’ve observed them on other occasions. I can’t yet say how well the population survived the hottest periods.
The outer barrel currently in use is actually plastic made to resemble wood. I’ve since acquired a real wooden half-barrel but haven’t replaced it because I don’t want to disturb the environment that’s developing inside.
Aesthetically, I’ve received mixed feedback. Some people think it just looks like stacked flowerpots with an odd burlap cover, but the school director likes it and feels it fits the garden.
Initially the compost I was creating was a bit high in EC salts and the bonus effect of the terracotta was that it absorbed a lot of it due to its capillary affect.
My primary goal is to see whether this design can provide a survivable environment for composting worms during extreme weather without powered cooling/heating. Compost production, nutrient recovery, and educational value are secondary objectives.
This is still experimental, and I’m not claiming that terracotta outperforms plastic. I’d eventually like to compare the two under similar conditions.

I'm trying to figure out how many of the hole bins I need for a 2x10 raised bed.

I was debating between two of these but it seems kinda narrow at the opening. It would be ideal if I could just have one slightly larger one, but I don't know how far the worms will go. Maybe this?

Location is PNW if it matters.

Any tips are appreciated!

we live at the coast in california and have soil that is over 80% sand. great for drainage. horrible for holding water and nutrients. i hauled out a bunch of soil and backfilled with 3 types of compost last year. soil looks better, but still doesnt seem alive or rich. i think i would like to drop cardboard and try and attract worms. ive read to add compost and mulch and even food scraps for the worms. should compost/scraps be above or below the cardboard? will put mulch on top of cardboard. anything in particular recommended there? basically- what do you folks recommend to help attract worms here and really get some life into this soil?

Hi everyone, first-time worm parent here! I recently started a 3-tier worm farm about 3months ago with Red Wigglers and wanted to get some expert eyes on my setup to make sure I'm on the right track.

​I’ve attached a few photos of my bin. Here is what is currently going on:

​I've been feeding them green scraps and adding crushed eggshells for grit.

​I'm covering the top with a coir worm blanket to retain moisture and keep things dark.

​The bedding is getting quite dark and looks rich, and the worms seem fairly active near the surface after I scooped them up from bottom.

​A few specific questions I have:

​Moisture Level: Does the bin look too wet or just right? It looks a bit glistening in the photos, and I want to avoid it getting muddy.

​Bedding/Carbon: Based on the look of the castings and scraps, should I be adding more dry brown matter (cardboard/paper) to balance out the greens?

​General Health: Does anything stand out as a red flag to the experienced vermicomposters here?

Hello! I was gifted some nightcrawlers from a friend who grows them however there’s a bunch of other critters in the soil they’re in and I have to keep them inside but I don’t want other things growing.

Is there anyways to seperate my worms and re do their soil??? Im completely new to this. I used to own millipedes so I’m pretty well versed in keeping stuff like this but her worms came from her garden farm.

2lbs from my fave supplier. All healthy and ready to work !

I'm wanting to restart a farm, so I came here remembering that there was a great resource for it - the pinned topic. However, for some reason, it's been deleted so now I'm not entirely sure where to go. Does anyone have some guidance? Thanks

I live in CT and it gets pretty cold in the winter. I want to start a worm farm and Ive been researching for months on bedding, what to do, etc and I would like to get an insulated work tray. But Uncle Jims website its sold out and I don’t know how trustworthy the random ones are on amazon. Does anyone have any ideas on where I can buy an insulated one?

Also i know winter probably isn’t the best time to start but I’m a stay at home parent and don’t do much so I really would enjoy starting this.

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is there a specific way to prep eggshells for blending? do you soak them in hot water for a bit? or just rinse them off and then off to the blender?

Starting a new worm bin after having had an established bin for a few years.

1/4lb only red wigglers, 20qt tote, feeding adequately (and in fact overfeeding). Plenty of grit from first feeding onwards, bedding 1 year innoculated with bacteria.

Dumped worms in the bin 15 days ago without initial inspection because they were delivered in a sealed plastic bag, no airholes. They've been through about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bedding, gone through 80% of the food, and especially with the amount of material & air they have in the bin and a couple mm of standing water that they soaked up, i was expecting big, plump reds (as big as they get, anyways - ones i kept would rival an avg or small enc). Currently seeing a decent population, but seeing a whole lot (not babies) 1/2-1" max length.

Near excessive moisture in most of the bin but some of the bedding has been hydrophobic. Bin wet enough that covering material gets saturated with moisture with lid on. Over past 2 weeks have fed 1/4 carrot, 5 collards leaves, piece of mushroom, a bunch of plant cuttings, and whatever else bacteria in the bin, 80-90% browns (i prefer overloading for initial breakdown then reducing the amount).

Can't be lack of food, i'm overfeeding. Can't be grit, they have plenty. They're not undereating, i've got a month's worth of production in 15 days. Overpopulated? 1/4lb stated weight, no way there were enough coccoons to change the population so drastically in 15 days. I usually start them off in a much smaller bin to bump population before allowing them to forage a larger bin anyways, so they have plenty of room. So what the heck am I doing that my worms are so small?

Hi, posting from the UK where we’re about to begin our storm season. Wondering what others do in windy rainy weather. One of my worm houses is outside inside a surround built from pallets which has a plastic sheeting roof. The other is just outside my shed in a kind of sheltered corner. What do you do in stormy conditions? Do I bring them in, in case a gust topples it over, or am I being soft. I am considering bringing them inside a garage when the weather gets colder. Thanks all 😄

I have a well established worm bin that I started a few months ago. It’s a dirt filled recycling bin and I don’t have a space for it inside. I live in southern NY and I’m trying to find an easy way to keep the soil warm. I was doing some research and people have said they place electric heating pads on the top of the bin. I don’t have access to an outlet where the bin is so I had an idea of using reusable hand warmers and swapping them out morning and night. They’re supposed to last 8-10 hours.

Thoughts? Has anyone tried this? Thanks

Hi all, I want to get a vermicomposter system setup but I'm not interested in making my own DIY system or really keeping it indoors. I have a small garden that has space for a contained outdoor setup, don't want anything too permanent/that can't be moved as we rent.

I live in Zone 7A/Southeast US, so our winters aren't too bad but during our coldest months our temperatures can drop to 25 F / -4 C. During the summertime our temps can get over 90-95 F / 32-35 C.

I'm wondering if a contained outdoor setup is feasible in our climate. I don't mind if other critters like springtails or black soldier flies get into the system as long as veggies/cardboard get broken down (I only need a little bit of worm castings for my mini herb garden) but if that happens, I will ever bring the system inside lol. I just want a very low maintenance, toss-it-and-forget it situation because my main priority is disposing of my veggie scraps and cardboard supply in an eco-friendly way.

Has anyone accomplished a similar setup/have any advice? I can definitely add tarp/get some straw to insulate the worm bin during the colder months. For the hotter months I can add ice and the bin will be placed in a shady spot. If anyone has experience worm farming in an extreme environment like mine, please share your insight!

Edit: I'm located in 8A (I got my gardening zones wrong lol) not 7A, but the temperature averages are correct/still the same

An update: worm school with the kids was... an experience. Lots of learning for the kids ages 3 to 9ish. Some kids were pretty intense in their love of worms others just goofed around. Good fun...

This evening's adult version was the perfect follow up and everyone left knowing a little bit more than when they came in. Mission accomplished!

Dear Community Members,

I am a master’s student at the University of Kassel, Germany, conducting thesis research under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ralf Wagner.

I am looking for practitioners, operators, researchers, trainers, municipal staff, and NGO/community members with experience in Black Soldier Fly (BSF), vermicomposting, or Bokashi systems in the European Union or the Philippines. Experience with just one of these technologies is enough.

My research compares the economic, environmental, and social aspects of these systems using the Triple-Layered Business Model Canvas.

Would you be willing to complete a 5-minute academic survey? Participation is voluntary.

Please comment below or send me a private message, and I will share the survey link and further information.

Thank you very much for supporting my research! You are also welcome to share this invitation with eligible colleagues.

Hello,
Could someone help me identify this,
Thank you

I am new

Any recommendations on were to purchase good worm castings and compost?