Worm beds??

james dilley · #1 09/26/07, 11:38 AM

O K with the Extreme summer HEAT we have here 100 Degree days I think it would be tricky to raise worms to help Compost. I was thinking Can it be done ,By building A Tumbler ,And have the worms in it?? Or would Smaller units Like Tubs and the like work? I can get A extra Rubbermaid 20 gallon tote. And find A spot in the house. If need be. Would it be woth it to Add the Wasted seed from ther cage birds to the Beds??? Any ideas?? Thoughts Problems you can foresee?? Thanks for ANY help.

rocket · #2 09/26/07, 11:55 AM

Is the heat really a problem for them? I've never purposely raised worms, but my compost pile is always full of them and it regularly gets over 110F here in the summer.

MARYDVM · #3 09/26/07, 07:48 PM

I have a flourishing worm bed here in southern AZ. Its made of concrete blocks, and is big enough to bury a body in. I have straw bales around the outside for insulation, and a soaker hose looped in the bed to water it daily. Its covered with a doubled over tarp. The main problem is dryness, not heat. Before I put the soaker hose in I was watering it twice daily in the desert summers. I forgot to dig out the worm castings one year, and almost lost the colony when they filled up the bin and had nowhere to go. They are munching down all kitchen and garden waste, feathers from processing poultry, and waste hay/manure thats been partially composted to leach out urine. I also add oyster shell if there aren't a lot of eggshells in the weekly scraps. The worms need calcium, according to the guy I bought them from.

james dilley · #4 09/26/07, 08:24 PM

So would it Be O K under the Mesquite trees?? Theres is Tons of Leaf litter here plus the Yard wastes and Poultry /Rabbit droppings. And Kitchen wastes.. My grandfather had Worm beds in N Fla. in the 1960's But I wasn't sure if they were doable here! So I'll probly start one in NOV. That way they can have the cool weather to get established!

MARYDVM · #5 09/26/07, 09:08 PM

Mine is under a mesquite tree to keep it out of direct sun. The straw bales really help keep the temperature moderated. I would compost the poultry waste before giving it to the worms to decrease the urate concentration. Also if you put in too much "hot" compost it may raise the temperature in the bin too high. Just like in a compost pile, you need a good proportion of dry stuff to balance the fresh. I usually cover up the kitchen scraps with a couple of shovels of half decomposed stuff from the compost pile. In the hottest weather, I was told you can put veggie scraps in the freezer before adding them to the bin, to help cool it. I've never had to do this yet.
Here's where I got my worms-
http://www.acmewormfarm.com/
Lots of good information.

pixelphotograph · #6 09/28/07, 08:26 AM

just be sure to not over feed them in the winter time.
heres a good resource for worm questions if you have any.......
http://wormsturn.proboards54.com/