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Guy22 starts with ... hello guys, I am a newbie in operating worm farms, therefore I decided to follow the instructions on the internet (chopping organic waste down to small pieces and water the worm farm with 1L of water every week) Lately I have noticed that the worms love to like on top of the worm blanket instead of below it. I respect their living style :) but this makes havesting worm compost a bit troublesome(since they will produce the compost on top of the blanket). Is this normal or did I do anything wrong? Can I do anything to persuade them back down below the blanket? My guess is the way I water the worm farm that I pour water directly onto the blanket, maybe next time I shall lift up the blanet and only water the organic waste... hm... Anyways, operating a worm farm has been fun and exciting. :) Kind Regards, Tu | About the Author Guy22 Sydney 7th November 2011 4:47pm #UserID: 6088 Posts: 2 View All Guy22's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Guy22 - that's interesting - maybe it's too hot or too wet..? Sometimes my worms try to crawl out when there is a big low pressure system hanging around too (trying to make for higher ground!) I have had a lot less problems since I moved my (3-tier) farm into complete shade. When they get too hot they try to escape. To water mine I just throw a bucket of water on the top tray and open the tap at the bottom....maybe every 2 or so weeks - or whenever the top tray is feeling dry. | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 7th November 2011 6:27pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Gus says... I have always kept my worm farm under shade, but always find them trying to escape when it is raining. I always use newspaper or pieces of cardboard instead of a worm blanket, and the worms seem to love eating them. It is a great way to get rid of newspaper and old boxes etc. I actually don't add much water at all as the worms can drown. I think there is usually a fair bit of moisture in fresh fruit or vege anyway, so I generally just keep the newspaper damp and only add a bit of water before I drain some 'tea'. I would maybe suggest holding off on the water for a little while and luring them under the blanket with some juicey watermelon. Your slippery friends will love you for it. Good Luck | About the Author 7th November 2011 11:59pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Yea Gus..they commit suicide on our rainwater tanks when the ground is drenched...they mass migrate out of the veg garden also etc...they get caught out and dry out and die. I like the 3 tier system because they can move down lower when the system warms up or gets too dry...if I don't see worms in the top layer (where most of the food goes - and I have a blanket) then I know it's too dry or too warm. I always have 70% of the worms in the lowest/bottom tier. Always the biggest and fattest ones too. In a natural environment 9ir the ground) that's exactly what they will do. They may lay lots of eggs as they go though - so that when the earth gets warm and wet the eggs hatch. You need to understand what these creatures do in the wild...then u can make their life comfortable ;-) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 8th November 2011 12:19am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
Guy22 says... Thanks for the help guys! I never knew weather could affect their behaviours! I checked again this morning, worms are still having parties on top of the blanket, perhaps the recent weather in Syndey has something to do with that. I have reduced the amount of water i pour into the worm farm, fingers crossed to see what will happen next. :) Kind Regards, Tu | About the Author Guy22 Sydney 8th November 2011 2:20pm #UserID: 6088 Posts: 2 View All Guy22's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 8th November 2011 6:11pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Steven says... Hi Everyone. When i first got my worm farm i had a big problem because I got it in jan in the middle of a heat wave and there wasnt enough material in there to keep the temperature more or less constant. Even though i had it on the south side of the house it was way to hot form them in there. They would crawl out in massive bundles, oozing out from one of the sides. Eventually they all died and i had to start again, however this time i put them in the garage until the weather cooled down. since then i have never had that problem as there is water in the lower tub, the second is full and the third is almost full so theres enough material there to keep them cool when its hot. Guy22 the air temperature isnt too hot where you have them is it? Amanda is right though, worms will naturally head for higher ground when its about to rain so that they wont drown. I never water my worm farm though. the only water they get is from the compost and its still very moist. Another this is that they may just be eating the newspaper. its dark in there so they wont stay underground like they will outside. maybe even try using a thicker wad of newspaper. I hope this helps. Regards Steven | About the Author Steven Eastern Melbourne 8th November 2011 11:15pm #UserID: 704 Posts: 325 View All Steven's Edible Fruit Trees |
Pauline says... I water mine every now and again, but only a cup or so. Mine is in my house, with the tap open all the time, so I only water if I notice not much is coming out. For anyone who's worms are getting too hot (heatwaves etc), freeze bottles of water and put them in the top with the lid off. It slowly melts and cools them down. Just don't forget a day, your worm farm will smell really bad when they have all cooked. I speak from experience! | About the Author Pauline Adelaide 10th November 2011 7:12pm #UserID: 1532 Posts: 293 View All Pauline's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Good tip Pauline! It's odd about the water thing as my farm has been going great guns for a few years now and yet I "wash" them with about 2/3 bucket when I do water them...(I let it all drain out tho) My thinking was to give the media a "clean" basically - in case of salt and such, build ups...? My tap drips a little and it's interesting to see the white build up on the deck. I get so many of them that I have to transfer them to the garden fairly regularly, so I guess they are happy either way :) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. Mide West WA. 10th November 2011 10:08pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
Jackie Pole says... As I saw it, my worms had filled the bottom tray with castings so I wanted to harvest it. I put the bottom tray to the top. The second tray has a lot of fresh food. I opened the now Top tray to the sun & they migrated down to the food tray BUT partying on top of the blanket. I turned the blanket over to help them get into the food and the next morning they are again on top of the blanket. I've given them newspaper & wet man-fern (tree fern) mulch in the food tray. Question is do they need a 'bedroom' layer below the dining room? AND IF I TAKE THE CASTINGS AWAY AM I TAKING THE EGGS? | About the Author Jackie Pole East Launceston 2nd November 2014 8:11am #UserID: 10755 Posts: 1 View All Jackie Pole's Edible Fruit Trees |
MaryT1 says... Jackie do you mean you put the bottom tray on top of a blanket over the food? Why not remove it? Also, you can harvest the castings from the top once the tray's been exposed to the sun for a while (you can also empty the whole tray onto a table/tarp. The worms would have dived away from the top. Rack the castings off from the top until you see worms, then leave it for a while and repeat. Soon there will be more worms than casting and that's when you chuck them all back into the worm farm. There may be some eggs in the castings but I wouldn't worry about it. By the way if most of the worms are still in the bottom tray then maybe there are still food in there; otherwise most of them would have moved up already. | About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 2nd November 2014 9:46am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 2nd November 2014 9:45am | |
Brain says... My guess is that its either too wet or too hot, hence the worms are trying to 'escape' to where conditions are more favourable. I would try to move the food to one end and put coir bedding or other bedding material in another. For one of my farms, i always cover food with thin layers of newspaper and they seem to like to craw on top of the newspaper but still underneath the worm blanket. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 2nd November 2014 2:35pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 3rd November 2014 6:53am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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