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  • #1

    My compost bin is overflowing with worms...

    ...they are literally ooozing out of the sides and every time I lift the lid off there are tons of them in the curve of the lid.

    I use a dalek type compost bin and it is mostly filled up with food waste and I use bokashi for that. I was lazy last year and once put the worm casts from our wormery on the compost bin as I had nowhere else to put it at the time and sionce then the worm population has been on the increase, but I've never seen it like this before!

    I took the little door off the bottom of the bin as they were oozing out of the side of it and managed to collect half a bucket full.

    The good thing is that the rate the food waste gets converted to compost is really fast, but I worry about having so many worms as the tiny little white baby worms are impossible to get out of the soil and I'm not sure it's a good thing to use this compost for potting or planting out vegetables as won't the worms just eat the seeds and veg shoots?

    What should I do?
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  • #2
    The worms won't eat the seeds or veg shoots. I would be inclined to spread the compost on the ground and the worms will pull it in. Save a bit to put in the next batch of compost though.

    Some people would kill for worms like that, just shows that the composter is working well.
    Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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    • #3
      Originally posted by eskymo View Post
      ... the tiny little white baby worms are impossible to get out of the soil
      Baby worms are pink not white. Perhaps your white things are maggots/beetle larvae?

      Earthworms are detritivores - they eat dead material, not living plants. They are the gardener's friend: the more the merrier. Brandling worm - Eisenia fetida - Natural England
      All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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      • #4
        nope the small white worms are definitely baby worms - these aren't earthworms, but wormery worms - I think they're either Tiger worms or Dendra worms...I got them such a long time ago that I can't remember.

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        • #5
          quick afterthought...I think the Bokashi Bran has helped in the increase of the worm population as ever since I started using bokashi bran on my kitchen waste I have noticed a significant increase in the worm population. I'm not sure if it makes the kitchen waste less acidic and therefore more appealing to them. I'm a bit worried as the weather is getting warmer and the worms are getting more active and that just means they're going to reproduce more and I'm going to be overwhelmed with worms! But a good point is that I can rely more on my compost bin rather than having to buy compost from garden centres which has always been my goal.

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          • #6
            I think worms self regulate their population, so they must be happy and comfortable.
            Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

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            • #7
              I have the same - a dalek in which I put bokashi and its chock full of worms, including loads round the lid. I was really pleased about it, means they are chomping away. I think I may actually have some useable compost in there now to dig in the garden. I have a wormery too but these worms aren't quite the same, I don't think they are dendras - will have a closer look this weekend.

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              • #8
                do you have fishing near by some fishermen like worms instead of maggots my uncle always used worms.
                also do you have friends growing in pots as they usually appreciate some worms to add to there pots for turning the soil especially if they have no soil to get there own from, ive just got some for my pots,
                advertise them see what happens

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                • #9
                  The bokashi defo increases worm population, I've been putting it in my wooden bins for a bit now and they're jam packed full, am very happy about this. Don't worry about too many worms, they're not trapped and can make it out if they want and worms in the garden is always a good thing.

                  Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

                  Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

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                  • #10
                    Hiya
                    Baby composting worms (Eisenia fetida) are most definetly pink, if you have small white worms they are probably pot worms which are nothing to worry about, they aid the composting process. Composting worms tend to swarm when there is low pressure weather systems about - it seems to make them wander prone!
                    Also Ive found that when your bin is almost full and the stuff is quite well worked over, you tend to get an explosion of worms and then they all disappear and you get woodlice in for a bit and then they all go and then your compost is finished and ready to use when there are hardly any beasties in it.
                    Hope that helps:-)

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                    • #11
                      I have loads and loads of worms in mine as well. My only worry is that when I stick my twisty thing in to turn it that I will kill them by chopping them in half

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                      • #12
                        Yep, that's what they are: white or pot worms (enchytraeids), which are more common in acidic soils.
                        All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                        • #13
                          Enjoyed the 'natural England link' thanks 2 sheds

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                          • #14
                            If you have TOO MANY worms you could send some my way Wanting to start off a small wormery, but the price of worms online is a tad high since I only want a few and not half a kilo of the things!. I'll pay P&P if your willing.

                            Steven
                            http://www.geocities.com/nerobot/Bir...shingThumb.jpg

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                            • #15
                              I dumped the load of worms I got from the compost bin into my wormery, but I'm going to cleaning and sorting that out next week as my neighbour is keen to get a load of worms from me before I move to start his own colony [he's been relying on me for several years to supply him with fishing bait] and so I can certainly send you a good sized bundle of worms. Just wondering what would be the best way to post them? Any ideas?

                              PM me with your address and I'll certainly put some aside for you.

                              The worms have served me very well over the years and seem to love multiplying and so you'll have tons in no time, so long as you treat them well.

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