The essential difference between the 2 species of worms is that common
earthworms will not increase in numbers very fast. Start with 10 worms and
next year you may have 10 worms, whereas red worms increase in numbers
rapidly to the limit of their food. In my experience, and contrary to
another poster, earth worms eat anything, whereas the red worms are fussy
and won't eat tough things like tomato skins unless they are starving. I
gave up my worm bin about 5 years ago and last year there were still a few
red worms at the bottom of the compost heap. Some survived in the garden
soil in a spot where I worked in a lot of compost for 3 years, and I live
in zone 3.

"Annaid" wrote in message
...
In my search on compost bins, I found retail sites for red worms. Are
these
worms really better than earth worms? I am in zone 4, will the survive
our
winters?

I appreciate any advice on these worms.

D~