Jake Nospam@invalid wrote in
:

On Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:21:24 GMT, Baz wrote:

I know this has been discussed before but I have several questions.

I have a few compost heaps now and the very first one I introduced
some worms.

An old schoolmate has only just started composting and he has worms
already without introducing. How can that be?

I tipped my dalek type compost bin over in Nov. and spreaded the
compost on top of the soil where my spuds are going to be 2012 with
thousands of stripey worms. I have huge earthworms even now when I dig
down. I am wondering what happened to the stripeys(origional worms),
have they been eaten? Have they transformed into earthworms?

Baz

There's worms and worms, Baz.

If conditions are right to get the stuff composting, worms will move
up from the soil so clearly your mate has filled his compost heap or
bin with the right combination of stuff (starting a bin by mixing some
compost into the vegetable matter helps) - earthworms won't relocate
to a pile of plant matter - they need something similar to earth,
hence mixing in the compost to encourage them.

Tiger worms, if that's what you mean by the stripeys, are not
earthworms. They need a different environment, either a wormery or a
compost heap constructed like a wormery - they eat upwards as it were.
So when they finish consuming the food at one level, they move up to
the next. They won't move back down and certainly won't move into
soil. So if you spread them out over the surface of the soil, they
will die as there is nothing for them to move up into. Earthworms
will, of course, happily migrate downwards into the soil.

The chances are that most of the worms were in the top bit of the
dalek. If you try this again, the next time you turn the bin out,
separate the top section of compost (dig down with a trowel before
tipping out and find the level where there are few worms) and return
that to the compost bin (i.e. at the bottom) then as you add stuff
they will work their way up again (and multiply even more!).

As a general rule, it will also help if, about every 6 inches of dalek
height, you add an inch of compost mixed with a lot of shredded,
rather than torn up, newspaper. They love this little treat - for
them it's like lounging in an overflowing bath with a Cadbury's Flake


Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the first frost) from
the dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.


I learn every day.

Thanks, jake.
Baz