I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?
--
Ian

In article ,
Ian Jackson wrote:

So the question is, "What's going on"?

You mean, other than an orgy? :-) That's fascinating, but I don't have
a clue. I run a different kind of heap, and how many worms there are
depends vastly on the conditions and its state of composting, but not
easily predictably.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 11/03/18 11:23, Ian Jackson wrote:
I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Have you measured the temperatures inside the bins? I wonder if the
outer two are, for some reason, colder than the middle one, and that
affects worm reproduction

--

Jeff

On 11/03/2018 17:12, Chris Hogg wrote:

Do all three bins have the same bottoms, and are they all standing on
the same thing underneath, like bare earth or concrete slabs or
whatever? Are the two outer bins at a different moisture to the middle
bin?

Are all the worms in the other bins a couple of inches below the surface
of the compost?


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In message , Chris Hogg
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:23:38 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote:

I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Do all three bins have the same bottoms, and are they all standing on
the same thing underneath, like bare earth

Yes - bare earth. There can't be much difference with the soil.

or concrete slabs or
whatever? Are the two outer bins at a different moisture to the middle
bin?

Unlikely.


--
Ian

In message , alan_m
writes
On 11/03/2018 17:12, Chris Hogg wrote:

Do all three bins have the same bottoms, and are they all standing on
the same thing underneath, like bare earth or concrete slabs or
whatever? Are the two outer bins at a different moisture to the middle
bin?

Are all the worms in the other bins a couple of inches below the
surface of the compost?

I rarely see any when I lift the lid. Any there are beneath whatever's
recently been put in (mainly kitchen waste) - and there aren't that
many. The middle bin is sometimes absolutely seething with worms. I've
tried loosening the contents of the bins by giving it a bit of stir with
a fork (even though it's not overly compacted), but it hasn't made any
difference.



--
Ian

In message , Jeff Layman
writes
On 11/03/18 11:23, Ian Jackson wrote:
I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.
They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable
waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).
Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I
lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.
If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two
(usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.
So the question is, "What's going on"?

Have you measured the temperatures inside the bins? I wonder if the
outer two are, for some reason, colder than the middle one, and that
affects worm reproduction

I haven't - but it's highly unlikely that there will be any significant
difference. The Dalek bins are about 6" away from a fence, and are a few
inches apart at the base. There's no restriction of air around them.
However, obvious differences are that the left bin is somewhat larger
(an all black 'Emperor Dalek'). The middle (wormy) Dalek is a darker
green than the right one (at least I think that's the way it is), and
potentially might absorb more heat from the outside world. The two lids
are the same (black). However all the bins are in the shade of a yew
bush, and get no sun. All three 'run cold'.
--
Ian

On Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:23:38 +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:

I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Have you tried, fort instance, removing the top 10% from the centre and
one outside bin and swapping them over?

That might be more significant than just moving a few worms over.


Cheers


Dave R


--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Ian Jackson wrote:
I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Perhaps they have a preference for congregating in the highest
concentration, and manage somehow to communicate their presence to others?

I always have a bit of a dilemma when putting the lid back. I imagine
that some of the worms are going to get sliced in half, since the lid is
a tight push-down fit. So I shake them all off.

In message , David
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:23:38 +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:

I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Have you tried, fort instance, removing the top 10% from the centre and
one outside bin and swapping them over?

That might be more significant than just moving a few worms over.

Yes - I've done that.

This has been going on for years. No matter what I do to populate the
outer bins, within minutes the worms I've transferred disappear - and a
day or two later they appear back in the middle bin (but of course, I
have no idea whether these are the same worms as the ones I evicted!).

However, I'm not too worried. All three bins seem to be composting the
stuff I put in them. However, it's nice to be able to see those who are
doing it. Note that later in the year, loads of woodlice and large slugs
also move in to help the worms. I don't think they are quite as fussy
about which bin they occupy.
--
Ian

In message , Dan S. MacAbre
writes
Ian Jackson wrote:
I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Perhaps they have a preference for congregating in the highest
concentration, and manage somehow to communicate their presence to
others?

I always have a bit of a dilemma when putting the lid back. I imagine
that some of the worms are going to get sliced in half, since the lid
is a tight push-down fit. So I shake them all off.

Same here!
--
Ian

Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Dan S. MacAbre writes
Ian Jackson wrote:
I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I lift
the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what looks like
a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them on the
underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all having such
a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are almost never any
worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Perhaps they have a preference for congregating in the highest
concentration, and manage somehow to communicate their presence to
others?

I always have a bit of a dilemma when putting the lid back. I imagine
that some of the worms are going to get sliced in half, since the lid
is a tight push-down fit. So I shake them all off.

Same here!

Like so many of the apparently strange things I do each day - I'm glad
it's not just me. :-)

On Mon, 12 Mar 2018 11:19:04 +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , David
writes
On Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:23:38 +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:

I have three 'Dalek' compost bins at the end of the garden. They are
standing on the ground, side-by-side, in a row.

They all get fed with the same sort of stuff (kitchen vegetable waste,
dead plants, small garden material etc).

Whenever I go to put something in them, more often than not when I
lift the lid of the middle one there's a mass of worms having what
looks like a serious sex orgy (and there are also quite a lot of them
on the underside of the lid). It is very satisfying to see them all
having such a good time. However, in the other two bins, there are
almost never any worms to be seen.

If I transfer some worms from the middle bin to the other two (usually
by swapping the lids), next time I visit the bins the situation is
exactly as it was before (ie no visible worm activity in the two outer
bins). Despite this, the contents of all three bins seems to be
composting away at about the same rate.

So the question is, "What's going on"?

Have you tried, fort instance, removing the top 10% from the centre and
one outside bin and swapping them over?

That might be more significant than just moving a few worms over.

Yes - I've done that.

This has been going on for years. No matter what I do to populate the
outer bins, within minutes the worms I've transferred disappear - and a
day or two later they appear back in the middle bin (but of course, I
have no idea whether these are the same worms as the ones I evicted!).

However, I'm not too worried. All three bins seem to be composting the
stuff I put in them. However, it's nice to be able to see those who are
doing it. Note that later in the year, loads of woodlice and large slugs
also move in to help the worms. I don't think they are quite as fussy
about which bin they occupy.

What you need are some very small RFID tags. :-)

Cheers



Dave R



--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

---
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In message , David
writes


I
have no idea whether these are the same worms as the ones I evicted!

What you need are some very small RFID tags. :-)

Cheers
Dave R

That's a great idea. I'll see what's available on Ebay.




--
Ian

On Wed, 14 Mar 2018 20:55:13 -0000, Birdbrain Macaw (now "James Wilkinson"),
the pathological attention whore of all the uk ngs, blathered again:


I was about to

"Gracing" all this group with your abysmal stupidity and perversion, you
abnormal, attention-starved, filthy troll?


--
ItsJoanNotJoann addressing Birdbrain Macaw's (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"You're an annoying troll and I'm done with you and your
stupidity."
MID:

--
AndyW addressing Birdbrain:
"Troll or idiot?...
You have been presented with a viewpoint with information, reasoning,
historical cases, citations and references to back it up and wilfully
ignore all going back to your idea which has no supporting information."
MID:

--
Phil Lee adressing Birdbrain Macaw:
"You are too stupid to be wasting oxygen."
MID:

--
Phil Lee describing Birdbrain Macaw:
"I've never seen such misplaced pride in being a ****ing moronic motorist."
MID:

Gif: Laughter: https://media.giphy.com/media/VrSZDlpRaHYje/giphy.gif

--
Tony944 addressing Birdbrain Macaw:
"I seen and heard many people but you are on top of list being first class
ass hole jerk. ...You fit under unconditional Idiot and should be put in
mental institution.
MID:

--
Pelican to Birdbrain Macaw:
"Ok. I'm persuaded . You are an idiot."
MID:

--
DerbyDad03 addressing Birdbrain Macaw (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"Frigging Idiot. Get the hell out of my thread."
MID:

--
Kerr Mudd-John about Birdbrain Macaw (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"It's like arguing with a demented frog."
MID:

--
Mr Pounder Esquire about Birdbrain Macaw (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"the **** poor delivery boy with no hot running water, 11 cats and
several parrots living in his hovel."
MID:

--
Rob Morley about Birdbrain:
"He's a perennial idiot"
MID: 20170519215057.56a1f1d4@Mars

--
JoeyDee to Birdbrain
"I apologize for thinking you were a jerk. You're just someone with an IQ
lower than your age, and I accept that as a reason for your comments."
MID: l-september.org

--
Sam Plusnet about Birdbrain (now "James Wilkinson Sword" LOL):
"He's just desperate to be noticed. Any attention will do, no matter how
negative it may be."
MID:

--
asking Birdbrain:
"What, were you dropped on your head as a child?"
MID:

--
Christie addressing endlessly driveling Birdbrain Macaw (now "James
Wilkinson" LOL):
"What are you resurrecting that old post of mine for? It's from last
month some time. You're like a dog who's just dug up an old bone they
hid in the garden until they were ready to have another go at it."
MID:

--
Mr Pounder's fitting description of Birdbrain Macaw:
"You are a well known fool, a tosser, a pillock, a stupid unemployable
sponging failure who will always live alone and will die alone. You will not
be missed."
MID:

--
Richard to pathetic ****** Hucker:
"You haven't bred?
Only useful thing you've done in your pathetic existence."
MID:

--
about Birdbrain (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
""not the sharpest knife in the drawer"'s parents sure made a serious
mistake having him born alive -- A total waste of oxygen, food, space,
and bandwidth."
MID:

--
Mr Pounder exposing sociopathic Birdbrain:
"You will always be a lonely sociopath living in a ******** with no hot
running water with loads of stinking cats and a few parrots."
MID:

--
francis about Birdbrain (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"He seems to have a reputation as someone of limited intelligence"
MID:

--
Peter Moylan about Birdbrain (now "James Wilkinson" LOL):
"If people like JWS didn't exist, we would have to find some other way to
explain the concept of "invincible ignorance"."
MID: