I'm using a so called "BioCom" for composting. This is a system based on bacteria and worms, using a special kind of bin. At the start I have added a small bucket of special composting worms, exactly as the instructions said. Sometime later these worms where nowhere to be seen, so I added two more buckets of worms. But now they seem to have all disappeared (died?) again. Otherwise the composting is going all right. The bin is very hot at the moment, supposedly that's the bacteria doing their job. But what could be the problem with the worms?
All right, all right... I feel really guilty now!! I hope my worms have gone to compost-heaven (which I imagine to be a very cool, dark place). But to my defence: I did read all the instructions that came with my "BioCom". And since I'm really enthousiastic about making compost I followed them almost to the letter. I even had someone (a so called compost-master, no joke) coming to my home to inspect the location of the bin. He said it looked fine, but because he saw few worms, he added a new bucket of them... Cruel, isn't? I'm going ta ask him about this, because you have me convinced that I've been ill-advised.
You may be right that I boiled my worms. But aren't they supposed to be able to take the heat? In fact I was advised to put the bin in the sun, for this would speed up the proces of composting. Should I put it in the shade instead? Does anybody know the ideal temperature for worms (preferably in degrees Celsius)?
DougC, I just looked on MapQuest and I think what happened is you took a wrong turn.When you were going towards Soil Chat,just past Fertilizer Forum,you should have taken a left at Rottenveggies.com and right into Worm Talk,then another left into the Biocom pavillion (big green tent with a big photo of Wilbur the Wonder Worm).You CAN'T miss it! They should have replacement worms for you. Hope this helps and remember our motto,the 4 W's: WON'T WORK WITHOUT WORMS! Happy gardening
Temperatures of about 60 to 80 degrees F. are ideal, but the worms will tolerate temperatures from 40 to 90 degrees F. So... about 4.5 degrees Celsius to about 32 degrees celsius is tolerable for worms.
Is it possible that your worms went "crawling" at night? Did they simply bug-out on you. Do people where you live believe in crop circles and such? Maybe someone or something came and got them for an extra-terrestrial fishing trip?