I must say... I'm surprised by some of the problems I see listed for "Fortex". It has shown excellent cool-soil germination here, and proven to be nearly immune to rust; it is generally my main crop because of its reliability & great flavor. I agree that it is not the strongest climber, it needs a little training at first... but once started, the vines easily cover a 6 & 1/2 foot trellis. My first impression of "Fortex" was that it was low yielding, compared to "KW White #191" (still one of my favorites) which has massive flushes. The daily pickings are lower, but sustained over a very long period. Because of the thinner vines, I plant them more closely than most pole beans, thinning to 2 @ 12". This partially overcomes the lower yield. Keep in mind, with pods 10-11" long (and still stringless!) you don't need as many. I don't have a problem with yield now, was picking a couple 5-gallon pails every other day from a 60-foot row last year. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned "Rattlesnake" pole beans yet, since many in the South have reported excellent results with it. It is another great-tasting bean, and good for freezing. I tried it once & enjoyed it, but other varieties do better in my Northern climate. There is a current thread about it on the Bean Forum. Some of the Romano-type pole beans seem to be more heat-tolerant than others. Several years back, during an especially hot spell (OK, that's only in the 90's here) an heirloom Romano, "Champagne", was the only pole bean still setting pods. "Kentucky Wonder" should do well, but you might have better luck with the white-seeded "Kentucky Wonder 191" that I mentioned above. It has a rich "beany" flavor, freezes well, and can have astonishing yields. As a big fan of pole beans, I can make a few recommendations that might increase the chances of success. Mulch is especially important for pole beans, since they don't cover the ground. The mulch preserves moisture, keeps the roots cool during hot days, and prevents mud from splashing on the leaves (this reduces the chance of disease). While many have reported planting pole beans closely, they have done best for me when given plenty of room. I plant in rows, and thin to 12" between plants for most pole beans. Pole beans do best when protected from wind - especially "Fortex", due to its long pods. If you have experienced curled or deformed beans w/hard brown spots, wind bruising is the likely culprit. If possible, plant them down-wind of another tall crop, or in a sheltered location. Many on GW have commented this year about bean germination problems, most of them probably due to the exceptionally cool, wet start of Summer & the correspondingly lower soil temperatures. For those that planted by the calendar, this led to rotting & germination problems. Don't know if the cool weather we've had up here has been a problem in central Texas. It sounds like the beans were planted at the right time, so unless the rain (or irrigation) was excessive, there should have been no problem. Marlingardener, do you plant your beans in one of two seasons, Spring or Fall, due to the heat of mid-Summer? If so, there are two bean alternatives that might make it through the heat. I'll second Ppod's recommendation for yardlong beans; "Chinese Red Noodle" is probably the best, a heat lover w/purple pods & great flavor. Baker Creek & several others sell it. You might also want to try the purple-podded Hyacinth Bean, although I am not sure when it would bloom for you.

The other posts regarding screen size and imprisoning worms are excellent, so, since these issues have been well covered, I'll skip them. As to worms crawling out of the bin, many of the worms in a given biomass, after being introduced to a new bin, will crawl away, even though the bin is well set up and nothing is specifically "wrong". Regardless of our best efforts, a new bin is typically radically different from the enviornment to which the worms are accustomed and this sudden change in their surroundings leads many to crawl away in search of something more familiar. Many folks suggest keeping a light on over the bin to discourage worms from crawling out of the unit and on to the floor, but regardless of whether or not a light is employed, they will usually settle in after a few days. It is extremely rare for enough worms to have crawled from the bin to have a significant impact on the system as a whole. Know that, if you are using E. fetida worms, there are typically between 1200 and 2000 worms per pound, not 500, as suggested by the site on which you found the instructions. As such, the loss of a few worms to crawl is pretty insignificant and pretty normal. Don't let this initial "settling in" stuff discourage you. What you're seeing is normal worm behavior, even in a well-initiated system, and is very temporary. It will get easier! Kelly S

the peel will decompose. i mainly find this happening with orange peels. banana peels often decompose faster and get eaten more since it's mushy and sweeter. the behavior i would have to say normal i got my worms a week ago no problems with my worm bin besides heating up but i used cardboard and a lot of newspaper and all the worms love to migrate to the bottom portion of the bin. most likely they are eating food down their that i put during the first feeding. but when i open up the bin at night they are all on the top portions all crawling on eachother on the sides like they are mating. i highly doubt they are making as they do this daily since i got them. they are not trying to crawl out they just are at the surface doing idk. if they are not trying to crawl out i highly doubt their is a problem. i have seen countless problems from too wet bedding, over feeding, not enough air,etc.. and from all those video's the worms tried to crawl out. the only logical reason i can think of why my worms go in during the day and come out at night is because i live in Hawaii and it's hot as hell the past week thus they stay in the bottom to cool down. at night it's less hot and so they come up. my bin isn't that deep it's only about 6-7 inches deep so they will move throughout the entire bin since it's not too deep for them and mine is a little clumpy and matted from the paper but they don't seem to mind

Contrary to a lot you'll read, the worms don't need nearly as much water as we are told. If you dig into the bins, you'll find the moisture content down deep much more wet than above. If my bins leak even a little water, I consider them to be too moist. Also, when I add water, I only sprinkle a LITTLE bit on the bedding. Leaving the lid off for awhile is the way to dry one out. I usually leave the frozen food out for a few hours to drain the moisture...unless it's summer when the ice is a welcome thing...I guess. You ain't doing nothing wrong. Chuckiebtoo