A rolling bin is good because bins tend to be heavier than one could imagine and working on them might need to be in more handy places than storing them. Your bin is at a great height to work with. Your castings look very rich. In the picture I can see the rolling seat nearby. Handy to sit and work with the worms. Or even to just sit and look at the worms or at the vermicompost with worms hidden inside and think. I spend a lot of time sitting and looking and thinking about my worms. Sort of NirvÃÂna. And I don't even like worms. But it is peacefull. Go figure.

The area where your worms have condensed is right where the seal seems to have a nick. Maybe more air flows right by there and they are breathing in the good vibes?

If you want to get exotic bring the lovely wife who cooks, you lucky vermicomposter you, to the grocery store to buy five produce items you have never eaten before and feed the worms their share.

In a biologically active aerobic environment, oxygen supply is critical. Your rolling cart appears to be fairly well sealed and lack of oxygen would force the squirm to the surface for air. If the worms will face the cold (relative to being inside the vermicompost) and the light (they are photophobic), then they may be suffocating. Just a thought, but IâÂÂm in WS, NC and face similar conditions.

yes I agree 100% about the air needed. the last thing I want to do is deprive them. I have had the lid on now for about a month and the group at the ledge has only been coming there about a week now. all others seem very happy in the bedding. I can't help believe that they are coming to the ledge for the warmth but do not want to risk bad health. if they wanted they could squirm and get out and that is not happening I assume they would do that if it was air they were after.. I did last night prop one end of my lid up about an inch but then again is that enough air??? I will say it is not air tight but does eliminate air flow as condensation collects on the inside of the lid... so do i try and continue to keep them warm or take lid off for more air and no heat which of the two evils is more healthy?

Taking the path of no air seems less promising than taking the path with no heat.

Plus with less air there may be less heat from decomposition. If it works the same as outdoor compost piles which are turned to let in air and they heat up.

i've found that the need for air/ventilation seems exaggerated, not unlike the fear of salty foods in worm bins. i moved a bunch of outdoor worms into a bin w.out any ventilation, and haven't had any problems. i only open the lid to add food (incl. salty waste) once a week, so far so good.

hhiii ; I would doubt that they are running out of air? I have kept fishing worms in small tight lidded Styrofoam containers for weeks without ill effects. MY guess would be the warmth of the lights. BTW I like the bin, good reuse of an item that can still be recycled after you are done with it. You get a gold star from me.

Curt

i proped up one end for a few nights and the bin cooled down quite a bit worms left the ledge as i got cold as i would expect. Dig in the bin and the workers are making my massive feedings vanish in a matter of days. I also are in the belief that they liked the warm ledge and they position themselves between the ledg and the lid and they hang out in the warm dark crack. on the other side I was finding the same thing as the east sice guys were on between the side wall plastic and the bin getting ot of the light still in the harmth...... it is not an air tight just does not promote ventalation I will report back as winter progreses bit the lid goes back to the way it used to be and I will see how long it takes for them to migrate back to the hot spot.

I never quite thought of it that way but my "fear of salty foods in worm bins" is not for the sake of the worms but for the plants the vermicompost may help to grow. Typically salt is kept out of plant growning mediums. Worms may do fine with what bit if salt may find them. If fed BSFL castings they may have even saltier kibbles and bits. I would still endever to obey my fear of salt in additoins to the bin.

Although I may of given up a bit of ground while laughing heartly over my fear of salty foods in worm bins I find it much harder to conceed over the need for air. I do not find the need for air/ventilation at all exaggerated. If anything I dream of a worm bin with sides as air condeming as chicken wire. I wonder if the drainage holes in bins are actually more useful as air holes.

I have no explination for the kept fishing worms in small tight lidded Styrofoam containers for weeks without ill effects. But would agree that worms kept cool need less air due to their bedding needing less air due to microbes needing less air.

hhiii, any interest in making a few more nicks in the rim/molding/insulation of the bin and putting the cover firmly back on to see if the worms would also congrigate along the air free flow areas?

A balance between keeping warm and keeping airated is what I guess you are looking for.

Some of the worms hanging out on the ledge look like P. excavatus (Malaysian blues) or E. eugeniae (African nightcrawlers) rather than E. fetida (red wigglers). PEs and EEs like it much warmer. Maybe you have more than one species of worm in your bin?

Andrew

plumie good observation..all i know is I bought 1 pound 1.5 ys ago from a worm farmer in my area and I thought I was getting all red wigglers. I have not added any other worms since the purchase, and I have no idea what other types look like.. I will say after my few weeks of observation i am back to having the lid on the bin. I did notice that there is also space for the worms to get out the area where they were gatherin if they wanted to run which i would think they would have if it was lack of air. when the lid is proped up ther is no place at that location for them to get out of the light and the mettal ladge also got cold.... top is back on and we will see what happens.. my gut feeling is they like it as warm as I can get it in there....

hiii; I re read your post you said that you lined the bed with plastic? I did not notice that when I replied the first time, my bad. You have no air tubes? While I know worms do not need oxygen like we do. The we-beasties do. I had assumed some air flow in your bin. I am sorry I should have studied the post closer before I replied. I did not realize we were talking a closed system. I would add air vertical air tubes to help speed the breakdown of food scraps

curt i don'r seem to have a food breakdown prob. I am more and more amazed how fast the food goes away from in the bin I would say I add 2 to 3 pounds of scraps a week and they plow through it...

I'm fairly certain that a lack of ventilation isn't just about lacking oxygen. Gases build up in a non-ventilated box pretty quick. I'm also fairly certain it depends on the food. I have one box that doesn't have air holes or anything. I just open it daily. I have put broccoli in it a few times and each time the worms tried to escape within a short time there after. I don't think it's coincidence that broccoli can produce some of the foulest smell even when buried. Reminds me a little of the smell of sulfur, but not quite. Anyway, they only attempt escape when the smell gets strong and once the smell has subsided, the worms seem to be just fine with the lack of ventilation. That is why I think the need for ventilation might have as much or more to do with built up gases.

I'm reading my way down the forum. So I'm wondering how the bin is doing now.

"ventilation isn't just about lacking oxygen. Gases build up in a non-ventilated box pretty quick." This is one advantage of flow through systems. The bad gasses sink away. Maybe this is what is happening in the Ginger system to make the worms swarm.