Pablo- Yes it is a compost bin with worms. Not a worm bed. The compost is all ready to go and I have a new compost system ready to set up. Will the red wigglers live in the vege garden, should I keep a handfull for the new bin (there will be some partially composted stuff going into the new bin)or sift all th RWs and put them into the new bin? I'm not really going for hot! I'm a lazy composter. I have a tumbler that I got at the dump for $5. I put all my stuff in there til it really starts to decompose, then I tip it into whatever compost bin I have to finish off. Seems to work just fine. I don't have to do all the turning with my bad back. I just don't know about those RW! TIA Nancy

Here's a picture of a "Red Tiger" Eisenia andrei compared to the "Red Wiggler" Eisenia fetida http://image04.webshots.com/4/1/51/54/99515154QFeUxz_ph.jpg As you can see there's no screwing up the "Red Tiger". If you get Eisenia andrei instead, I'd be happier. They eat just as fast and furious as Eisenia fetida but have to be the prettiest worms! They're also better for fishing. Eisenia fetida have stripes that seem to appear only as it stretches out and the redish color. That picture again, great shot because it shows what I'm talking about. Look where the Eisenia fetida is stretched out you can see faint stripes between the sections. Once again to show you how pretty the "Red Tigers" are look at this shot! http://image03.webshots.com/3/0/65/66/96706566TFEJHX_ph.jpg Here's a few photo's of Lumbricus rubellus, they are more maroon/blue/purple colored, almost looking like regular earth worms but a bit more red and have an irridescent "sheen" shown in one of the photos. Eisenia's don't have that irridescent sheen. In my worm bins, when I go to feed them I never see any Eisenia's hanging out on the sides or on the lid they are nice and stay in the bedding but no, not the Lumbricus. When I open it there's always a couple to sometimes a half dozen of the Lumbricus on the sides or squirming on the lid. They're more susceptible to want to wander. Here's the pictures of the Lumbricus. http://www.ycy63.dial.pipex.com/amphsmollusc/pics/52Lumbricus%20rubellus%201.jpg http://www.ycy63.dial.pipex.com/amphsmollusc/pics/51Lumbricus%20rubellus%203.jpg

Hey gina!...Glad you made it in here. Actually the ones I gave to you at the swap are in fact the smaller eisenia foetida aka red wigglers. I got them from here 3 years ago http://www.hallswormery.com/ The larger ones the lady was thinking about were canadian nightcrawlers and dont work in bin culture. The red wigglers you have will work in a 10 gal sterilite bin. On the bottom you should put some finished compost so the worms have a place to dig into and rest. A 2-3 inch layer will work. The compost should be moist but not sopping wet. Now you can put the worms and everything I gave you on top of the bedding. On top of that you want to put about a 3 inch layer of leaves, shredded paper, cardboard or various other paper products. No slick shiny advertisement papers. Its poisonous. As for what they are going to eat, the sky's the limit. They love banana peels, celery, apple peels, avocado peels, melon rinds, spent floral arangements, pumpkin, you name it. Just put it in between that bottom bedding layer and the top leaves/paper layer. If you put the food close to where you put the worms at the beginning, theyll find it faster. However withhold on feeding the worms massive amounts of the food starting off. The amount of worms i gave you will probably be able to take down a whole banana peel or a few apple peelings per week. The worms have to reproduce themselves in sufficient numbers to keep up with your vegetable scraps. They do this by reproducing with each other. The mature worms have a swollen band around them called a clitellum and when they get two worms get together they press these together. Both worms will produce an egg case that look like little yellow lemons. Theyre tiny. 1-3 little worms will hatch out. If you see that the food is getting eaten faster and faster, then you can introduce more food into the bin. As to how long they live. Well I'm not quite sure but eventually youll have a successful bin that you wont be able to tell how many are actually in your bin. If I have left anything out then I am sure someone will chime in and either point it out or fill in. There are many sources of worms in texas and its not too expensive considering the amount you'd have to pay for a pound of worm casting or for that matter worm tea. Good Luck! Joey

To give up defeats the whole purpose of vermecomposting. The worm industry has chosen for the gain of money to sell Eisenia foetida, and "European Night crawlers. Very few if any sell a native worm to the area. To be Green is to change,not to give up.Below is part of a study, WORM COMPANY'S WAKE UP!!!!!!!. Eisenia foetida, or"European Night crawlers."are non native worms,This is why we with any non-native species, it is important not to allow them to reach the wild. Their voracious appetites and reproductive rates (especially among the red wigglers) have been known to upset the delicate balance of the hardwood forests by consuming the leaf litter too quickly. This event leaves too little leaf letter to slowly incubate the hard shelled nuts and leads to excessive erosion as well as negatively affecting the pH of the soil. So, do your best to keep them confined! Eisenia foetida From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eisenia fetida, known under various common names, including redworms, brandling worms, tiger worms and red wiggler worms, are a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. They thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure; they are epigeal. They are rarely found in soil, instead like Lumbricus rubellus they prefer conditions where other worms cannot survive. They are used for vermicomposting. They are native to Europe, but have been introduced (both intentionally and unintentionally) to every other continent except Antarctica, occasionally threatening native species. Established ecosystems have developed their own natural balance and controls over time, and the plants and animals within those systems find this balance suitable for survival, or they have been able to adapt in order to survive within those conditions. When non-native species from other ecosystems are introduced, they can upset that balance and bring harm to the established plants and animals, and the whole ecosystem. Non-native species come from somewhere else and they are not natural to the ecosystem they have been introduced to. They may be harmless and beneficial in their natural surroundings, but they can totally devastate different environments. When alien species enter into an ecosystem, they can disrupt the natural balance, reduce biodiversity, degrade habitats, alter native genetic diversity, transmit exotic diseases to native species, and further jeopardize endangered plants and animals. When there are no established natural controls, such as predators to keep the non-native harmful species in check, there can be a population explosion of the invasive non-native species causing an ecological catastrophe. http://www.eco-pros.com/invasive_non-native_species.htm Here is a link that might be useful: INVASIVE NON-NATIVE SPECIES