From looking at your pictures, I would say that your soil is too heavy which leads to compaction. I would rake out all of the leaves, twigs, and larger matter and add as much compost as possible to loosen up the soil. It contains too much sand. I little sand is OK for creating loose soil. A lot of sand has the opposite effect. Not to mention, sand is infertile and not really contributing to the health of your crops. I would loosen it up with a shovel, hoe, or whatever tools you are using to a depth of at least a foot. Keep adding the compost because it really works wonders enriching the soil and giving it a looser texture. The earthworms usually found in compost help dig channels through the soil and over time as they eat and poop they provide substantial improvement in the condition of the soil. For carrots, it is important to avoid compacting the area once you have it loosened up. My goal if I was dealing with the mounds shown in your third picture would be to skim off the top half of each mound and replace that volume with an equivalent volume of compost and mix everything as thoroughly as possible. That would give you the texture that I'm talking about. My raised beds are roughly 1 1/2 ft tall and each one contained around half of its volume in compost when I was filling them. In my area, I can get as much compost as I want from the local transfer station (aka the town dump) for free. The texture in my raised beds is more like potting soil than regular soil. It's very light and fluffy but it holds water well due to the high amount of organic matter in it.

You probably just need to add more bedding and stop feeding for a while. The biggest problem people new to worm farming have is they feed too much and wind up with a rather ucky wet worm bin. Most of the unplesantness of worm bins comes from too much food which can stink, attract flies/maggots, and cause everything to be too wet. Add more bedding to dry it out a little (it only needs be as moist as a wrung out sponge) and wait to feed until you can't find any of the previously fed food. Also, most people recomend to bury the food under bedding. As to heat, if the bin is outdoors and never gets touched by direct sun, you are probably ok at least this time of year in british weather. At least my bin has survived 97 degree days here in Florida. My bin is wood and gets plenty of air. Some plastic bins with little air flow might have more trouble staying cool.

I don't remember who posted this recipe or the link to the recipe, but it is very, very good. Although it has no added sugar and is lower in carbs (great for diabetics like me), it's not low in fat or low in calories. I usually make mini-muffins rather than a cake, for portion control. I haven't yet made the frosting, so I can't comment on it. The Fantabulous Whole Wheat Carrot Cake 16 servings in 9"x13" pan (12g net carbs; 15g total carbs including 3g fiber) 24 mini-muffins (8g net carbs; 10g total carbs including 2g fiber) 2 cups white whole wheat flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 cup Splenda for baking or 1 Splenda Quick Pack for even fewer carbs 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I like more) 4 eggs (I use jumbo eggs) 1 cup canola oil (or substitute with some apple sauce) 2 cups grated carrots 1 cup unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained Combine dry ingredients. Beat oil and eggs until frothy; stir in carrots and pineapple. Mix wet ingredients with dry until just mixed - do not over mix. Put into greased baking pans of your choice. Bake at 350° - 15 min for mini-muffins; 25-30 min for 8"x8" pan; 30-40 min for 9"x13" pan. Cool in pans several minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting 1 1/2 cups cream cheese (1 1/2 8 oz. brick) 1 1/2 tbs. butter, softened 16 packets of Equal (or less to taste) 2 tsp. vanilla 0-2 tbs. milk to thin frosting if needed. Let cream cheese softened to room temperature. Add softened butter and beat with mixer until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and sweetener.

Note that the leavening is baking soda...and as of NOW the directions in also say soda instead of powder as in the first I posted....and now I will correct it on my copy too!!! Carrot cake Julie Ts 3 eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup buttermilk 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tsps cinnamon 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour Buttermilk glaze 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup butter 1 Tblsp light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup softened butter 4 oz softened cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Buttermilk glaze: In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake Cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.