Comments on: 50 Cocoon Challenge – Update #1

By: Bentley

Bentley — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:48:12 +0000

Hi Andreas,
I don’t want to rain on your parade here, but those tiny worms are almost certainly ‘White Worms’. They are small relatives of the earthworms and can help with the composting process. They tend to appear in great abundance when pH drops – makes sense in your case since coffee grounds are quite acidic.

By: AndreasDerKrieger

AndreasDerKrieger — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:15:21 +0000

I started adding coffee filters into my bin. The moisture levels obviously increased. within a few days…I noticed thousands of tiny, skinny, translucent worms crawling along the edges of my bin. Their length ranged from 0.5cm to a 1.0cm. I am now very excited. I hear the babies and youngun’s eat and produce more castings than the adults. I am in a constant battle right now w/ bedding to absorb this extra moisture because I have a bin that’s sans drain…I’m a cheapee. I’m hoping within a few weeks, I can put some trenches in the garden to help out the tomatoes.

By: Bentley

Bentley — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:37:53 +0000

Hey Jerry,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My temps are well below that (more like 68-70). Temperature is definitely one of those key variables, and one of many reasons why the results of this experiment shouldn’t be considered as set-in-stone for red worm growth in general. I will definitely keep the manure bin at the same temperature as well so I can at least make comparisons between the two systems.

By: Jerry Gach

Jerry Gach — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:28:26 +0000

Hi Bentley,

Not sure about your temps, but if you want a high hatch rate, get your temps around 75-80 degrees.