People periodically ask about keeping European Nightcrawlers (Eisenia hortensis) in stacking worm bins. Based on my own experience with these worms (and what I’ve read), I typically recommend that they set-up some sort of deeper bed/tub system instead, and use Red Worms in their stacking bins. I still think this is decent advice, but the fact of the matter is that I’ve never actually tried to keep Euros in this type of worm bin. I DID attempt to keep them in a Worm Inn a few years back (see “Worm Inn Journal – 02-10-09“). They insisted on staying down near the bottom of the system – not very helpful when you are trying to separate them from their castings – so I concluded that flow-through systems (in general) were probably not ideal for Euros.
Even though I think I know how what’s going to happen, I’m excited to get this experiment up and running. It will be nice to have the first-hand experience under my belt, and to finally dust off my Worm Factory 360 bin and get it back in action! My last WF-360 update was WAY back at the beginning of March (“Worm Factory 360 | 3-02-12“) and described how I harvested vermicompost from the system. A short time after that update I actually ended up having to raid the bin for worms so I could fill some local worm orders (it was a busy spring on that front), and…well, yeah…I just haven’t had the chance to get it set up again since then!
🙄
I should point out that this post doesn’t “officially” mark the start of the experiment – since I haven’t yet set up the system. I did take some food waste out of the freezer today, though, so I’m hoping to get the ball rolling in the next day or two. I’ll definitely post an update later in the week!
I’m curious to find out if any of our readers have tried Euros in stacking bins, and if so, how this worked out for you. Please feel free to leave comments below.
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