Four Worm Experiment Update

Four healthy red worms

The ‘Four Worm Reproduction Experiment‘ was officially started back on December 12th so I figured it was time for an update. As such, today I decided to dig around in the new system to see how things have been progressing.

If you have been following along you may recall that I decided to use my new wooden stacking worm bin for the experiment. It is a pretty cool system but as I discovered today it DOES require a little more attention than one of my typical rubber tub bins. One of the advantages of the system is that it is incredibly well aerated – wood itself tends to ‘breathe’ more than plastic, but the trays are also very shallow and have mesh bottoms. This advantage can be a double-edged sword however since it becomes much more important to monitor moisture levels on a regular basis.

When I first started it up I made sure to spray the bedding with water on a regular basis, but given our recent holiday activities away from home earlier this week (visiting with relatives for a few days) it has been more difficult to keep on top of it. I was at least happy to see a fairly moist core zone where I had added vegetable scraps last week, but much of the tray (including the newspaper liner at the bottom) was bone dry. Thankfully I was still able to find all four worms and was happy to see that they actually look quite healthy (bigger than when I added them).

I was hoping to find some cocoons, but given the conditions in the bin I can’t say I was too surprised that I was not able to locate any yet. I thoroughly sprayed down the contents of the tray (after adding some absorbent shredded cardboard) and will get back to a more regular watering schedule. Hopefully we’ll see some new additions (babies) to the system before too long!

Stay tuned!

**Want Even More Fun With Worms? Sign Up for the RWC E-mail List Today!**
Previous Post

European Nightcrawler Cocoons

Next Post

Happy Holidays!

Comments

  1. To avoid the dryness it is possible to put a plastic sheet – for example a peace of a plastic bag with holes – between bottom stand an the first tray.
    When the bin will have at least one full tray it will dry less, and the plastic could be removed.

    • Bentley
    • December 28, 2007

    Hi Edwards,
    Thanks for the suggestion – thats a good idea.
    I think for now I’ll stick with the water spraying since it prevents me from forgetting about checking up on the bin from time to time!
    🙂

    B.

  2. Pingback: Driftless Ramblings

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get Your Free Vermicomposting Guide!

* Join the Red Worm Composting E-Mail List Today *