vermicomposting

[throughadoor.livejournal.com]

I am looking to start vermicomposting (composting with worms) and am trying to avoid the high cost of ordering red worms from the internet. Does anyone in the community (a) already vermicompost and would be willing to sell me some of their worms or (b) know a local bait shop that might sell them? (I already checked with the place on Broadway in Teele Square, no luck, unfortunately.) Thanks very much!

Comments

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

Check with Greenward on Mass Ave -- they have all kinds of composting goods: http://www.greenwardshop.com/

[throughadoor.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip!

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

Can you not get worms from a bait shop this time of year? I bought red wigglers from the bait shop in Teele Square last spring (to put in an outdoor compost bin). By the end of the summer, it seemed like there were millions in there (but I have a feeling they won't survive the winter). If they do survive, however, you're welcome to some in the spring.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that red wigglers, unlike the regular sort of earthworms you get in a garden, will not survive Boston winters. Get earthworms for an outdoor bin and red wigglers for indoor vermicomposting.

(Correct me if I'm wrong here, composting experts.)

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if they'll survive or not. I read about someone who keeps bins of red wigglers under her deck in the Vineyard.

http://www.mvmagazine.com/article.php?18663

If they don't survive, then next year I'll drag the composter into the garage for the winter.

Earthworms do not eat compost, and they will die if you put them in a compost bin.

[in-parentheses.livejournal.com]

Interesting article! The Wikipedia page about vermicomposting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculture) says that the worms' bedding shouldn't get below freezing, but I will freely acknowledge that Wikipedia is not always right. :)

Earthworms do not eat compost, and they will die if you put them in a compost bin.

Well, my compost bin is chock-full of very happy earthworms that made their way in there without any help from me. Earthworms eat the organic matter in soil, is my understanding, and that's what compost is! (They probably would die if your compost bin gets very hot, but mine isn't nearly big enough or carefully managed enough to do that.)

Good luck with your composting!

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, if the red wigglers freeze (or the bedding freezes), they will die. But I've read about people with outdoor worm bins in central NH, Chicago, Ontario, and Colorado. So I think if you insulate it right (lots of hay and leaves?), you can keep it from freezing. However, I didn't put any forethought or planning into it this year, so I have low hopes for worm survival.

But maybe the eggs can survive? Each egg contains 20 worms, so that would still be plenty of worms come spring.

I guess I was wrong about the earthworms if you have them. I've read that night crawlers make good composters, but that earthworms (the kind you find on the ground when it rains) do not. But I'm no expert, and it sounds like you have more experience with them than I do.

Happy composting!

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

Arlington Bait and Tackle at 84 Mass Ave in Arlington has them!

[throughadoor.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip!

[cynickalone.livejournal.com]

Where are you composting? Outside?

[throughadoor.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping to compost inside. From what I've read, vermicomposting with red worms is the way you want to go if you're composting indoors.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

You want to talk to kjc007.

[rebeccacceber.livejournal.com]

I've gotten them before at the place in teele. maybe they can order them for you? also, check out the book "Worms Eat My Garbage" Its great and has everything you'd ever want to know about it. The only thing I didn't know was that I am allergic to the molds that grow in the soil.

[throughadoor.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip -- the woman I talked to at the place in Teele seemed kind of distracted, so it might be worth checking back.

[kateritek9.livejournal.com]

I live just outside of Davis and have been vermicomposting since April. You can have a few of my guys. I also used freecycle to get some of my original worms.