Getting ready for winter

[WillyWorm]

Hi again, if worms are leaving there will be a reason. Worms will happily stay where there is available food, the mositure is right, the temperature is within acceptable limits and that the environment is not anaerobic. Checking that these basics are right will help solve many problems.
I don't worry about a milky teabag getting into the bin. I will from time to time mix milk and/or yogurt with other food stuff. The reason for not serving milk and dairy is the fear that it will attract undesirable visitors. The worms seem to love dairy and it quickly gets eaten. So I feed it in small amounts and always cove with bedding. Pilkington in his book "composting with worms, why waste your waste" pp 110 says of cheese (you can fed) "all cottage, mouldy, old, new, even Danish blue." So he feeds dairy food.
The temperature will affect the amount of food your worms will eat. There is no reason why if you can keep them warm that they won't continue to eat all year round. I've said on this forum before I fed the "four corners" I find this avoids over or under feeding, if you want more info let me know.
I've never used bokashi so can't comment.

Hope this helps and good luck. Please let me know what you find next time you look.
Will

[elleyfant]

Thanks for your help. I'm working from home tomorrow so I'll have a peak. I need to sort out insulation too since it's about to turn chilly. The cold frame is definitely warmer than where they were. The chilli plants are ok there still, so should be ok for the worms.
I think I'll start logging what I feed and when and follow your feeding guidance. I wasn't totally regimented about it.
You do a hen's egg sized portion every day for 4 days right? And only more on day 5 if day 1 has gone? And you bury it under the compost, not just hidden under paper/cardboard? I will also try bokashi.
Will let you know.

[WillyWorm]

Yea that's the way I feed, there is no need to be too regimented lol relax and have fun. My worms are in a small cold greenhouse, in a week or two I will add a layer of bubble wrap over then for added insulation.

Looking forward to your next update.
Good luck
Willy

[elleyfant]

They seem to be better today. I opened the lid and quite a few of them immediately burrowed down to hide. There was a clump with lots of pot worms, but otherwise all looking good. I gave them some more of the manure as it seems that did them good. Also a spoon full of bokashi on the top and some carrot peelings and teabags buried in one corner. I put insulation around the bin and some on top. Will leave them a couple of days with that and see how it goes. Fingers crossed ?

[WillyWorm]

Hi elley, good to hear your worms are OK and moving about. When checking, how much they are eating, that root veg like carrots take a long while to break down enough to become available to the worms.
Enjoy your worm family
Willy

[WormyMcWormerson]

Mine stay next to the hot water tank in the loft all year round so they never seem to slow down, but here's how I do it.

At the moment they get fed 600g of scraps twice a week, with the addition of a couple of pinches of 'aphrodisiac powder', ground egg shells and rock dust. They get through it extremely quickly! If the scraps contain a lot of moisture I mix in a good handful of shredded newspaper. When feeding I push aside the top layer of newspaper bedding in one corner and plop the scrap mixture straight on top of the previous feed, which by then is mostly castings and newspaper. If the castings are looking a compacted or soggy they get a bit of a fluff up. I finely chop and freeze all my scraps, it seems to help them break down quicker once defrosted.

I did try giving a bit of bokashi to the worms in the cold composter at the bottom of the garden; after a week they hadn't even touched it. Maybe it was too acidic? I am rather wary of putting any in the wormery since it contains all of our cooked food waste. It does very well in the hot compost pile, though: disappears very quickly!

[elleyfant]

I've seen a few comments about freezing their food before giving it to them! I think probably my problem was under feeding to be honest. It's difficult to get out there mid-week in the morning/evening when dark, especially now it's all wrapped up for the winter. I've asked my other half for a head torch for Christmas ? So, I'm hoping to build it up again by being more attentive. But will be slow now I guess given that it's got colder. They've got plenty of food I don't need to worry about going bad (manure) to nibble at and yesterday they got apple, cooked potato and avocado. Is there an issue feeding them cooked food scraps? Yours get more egg shells than mine. Maybe I should up that.
And what is rock dust???

[WormyMcWormerson]

Rock dust is just pulverised rock, in this case basalt. It's supposed to help 'remineralise' the soil. I don't know if it actually works or not, but we've got 10kg left so have to use it somehow. We put some on the raised beds last spring and everything grew fantastically well this year, but I can't attribute that with any certainty to the rock dust.

Don't think there's any problem with feeding them cooked scraps in moderation, mine have had cooked potatoes a few times. I once read that worms will actually eat cooked onion and citrus; can any veteran worm ranchers confirm this?

[WillyWorm]

Hi, I don't know if I'm qualified to answer this I don't feel like a veteran (just look like one). Cooking your worm food is fine. Cooking, freezing and chopping food all break down the cells in the food making it more readly available to the microbs and the worms. Some people gather food in a box/bag in the freezer, when needed they cook/microwave it, when cool they mash it before feeding you their herd. This preparation of the food results in fast consumption and more castings. (Not sure why so many worm keepers are so hung up on speed)
The problem with citrus and onions is the oils they contain, cooking removes these oils meaning you can if you wish feed them, but why would you want to. These oils are the active ingredient in many insect repellents so it's no surprise microbes and worms stay away however the occupants of your bin will deal with a small quantity of this and other stuff on the "do not feed list" if it does find its way into their food bowl (it may take a while).
Willy