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DEAR NEW FARM:
I had a worm bin for two years, and recently I went to feed them
one week and they were there. I went to feed them the next week,
and they had disappeared entirely, with no trace of a body anywhere.
I checked the pH of the soil, and it was 8.4. Is there any other
reason the worms might have disappeared other than the pH was too
high, and how can I adjust the pH so I don't hurt my new worms?
Thanks for helping me!
Ariane Osterwald
Pennsylvania
DEAR ARIANE:
We asked our favorite worm expert Amy Stewart (author of The
Earth Moved: on the remarkable achievements of earthworms) for
her advice on this one. Here’s what Amy had to say:
I am so sorry to hear about your worms! Without knowing a little
more about the conditions the worms were in, it's hard to say
for sure what happened. The most important conditions for keeping
worms healthy in a bin include:
• Moisture--The bin should be about as
damp as a wrung-out sponge.
• Temperature--Red wigglers, the most common
composting worm, prefer temps in the 50°F-70°F range.
While they can tolerate temperatures outside that range, they
won't reproduce as quickly, and extreme heat or cold can kill
them.
• Food--They need a steady diet of organic
matter. If you've had a bin for two years, you probably already
know what to feed them, but the basic rule is to treat them like
vegans: no dairy or animal products, and no vegetable oils, either.
• pH--They do prefer a neutral pH, and
it sounds like the enviornment they were in was pretty alkaline.
Since most kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, etc. that people feed
worms are more on the acid side, I wonder if something got into
the bin to push the pH up to that point.
Regardless, the worms probably died (as opposed to escaping)--the
body of a worm breaks down very quickly after it dies which is
why you didn't see any bodies. My suggestion is to empty the bin,
wash it out, and start over again with a shredded coconut fiber
bedding, which you can buy in compressed bricks at most nurseries.
Introduce a new batch of worms to the bin, let them settle down
in the coconut fiber, and keep them covered with a thick layer
of shredded paper. After a few days, add a little food--maybe
a banana peel--and gradually start adding as much food as they
can consume without it getting moldy or rancid.
For more on worm composting, you can check out my book and download
my worm composting handout here: www.amystewart.com/info.htm.
And always feel free to stop by my earthworm blog, Worms of Endearment,
where I post worm-related news and answer questions: www.wormsofendearment.blogspot.com
All best,
Amy
NF
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