Worm ???'s

[Blossome]

Okay, I have two square foot gardens which I'm thinking of combining into a deeper 20 inch raised bed. I have started a compost bin and I'm getting ready to buy some worms, but I'm not sure if it's too late for me to start this bin and expect hummus compost by the time I start softening up my dirt in the next month, also I'm not sure if I can just add the worms to an exsisting compost bin or do I need to start another one or should I buy the eggs which are way cheaper and just add those to the dirt once I soften it up or will it still be too cold for the worms.

Thanks for your help

Blossom

[Sinfonian]

I believe if you actively work a hot compost bin for 60 days, aerating as often as weekly once the temp drops below 130, you should have decent compost.

I didn't add worms to mine so I can't say.

[plantoneonme]

If you want quick compost do as Sinfonia states...chop things into the smallest pieces possible and turn frequently. I try to turn mine once a week and even with not chopping things small I had usable compost in 2 months. As for the worms...worms will naturally find their way into your compost bin. If you want to add some to your raised beds, I would say go with the eggs since it is so much less expensive. You want to make sure there is lots of organic material dug into your raised bed to keep the babies well fed. I put cardboard on the bottom of my beds which the worms love to eat and dug holes between larger plants such as tomatoes and added ground up vegetable scraps from the kitchen. My bed went from zero to a million worms by the end of summer...ok maybe exagerated but it was awesome at the number of worms I had and I didn't add any they found their way inside.

I just started my worm bin with only 1/2 pound of the little wigglers and find it will probably be next spring before I have enough castings for the amount I will need to start seeds. I read it takes a minimum of 6 months for a really up and working worm bin...but then I guess you could get one going a little faster if you put in a LOT of worms but that would be pretty expensive. The guy I purchased my worms from stated for my 16 gallon container I should have 16 pounds of worms....that would amount to over $320! Sorry but I will let my little ones take care of the population explosion all on their own and wait until next spring.

BTW where are you getting the worm eggs from? I would be interested in purchasing some if they are much less expensive...I can be very patient when it comes to frugal gardening. Kim

[Blossome]

I usually get most of my organic seeds from gardenalive.com and this is where I found the worm cocoons. http://www.gardensalive.com/search.asp?ss=worms

Thanks for the info.