It sounds like you've done a LOT very well! Maybe you want to dedicate a bin to just the worms and keep the rest in your regular compost?

They certainly do sound happy. I'd turn the pile and add more browns, keeping the pile watered enough for the worms.

Just my little observation.

And, if you still have TOO MANY WORMS, try the FreeCycle network at www.freecycle.org for people near you. (See "red wrigglers" for more info.)

Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA (S.F. Bay Area)

Scoop some up and put them around in your garden beds. Spread the wealth around. ;)

Dave

They won't survive in the ground. They need the high organic content.

They won't survive in the ground.

With all due respect Jean, of course they will survive in the garden beds. Worms have been living in the ground forever. And they will thrive in it if it has compost in it as it should. I assume you do add your compost to the garden beds sometime, right? My garden beds are full of worms...as well as lots of compost. They will even survive in clay soil with very little organic matter - not the ideal existence of course - but survive and reproduce nonetheless.

Dave

My garden beds are also crawling with worms. It's hard to plant anything without chopping worms. It takes a lot longer to plant when you have to relocate/bury the worms as you go.

Karen

Karen - I think I've read something by you in the past that's conveyed the same message, and thought to myself, hmmm, must be a nice "problem."

And then yesterday, I was planting 6 plants & had to relocate tons of worms - it was such a joyful experience (I scooped out the dirt - saw the worms - put the dirt in a pile, and quickly placed the spare mulch on top of them to keep them cool and damp and happy - until I was ready to put all the soil back again!) - I had soooo much fun! But, it certainly did take longer!

All the Best, Tree

Lots and lots of homegrown worms in the garden beds here, too. Of course, they all have loads of compost in them...

Too much moisture in the compost pile wil cause that compost to not get properly digested, heat up, just as to little water will. Earthworms will, because they need organic matter to live, come up to a finished compost pile if the moisture level is high enough and that is too high for the bacteria that are to be digesting that material.

The worms in the compost are probably red wigglers, not earthworms. But in my experience, they'll survive in the garden beds if you have a nice thick layer of organic stuff (like grass clippings, or leaves, or compost) on top of the soil. Or you can relocate some of the worms to your containers -- as long as they have a nice thick layer of organic stuff on top...

Thanks for the observations. We were only able to take out a couple of buckets of compost and have left the rest for the worms to consume. We have a good supply of worms in the veggie garden already, so thought it best to leave the worms consuming whatever they are eating in the boxes. I'd sure like to get the temps in the boxes up higher to kill the weed seeds...

I thought you might be interested in an update. This composter continues to be full of worms, red ones, brown ones, all sizes. Yesterday, I took the top off to check and there were worms on the inside of the lid, and the bin was crawling with them. The level of compost in the bin is virtually the same as it has been all summer. I think that this bin has become a vermicoster so I am going to dump my kitchen waste into this bin this winter and let them work on it. Perhaps I should add shredded newspaper?

Sure, they'll love shredded newspaper, or autumn leaves, horse manure (which to me means the sweepings from the horses' stall - any actual manure is just a plus), you name it. Worms are just so darn adaptable and vigorous. And they produce beautiful compost, bless their little pink hearts.

I guess this is as good a place as any to tell my incredible worm story. In short, I was cleaning out the gutters on the garage. Admittedly, it had been a few years and there were small saplings growing out of the gutters. What did I find up there? Worms! I understand it was a lovely environment for them - moist and full of decayed leaves. But how did they get up there to begin with?

Love them worms.

If I grab my spade to turn over any soil my hens come running full speed. It's worm snack time. There's no way I can save them. They get swallowed before I can do anything about it.
Too many worms? I don't think so. As Dave said, just spread them out and share!

Too many worms? Blasphemy!

I had a plant in a ceramic pot and pulled the plant out yesterday to give to someone and it was swarming with worms. True earthworms. I immediately emptied the remaining dirt with all the worms into my garden. There used to be lots more but I have a koi pond and my niece thinks it's cool to go worm hunting and give them to the koi. I was tempted to give them one of these treats yesterday but I want the worm population to rise again and introduce them to my compost.

Love to hear "worm stories" because healthy gardens should have healthy worm populations! So if you have lots of worms you're doing things right. One can rarely have too many worms altho I remember reading about a place in Scotland that did have too many. And they were huge. Not our ordinary garden variety earthworms.

I have a worm story too which I found amazing at the time. Several years ago I wanted another perennial bed so my DH removed some lawn grass and dug down about 12" into our concrete-like interior clay. There were many worm holes to indicate that's likely where they had wintered. In the spring here if we move any of the stepping stones we find huge "nurseries" of worms. Guess they like the warmth there.

I never bother relocating them as I figure they can roam the entire garden wherever they find the best food. Have noticed they love fresh grass clippings tho. And any kitchen veggie scraps disappear very quickly dug into the soil between plants.

Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road
I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more
I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road
I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more (Kio, Kio)

I got the horses in the back
Horse tack is attached
Hat is matte black
Got the boots that's black to match
Ridin' on a horse, ha
You can whip your Porsche
I been in the valley
You ain't been up off that porch, now

Can't nobody tell me nothin'
You can't tell me nothin'
Can't nobody tell me nothin'
You can't tell me nothin'

Ridin' on a tractor
Lean all in my bladder
Cheated on my baby
You can go and ask her
My life is a movie
Bull ridin' and boobies
Cowboy hat from Gucci
Wrangler on my booty

Can't nobody tell me nothin'
You can't tell me nothin'
Can't nobody tell me nothin'
You can't tell me nothin'

Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road
I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more
I'm gonna take my horse to the old town road
I'm gonna ride 'til I can't no more
I got the