Delbaman,

The thing about forums is, people dont post threads like,

"All going Well"

"No Problems Here"

I would reckon most of us are composting along nicely without a hassle. But every now and again we see something that is worth mentioning or questioning. Or we try to go bigger and better, or do-it-yourself, and have teething problems. ALso, the more you get into worms, the bigger words you use, and the more latin gets bandied about. New worm owners, as for all pet owners, get concerned that they are doing it right in the begining. Hence all the questions.

The Can 'O' worms is almost foolproof.

You will be fine.

And we like to talk about our hobby with others who don't think we're a little odd! lol!

Delbaman, even being a scientist doesn't keep you from having the occasional problem. Take it from me. ;)

The good news is that most "problems" are minor and fairly easy to fix. A great many things can be solved just by adding a little bedding material and fluffing it up a bit.

Like Raphael said, it only looks difficult because people hardly ever post unless there's something odd happening, but in fact there's no trouble for most people, most of the time. And there's hardly ever a problem that can't be solved.

So fire up the Can o' Worms and have fun!

--Paul

Thanks you all for your reassurance. If I can just keep my worms out of the lid and mainly out of the collector base then I probably will be able to rest easy. I don't have any tea yet so they aren't drowning. I just scoop them up and put them back where the food is. I hope "socks12345" didn't think I thought people who raise worms are odd LOL. Remember I have wormies too!! Any thoughts on my runaway worms? I keep them in my garage and live in NE texas about 30 min from OK boarder. I don't think it's a temp. problem.

Thanks again everyone!!
Ken (delbaman)

I find my worms in the lid when one of the following happens:

1. Too wet

2. Too much Food (causing it to get hot, note that anything above room temperature is hot and idicates too much food)

Too little food, the worms are trying to find more.

When its raining (they like the vibrations)

Not enough bedding. The castings may are too strong for them to be comfortable in.

Remedy all of the above by doing the opposite (you cant make it not rain of course). I also suggest putting damp newspaper (just fold up and moisten the weekend edition) neatly over the top of the beeding/food. Seems to keep them underneath the paper instead of under the lid.

They should sort themselves out soon enough. But there are always some in the lid and the water collector. The adventurous ones.

I note that "Worm Tea" is not the stuff that collects in the bottom tray. Thats just leftover water. Worm tea is a preparation of the compost/castings.

Cheers
Raphael