Hi Tracywag

I too started a bin in Feb w/ 2 lbs EFs. lost more than half of them to something (attic flies i think)but have babbied them for 18 weeks & they seem fine. I use a stacking bin, it's 2 levels high & i know i have 3'' of casts in the bottom bin.

my intentions are to eliminate most of my mite & potworm populations & then combine the 2 bins-this late in ?spring? i am more interested in increasing my population than in retrieving casts. as per Kelly S. casts are possibly the most diverse in bacterial activity and by mixing it in i may get a boost in feeding activity in the upper bin. hopefully the feed stock will deteriate more quickly and the worms will breed more.

But ,yes you could take out the good stuff & start over. Just be sure to use some old bedding to start them in again.

IMHO bruce

Thanks, Bruce. How and why are you going to reduce your potworm population? I have quite a few of those too. My short term goal is to increase population and activity in the bin. I have a rubbermaid with loads of air holes and shredded newspaper bedding with pre-rotted kitchen scraps and coffe grounds tossed in occasionally.

Tracy

Go ahead and dig in. Most here will tell you they constantly dig in to start new bins or to run experiments. I do suggest you start a new one but also leave some in the original bin to increase the population.

Tracywag,

It is my guess that since your wormies have resided in basement since February that that is the problem.
More specifically, basements are notorious for have a steady temperature of around 50 to 53 degrees year around.
That is at the low end of the scale for worm and bacterial activity.
So I would think that if you could put the wormies in a location in the basement where you could raise their temp 10 degrees C, you will see a dramatic improvement.
Right now your worms are just "idling", by raising the temp you will cause them to kick up the revs. . . .
Good luck.

TC

Tracy
I just don't like mites or pot worms in my bin. They may help break down OM but my worms do that well enough and they don't need competition for the feed stock.

I put softened rabbit pellets on a piece (2"x2") of old phone book paper like you would spread peanut butter on a cracker. The mites will have completely covered it in 24 hrs. then I lift it out gently, so as to not drop any, put it in the garbage and add another "trap". I was overrun with mites 2 months ago & it took 7 to 10 days to get their pop. down - since then the worms are all over the feed stock, on top of the bedding & some don't even bother to hide when I take the lid off. I like it that way.

Pot worms like softened bread - so - I add A large bread crumb, mist 'till it's wet and trash it just like the "mite trap".

I agree w/ tcdutch and the temps-you are in NY-so your bin may not be the optimal 75 to 80 deg. If not - you might try a light w/ reflector (maybe two, one on each side of the bin)

to regulate my bin temp in the winter I suspend a light & reflector from a chain. light is connected to a "S" hook. Lower the light a few links and I get more heat in the bin. Raise it & it cools. I keep a thermometer in the bedding and hold the temp to 75 / 78 deg.

Or move them into the house like I did

bruce