Obviously there'll be NO worms when the pile is dry. Also, fresh piles still generate heat but the outskirt of it should be cool enough. Mind you, I have NO access to a stable OR a manure pile; this is just from reading other people's experience and MHO. I have also read about how someone harvested lots of worms from a manure pile. So, it is safe to guess that it depends if the area has worms to begin with and if the manure got hauled away every so often, then there's no time for worms to populate the pile. However, I imagine there should still be an undisturbed area at the outskirt of the pile, no?

I hope I won't bore you but I'll tell you my story. Every fall I got several bags of persimmons leaves from my brother and I store them in one of the garbage cans I have around. I always leave them sit till the next year and I will ALWAYS find quite a few (like a handful) of worms through out, mostly at the bottom, when I started using them.

Don't give up Harry.

Otis, just last week I set aside a few large garbage bags of this season's leaves for making leaf mould. Just gave them a turn yesterday and I'm already seeing a few redworms on the outside of the bags. It's like they know what goodies are inside!

I might go have a look again for worms in the manure pile (at the stable) this weekend now that we've had some pretty heavy rains.

Harry

i also went looking for worms in cow manures. i l found several farms with not too dry cow manure. but only found haha 2 worms in total. a countryside man told me that worms don't show up now, the work during the summer. i don't know if that makes sense to you, but what do i know.

aka: Go for horse manure. Because of the different digestive systems, I suspect that cocoons that somehow were among the grass eaten by the horse survived the journey and started the colony. Then of course joined by fellow worms from the area. Just a guess, so don't shoot me if I'm wrong.

Did you get your rain boots out and mucking at the stables Harry? Any luck? Might be getting too cold to find them w/o digging too deep into the pile now.

Otis, no I can't say I've given it a try yet........silly me.....I keep waiting for the rains to stop! I'll let you know if I get over there to search the pile.

Harry

Otis, thought you might like this.....heard it on the radio. A "rain delay" in baseball means a stoppage in the game DO to persistent rainfall. Whereas a "rain delay" in Vancouver means a temporary stoppage in the RAIN itself! Gotta love it!

I know it has nothing to do with "worms in manure piles" but just had to post it somewhere. I'm sure those of you on the west coast (a.k.a "wet coast") can relate!

Harry

Harry: thanks for the weather update. I'm in Frankfurt, De. till the 13th. It is rather cold here with overnight frost and I was thinking about my pets @ home. I managed to built the box around ca. 30 - 3 gal. bins so although I didn't manage to put the heather cable in, at least they are protected from wind and I hope they're OK. I checked overnight before I left and the temp. inside the box in the morning was 5C higher than outside the box. So, they should be OK. I'll find out in 8 days.

Otis, you don't have to worry about low temps here yet. With the weather we're having I just hope your worm bins don't FLOAT away! Enjoy you trip.

Harry

Haha. Not to worry. They're on the upstairs deck. Yep, I'm enjoying the beer, wine and Wurst. Prosit to you Harry!

You enjoy your beer......I'll just curl up with a cup of hot cocoa. Suppose things could be" Wurst".

Cheers,

Harry

I'm a worm novice, but there's a chance I brought home worms in manure two years ago when I built my beds with dairy compost as one of the lasagna layers.

I found tons (!!!) of worms when I rebuilt my beds this Fall. Would these have any chance as compost slaves? I'm kinda thinking they may be the reason the birds attacked my beds all last Spring and I would love to put them to work elsewhere. I just don't know worm species at all...

Thanks,

Nico

Nico, redworms for vermicomposting have rather pronounced red rings, are not as big as many paler earthworms, that dwell deeper in the soil, and often show a slightly yellowish colour towards the posterior (tail) end.

Chances are you inherited redworms with the manure you brought home so if you're interested in trying worm composting, use some of those worms and give it a go. Tons of very good information here and this forum is quite active.

Good luck,

Harry

Thanks, there are so many of them! I finished the season with more castings than anything else along the edge of the garden where I was re-building. I have tried VC before, after taking a local class, but I think I tended them too carefully.

This week, after finding this section of GardenWeb, I read everyone's reflections on things they have learned from worms. I've started saving scraps in the freezer and this morning was recycle day in my 'hood so I took my husband and our two pups on a cardboard gathering mission.

I'm sure I'll be back with questions and success stories!

Nico

Another worm convert!

I say, if they're dark in color, small and thin, and travel in clumps, they're composting worms. Stripes are optional. Mine have never looked very stripey, but I do notice the yellow tails on quite a few of them (another characteristic of Eiseinia fetida.) Composting worms don't dig burrows in the ground and are quite happy to live all piled together in a heap of food.

If they are pale in color, fatter, not as fast-moving, then they are probably shallow-soil worms. I have a lot of the grey guys in my garden. Probably OK for vermicomposting, but may not thrive in very crowded quarters. In the wild they sometimes share burrows so a little bit of jostling is OK. They do dig in the ground but their burrows are shallow and horizontal.

If they are dark in color but much bigger and longer, you've got a true nightcrawler. ("European nightcrawlers" notwithstanding; that species is actually a composting worm and looks more similar to what I described above.) Nightcrawlers won't be happy in a bin at all. But nightcrawlers aren't so easy to catch unless you prowl for them at night with a flashlight. They live in deep, vertical solitary burrows, occupy the same burrow for a long time, come out only to drag in more food, and don't like to share their space. Like me! :-)

Well....if it will let me add photos of these guys, I will try. I'm not out to send any worms off to unhappy conditions, but I do have tons of veggie waste and no outdoor compost allowed where I live. And, those birds!!!

This patch of new construction had zero worms when I built my garden - my first. I filled it up with ingredients for soil and had a modest product above ground the first season, but oh the critters who appeared at and below the soil!

Here's one little clump I found. Maybe I have some composters and some soil worms? None are moving very fast but I thought that might be the cool temps.

Cool temps...another problem in my house...

Those look about the right size and color to be red wigglers, or their cousins. I'd give it a shot.