Cold weather on the way. I have topped up my

I think you have the best looked after Brandlings in the uk Diane.

My, Diane, whatever did you do before you had those gerbils??

They have certainly lightened the life of an 87 year old Stera. We gain in knowledge, as we grow older.
Before I had them I carted 200 bags of horse manure from Sweet Hedges Farm west of Uppingham - lovely day out with a chef cooked lunch at reasonable price, its still in business if you go that way, closed Monday and Tuesday -
the daughter keeps 2 cart horses as pets. Stacked this
manure to rot down on my allotment. I want proper organic food, not chemicals and 'organic' labels meaning the product hasnt been sprayed for 3 days prior to delivery to supermarkets.
Now I am older cant manage this. Bubble & Squeak have taken the work off my shoulders. They chew torn up split cardboard which makes good compost with their Compressed wood shavings, i add Fish Blood and Bone granulated fertiliser, and horticultural sand to complete the mixture in my large plastic box. Just help myself to a small shovelful every time I want genuine organic recycled compost. Its in the greenhouse for the winter.

Good for you Diane!

I paid £18 to get my Brandling worms, although I know people who have had them evolve independently in their compost bins. Last spring I removed the cover on the compost bin, which I had put on to keep them warm, and found they had 'migrated' into the centre of the heap, where it was warmer. So they do feel the cold !

Makes sense - worms in the ground go down deeper when its cold. I don't think they evolve in the bins though, they come up from the ground. Whats interesting is how they know there's a compost bin above where they happen to be - one of our bins is swarming with them (the one with kitchen waste) and the two with garden waste don't appear to have any, though they might be busy lower down.

It sounds like a very vibrant compost heap, Diane.

How wonderful to get them to evolve naturally Stera.
I think you are on the right track with the kitchen waste in the other bin. Must follow this fast forward. Its so good to have plenty of fresh compost in the spring.

I don't get them to do it Diane, they just arrive..Perhaps the ground under the bin is a bit warmer than the surroundings and attracts them that way.