Winter worm protection....??????

I have two open palleted bins (home made with pallets) they have some old carpet on top to try and keep some heat and moisture in.

I also have two of your sturdy black plastic bins full of leaves with no lid, just an old plastic compost bag cut open with the black side upper most as a top.

They should be fine, they usually go quiet and dormant at this time of the year (cold temps) but your's are obviously happy.

Yesterday the temp here was -5.5. On our walk down the lane there were woems crawling across the road surface. Don't ask me why, but they were. If they can do it at that temp I am sure they will be ok in the warmth of your compost bins.
Thought. Perhaps they were escaping from the chicken which proverbially crossed over?

oh that is a relief, i would hate to think of my little troupers suffering in anyway. i am going to upgrade them to the pallet type in the spring anyway, i find these bins a neusence to be honest and not that sturdy, one is the clip together type and it has broken along one side so being held together at the moment with wire,a nd the other and warped and leaning to one side. but they have done the job up until now but doubt they will last another season, and i have only had them just over a year, - waist of money me thinks.

there brandling worms that is there job.the nature of compersition is warmth a bye product of the decompersition.they new millions of years ago to live here so just let nature take its cause.though in a garden i hate plastic it does have insulation properties so just keep adding ya bio rubbish and leave them to do there bit trust me.sometimes its best to keep it simple

thanks NP, i am quite new to composting, and i know that compost gets hot when brewing, but must admit i did'nt know why, I am glad about that, they have there own central heating then! - hot little wrigglers! lol i am going to have to change the bins as one is warped and another is broken, so they are not that hard wearing, mind you one i got free off the council and the other i bought of ebay...say no more. no i think i will try the pallet idea next and see if that works any better, i will be able to turn it easier in there. another thing, how do they get in there in the first place? my composters are on concrete - not ideal, i know, but seems to be working, just takes a bit longer. anyway, i have never put them in there, so where did they come from?

another thing i wanted to ask...now this will proberly make me sound very blond...i am not as you can see from my picture...but what is the difference between brandling worms and earth worms...i must say i have never dug up a red worm before in the garden, and i am sure some of them must have ended up in the garden when adding my fresh compost to the beds... and i have never found a pink or brown one in the compost bins...are they the same worm but they change colour because of there invironment, or are they completely different types?

If you watch the distance a worm will go across concrete you would not be surprised to find them almost anywhere they choose to be. We have even removed them from the guttering round the house roof.
The heat in a Compost heap is caused by the bacteria and fungus which convert the raw material into humus. They burn oxygen which as you know is a process that gives off heat. That is why you need to turn the heap, to keep adding oxygen to it as fuel for the little critters. Brandling worms, indeed any worm will move in as your heap/bin/mound/whatever provides them with an easily obtainable food source.
Believe it or not both slugs (not snails though) and woodlice are also very useful animals in the conversion process.
And if you want to start an argument ask any 3 gardeners about the best way to make and manage a compost heap!

They are different species needing different conditions. There are actually a fair number of different species of worms all exploiting different environments.
http://42explore.com/worms.htm

thanks Owdboggy, so i take it they are a completely different type of worm then, and yes that does make sense, as i have found them at the bottom of pots that i had on my balcony at my last flat and they would have had to of come up a pritty steep flight of stairs to get there. amaizing little creatures arn't they. and yes i did know about slugs being good for composting i have on occations chucked a few in there, but did'nt know about woodlice, but i guess that makes sense really as the are known for rotting wood etc...i think not being able to turn it easy has been the reason that it has taken so long to get compost out of these bins, what i have got is good, but i think that is more to do with the mix rather than anything else, i have turfed the whole lot out and turned and then put it back in and then found a week later when i look in it has gone down in the bin considerallby - i am assuming this is because the air as meant quicker conversion. if it was easier to do i would do this more often, so i do think a bigger area that is more accessable would work better and faster. and yes i know what you mean, you could ask many general gardening questions and get three very good, but very different answers, at the end of the day a lot of it is just about expereimenting, and finding what works for you and your garden, but it is great to have the opinoins and advice from other and often more experienced gardeners, we are always learning. thank you all for the very informative and interesting advice.

thanks owdboggy - i think we just crossed lol

brandlings realy eat the newish stuff at the top hence none comming out the bottem when you use the new soil etc so i believe turning will not help this.earth worms eat dirt lower down or just under your grass .there is a worm that gets 16` believe it or not.hence being called earth worms

i am right in thinking you just said 16 inches? lol - are you sure your not confusing it with a grass snake? lol i got bit by one once, (grass snake, not a 16 inch worm) - scared the life out of me, don't like snakes at the best of times, strangely enough worms don't bother me at all, not so sure about 16 inch ones though! i have had the red ones come out of the bottom before now, but there are loads in the top, as you say. the ones that come out of the bottom have just ended up in the garden with the compost, is this damaging to them? or should i be putting them back in the top?

i was saying 12 feet not inches and it is a worm.as for the odd brandling that comes out they got to your compost from some wear bearing in mind a compost heap isnt natural so dont worry about either

oooooooo 12 feet? - in this country? nope sorry don't believe you lol - but then you guys are very good at getting inches feet and errr centimeters mixed up arn't you! lol

The 12 foot or more worm lives in Australia.
Any brandlings buried when you turn the heap or dig in the compost will pretty soon make their way back to the place they prefer.
I think, in fact I am sure, that there is a major difference in the way one manages a compost heap and a wormery. The compost heap definitely needs turning on a regular basis, or aerating in some way at least. A womery on the other hand, which uses the actions of brandlings to convert the material does not need aeration and may be left alone.

Really! well you learn something new everyday - glad they are not over here though, as much as i like worms not to sure about one of this size lol and no it is not a wormary it is a composter, and soon to be a heap, rather than a bin, and i do think that turning definately helps.

theres a marine worm longer than a blue whale believe it or not

eeerrrr! can't say i would be chuffed about digging one of them up LOL - but gues they arn't found in ones back garden in the UK? - i hope!

marine was the key word there lol

LOL there goes the Essex girl behavour again!

ow dont worry i have blond moments with know hair lol x

LOL, glad i'm not alone there NP - ofcourse coming from Essex makes it even worse, must be something they put in the water! lol

i come from heartfordshire close to essex lol

Close is not the same as in NP lol

u have a point lol
joking aside people are the same every wear
as in good ones bad one friendly ones etc

yes ofcourse you are quite right, but not everyone thinks like us do they! all i can say is glad i'm not blond lol

can you call gray blond lol

cheaky sod! no grey either actually! lol - but then i gues going grey is better than receeding! ;-) aye NP lol

i ment me going gray as it goes.my hair is the least of my troubles .infact i wish it would fall out quicker lol.its not like you loose it it just relocates to the top of ear or something.and you never notice them till there about 7" long lol
i wouldnt suggest u had gray hair especialy being as i cant see your hair properly so dont start on poar innocent butter wouldnt melt in my mouth me.im a horticulturist for gods sake lol

LOL ok, ok, fair enough. :0) ....and back to gardening lol

got 2 have a laugh

Rude not too NP me thinks lol

you would your from essex lol sorry couldnt help myself feal free to take the michal when ya like lol i like a bit of friendly banter should i say lol