Worms, the Project Continues

So far, unlike the chicken coop, the worm project has been an unqualified success. I can’t hammer a nail straight if my life depended on it, but man, can I grow worms. A conservative estimate would be about 800 worms now. Plus any that have been born (hatched?) in the bin itself. The worms sure eat a lot; I can see the bunny manure reduce in two or three days. Last week, I put in more dead leaf bedding. I noticed it was really wet on the bottom, so Don drilled some more holes in the bin bottom and lower sides for me.

I’m pretty sure I have Dendrodrilus Ribidus. I have no idea how to pronounce that, I just know how to spell it while looking at the word itself on the internet. D.R.s are small worms, 3 – 4 inches or so, ranging in colour from dark red to pink on the upper surface, being paler below and they have yellow tails. They are common in the decomposing leaves and in compost and manure heaps, which is where I am finding them.

I have discovered that I was right about being apprehensive about getting non-native red wrigglers. They should not be released into the wild because of their voracious appetites and reproductive rates. They have actually been known to upset the balance of the hardwood forests because they eat the leaf litter too quickly. When that happens, the hard shelled nuts can’t incubate as they should. Red wrigglers can also lead to erosion and affect the pH of the soil. I always like those instances where my gut feeling is justified.

I need to find out about are worm eggs or cocoons. When I am turning the leaf compost and harvesting worms, I will come across little yellow or orange color eggs. They don’t look to be more than 1/8th of an inch. I usually find a lot of worms around them. I’m wondering if they are worm cocoons. If they are, I could add them directly to my bin. A cocoon will hold anywhere from 2 – 20 worms. Hopefully, I can find either a picture or a very good description of a cocoon soon. In the meantime, I might just take one of those eggs and keep it separate in some leaves and see what happens.