What kind of worms for worm bin?

[UrbanWild]

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that all earthworms in the US were wiped out by glaciers. We do have native worms. But if you live in highly glaciated areas of the USA. Those worms were wiped out by the very same glaciers alluded to earlier. So in those northern areas, y'all have alien worms. To be fair, the rest of the country has them as well... But they may have natives.

All that said, any worms will process compost outside. But various types of worms may have preferences that make a difference in how they inhabit and even process compost. For instance, red wigglers like to be in the top 6-12" or so of the substrate. Nightcrawlers burrow far deeper. So, you may not even notice the ones down deep. But that same deep burrowing makes them not great candidates for actual worm bins inside. Hands down, that's red wiggler territory.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I think it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that any worms will process compost outside. Worms is a big category, even if you confine it to earthworms. I am pretty sure that there are some that sift microscopic stuff from soil that is already, in effect, composted.
That being said they would probably have some effect on the soil

 

[big rockpile]

I just bought African Nightcrawlers which are to be better than Red Wigglers or European Nightcrawlers.

Plus side is they are much bigger. You do not want to any Worms in an Active Compost because the ideal temperature is 180F much too hot for Worms but Microbs do just fine breaking down Compost.

Red Wigglers are good to raise but you want to raise them in a cooler bin. They are very small, multiply well and are industrious workers but they are only good a couple inches down and can not handle cold so you don't want them outside during cold weather.

big rockpile

 

[UrbanWild]

Oliver Buckle wrote:
"I think it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that any worms will process compost outside. Worms is a big category, even if you confine it to earthworms."

Point taken, but since the thread was specifically a discussion of earthworms I thought that would be understood. That said, sure, non-natives may not function that way as they may die off. But to be precise, what worms do is break down what they take in... Like any animal. So, that said, any earthworms that survive in your area should process. In my piles and bins, they really are near the bottom of the process. First is bacteria and everything goes hot... Far too hot for almost anything else. When that subsides, fungi and other microbes move in and soon, soldier fly larvae. That's when the majority of the bulk reduction takes place. But solder flies make things mucky... Too moist for even worm preference. Typically worms are on the perimeter until things change to better conditions for them. Soldier flies make smaller particles that worms can actually take into their mouths. And they process bulk like nothing else. Microbes do as well but if you have a lot of large stuff, they either have to feed off of the edge or wait until things are more conducive to them being able to ingest material. Even in an indoor worm bin you get microbe action and heating BTW.