Compost ready but only 2 earthworm!

Ms. Jitomate · February 16, 2015

In the fall I put together my yard waste from a bottle brush tree that I pruned from my yard, dairy manure I picked up locally and I have used previously, dry avocado leaves from my own tree, three year old hay which I have used before, and kitchen waste I had been saving in the freezer.

Today I started sifting for use in March but I only found 2 earthworm. I have been composting successfully over the last 5 years. I always find thousands of earthworms in a variety of sizes and their eggs. But this pile had no eggs and only 2 earthworms. This compost was made in a 4x4 pallet style bin.

The only thing different in this pile was the bottle brush pruning. We had trimmed the bottle brush tree and between my husband, daughter, and myself we trimmed it to 4 to 6 inch pieces. When I sifted today there was still lots of small thin wood trimmings but I was able to remove them.

I'm a little worried about using this compost because it seems a bit scary not to find earthworms. There was also no millipedes/centipedes.

Isn't the sign of healthy compost to find lots of earthworms?

beeman · February 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ms. Jitomate

Isn't the sign of healthy compost to find lots of earthworms?

Only if there is food left. If it's all been converted then the worms will move out. I don't think there will be any problems without worms showing up.

Worth1 · February 17, 2015

My worms come and go as was stated above depending on what they have to eat.

Worth

Blueaussi · February 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

My worms come and go as was stated above depending on what they have to eat.

Worth

Ya know, a little Ivermectin will take care of that.

Worth1 · February 17, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blueaussi

Ya know, a little Ivermectin will take care of that.

Wormer.

Maybe I should have said my yards worms come and go.

Worth

Ms. Jitomate · February 17, 2015

Now that I look at my currently sifted compost, there is absolutely nothing recognizable as 'food' in my compost.

So my earlier compost that I made previously, wasn't completely 'consumed' I guess. I do remember now in my previous compost there was still small recognizable food particles that sifted through, along with the small earthworms and their eggs.

I'll still do a radish test before I use it, just in case.

peebee · February 20, 2015

I read that sometimes rodents or other such animals can get into compost and eat all the worms they can find. It happened to me once also, where I had a healthy population of worms and when I got back after a 2 week vacation they were all gone. Perhaps they went elsewhere, perhaps they were eaten. I used up the compost anyways as it was ready. It's a fact of life where I live, we have those pesky roof rats and yes I know they go into my heavy-duty enclosed compost bin cuz I've seen one before that scurried out when I opened the bin.

lexusnexus · February 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ms. Jitomate

In the fall I put together my yard waste from a bottle brush tree that I pruned from my yard, dairy manure I picked up locally and I have used previously, dry avocado leaves from my own tree, three year old hay which I have used before, and kitchen waste I had been saving in the freezer.

What temperature is your compost pile getting to? I remember the "organic" spinach farm that caused the salmonella outbreak which was caused by bad compost. Our MG instructors have said that animal manure has to be elevated to 165 degrees F for 6 days to ensure pathogens in animal byproducts are killed during composting.

Dan

Ms. Jitomate · February 26, 2015

I actually kept records of the compost temperature. Back in September when I created the compost pile it peaked at 129 degrees F for 5 days. I had picked up the dairy manure from a huge pile at the dairy. It was already composed; it wasn't fresh manure. There are areas in the dairy pile that are still warm, but I usually go for the loose, dry compost usually on the surface, only because it's easier to mix it up with the rest of the compost items. I didn't use it on leafy vegetables, just tomatoes and peppers.

February 16, 2015	#1
Ms. Jitomate Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: San Gabriel Valley, CA Posts: 99	Compost ready but only 2 earthworm! In the fall I put together my yard waste from a bottle brush tree that I pruned from my yard, dairy manure I picked up locally and I have used previously, dry avocado leaves from my own tree, three year old hay which I have used before, and kitchen waste I had been saving in the freezer. Today I started sifting for use in March but I only found 2 earthworm. I have been composting successfully over the last 5 years. I always find thousands of earthworms in a variety of sizes and their eggs. But this pile had no eggs and only 2 earthworms. This compost was made in a 4x4 pallet style bin. The only thing different in this pile was the bottle brush pruning. We had trimmed the bottle brush tree and between my husband, daughter, and myself we trimmed it to 4 to 6 inch pieces. When I sifted today there was still lots of small thin wood trimmings but I was able to remove them. I'm a little worried about using this compost because it seems a bit scary not to find earthworms. There was also no millipedes/centipedes. Isn't the sign of healthy compost to find lots of earthworms?

February 17, 2015	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	My worms come and go as was stated above depending on what they have to eat. Worth

February 20, 2015	#7
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	I read that sometimes rodents or other such animals can get into compost and eat all the worms they can find. It happened to me once also, where I had a healthy population of worms and when I got back after a 2 week vacation they were all gone. Perhaps they went elsewhere, perhaps they were eaten. I used up the compost anyways as it was ready. It's a fact of life where I live, we have those pesky roof rats and yes I know they go into my heavy-duty enclosed compost bin cuz I've seen one before that scurried out when I opened the bin.

February 26, 2015	#9
Ms. Jitomate Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: San Gabriel Valley, CA Posts: 99	I actually kept records of the compost temperature. Back in September when I created the compost pile it peaked at 129 degrees F for 5 days. I had picked up the dairy manure from a huge pile at the dairy. It was already composed; it wasn't fresh manure. There are areas in the dairy pile that are still warm, but I usually go for the loose, dry compost usually on the surface, only because it's easier to mix it up with the rest of the compost items. I didn't use it on leafy vegetables, just tomatoes and peppers.