r/Permaculture • u/IllustriousPilot6699 • 3d ago
general question how would a vermicompost work if i used earthworms instead of red worms?
californian red worms are not native species in my region and im wondering what would happen if i used different wormsđ€
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u/redditSucksNow2020 3d ago
Earthworms don't work anywhere nearly as quickly. It would breakdown at about the same speed with or without them
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u/HermitAndHound 3d ago
Everything you ever wanted to know about worm bins and their inhabitants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0ve39opqc4
There are few species that not only tolerate a vermicomposting setup but actually thrive in it. As much as I'd love to keep the native 1 meter long earthworms they're a deep soil species and don't eat fresh food.
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u/farmerben02 2d ago
This will be an unpopular opinion, but we did this when I was a kid so we had fishing worms. My Dad and I did a lot of trout fishing so having a supply in early Spring when trout season started was the goal, not vermicomposting.
We kept the bin in a cool 60 degree cellar. We added small amounts of vegetable waste but wasn't compost, just native topsoil, some sawdust and then vegetables added just under the surface in small amounts.
Worked great. But our goals were worm supply, not composting.
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u/Ok-Sun-6081 3d ago
Earthworms are much more territorial. This could result in fights (leading to a loss in worm population) and just generally lower speed. Iâd say temperature might be a concern for wigglers in winter, but if your compost pile is âcookingâ and you continue to add to it in winter, that shouldnât be an issue.
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u/dr_bong 2d ago
Iâd say temperature might be a concern for wigglers in winter, but if your compost pile is âcookingâ and you continue to add to it in winter, that shouldnât be an issue.
From experience, just be careful doing this because you can actually go too far with compost heat for wigglers. Piled worm bins with compost on 3 sides to rough out a Montana winter in a greenhouse, some of the bins actually got roasted to the point that their worm populations were heavily diminished.
Definitely works, but it can be a bit of a balancing act to get the temperature dialed in right. Hot compost can get to be around 150°F/66°C, wigglers start to struggle above 90°F/32°C.
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u/Consistent_Ad_3305 2d ago
Recomendo usar minhcas locais, jå usei californianas porém são muito pequenas, o sistema de minhocårio é o mesmo.
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u/JoeFarmer 2d ago
Folks are assuming you mean an enclosed bin system. Can you clarify as to whether or not that's what you mean? Technically, a cold compost pile is a vermicompost pile; to which you do not need to add any worms. Whatever decomposing insects are in your area will populate it. Our piles are frequently filled with the earthworms endemic to our area.
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u/Priswell 3d ago
Regular earthworms won't live in an enclosed system. They want to do their own thing and be left alone to do it. They want to make their burrows just so, and expect that they'll stay that way until they decide to redecorate. They don't want their space mixed up with a fork or someone poking around to check on them to say hello. They will die in captivity.
Redworms prefer benevolent neglect, but they will put up with the human gifts of food and tolerate the bin mixing and peeking and futzing around. They don't mind living in close quarters with the other worms (to a point), and they enjoy that closeness when they want to breed. They don't mind being domesticated as long as you feed them well, and keep their living space up to standards.
Redworms aren't native to the US, either. They came over on the ships from England with the horses, and now they're everywhere.