Can't believe I'm asking

There was once a thread about one's most stupid questions. Well......
A couple of months ago I purchased red worms for both my compost bins. One article or person said they don't do particularly well in the garden, but are great for eating stuff in the compost. So....when I use this compost in the spring, how does one extricate the worms? Okay, now I'm embarrassed!

Hey dun1kirk, thats why pencils come with erasers.Also, I'll bet many people wouldn't know the answer to that question.Answer; expose the pile to bright light, and give the worms a chance to move away from the brightness, and heat, then rake off the pile slowly.Mike

And then there are those of us who sift all our compost and retrieve most of the worms that way. :-)

Bah, don't be embarrassed, you can't learn new things if you don't ask. Try this site, it's got some great information on vermiculture. http://journeytoforever.org/compost_worm.html
I believe I have finally got the DH talked into a couple of worm bins I can put under my kitchen sink! Yippee!

Or you can transplant them into whatever bed you're putting your compost in - they're good for plants, too. They might not be the best (and no, I don't want to know how people figure out what kind of worm *is* the best) but I doubt they do any harm.

The worms that find your compost pile all by themselves are the same earthworms in the surrounding soil and planting beds. They migrate to the compost heap because it is so rich in food for them and in the case of rain saturated ground the pile also gives them a place that is moist but not flooded.

Moving some to the planting bed with the finished compost will not harm them at all. They will simply burrow down and take the compost into the soil with them as they continue their work of improving the siol.

Those left in the bin will start feeding on the next pile or move out to better feeding if you leave the area empty for awhile. But once they see you build another feast they will be back.

dunkirk: I don't have a worm bin and really know little of vermicomposting. But you said your purchaced "red worms". Are these the same as red wigglers? I thought these only survived in a worm bin, controlled temps, etc, not in the garden? Or am I all wrong? We are not talking about common garden earth worms, right?

Karen

Karen, OOPS! I just went backup and reread the first post and you are right. I was thinking of earthworms in an out door compost pile and not the red worms he was asking about.