I have a very large compost "box" that I have fed worms all last year. I added a lot of leaves, pine straw and lots and lots of food scraps for the worms. The compost however has never heated up enough to decompose the "brown" stuff. I recently purchased a "compost helper" that is supposed to heat things up, but I'm afraid it will kill the worms. Suggestions please!?!
This article will help you:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/basics/heating-up-compost-pile.htm
I bought one dozen worms at the store and put them into my round compost bin. I have some great things in there for them to eat, but I don't see them. Does a composter hold the heat too much for worms to survive?
They dig deep and EAT - it's their "excrement" that helps make the compost! Don't go looking for the worms, they're just busy doing their job (eating all the stuff in your bin!
I have some red wiggler castings that have HIGH concentrations of "white worms" (aka "pot worms"). I'm wanting to put the castings in our garden but not sure if the white worms might damage plants/soil. Help appreciated!
"potworms won’t harm other living worm species, they do no damage to living plants. The only possible problem that could occur with potworms in a worm bin is if their population grows so large that they compete for food with the red wiggler composting worms. However, this rarely happens and potworms generally help with the composting process." Taken from this article http://www.naturesfootprint.com/community/articles/worm-bin
I've heard excellent things about worm composting using the non-invasive red wiggler type. I have one concern, however, which has kept me from investing in a worm composter. I mainly do container gardening (flowers and vegetables) and I have heard that worms are not a good thing to have in containers, even though they are normally considered good for open soil. I am concerned that if I add worm compost to potted plants, I will introduce worms either directly or by their eggs and thereby actually harm, not help, my plants. Is it true that worms are harmful in containers? And how likely is it that I will introduce them from the compost?
The compost you would be placing in the containers should not contain the worms themselves but rather the worm castings, which are collected from the vermicompost. The following articles should help, especially the one on how to harvest worm castings for you plants: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/vermicomposting Worms can be harmful if added to containers in that their burrowing can actually use up the potting soil, reducing the amount of soil needed for plant roots to survive and airing it out, which in the ground is fine but in containers that already dry out fairly quickly, this isn't good.
How many worms do I need for two 9.5'x 4.5'x 12" raised garden areas? They are filled with last year's leaves, some grass clippings, and mostly purchased topsoil from a local supplier. I also have a small composting bin we purchased, 3'x 3'x 2' about half full.
These articles should help you with composting with worms: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/vermicomposting/
I have tested my soil and have lost a lot of my worms, over too high of nitrate. How do I get it down?
If you are talking about soil in a box for vermicomposting, they you will need to add in other materials to reduce the nitrate. If this in soil in the ground, try planting a nitrogen heavy feeder like squash there to pull some of that out of the soil.
Most of the fruits and vegetables in my compost are moldy. Can I feed these to worms?
Yes, you can feed your worms moldy fruits and vegetables. Molds and fungi are a natural part of the composting process and are common organisms in a healthy worm system. These things will eventually be consumed by the worms and other organisms.