Featured Customer Question – Dorie F.

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:25:42 +0000

Hi Jerry,
We bought the Wriggly Wranch in March and the worms (From you) at one of the San Jose
Composting events. My worms did great up until this last week from all the
rains and the worms were all dead in the bottom tray with ALOT of water. The
bin is under the eves of our house. I want to try them again, how can I
prevent this from happening again.
Thanks

Hi Dorie,

Easy. Make sure you have plenty of drainage in your bin, or shelter the top of your bin so you don’t get so much rain coming in. Fortunately, we don’t normally get rain like this past week! As you have experienced, worms like it damp, but they rot in standing water.

Two other things you can do. Keep the spigot open at all times. That way, excess water drains freely from the base. Problem is, most people have a lot
of muck in the base, thus clogging the spigot.

To keep the spigot from clogging, I would suggest keeping a piece of weedstop (black mesh landscapers put under rocks) in the bottom tray that makes contact with the base. Not only will this help keep worms out of the base, but it will reduce the amount of “Mud” in the base, thus helping the spigot stay clear.

Glad you want to get back in the saddle again. Just chalk this up to a learning experience.

The Worm Dude » Red Wigglers and Standing Water

Featured Customer Question – Dorie F.