Compost, Heat, Worms

[Susan W]

Compost -good. Heat - good. Worms -good

If one has a compost that heats and cooks, the worms will leave. Just in my enriched dirt pile, the worms go deeper in the heat of summer, and I have to dig and look for them if adding to pots or garden.
I am thinking if one has a tumbler, a re-purposed trash can or other manufactured composter, has worms elsewhere. Yes, I do have a tumbler, but more than enough worms in the other pile.

I also don't throw weeds in the enriched dirt pile as it doesn't get hot, and they grow enough without me spreading them more.

Any comments?

[toxcrusadr]

A pile can be hot regardless of whether it's in a container or on the ground, so whether it's a manufactured bin is of no interest to the worms, only the conditions inside. Having said that, I never worry about where the worms are. If they like the compost, they will go there, if not, they will go somewhere else. By feeding the soil, worms have plenty to eat so they are found in the garden. "If you build it, they will come." That's my approach. Worms are great but they are only part of the soil food web. The web itself is self directing and self adjusting if we merely give it the ingredients (organic matter and compost) that it needs to thrive.