So I reset this breeder bin 5 days ago, after a 28 day cycle because "It had very few cocoons". I went to do a weekly moisture/cocoon check and found this between the weirdo bubble wrap and white paper I'm trying out. 😲😲😲 100s or maybe even a 1,000 baby worms. Guess I was wrong about the bin not producing 🪱👶🪱

What is the best paper shredder that also does cardboard? What specs do I look for?

These are red wiggler worms, and here I show the difference between baby, juvenile, and adult worms. All are fantastic eaters and will make worm castings, but adult worms are the once that can make cocoons.

And a head scratcher. Do these dang things EVER cool down and stay down? On the 2nd and 3rd wave, do they take forever to cool down? I fluffed one that I thiught was done because there were some anaerobic spots on the bottom, put some dry cardboard on the bottom to keep that from happening. Closed it up and it's at 107.6⁰ this morning! My other one was still about 97 but dropping, fluffed it to make sure there wasn't any anaerobic spots as well and it's at 102⁰! This biota is out of control! Question. Does it make sense to put a small layer of dry cardboard shred on the bottom all the time to soak up excess moisture and stave off anaerobic activity? Getting the moisture perfect isn't always easy. Has anyone tried that? Seems like that biota soaked shredded would be a good start for the next batch. Now for the experiment. I put 17 units of dry cardboard, 17 units of finely ground SMS and 14 units of Starbuck's finest, 4 handfulls of pre-compost from the 2 crazy bins and mixed it up. I didn't have any veggie slop, so wanted to see if the coffee, pre-compost and SMS had enough biota to make things happen. It's up to 85⁰ today - about 10⁰. So maybe. I'm going to start recording my mixes and see what gets the best biota response and then the best worm response - meaning cocoon and casting production.

Tomorrow, Monday at 12 noon, we will have our first “office hours.” Anyone is welcome, but no pressure! I’m wanting to record and have the replays for anyone who can’t make it live. No questions are dumb questions, and I’m excited to all learn from each other. Hope to see anyone there who wants to learn a little more about these wormies!