2" of rain last night and no cover. Here is a closer look.

Random thoughts:
It is time to harvest! Cypress roots have invaded. It is about knee deep in the middle. Only have added horse manure and spoiled hay. The bed is about 4-5 years old and been harvested many times. Things are mucky after the rain. Soon I will cover with a tarp. Carpet protects the herd from critters and keeps the bed dark and moist. Carpet is recycled and diverted from landfill. Works GREAT!

Happy wormin'

Pete

One happy chicken. Many happy worms.

Being as dumb as I must be, I'm having a hard time seeing the whole picture. Can't tell what's happening. How about a longer range shot?

cb2

First time posting pics. A friend did a photo shoot of my wormeries today and showed me how to post 'em. I am like a kid with a new toy. Now everyone can see my junk!

This wormbed is under 12' x 19' carpet. The perimeter is weighted down with scrapwood to keep out critters. It has been 8 days since the last feeding.

Inspiration for carpet bins came from Paul, an owner of a local bakery and coffee company . I got a tour of his approx. 40' x 10' carpet bed. When he pulled the carpet back, I was absolutely amazed. Fat wigglers were everywhere eating leftover restaurant scraps. Paul gave me a small bucket of his bedrun. He smiled, shook my hand and said "Good luck and happy wormin'".

This bed was started when we acquired a horse. I had to rapidly expand my worm systems to accommodate the sudden influx of wonderful worm food. It is fed a few times weekly with spoiled hay and fresh pure horse manure. I usually pull back a different area of the carpet each feeding, sort of like spot feeding.

Harvest by removing a harvest area of the bedrun with a pitchfork This top 6-8" is put aside in totes When you cease to see many worms. shovel out the castings below. Replace the bedrun and continue. EASY!

I have tried different carpets in different bins. Some hold up well, some don't. The one in the photo is a tight weave synthetic "office-style" carpet. It is fairly light (important when wet!) and very durable. No rot at all so far.

Why carpet? Well, first of all worms love it. In some carpet they will crawl through and embed. It protects them from a wide variety of critters who would like to inhabit their bed and eat them. It breathes. It keeps out light. It keeps in moisture. It will not blow in the wind. It is free and better serves the purpose than $$$ commercial compost covers.

In the photo below, you can see the magic carpet begin to levitate. It is time to harvest or jump on and go for a ride!

Good luck and happy wormin'

Imagine the number of worms. Fantastic!

I'm gonna add one to my assortment.

My backyard neighbor (remember this is in a city/suburb) moved and removed the carpet her cat peed on. I took it. It's been washed with a pressure washer and sunned, and walked on.
I was going to carpet the crawl space, but this is a better use.
And there will still be some for the under-house rodents to enjoy.

My whole yard (.3 of acre or 12924 sq ft) is underrun by moles.
Everywhere I walk, the ground is apt to sink an inch or more.
Even the ditch I lined with rocks under new asparagus, has been reopened by moles.

SO: I think carpet below and above. . .for the next overflow of worms. The east side needs feeding. All the uprooted plants from the garden will go on a slope under enormous old rhododendrons. They were planted on plastic. This strategy depended on a buried drip, chemical fertilizer and yearly application of fine bark. They are perking up since we are getting heavier rain. There are a lot of bees, including my mason bees, that depend on the blossoms. There are compost set ups there that I'll post one of these days.

One little detail: there's more brown than green around here since I persuaded the neighbors to mulch their grass cutting.
I may have to bag mine !