Hi all,

I haven't posted here in a while and thought I would share an update on the vermicomposting bin that I started in a cooler on my balcony about six months ago.

Pjames sent me some eggs, which hatched nicely. The bin was coming along well with lots of baby worms showing up when college started again and I got busy. I forgot about the bin for a while. We got a few days of snow here and I forgot to bring the worms inside (whoops). I checked them out soon after, and some worms did survive, but there were less than before the snow. However, there are lots of eggs throughout the bin! So I'm hoping that the numbers will climb back up again. I added more newspaper, cardboard, and a few coffee grounds; the bin had gotten sloppy and wet during the time I didn't check it. On the bright side, the cold killed all the fruit flies that were living in and around the bin (at one point there were a lot). There seem to be no other pests besides the worms right now (maybe not a good thing for fast decomposition, but its nice not to worry about bugs getting into my apartment).

So, overall, I think the bin is doing well (I just need to make sure to pull it inside if we get a few more cold days).