Red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) are epigeic worms that naturally inhabit the upper layers of decaying organic matter rather than mineral soil.  Their preferred environments include forest floor leaf litter, rotting logs, compost piles, and animal manure where food is abundant.  They typically reside within the top 2 to 6 inches of this material to maintain moisture and access nutrients while avoiding light.

I tried to search through past posts about a worm bin (I was considering the Urban Worm Company bag) and whether it was common to have bug problems as a result of doing it in my basement. Mainly what I found was thread after thread of bugs in people's bins, so maybe I have my answer. 😂 Is it possible to have a basement worm bin without inviting other pests into the basement? Or are bugs a problem only when you let it get too moist or let it get smelly? I only want the worms and castings.

Hi, I'm extremely knew to all this. I do some minor gardening and recently learned about in-ground worm bins and am considering setting some up. I've got two roughly 2'x8' raised garden beds, about two feet tall. I live in New England. I've done some research and understand the basics of setting them up. My main question has to do with the seasons.

A lot of discussion online seems to be from people in warmer climates where very cold winters aren't an issue. How do the worms handle winter months in my climate? Are my beds large enough to keep them from freezing to death, or, if I set them up once my current growing season is over, will they all just be dead by the time spring rolls around?

Thank you!

It's funny how sometimes your favorite pictures app reminds you of what you did on this day 5-10-15 years ago, this picture was my first attempt to use spent mushrooms blocks in my mix of bedding for my breeders bins... at that point i had unlimited supplies of blocks. First try didn't go well, made bunch of rookies mistakes, took me couple months of trial and error before i hit the jackpot. Morale of the story.. don't ever stop trying

Happy worming