compost- no worms?

[obsessed]

Hello,

I have a compost pile. I built it out of chicken wire and four stakes. It is composed of a couple bags of top soil, manure, and some old potting soil. Each week we add new grass clippings from our yard and anything green from the kitchen. I have a pitch fork that I use twice a week to "turn" the pile. I move it around and try to put the top on the bottom and the bottom on top. I also water it evert time I turn it.

So my questions are

I have no worms?
Am I turning it correctly?
When will it be ready?
What should I do next?

OK thanks

 

[Rosalind]

Sounds like you are doing it right. Maybe get some redworms from the bait shop and add those? I did not have very many worms until I added a couple cartons of trout worms (we're talking, maybe 50 worms total) to my compost bin. I never needed to visit the bait shop again after that.

 

[poppycat]

How long have you had it? Composting takes time. Also how big is the pile?

Also if your pile is getting good and hot you won't have worms. The composting will be done by bacteria. Generally worms work with smaller amounts at cooler temperatures.

Compost is "ready" when it looks like crumbled chocolate cake. I've put in the garden when it's not quite at that stage though too.

You don't have to get it exactly perfect for it to be good for the garden.

 

[patandchickens]

Worms are usually one of the later things to move in, after things have composted down considerably, unless this is a very cold gradual pile. So I wouldn't worry about it at all.

One thing that will speed composting is to chuck in a few shovelsful of Actual Garden Soil from the ground. Toss on top, mix lightly.

You'll know when some of the pile is ready. It will look dark and crumbly and the bits will not be immediately identifiable as whatever they were before you put 'em in the pile. It's not really a 'ready vs not ready' dichotomy - it just kind of depends how desperate you are for compost and/or how high a grade your use requires.

Have fun,

Pat