What should I do about by compost bins?

[vegan89]

Compost bins ideally need an open base for access to and from the ground. You’ll miss out on trillions of beneficial bacteria, mycorrhizae and even more worms attending the party without this.

You can still compost in a compost bin with a barrier at the bottom. You might even want to do things this way if you have mice or rats in your area.

 

[majorbloodnok]

I have bought a house which has compost bins in the garden with rotting food in them and lots of worms. I'm really worried about how I can avoid any of the worms dieing. If I don't add anything more to the bins, I imagine they will end up starving to death. But if I add anything, I worry that I might crush worms to death and then what about when they get full? I can't see how I could remove compost without killing any worms and it also doesn't seem ethical to pull them out of their home. Also when I lift up one of the lids, there are lots of worms on the inside of it and it's really stressful trying to close it without killing any worms.

Are you really trying to avoid any of the worms dying or are you just trying to avoid killing them yourself (including by accident)?

If it's the former, you're battling against some fundamental biological facts - all living things get older and then die.

If it's the latter, you have nothing to worry about regarding adding further composting material; composting can only happen properly if there are small air pockets and that's where the worms live. If the air pockets aren't big enough, the worms make their own holes, as you can see even in clay soil if you dig in your garden. The downward pressure from extra stuff being added at the top is negligible compared with your own weight walking across a lawn, and worms are fine with that. And as the heat from the compost increases, so the worms move to areas that are cool enough for them to be comfortable. Once the bin gets full and becomes fully composted, the fork you use to distribute that compost onto your garden stands pretty much no chance of hurting any worms (although a spade could do so) and that the distribution itself distributes the worms as well as the compost, so helping them colonise your garden more widely.

The fact you find a lot of worms in any compost bin is evidence it's an environment they choose by preference. There's plenty of food, little competition, it's warm and safe and there are lots of other individuals available to mate with. Everything about the compost bin is a win-win, especially if you actively manage it, and the resulting compost is fantastic for your plants. Compost-rich soil (once you've forked it in) is far more friable and therefore easier for more worms to move around in, thereby further aerating your soil to the benefit of the plants you grow.

You're worried about doing harm. By maintaining the compost bin, you're not only achieving that, you're also actively benefiting the worms and far more besides. If ever there was anything that fitted the vegan ideal perfectly, a compost bin or heap makes an excellent case.

 

[FredVegrox]

I thought about composting, when I would have land where I live to do this, seeing this makes me more aware that there is life in composting and I would want to be careful about adding to any of the death of animals that can be avoided.

 

[FredVegrox]

I have had setbacks that kept me from starting with composting, that I would be doing now.