Anna Kleiner

Hello again,

first off let me say a big THANK YOU to everyone who's taken the time to reply here! It was good to read about your experiences, and I do feel reassured.

The escape rate seems to me to be a little lower at "the occasional worm now and then" now. I keep my eyes peeled for them (my boyfriend still hasn't noticed a thing, hehe) and by now I've really come to appreciate how beautiful they are when they're crawling about. Tiger stripes showing, then not, then stretching again... I've grown quite fond of them. Ronnie, I think you're right about their responding to change, and they probably just need some time to adjust. They do seem to be a lot like humans after all!

I'm glad I know now not to put in any pineapple, onion peels and suchlike, I'll keep that in mind. What's your experience with coffee grinds? I've been thinking that sizewise, this should be optimal food for them. Maybe I can pamper them a bit to help them settle into their new home?

And also, I do believe now that I didn't put enough bedding in the bottom. Can I just add some more on top, or would it be better to make a new box with lots of bedding and move them once more? What do you think?

Happy worms to you all
Anna~

Hello all,

I'm a vermicompost newbie. I loved the idea, had a bit of space in a corner of my kitchen, and it does sound simple, easy and fun when you read about it online. So I set up a small box with bedding, worms, kitchen scraps, plenty of holes, and a container box with a cardboard lid two weeks ago (read it up in detail here). As far as I can tell, they should be happy and thriving in there.

However... they've been crawling out. Ever since. It took me a while to notice this, and I tried to make some changes right away: I watered the whole thing through, in case it was too dry (the container box would catch the runoff anyway), and I mixed the food scraps in well. But I still find two to five worms stuck to the kitchen floor every morning... and it really makes me sad. I don't want them to die! Why do they crawl out? Are there just too many holes? Should I add more bedding/food/soil/water/...? Is it not enough space (it's a rather small box)? What can I do??

I shall be really grateful for any ideas you might have. I wish I could keep them happily alive in that box.

Thanks already
Anna~

Hallo Elke,

ich hab den Workshop leider verpasst! Ich moechte hier im Suedwesten ein cob house bauen (2015) und hab mich ziemlich in die Raktenofenidee verliebt - aber so ganz ohne eigene handfeste Erfahrung ist mir die Sache ein bisschen zu heisz. Kenne auch einen Ofenbauer, der sich ebenfalls sehr dafuer interessiert. Ich wuerde mich also riesig freuen, wenn Du Bescheid sagen koenntest beim naechsten Workshop, per Forum hier oder guck vorbei auf erdhaeuschen.de, wenn Dich die Cob-Geschichten auch interessieren (hey, ich mach dann auch Hausbauworkshops ).

Vielen Dank schonmal, und sonnige Gruesze
Anna~

[bloede kaputte Umlaute]

Hey there folks,

... I missed that workshop!! What a pity! I'd been planning to travel all the way to Denmark for a week for a rocket stove workshop in the summer, but that one was cancelled. And now there's one in Germany, and I get to know about it only afterwards...

Anyway, I would really appreciate it if you let me know, should there be another one any time soon. I'll happily put it up on my blog and I know a couple of other people who'd be interested as well. I'm planning to build a cob house in 2015 and I would dearly love a nice cosy rocket stove in my living room

All the best
Anna~