Having used rice sacks as worm bins, I stopped watering the bins one week before sorting. This was done to facilitate the sorting process.
Honestly, I was quite anxious that the worms might abandon the bedding or die due to lack of moisture. I was relieved to find that the lower part still had sufficient moisture. The worms just dug into the bed. There were few escapees and I just considered them as lost to the system.
I never approached household vermicomposting in a very business-like manner so I didn't record the starting weight of the worm mass and the bedding. I just wrote the start date, the day the worms were introduced into the bedding, and the end dates, which was 30 and 45 days after introduction of the worms. For the bedding, I estimated it to be between 12 to 15 inches high.
I remember introducing between 20 to 30 worms to each sack. I was glad to find out that I got more than the initial worms per sack especially if I am going to count the juveniles which were numerous.
The four sacks I sorted still had a lot of unconsumed leaves although the particles were a lot smaller compared to the initial size of the composted shredded leaves. I ended up with two sackfuls of bedding each about 15 inches high and one-fourth sack of vermicompost.
I didn't sort the worms anymore. I just put juveniles and adults together. I watered the bedding and placed the sacks between two gumamela plants.
On a piece of newsprint, I wrote the start date. This time, the end dates were 6 weeks for one sack and 8 weeks for the 2nd sack.
Well, I still have 8 sacks and one outdoor bed left for sorting within the month.
Hmmmm...maybe I can start retailing African Nighcrawlers.
Earthworms for sale, anyone?
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