Quick Facts About Worm Composting

Worm Bin

New to worm composting? Looking for some quick and dirty info before jumping in head-first? Well this is will be a great place to get started.

Worm composting (also known as vermicomposting) involves the breakdown of organic wastes via the joint action of worms and microorganisms (although there are often other critters that lend a hand)

Regular (soil and garden) earthworms cannot be used for worm composting. They will die if added to an indoor worm bin.

Soil worms will however congregate in the lower regions of outdoor bins (if open to surrounding soil)

Composting worms are specialized surface dwellers (not burrowers), typically living in very rich organic matter such as manure, compost heaps or leaf litter

Most common variety used is Eisenia fetida (also spelled ‘foetida‘), although it’s larger cousin, Eisenia hortensis (a.k.a. the ‘European Nightcrawler’) is commonly used as well (more commonly to be sold as bait worms)

Common names for E. fetida include: red worm, red wiggler, brandling worm, manure worm, tiger worm

You won’t likely find this species on your property (unless you live on a farm, or happen to introduce them into your compost heap).

Lumbricus rubellus is another species (and also a small reddish worm) sometimes used for vermicomposting, but is not as effective as E. fetida

It is widely believed that a composting worm can process the equivalent of it’s own weight in waste each day. Under highly optimum conditions (not likely to be attained with a small home system) red worms have been found to process multiple times their own weight! This is very much dependent on the foodstock and how well managed the system is.

A reasonable guideline to follow is 1/4-1/2 total worm weight in waste per day. So if you have a pound of worms, they should be able to process roughly 1/4-1/2 lb of food waste per day. Keep in mind however that you may need to feed them less during the first couple months since they usually require a period of acclimation when added to a new system.

Red worms technically graze on the microbial community that colonizes waste materials – not really the waste itself (although they certainly ingest some of the rotting waste in the process). Some research has indicated that protozoans are the primary food source, while there is also evidence that fungi and other microbes are consumed as well.

There have been a number of research studies indicating that vermicomposting can significantly reduce levels of pathogens in waste materials, such as biosolids.

Red worms love (and can tolerate) very high levels of moisture content (80-90%), but they also require oxygen so it’s important to find the right balance

One lb of composting worms is estimated to consist of approximately 1000 individuals, and can cost anywhere from $15 to $40 USD

Surface area far more important than depth when it comes to worm bins (ie tubs work much better than buckets)

Regular light is harmful to worms but red light is not

Red worm eggs look like tiny straw-coloured lemons

Baby worms look like very small versions of the adults (but have less red pigment)

Adding crushed egg shells (or other calcium sources) can help stimulate worm reproduction

Stay tuned for more Worm composting ‘Quick Facts’!

Blog Home | Top of Page|

118 comments

Read the comments left by other users below, or:

ronald thomson
#1. June 8th, 2007, at 1:19 PM.

Very good introduction. All facts necessary to understand the basics very clearly given. As a lecturer in vermicomposting to local garden clubs and organic people in general, I can recommend your site to anybody starting out. Your list of references is extensive for the more advanced person.
well done

ronald thomson from western cape, south africa

Bentley
#2. June 11th, 2007, at 3:55 PM.

Hi Ronald,
I sent you an email, but just thought I’d reply here as well. Thanks very much for your kind words! Given your extensive experience in the field, your positive feedback certainly makes me feel like I’m on the right track here.

Unfortunately I haven’t had nearly the amount of time necessary to really develop the site as much I’d like, but all in good time I’m sure!

Thanks again

CHADWICK THOMPSON
#3. August 30th, 2007, at 2:16 AM.

I have a worm bin and have tons of little white spiders crawling all over the worms, lid, just every where. Can you point me in a direction on what these may be and how to get rid of them. It seems like the worms are not happy with the spiders all over them.

thank you,

chadwick
chadwwwick@gmail.com

Adriana Michael
#4. August 30th, 2007, at 4:42 AM.

Very nice introduction and reference material, especially to newcomers. I started a bin a couple of months ago and notice it is a real trial and error process until you find the right balance. A couple of times I left the bin totally closed for more than 4 days and it became too humid. I found red tiny spiders once, white tiny creatures another. I simply sprayed a little bit of Citrofresh (www.citrofresh.com) on the surface. I was told that once the worms mature at around three months I should not let their eggs go along with the nice black soil, because they are not native to where I live now in Ottawa, Canada. Should they always stay in a closed bin or indoor planter?. Thank you for your comments. I would like to include an editorial on this topic in an upcoming edition of Organic & Wellness News.

Bentley
#5. August 30th, 2007, at 3:45 PM.

Hi Chadwick,
The creatures you have in your bin are almost certainly mites (which are in fact related to spiders). Worm bins can attract a wide variety of these creatures, and for the most part they are not harmful to the worms. Some are scavengers, while others can actually prey upon the larvae of annoying flying pests like fungus gnats.
In my experience, the round white mites that crawl over the worms are usually a sign of a system that is out of balance. I’m pretty sure they get rid of the dead bodies of the worms (and perhaps even start feeding on the dying worms as well).
How long has your bin been active? Are there any odors coming from it when you open it up?

I’d more than likely start up a second small bin and once it was aged, would add a bunch of the healthy worms from the other bin.

I have a picture of a brown mite and will see if I can get some pictures of other mites. In the meantime you can check out this page:
http://www.happydranch.com/87.html

Bentley
#6. August 30th, 2007, at 4:03 PM.

Hi Adriana,
Thanks for stopping by and for your nice comments! I will definitely be adding a lot more content in coming months.

The worms typically used for composting, Eisenia fetida are totally fine in either an indoor or outdoor system. They are very much adapted for life in rich organic matter, not soil, so the risk of them escaping out into the local environment isn’t that high.
Plus, I can pretty much guarantee that there are already many farms in the Ottawa area (and Ontario in general) that already have aged manure piles inoculated with redworms (can in fact be a great place to find a large free source of composting worms).

My first experience with red wigglers was when I found a huge pile of aged horse manure at a farm near Stratford. It was absolutely LOADED with composting worms!

Rich
#7. November 3rd, 2007, at 6:07 PM.

Thank you for taking questions regarding vermicomposting. I have trouble distinguishing between the pictures I’ve seen of the brownish mites and eggs. I have a lot of whichever it is, though my bin is only 3 weeks old. I also have thousands of very tiny white spider like creatures that crawl on the surfaces and walls. They don’t look like the mite pictures though. I feed my worms a few times a week juicing pulp, coffee grounds and eggshells because this is about the only waste I have. They seem to like it, but I’ve read that too much juicing pulp could increase the mite infestation. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you!

Bentley
#8. November 4th, 2007, at 4:26 AM.

Hi Rich,
I assume you are talking about worm eggs? If so, they are much bigger than any mites you are likely to encounter in your bin.
If you are lots of them they are almost certainly mites – some varieties seem to move very slowly.

If you have small insect-like creatures and they are hugely abundant, they have to be either mites or springtails – the fact that they are spider-like make me think mites. There are many many species of mites, and it is quite possible that you just haven’t seen a picture of the variety in your bin. I’m actually going to be writing a post about mites fairly soon.

If your juicing pulp is solely citrus you may encounter some issues with acidity. Hopefully you are adding bedding on a fairly regular basis to help soak up excess moisture. Glad to hear you are adding egg shells (I typically dry mine and grind them up as much as possible).

Sounds like you are doing a pretty good job to me!

Jesse
#9. November 6th, 2007, at 2:07 AM.

Hello!
I have a new composting bin with only about 50 worms right now. I am realizing that I am overfeeding them. About a dozen have “jumped ship” today out of their cedar home. I found them all over my kitchen floor this evening. As I was cleaning out their wooden bin, I found hundreds of small, white, round things- what I think are eggs- all over their boddies and in the compost material. I just wanted to double check to make sure these are in-fact worm eggs. Or are they something else caused by the overfeeding? They are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

One other thing- I live in a very dry environment (Wyoming). I have a hard time keeping the worm bedding moist from day-to-day. I am worried that if I go out of town, they will dry up very quickly. As I mentioned above, my worms live in a cedar box. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I might keep their bedding more moist?
Thank you for your help!

Bentley
#10. November 6th, 2007, at 2:53 AM.

Hi Jesse,
Thanks for popping by.
Overfeeding when you have lots of worms is quite easy to do (especially early on), so I have no trouble believing you could do it with 50!
What kind of worms are they by the way? Given the small number I’m curious if you are using soil dwelling worms (since composting worms come in much larger numbers when you buy them).

Aside from overfeeding, the oils in cedar wood could potentially cause issues in a worm bin as well (but I suspect its the food).

The “small, white, round things” are in fact mites. Worm eggs are straw coloured and much larger. The type of mite you have described does look a lot like some sort of egg and often increases in abundance when you overfeed and/or when the worm are dying in general. While they don’t actually attack healthy worms, I have seen these mites coating worms that were close to dying, presumably finishing them off. They certainly get rid of the worm bodies in a hurry. Anyway, definitely leave the bin without new food for awhile (maybe as much as a couple weeks) then add some more (composting) worms. You chances of starving your worms are a lot less than overfeeding, so definitely err on the side of caution early on (once they are well established in the system worms will be able to process wastes faster).

Re: your drying issue (and the fact that you are using cedar) – I would definitely line the inside of your box with 1 or 2 layers of cardboard. This should help to keep some of the moisture in while still allowing the bin to ‘breathe’. Adding lots of water-rich foods should help as well (but again, use caution when first starting out).

Jesse
#11. November 6th, 2007, at 8:42 PM.

Bentley,
Thank you for the helpful information. I am using redworms. I recieved as small bunch of them from a friend. I’ve been hoping that their numbers will increase. And I do think that is the case. Many of the worms I see now are very small. This leads me to believe they are young, while the older worms are dying out.

The mites make sense. I cleaned out the worms’ large cedar bin last night, and put them in a small, open plastic container with fresh bedding and a tiny bit of food. There were still mites covering them, but hopefully I can restor the balance and they will survive.

I will experiment with lining the cedar home to keep it more moist. The box that I ordred has three levels, each about 4 inches deep. The bottom of each level is large wire mesh. This is how some of the worms “jumped ship” as I mentioned earlier. I had the bottom lined with paper towel, but they must have gotten out around the edges.

One more question- why would the levels have such large mesh? Is it intended so that the worms can move up and down through each level when I have that much compost?

Thanks again for your help!
Jesse

Bentley
#12. November 6th, 2007, at 8:57 PM.

Hi again Jesse,
Glad to hear that you are using redworms! Also glad you were able to get some from a friend (always a great option when possible).

Your multi-level worm bin sounds like a ‘worm chalet’ or ‘worm factory’ (or something similar). The idea behind these stacked systems is that when the layer is almost full you can put new bedding and food in the next level and the worms will migrate upwards. You continue this process until you’ve almost finised the top level (4 or 5 levels would probably work better than 3) – by this time the very bottom tray should be free of worms and the compost can be used so you can dump it out and add it to the top of the system (filled with new bedding/food).

When conditions are ideal in the bin you shouldn’t encounter too much migration (although no matter what you’ll likely find a few worms in the bottom reservoir from time to time) – in your case, once conditions became intolerable the worms simply used an escape route that was available to them.

Rebekah
#13. January 20th, 2008, at 1:05 AM.

Can dog poop be used in a worm bin assuming that the dog is a small breed (not large amounts of feces every day in other words), healthy, free of internal parasites, and not receiving medications? I would really love to find a use for the waste our little house dog produces from her expensive organic dog food…..but the books always say to keep it off the garden due to pathogens. Can worms help with this?

Bentley
#14. January 20th, 2008, at 5:41 AM.

Hi Rebekah,
That’s a good question! While I’m sure some of the concerns are warranted when it comes to certain types of feces, I personally feel these things get blown out of proportion somewhat.

That being said, I personally wouldn’t add cat and/or dog feces to any of my ‘regular’ bins . Aside from any potential health issues, the material wouldn’t be very enjoyable to work with (lots of bad odour and potential issues with ammonia). But setting up a separate system, dedicated to pet wastes isn’t a bad idea. Ideally it would be an outdoor system, but if you have enough bedding material and make sure all the feces is buried, you could potentially keep an indoor bin as well.

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that for now – hoping to write a post about this topic before too long.

Thanks again

Lynda
#15. March 8th, 2008, at 5:36 PM.

My new favorite site! I have just ordered a worm bin (tower Type) and I am excited about composting all of the kitchen waste i have have. I just hate throwing it out. Your site has answered so many questions I have, but I am concerned about one thing. I live in Texas and the summers can been extemely hot. Will I need to move the worm bin indoors? I was planning on keeping it in a shady spot in the yard or patio. I’m having trouble getting used to the idea of having worms in my kitchen, so I’ll need time to figure out where in the house they can go.

Bentley
#16. March 16th, 2008, at 1:22 PM.

Wow – thanks Lynda! Apologies for the delay replying!
In hot climates it is definitely important to make sure your worms are kept somewhat cool – they are much more tolerant of heat than ‘normal’ earthworms, but do have limits. I can only imagine how hot a stackable worm system would get in the hot Texas summer sun!
If you have a nice shady spot on your property you might be ok. Alternatively, you could build an outdoor system partially set in the ground – just dig a hole then partially fill it with lot of shredded cardboard and food waste – make sure you add some water as well. Leave it sit for a week or so then add your worms (make sure everything is starting to rot and well moistened before doing so). You can then put a framed structure over top and start adding your kitchen scraps. It wouldn’t hurt if your composter was painted white (lessening the heat absorption) and well ventilated. You will likely need to add quite a bit of water to keep it moist since it is an outdoor summer system.

Of course you COULD also work on your fear re: having worms in the house too!

In a Rubbermaid tub bin you can literally keep them anywhere without offending anyone (assuming the bin is well maintained).

Hope this helps!

Jorge Luis Ricardez
#17. April 1st, 2008, at 5:49 PM.

I have a question about the vermocomposting culture… Is the pH important for a Esesnia foetida culture? How dos is it matter?
Thanks! My reason its because I have a lot of goat manure and want start with vermicompsting…

Bentley
#18. April 1st, 2008, at 6:50 PM.

Hi Jorge,
Red Worms have a very wide range of pH tolerance (something like 4-9), but there are other factors to keep in mind. Higher pH tends to favour the release of ammonia gas from waste materials (and soils), thus lowering the value of your compost and potentially harming the worms. The pH can also have a significant impact on the ecosystem of your worm bin. Lower (acidic) pH tends to favour fungi over bacteria.
Generally, I’d recommend a somewhat acidic pH (maybe between 6 and 7), but really I don’t worry too much about it.
If I was going to be using goat manure, I would likely mix it with shredded cardboard or straw and let it age for at least a week or two before adding the worms (even then you should add only a few and see how they respond). If you have a worm system up and running already, you may actually be able to add fresh goat manure directly on top (I’d still recommend adding some carbon-rich material at the same time though)

Mike P of Virginia
#19. April 16th, 2008, at 11:36 AM.

I have been using a general compost pile for over twenty years, but I thought I would venture into vermicomposting. I purchased the 5 tray wooden worm farm/condo and I am getting ready to set it up. Unfortunately the instructions provided with the unit was just general instructions on vermicomposting from the US-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). It did not provide the specifics associated with the 5 tray system I had hoped they would provide.

I was planning to start with the first three lower bins. Place a single layer of newspaper in the bottome of each. Fill each of the three bins with shredded computer paper, partialy composted grass clippings, peat moss, and soil. Let the unit sit for a week and then add a pound of the red worms to the lowest bin. I am going to monitor the temperature of the 3 lower bins and the ambient temperature with a four channel recording thermocouple. I want to see if I can detect the worm movement from the lowest bin to the upper bin via a change in the bin temperature. After about two weeks, I will set up the fourth bin and the fifth bin will follow a week later. After the fouth or fifth week with worms in the bin I plan to empty the lower bin and rotate it to the top with fresh shredded computer paper, partialy composted grass clippings, peat moss, and soil. I will also occasionally monitor the pH and the moisture content of the bins.

Do you have any additional suggestions?

Bentley
#20. April 16th, 2008, at 1:21 PM.

Wow Mike,
Sounds like you are a serious composter! You also seem to be taking a different approach when it comes to the use of a stackable bin system.
Generally, these bins are designed based on the ‘continuous flow’ vermicomposting concept – i.e. waste materials are continually added in a given direction and worms just naturally follow, occupying the zones with the best food and leaving their waste (castings) behind or below them.

Usually, with a bin like the ‘Chalet’ you would simply start the bottom tray and treat it as an independent worm bin. Once it has reached it’s capacity you then added the second tray (which ideally has had some wastes and bedding aging in it for a bit) and the worms then start to migrate upwards into it, and so on and so forth.

Putting newspaper down on the very bottom tray is definitely a good idea. I’m not sure I would recommend doing so for any of the other trays since this will impede the movement of the worms.

Your idea for measuring temperature differences sounds intriguing! I’d love to find out how it works out for you.

Mike P of Virginia
#21. April 17th, 2008, at 1:54 AM.

How much time would you recommend for setting up each successessive bin? Should it be based on observations of the first bin or based on time, or what? Should food be added to a worm occupied bin or just to a new bin?

As far as the setting up the first three bins in my experiment I just thought I would collect some data to see if I can determine if the migratory habits of the worms can be determined by a change in the temperature in the bins. My hypothysis is that temperature should increase with the increased activity in a bin as the worms start eating in a bin. After the initial testing of the first three bins, I plan to go to adding a bin after a set period of time and after the fifth bin addition I would start to rotate the lower bin to the upper bin after collecting the castings.

Bentley
#22. April 18th, 2008, at 3:11 PM.

Hey Mike – sorry for the delay responding.
It’s not so much about a specific time to wait as it is about the amount of material in the tray, and how well processed it is. If the tray is nearly full and there is a lot of dark vermicompost present then it might be time to add another tray with some bedding and food scraps. At that point you should no longer add food to the first tray, and should wait for the worms to move into the second tray and start feeding on whats there before adding new food waste to that tray.

ali
#23. April 23rd, 2008, at 4:18 PM.

Hello all.
Very informative here! I noticed that someone was using paper towels rather than newspaper. Isn’t there a chance of harming the worms with bleach that may be contained in paper towels and napkins? I’ve read somewhere not to use papertowels for spills on fabrics due to how they’re made.
Thanks!
Ali

Bentley
#24. April 24th, 2008, at 2:48 PM.

Hi Ali,
That is an excellent question. I generally only use any sort of white paper (including paper towels) in moderation for that very reason. I recall adding a LOT of shredded office paper to one of my worm bins a a number of years ago, and the worms did not seem to like it at all. I’m pretty sure there was something in the paper that was causing them irritation.

S Bates
#25. May 6th, 2008, at 7:14 PM.

At what external temperature can my plastic worm container, with worms, be moved outdoor? There is no odour but space is a concern.

Bentley
#26. May 7th, 2008, at 3:12 AM.

As long as you are not going below freezing at night you should be able to take the worms out at any point

Free
#27. May 7th, 2008, at 3:20 AM.

The internal temp of my bin is quite warm. I live in Las Vegas, so I have my bin indoors to keep from overheating. My house is about 78 degrees – do I need to worry about the internal temperature of the bin.

Also, some maggots grew on the inside grooves of the bin and then died when the few food particles that were there were eaten. Is there ever a problem w/ maggots growing in the decomposing food?

Bentley
#28. May 7th, 2008, at 6:16 PM.

Ahhh ok – didn’t realize we were talking about the other end of the spectrum (too hot). You would definitely need to keep the system well shaded if outdoors in a hot climate like that. Creating some sort of in-ground system might help to keep the worms cool.

I have never had house fly maggots (what I generally associate with the word “maggot”) crop up in my systems. Not sure if this is the sort of maggot you are talking about. There are also Soldier Flies which are common in warm regions. Their larvae consume organic waste but won’t harm your worms or anything like that.
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t say there is too much of an issue with large maggot infestations developing (other than the tiny maggots of Fruit Flies and Fungus Gnats).

justin
#29. May 22nd, 2008, at 7:20 AM.

Hi,
I have an infestation of some sort of very small insect in my bin. The insect is approx. the size of the tip of a needle, more or less white in color and everywhere! They don’t seem to fly or get any larger. They just seem to reproducing at an exponential level. It is to the point that simply lifting the bedding to feed my worms is getting these things all over my hands. I had read a few web sites and most say the bugs should go away in time, however, even after not feeding my worms for a couple weeks now, i have seen no fewer bugs. I am thinking of dumping the bin, getting new bedding and attempt to “clean” the worms and put them back into an uninfested new home. If anyone has any better ideas please let me know. I’m not totally sure what to do about this situation and that is the best resolution i could come up with. Thanks.

Bentley
#30. May 23rd, 2008, at 7:27 PM.

Hi Justin,
It sounds as though you have a white mite infestation (assuming they are very slow moving – if they move quickly they may be springtails) – VERY common occurence in a worm bin. Really interesting that you have not fed for two weeks yet the mites still persist.
I NEVER recommend dumping worm bins and starting over – unless of course you simply want to add the materials to a well-prepared outdoor system (where the worms can still thrive). You’d be amazed how many ‘doomed’ worm bins have come back, even after all the adults have died off.

Perhaps you could try cutting up some watermelon or cucumber and putting it in the bin. The mites should congregate on the pieces. Simply remove them and dunk them in a bucket of water each day before putting them back in the bin. This should (hopefully help).

If the worms are doing great and you REALLY don’t want to deal with the mites, try removing the worms and rinsing them off with water before adding them to a new (prepared) system.

Hope this helps!

todd
#31. July 31st, 2008, at 9:02 PM.

I’ve started my first bins I’ve mixed my manure and peat as instructed by the company I purchased from (25% manure 75% peat) but have not added worms yet. The next day when checking the moisture content the mixture felt very warm on then inside of the bin. Why is this even though my bins are in the basement where it’s nice and cool and i used cold well water.

Worried Michelle
#32. August 24th, 2008, at 10:41 AM.

Hi there,
I am really sorry to but in on this discussion, I have nothing to do with worm bins and purely stumbled on this website whilst googling for information regarding a problem I have.
My problem is that I have some kind of creature crawling very slowly around the work surfaces, anything on the work surfaces and the cupboard doors under the surfaces in my kitchen. I first noticed this a couple of mornings ago when I came downstairs and found a small amount of what I thought at the time was just some kind of food particles though it looked like either brick or wood dust, I cleaned it away and thought nothing of it even when the same thing happened the day after. However when I came down this morning I was met by lots of this as well as the stuff crawling all over my tea, coffee and sugar canisters, my mobile phone which was on the kitchen unit charging. This is when I realised that this was not food particles but was in fact some kind of mite as it was actually moving although it was slowly. The only way I can describe it is that it really does look like dust from either wood or brick when in clumps and is a light brown colour against my black work surfaces but when it is single and crawling, it looks like a cream colour egg, all I can say is that it is a good job I have good eyesite or I would not have seen it as it is so tiny!
Please can anyone shed any light on these mites/eggs/creatures, and also can you please tell me why or how they would be in my kitchen? I have bleached all my things and these creatures are still coming back although not as much (at the moment) I really am very worried and concerned about this and to be honest scared to attempt any cooking etc.

Desperately waiting for help Michelle

Bentley
#33. August 27th, 2008, at 2:51 PM.

Hi Michelle,
Really sorry for the delay replying. Sounds like quite the situation you have on your hands. I’m not really sure what to tell you, given the fact that these creatures didn’t come from a worm bin. I can see why you might be a tad concerned. You might want to get in touch with an exterminator or someone at a local university to at least find out what you are dealing with.

Good luck! Sorry I can’t be of greater assistance.

Di
#34. September 3rd, 2008, at 1:40 PM.

I have had a worm bin system for over 6 months now,it is kept outside and they seem happy, eat well and I have now added another tier on top of the bottom one, so they are active and producing vermicompost.
My problem is that in this time I haven’t accumulated one bit of worm tea.
what could the reason for this?

Bentley
#35. September 5th, 2008, at 3:44 PM.

Hi Di,
I should point out that the liquid that drains out the bottom of a worm bin is more accurately called “leachate”. To make worm tea you really need to use good quality, finished vermicompost.
Leachate can be used as a worm tea, but it generally helps to dilute it and/or aerate it with an aquarium air pump.

The amount of leachate produced is directly related to the moisture content of your system. If enough moisture is constantly evaporating away (likely in an outdoor system) then you won’t likely get any drainage. Also it depends on the moisture content of the materials added. Lots of water rich fruit/veggie waste generally produce the most liquid.

Hope this helps.

Patricia
#36. September 8th, 2008, at 8:09 AM.

Hi Bentley, it has been a while since I’ve posted but I have been reading and learning. I recently had a large amount to harvest and because of our high temps (90-104) wasn’t able to get to it so I just piled the castings on top of my 2nd bin. Hopefully the worms will separate themselves and save me some work. I am hoping that someday I can get or make a harvester that speeds up the process. That is the only part I don’t enjoy. I did come up with a solution for my leachate. I have a set up on the side where I put a 20″ drain tray underneath two rectangle recycling bins that stack. (The worms love this setup by the way.) I water from the top, which goes through the top bin into the bottom bin, which goes into the drain tray. In order to get the leachate out, I had to lift both recycle bins off and pour the tray. I found a pallet that was in good shape and set the bins on top and the tray between the two sections of the pallet. When I water the leachate comes out and drains down into the tray and then I can pull the tray out sideways without touching the bins. I have 4 trays in between each pallet. Hopefully that makes sense. Still getting 4 gallons a day from this so it really saves my back. Keep up the good work that you are doing. Keeps me thinking. Patricia

Travis
#37. September 24th, 2008, at 12:57 PM.

Hello all,

We are new to the worm composting world, about 1 week. As I have read through I have seen different things I would like to ask questions about. I will do them in different posts.
First question, how do you know you are over feeding them? We purchased 1 pound of worms, but what to you look for or how do you know they are over fed?
Thanks for your help.

Bentley
#38. September 24th, 2008, at 6:58 PM.

Hi Travis,
If food is starting to pile up in the bin (ie when you add new materials there is still a lot of unprocessed food waste in the bin) you are overfeeding. If the bin stinks and/or gets over-run by fungi (usually something that looks like fluffy mold) or other organisms (population explosions that is – having other creatures in the bin is to be expected).

Travis
#39. September 30th, 2008, at 1:38 AM.

Bentley,
Thank you for the reply.
i have another question…how fast do worms multiply…in general terms? i know each worm “home” can be different, but we have only been doing this about 2 weeks and their looks like there are more worms in the bin already, but i dont seem to see “baby” worms.
also after reading it looks like our second bin, will be a longer flatter bin rather than the taller deep bin. we also think that we may have to get a few more bins to continue the worm growth. we wont be able to use the soil in a garden until late winter or spring next year, so we should have a good amount i think.
thanks for the good information on the site, overall it is very helpful.
Travis

Bentley
#40. September 30th, 2008, at 3:39 AM.

Hey Travis – it is often said that a worm population can double every 90 days or so. This is certainly not set in stone, and like you say, each bin is indeed different. The conditions present in the system make ALL the difference in the world.
I’m actually going to be testing this out and writing about it on the blog, so stay tuned.

leslie
#41. October 13th, 2008, at 3:06 PM.

why do i not have any tea yet. we have arfrican red wranglers and seem to be doing fine outside, now it is 2 mo and no tea yet?

Bentley
#42. October 14th, 2008, at 3:56 AM.

Hi Leslie,
Compost tea is something you create – it isn’t produced in a worm bin. Essentially you produce high quality vermicompost, then you soak it in water (preferably aerated).
I suspect you are referring to ‘leachate’ – the liquid that drains out the bottom on a worm bin. The production of this liquid depends entirely on the moisture content of the materials in your bin. If it remains fairly dry in your system, no liquid will ever drain down. If you want to produce more, simply add some water (just make sure you have really good drainage).

Hope this helps!

Trish
#43. October 27th, 2008, at 10:20 AM.

Hello
I am writing from Western Australia. We are now coming into our hot season. The temperature can get up to 43′. I have had a worm farm in a shaded area for two months but am concerned that the hot temps may kill the worms.
I have noticed that since the weather has started to warm the top layer of my worm farm has the mites? and surrounded by fruit flies.
I will try the suggestions listed in your facts.
Many thanks and love your site.
Trish

Heather
#44. November 6th, 2008, at 7:05 PM.

I just found your site and am so thankful you’ve taken the time to share your knowledge!

I have raised rabbits for some time and am considering raising worms in the rabbit manure that is produced. I typically use wood shavings in my pans, then clean and disinfect the pans before putting them back under the cages. Are wood shavings ok to put in with the worms? I wonder if they would be too dry or would have soaked up rabbit urine which might burn the worms.

Any ideas, thoughts, comments, and concerns are GREATLY appreciated. I’d like to get a game plan together before I try to start raising worms!

Mark
#45. December 1st, 2008, at 2:05 PM.

Does anyone know if “rinsing” the compost and worms with fresh water will keep the environment more healthy for the worms? It seems that when I add fresh water to the compost bin the worms do better then just leaving whatever moisture is coming from the veggie scraps I add. Some of my worms look very sluggish and swollen before I started doing this…now they are really lively.

Bentley
#46. December 1st, 2008, at 9:18 PM.

Hi Mark,
Interesting question. My ‘dream system’ would actually be some sort of plant grow bed with a constant trickle of (oxygenated) water going through it, and of course containing loads of worms. Waste materials could be added in the usual manner, but the worms could also feast on the microbial biofilm that would grow on the bed media. It would make the most sense if this bed was part of an aquaponics system (fish water pumped into grow beds) since the nutrients in the water would help to support the microbes.

Day dreaming aside, I’m not sure I would want to run water through a normal worm bin – especially not if I wanted to harvest quality vermicompost at some point. Aside from washing the nutrients and microbes out from the system constantly, it would be a pain dealing with the daily leachate (in the summer you could dump it out in your garden I guess).
That being said, I think your line of thinking is definitely spot on though – if you had a system that made this easy to do, and you weren’t concerned with the quality of the compost, it probably would help to rinse out all the (potentially harmful) metabolites getting produced during the rotting process.

Interesting idea – thanks for the comment, Mark!

Rich
#47. March 1st, 2009, at 7:15 PM.

I am new to worm composting and I’m leaning a lot on websites such as this one, but I do have something very valuable to offer myself. You can use magnetism to dramatically improve your compost bin.

A scientist named Albert Roy Davis discovered that the North and South poles of a magnet are in fact two separate and distinct energies. Each pole has a different effect on living organisms. When worms are exposed to the South pole of a magnet they grow larger, reproduce faster, and their castings are richer in nutrients.

Seeds that are exposed to magnetic fields prior to planting grow into larger plants, they have higher yields, and they’re more nutritious than they would ordinarily be without magnetic exposure. I’ve magnetized seeds myself and had great results. For example, I’ve grown watermelons that were TWICE as large as normal! If you’d like to know more about using magnets for gardening (and this is the LEAST exciting chapter) read the book, “Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System”, by Albert Roy Davis and Walter C. Rawls, Jr.

Bentley
#48. March 3rd, 2009, at 6:12 PM.

I’d love to see some scientifically documented (in a peer reviewed journal) proof that this does indeed work, Rich. I have a very open mind, believe me – but I just can’t help but wonder why there wouldn’t be more publicity about this if it worked so well.
I hate to be a ‘doubting Thomas’ or a ‘negative Nelly’, but my science background makes me curious about these sorts of things.

Julie
#49. March 5th, 2009, at 12:24 PM.

I am new at this. We are sponsoring our sons entire third grade on a vermicomposting project. Each class will have its own 62 qt. bin. I’ve read how to set them up, but my question is this: How many worms per bin do we need to start? Thanks for any info.

DeAnander
#50. March 27th, 2009, at 5:40 AM.

I used to have a large outdoor vermicomposting bin (composted both kitchen waste and humanure from a sawdust loo, very successfully). Now in a different climate (much further North) and with no yard, I’m keeping worms in a friend’s basement and feeding them only kitchen waste. I bought about a pound of littl’uns from a breeder and settled them in damp coir bedding; they get regular feedings of kitchen scraps, but perhaps I am underfeeding? the number of worms seems to have declined rather than multiplied, and what I’m left with is a small number of fat slow-moving worms, not a mass of active wrigglers.

Are they slow because it’s fairly cool in the basement? because they are underfed? because the bedding in their bins is getting too old? I’ve never kept them in so small a bit (rubbermaid tub) before. I set up a 2nd tub with fresh bedding and transferred several worms to the new tub; but on checking a week or two later I could find no survivors. I am worried — Spring is late coming this year, and I don’t know if I will have many worms left to introduce into the outdoor bins and raised beds.

Bentley
#51. March 27th, 2009, at 3:46 PM.

Hi Julie – I am pretty sure we corresponded via email, but for the benefit of others, a rough guideline for adding worms is 1/2 to 1 lb of worms per square ft of bin surface space.

Bentley
#52. March 27th, 2009, at 3:49 PM.

DeAnander – how cool is it down in the basement? Some types of composting worms can’t handle cool temps. I have heard quite a few stories from people about ordering ‘red worms’ but ending up with worms that seem to die when temps go below 50. To me this definitely seems to suggest that they received Blue Worms (Perionyx excavatus) since red worms are very cold-hardy.

DeAnander
#53. April 3rd, 2009, at 4:01 PM.

Hi Bentley — the basement gets down to about 10C — a lot warmer than the outside, which is why they’re in theb cellar rather than an outdoor bin!

I think maybe they were underfed — they didn’t consume all their food scraps and so I didn’t re-feed, but on closer examination I find that the scraps they did not consume were veggies that were still fighting for life — carrots and onions that were sprouting, celery that was still trying to grow, etc. I’m guessing the worms can eat only what is truly dead and starting to rot, as they graze on the byproducts of bacterial growth rather than on the food itself?

I found about 10 big fat slow — but definitely red — worms in each bin when I hand-picked them over. That seems enough to re-start with. I gave them fresh litter and a big feed, and will see how they feel now. one bin (the old one) had definitely been a success: good heavy wet black worm compost came out, and I’m using it this week to bed new bare-root stock in the garden!

Thanks for the reality check I think this was newbie error (I have not kept them indoors before or in such small tubs).

Clarice
#54. April 3rd, 2009, at 7:22 PM.

Hi! I started a tiered worm system on 3/12/09. Just over 2 weeks later I am seeing very few worms! I do, however have tons of tiny red mites! Are they killing my worms? There isn’t any smell and the kitchen scraps seem to be disappearing. I do think the bin got a little too wet and I’ve been trying to dry it out some. Also, I was afraid I had made the bin too acidic with coffee grounds so I sprinkled some lime (not slaked) over in. Now I see even less worms! Any help would be appreciated.

Clarice
#55. April 5th, 2009, at 6:38 PM.

Well, it’s been a couple of days since my posting and I am seeing tiny white worms in my kitchen scrap bin, but very few full size worms (I’m talking maybe 10) when I started with 1 lb. Still lots of red mites and now fruitflies, even though I have left the lid off of the plastic (Gusanito) bin and covered with dry shredded cardboard (as I’m trying to dry the bin out). Are these baby red worms or some other worm. Again, I’m afraid I maybe killed all of my worms! Still no real bad smell and the kitchen scraps appear to be decomposing. At the same time I started this bin, I started a bin strictly for dog poo which I though was doing great, but now I’m seeing hardly any worms in this either. Also has lots of red mites!! No bad smell in this bin either and it appears to be much drier than the kitchen scrap bin! Dare I buy more worms for these two bins or will I kill them off as well??? Again, any help from more experienced worm farmers would be greatly apprecdiated!

Jean
#56. April 8th, 2009, at 2:32 PM.

Hi Everyone –
I am wondering when I can add redworms to my outside compost pile. The temp is now in the mid-30’s at night but I haven’t seen very much composting going on in my ‘hot bin’ so wonder if the temperature is too cold. I have a 4 bin system along with a rotating drum – moving stuff from one bin to another until it’s finished. I was planning to add only to the last bin and the rotating drum. Thanks for the reply!
Jean

Jan
#57. April 11th, 2009, at 8:18 PM.

Hi!
I was thinking of building my own wooden worm bin, do you have any suggestions as to the type of wood that would be best suited for this purpose?
Thanks!
Jan

rowan
#58. April 12th, 2009, at 8:57 PM.

i have looked everywhere but i cant find the infor any where i wonder if you could help me i have a 100 litter womary from original organincs i need some tiger worms but i dont know how many do you know
thanks
rowan

Dianne
#59. April 20th, 2009, at 3:54 AM.

I have lost and am losing worms to over heating plastic bins…the stacking type….what is my best bet to use as bedding for them…I am using wet straw but this seems to heat up in two days.

Bentley
#60. April 28th, 2009, at 6:06 PM.

CLARICE – when you say `red`mites, how red are you talking about? There is apparently a species of red mites that is parasitic on worms, but I don`t think they are very common. There is a species that is reddish-brown that`s much more common, and is nothing to worry about.
Where was your bin sitting (and at what average temperature)?
The little white worms are likely Pot Worms (also known simply as `White Worms`), not baby red worms – the latter tend to be larger than white worms and contain some pigmentation
————————————————-

JEAN – I suspect that it`s even warmer there by now, so there is certainly no issue adding the worms. Even with night time temps around the freezing mark there should be no issues whatsoever, especially with a fairly large compost pile or bin. They are very cold-hardy worms. I`ve literally found them encased in partially frozen material and they were still wiggling (slowly, but surely – haha)
——————————————————

JAN – I`m not a building expert by any means, so I`d say that most woods are fine. Stay away from cedar (or similar woods) though – it contains potent oils that can kill your worms
———————————————————

ROWAN – generally, starting a worm bin with 1 lb of worms is not a bad way to go. They reproduce quite quickly and can grow in numbers to fill any system. 100 liters is pretty big though, so you could likely get away with 2 or 3 lb – I`m not familiar with the exact appearance of the bin in question, so these are just loose guidelines
———————————————————–

DIANNE – you might try shredded cardboard or shredded newspaper – these should have less potential for overheating.

Clarice
#61. April 28th, 2009, at 10:36 PM.

Hi Bentley…thanks for your response. The mites were most definitely red and I finally dumped the bin with not more than 2 or 3 worms. Bin is in the garage and I’m in No. CA for the temps were 60s-70s. I have since restarted the bin with more worms initially and much drier bedding. So far so good. The only question I have left is how sould I feed. Books say to bury in one section, but the guy who sold me the new worms said to feed thinly over the top and cover with newspaper to ward off flies and (hopefully) mites. That has been working, but the worms seem to prefer the newspaper to the actual food. Not that I really mind as long as they are healthy and happy! Thanks again for the help!

will byrd
#62. April 29th, 2009, at 8:04 PM.

i have a 30 gallon container how many worms should i put in it please help i was wondering if 1000 was enough or too much

Deanne
#63. April 30th, 2009, at 4:43 PM.

My worm bin gets absolutely filled with fruit flies. I have a can of old wine with a drop of dish detergent and get a lot drowning in that , but they get all over the house when the bin is inside, as it has been during cold weather. What to do? I hate to use House and Garden spray.

susie
#64. May 11th, 2009, at 2:58 PM.

Thanks for all the help. Started a worm bin on april 8 with 2 lbs. and they are declining g in numbers quickly. Maybe too warm or not enough food. I am changing my tactics this week. I do have a nice bit of casings in the bottom layer now. What do you reccommend for bedding?
thanks for all the info.

Deanne
#65. May 11th, 2009, at 10:25 PM.

You printed my fruit fly concern, but to date, no answers or solutions. No help found where it was said help may be available. deanne

Vince Dobson
#66. May 12th, 2009, at 2:05 AM.

Hi,
Enjoyed reading most all of the post in this thread, only speed reading through parts of post where I had no interest.

I saw some inquiries about how to keep a worm bed from drying out when someone went on vacation (I think they were in Arizonia or Wyoming it might have been.

This reminded me of the way my mom kept her house plants from drying out when we went on vacation (55 years ago). She would lay the ends of strips of cloth on top of the soil with the other end going over the side and resting in a bucket of water. The natural wicking of the cloth kept the plants from drying out and would do so until the bucket ran dry.

I think something like this would work great for a worm bed. You could soak an old towell in water and cover the bed with a layer or two then cut wide strips that would lay under this towell then run over the edge and into a bucket of water. As the towell dried out more would wick in to keep it wet.

Of course drying out would not be too much of a problem if they were in plastic beds. I think this person had wooden beds. This would work if they kept the wooden beds.

Typed a lot, I guess, to just pass on a tip to use a wicking method

Faye
#67. May 12th, 2009, at 4:00 AM.

Hi,
I have had my can o worm farm for about 8 months now and so far so good, i avoid acidic scraps, add a worm fattener recipe that came with the instruction and also add some dolomate lime stuff every couple of weeks to avoid high acidic levels. a couple of weeks ago i started putting my food scraps through a food processer before adding them to the bin and i found it worked wonders, by doing this it has attracted heaps of the fully mature worms up the tier, then today i had a look at my bin and there are hundreds of ‘baby” worms EVERWHERE!!, i read your responce to clarice and am thinking they maybe “white worms” but mine are not white if you look close up they are more transparent, i have also read that baby worms can be transparent looking so i’m a little confused to what they are. if they are white worm, should i try to get rid of them and how?

alex
#68. May 14th, 2009, at 5:35 PM.

I’m learning a ton from your site.

Couple questions: I realize I probably have been overfeeding our worms — problem is, we got the worm bin as part of a fundraiser and so I don’t know how long the worms have been in this home or how many were put in to start with. I am wondering, since I have been feeding them every 3 days in the 2 weeks since we have had them, should I just let them chill for a week or so?

Also, before I saw on your site about the worms not liking noise and vibration, my son was having a ball beating the top of the bin like a drum. Oooops. We stopped him each time he started, but he got in a couple good whacks! Do you think he killed off a ton of the poor guys?

Lastly, give me a tip on how you store your scraps that you might potentially give the worms at feeding time. I was just putting them in a produce bag in the fridge, but maybe they are too dry that way.

Thanks for everything!

Jennifer
#69. May 29th, 2009, at 12:31 AM.

I have read through this and no one seems to have problems with a smelly bin. I’ve had my bin for 2 months now and keep food scraps in a plastic tub under my sink. They stay in there for a long time, so they are pretty smelly when I put them in the bin. I feed the worms about once a week and it seems to work well for them (I think I put too much in at a time but we have a lot of scraps! And I want to cover the entire surface). Should I feed them less but more often? I think the smell is just from the food but it lasts for a few days even though it is covered with bedding. I also sorted through my bin today and noticed that some of the cardboard (and leaves that I started the bin with) are not breaking down. Should they be in smaller pieces? I still have a good number of worms (I started with 2 lbs) but I think I have less than I started with although they are larger. I know my bin (kept inside) has plenty of moisture and I try to drain it every couple of weeks. Any tips/suggestions? Since my bin is inside my husband complains of the smell but we thought it was better to let the food sit a little bit before putting it in the bin. Thanks!!!

Barry
#70. June 21st, 2009, at 7:32 PM.

Greetings,

We have been composting with worms for more than 10 years and had thousands of red wigglers throughout our bin until today when we noticed that there was a complete die-off of worms – from gazillions to none in the space of a week or so. Anyone got any ideas on what may have happened? The soil is very moist and it seems that the breakdown of material continued until very recently. We use only kitchen produce, coffee grinds, egg-shells and some plant material from pruning potted plants. There does not appear to be any other insects or fungus – a complete mystery. None of our family has altered what we put in the bin so we don’t have a clue as to what happened. As we live in Vancouver, BC, the temperatures have been moderate – nothing above 25 or so. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

element
#71. July 15th, 2009, at 5:45 AM.

Love the site. The quick facts gave me enough information to start vermicomposting now I have 1 homemade and a Worm Factory going.

kim
#72. July 27th, 2009, at 12:40 AM.

We use red cedar bedding in our chicken coop. We want to start composting the chicken poop which is mixed with the bedding. Is this okay to do in a worm composter? Or will it harm the worms? Should we stick to a regular composter?

Thanks.
Kim

Bentley
#73. July 30th, 2009, at 2:51 PM.

Wow – looks like I’m WAY behind on comments for this page!

WILL B. – 30 gallons is a BIG worm bin and you could easily get away with adding more than 1000 worms (which is typically about 1 lb). That being said, it never hurts to start out modestly and let your worms grow in numbers to fill the system.
—–
DEANNE – fruit flies are a major problem, that’s for sure. I use a multi-pronged approach when dealing with them. Apart from the traps (I use apple cider vinegar, but they do love wine as well), I often use a vacuum to suck up adults. I make sure to bury food materials well, and if the problem is really bad, you might think about stopping feeding altogether. Just added moistened bedding for a week or two and see what happens. You certainly won’t starve the worms. When it comes to fruit flies, prevention is really the key to success.
—–
VINCE – that is a great tip. Thanks for sharing that!
—–
FAYE – baby red worms are generally larger than white worms, and while more translucent, should have some pink or reddish pigment visible. If you DO have white worms I wouldn’t worry TOO much about them. It’s odd that they would spring up in your system given the fact that you are adding lime though – they generally prefer acidic conditions.
—–
ALEX – Letting your worms ‘chill’ every now and again is never a bad idea. Especially if there is plenty of food in the system. In all honesty, it is very hard to starve these worms. You are far more likely to kill them via overfeeding. Banging on the bin won’t make the worms happy and healthy (haha), but I think you’d have to do it a LOT more than that to actually kill off worms – they are pretty tough little guys. As for storing worm food – what I usually do is gradually collect it in a biodegradable bag (with shredded cardboard in bottom) under my sink. When the bag is full I often will let it sit out in the sun and/or let it freeze before feeding it to my worms. This way it will be much more easily broken down by microbes and worms.
—–
JENNIFER – Smelly food waste and bins are always caused by a lack of air circulation (usually augmented by excess moisture). When storing the wastes, make sure you have a ‘false bottom’ of absorbent, bulky bedding materials such as shredded cardboard. It doesn’t hurt to add more as you fill up the bag over time as well. This will keep moisture in check and will encourage air flow. Same goes for the bin itself – if it stinks it means that there isn’t enough airflow – add lots of dry, absorbent bedding materials like shredded cardboard and/or strips of newsprint. One other thing to mention is that you MAY be adding too much food waste at once – if food accumulates too much it can form anaerobic zones that will give off bad odours. As for the materials not breaking down, again oxygen is really important – also keep in mind the fact that some materials are a LOT more resistant than others. Those wastes with really high C:N ratio (such as cardboard) will definitely take a lot longer than other materials such as soft food wastes. Cutting into smaller pieces does increase surface area, which will definitely speed up the process since there will be more zones for microbes to feed.
—–
BARRY – that is definitely very odd, given your level of experience and the fact that you’ve kept everything so consistent. I’d be curious to know how old the system is. Sometimes you can reach a threshold point, where there is simply too much worm waste and not enough good habitat. The only other thing I can think of is that perhaps something toxic was added accidentally with one of the food materials shortly before the die-off started.
—–
Element – thanks! Glad to help

—–
KIM – Both cedar and poultry waste can actually be really harmful to worms, especially when fresh. If the mix was hot composted and/or aged (outside for a long time) you may be able to use it, but I would first try in a larger outdoor system (and do so very carefully). Poultry wastes have been used for vermicomposting, but they always need to be washed/composted/aged in order to remove excess ammonia and inorganic salts.

Rachel C
#74. August 2nd, 2009, at 11:48 PM.

I just started vermicomposting about a month ago. pretty sure after reading this that I have been WAY overfeeding them. It is summer and we have so much produce waste. I am not sure the worms can keep up with us! I bought 2000 reg wrigglers to start. also, it seems I have not been covering the waste with enough shredded paper – i was using just a thin layer of newpaper for on top. So the problem is I have lots of white spider mites, and I also have house fly larvae. I am pretty sure of this: I have house flies buzzing around and there are long white larvae which i compared to a picture i found on google of house fly larvae and it looks exactly the same. Doesn’t look like any of the other kinds of fly larvae or white worms. Also there is a sour smell (slight) to the composter. It’s a stack bin system by the way. so we put it outside in shade for now. So I guess I should stop feeding them for a month or so? I just put a bunch more food in right before I read this
there seem to be a lot of worms going to the bottom where the liquid is and they seem to be drowning in it… are they trying to escape all the pests?
btw we had fruit flies too (although no citrus fruits were used) but we put an extra bin on top full of dry shredded paper and that stopped them.
is there anything else I can do to help this? How much food is too much food? i was feeding them every few days a few handfuls when it looked like half of what was already there was compost. also, is lavender ok for composting? I have a lavender plant.. and I was thinking since house flies hate lavender, maybe by putting the dead leaves in there it might help somewhat. how can I get rid of the house flies?? I’m afraid I have totally messed this up. HELP!! so many questions, thank you for responding!!

Mention from Lighterfootstep.com
#75. August 7th, 2009, at 7:09 PM.

A Glorious Gallery of Rot: Compost as Art (Pictures) | Lighter Footstep: dark, and slimy: If you’re a worm, this is what a day at the beach looks like. Vermiculture is ...

Bill
#76. August 28th, 2009, at 10:35 PM.

Like Rebekah above, I have some concerns about composting dog waste. I’ve found a lot of resources online but they often contradict one another.

My plan was to create a separate worm bin using red wigglers to compost the dog waste. What I am wondering is could the resultant castings then be added to a regular hot compost pile and would that eliminate the pathogens associated with dog waste?

I’m assuming parasites in the dog waste would be digested by the worms, any truth to this?

Thanks in advance for your answers

Bill

Bentley
#77. August 31st, 2009, at 1:54 PM.

RACHEL – Really sorry for missing your comment. E-mail is definitely a better way to reach me. I’ll still respond here for the benefit of others (and perhaps you too). Keeping a vermicomposting system outdoors pretty much guarantees that you will get more critters than you would indoors. Right of the bat, it is important to remember that this is an ecosystem – not just worms and waste – so don’t sweat it too much when other ‘pests’ appear. Don’t get me wrong, I consider fruit flies a pest because they really ANNOY me (and my wife – haha), but they don’t harm the worms in any way – nor do most of the other creatures you generally encounter in a worm bin (white mites are an example). It DOES sound like you are overfeeding – houseflies are generally only attracted to worm bins when there are some stinky, wet zones. I have plenty of outdoor systems myself, but don’t get fly larvae – unless I somehow manage to create a stinky anaerobic mess.
The white mites are very common in worm bins and are usually a sign of excess moisture and/or overfeeding, when found in really high numbers (basically there to take advantage of a resource that the worms can’t consume by themselves).
More bedding, and reduced feeding will almost always improve conditions in a worm bin. Not sure leaving the bin for a month without feeding is necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt to leave it for a little while anyway – just keep an eye on it and see how long it takes for the worms to consume the remaining wastes.
Stacking systems with reservoirs are almost always going to end up with worms in the reservoir. Worms just naturally tend to roam – particularly to places that are dark, warm and wet. As you continue to move up in the stacking system I suspect that you will eventually see fewer and fewer worms down below. Others have made recommendations such as putting a layer of landscape fabric in between the bottom tray and the reservoir – so this might be worth testing out.
As for lavender, I would probably stay away from it personally. Maybe put a bunch around the bin, but I don’t think it would be ideal inside. It has a very aromatic oil that would likely irritate the worms, and it is also a somewhat bushy plant so it would also take awhile to break down.

Anyway – hope this helps some
Sorry again for the delay!

Bentley
#78. August 31st, 2009, at 2:44 PM.

BILL – It never hurts to play it safe with these sorts of materials. While I don’t have a dog, I do have cats (now using compostable cat litter) so I vermicompost my cat waste. I think it’s always important to do it in a separate system, and certainly one that is a good distance from any water body.
You talk about vermicomposting then hot composting – I’d actually suggest doing it the other way around. Simply compost the dog doo, mixed with straw or some other bulky bedding material – letting it ‘cook’ for a good week or two. Then start gradually adding it to a worm composting bed.
Vermicomposting is reported to be effective for pathogen destruction, but it never hurts to be sure (by including the hot phase).
Not sure I’d be putting the finished material on food crops or anything like that – even WITH the hot composting – but it would be great for trees/shrubs/ornamentals by the time the worms are finished with it.
Hope this helps

Melissa
#79. August 31st, 2009, at 7:07 PM.

Hi! I’m glad I found your site; lots of good info.

We started a vermicomposter bin for pet (dog) waste at the beginning of the summer with about 1000 red wigglers. They are doing well, reproducing, and handling probably half the pet waste in our yard. However, we’re about to head into fall and it suddenly occurred to me that I’m not sure what to do with the little guys in the winter. I’m in Northern Indiana, near the lake, and we do get below freezing for a good portion of the winter. I’m not a super-serious composter to the extent that I want to spend a lot of money and build elaborate systems to keep the bin outdoors, but I also don’t want to lose my happy little colony. Any thoughts? I was wondering whether I could bring the bin in for the winter and feed kitchen scraps, and then switch the back to outdoors/pet waste in the spring. Or, is it feasible to bury the bin and keep it underground for the winter? Obviously our native worms do something to keep themselves alive during the cold months. Thank you!

Betty
#80. October 15th, 2009, at 7:37 PM.

I have a bucket of worms that I keep, for my fish tank, on the porch. Well, it got a little cold last night and when I came out to get a handful, most, not all, had crawled out and had formed 3 hugh worm balls, the size of a golf ball or bigger, and were laying on my porch floor. I believe they are red worms, they were in my compost. Is this normal? Where should I keep them? Everytime I try the refrigerator, they freeze, which still works, cause I can feed frozen worms, but I would rather feed live worms. I like your page and will check back, especially in the spring, so I can do a worm farm right, Thanks.

Bentley
#81. October 19th, 2009, at 5:20 PM.

MELISSA (sorry – must have missed your comment!!) – I recently wrote about what to do with your worms when it gets cold:
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/worm-composting/fall-worm-bed-maintenance/

An in-ground system would be pretty easy to make and would definitely help to keep a lot of worms safe over the winter. Keeping at least one or two indoor bins is always a good idea as well!

———–

BETTY – that is very strange and makes me wonder if you actually have another type of worm. My red worms have never done that, and seem to do just fine when it starts getting cold out. I’m also not sure why they would “freeze” in your refrigerator, unless of course you just happen to keep the temp setting really low (and other stuff freezes in there as well).

If you can manage, I highly recommend you keep a system indoors (maybe down in your basement) – this will ensure that you have an ongoing population of worms regardless of outdoor conditions.

Bruce Westfall
#82. October 20th, 2009, at 12:42 PM.

Fantastic site! Certainly not recommended for the general public – I doubt you will take too many readers away from CNN.com

I think it’s amazing how well you answer all the questions. Especially the same question about mites over and over… All my worms are doing fine, but I just checked the temp since they were out in my shed and it was 40 F. After reading quite a bit on your site I moved them inside and there is little if any smell. I have a compost pit with more worms outside and have been putting all the stinky food in there. Things like onions, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I am also going to make sure they have plenty of oxygen – which will require me re-reading a bunch again.

Thank you again for all your help.

Prashant
#83. October 27th, 2009, at 1:45 PM.

Hi,
I want to know what is the maximum number of redworms per cubic ft (or cubic meter) one can have in a tank or a pit?
I read that one pound of worms can process 1/2 pound of organic waste. How many pounds of redworms will be needed to process one cubic ft. of horse manure (or cow dung) per day?
Thanks

Bentley
#84. November 3rd, 2009, at 8:20 PM.

BRUCE – thanks for the kind words. As you can probably tell (assuming you ever read this), it DOES take me awhile sometimes to respond to comments, but I do make an effort to get to those ones in need of a response. Anyway – glad you found some useful info here!
———-
PRASHANT – I really don’t have any good numbers for you – sorry. I have heard of densities as high as 4-6 lb per ’sq foot’, but have always wondered what that implies in terms of depth.
The problem with coming up with any of these sorts of numbers is that there are SO MANY different variables. Sure, in some systems 1 lb of worms can process 1/2 lb of some sort of waste material daily – but that is definitely not applicable to ALL types of waste or at ALL temperatures etc etc etc. Ground up vegetable waste will obviously be processed much more quickly than straw for example. I hate to keep harping on this, but unfortunately your best bet is simply to experiment and find out how the worms respond.

Harry Rotz
#85. January 18th, 2010, at 12:27 AM.

I have got a couple of questions. I started a bin off in my basement on the first of Nov. 2009. I made a 30×30x30 bin (approx.) and put a grate int he bottom with little doors on all four sides. Moved a bunch of my red worms into it. Put a bunch of newspaper in the bottom (shredded) and started feeding them my composted leaves mixed withcow manure. I started pulling some material from the bottom and am still filling the top. After approx.70 days I am taking out of the bottom. (It’s a home made flow through design). I am finding some material that is not finished eaten. Am I taking out too soon? Also I made a trommel screen out of 5gallon buckets and 1/8 inch screen. The problem with that is if I put the castings right into that there are a zillon baby worms locked into the screen and you lose them,other wise I spend a few hours hand sorting all of the eggs and babies out before hand. There is a lot of time in this. I hate to lose all of the little ones,besides I am using them to start off another bin. Any suggestions for a better way to do this of is it just a fact of life that you are gonna lose a lot of little ones?

Vince Dobson
#86. January 19th, 2010, at 5:37 PM.

I think, yes, pulling material too soon. On separating out egg cocoons, yes, you do lose some babies – therefore it is best to not do this too often. When you want to start another bin you can simply divide all of the contents of your current bin in half and use that to start another bin combining with new bedding and adding new bedding to your original bin to make up the difference. This will disturb them the least and kill few if any babies.

Bentley
#87. January 19th, 2010, at 6:02 PM.

Hi Harry – 70 days sounds like a fair amount of time to me, but really, it comes down to simply seeing what the material looks/smells like. If it is dark, rich, earthy smelling stuff you are probably in business! Losing baby worms is definitely part of harvesting – no doubt about it. You might want to check out the harvesting articles linked to on the “Hot Topics” page (upper navigation buttons) to see some of the various approaches you can take as far as harvesting goes. If you REALLY want to save a lot of babies, simply let the material sit for awhile with some food materials up top – the babies should congregate in this zone, and if you wait long enough a lot of the cocoons should hatch out as well.
Hope this helps

Autumn
#88. January 20th, 2010, at 2:58 AM.

Thank you for your generous site.
I wonder which “condo” bin would you recommend between the plastic and the pine?
Thank you

Bentley
#89. January 20th, 2010, at 7:58 PM.

Hi Autumn – I’m not a huge fan of stacking bins, but if I HAD to choose I would definitely go with the plastic. I have a pine stacking bin and I found that it dried out too easily. If the trays were deeper, a wooden system would likely be my choice, based on the improve breathability.

Jennifer R.
#90. February 20th, 2010, at 10:48 PM.

First off, like many people have said – great job on this site! It is so helpful and has been my biggest resource for starting my worm bin. I live in Colorado and have a bin (15 gallon – but only filled half way) in my basement. I wanted to start off slow and let them multiply so I only got a half pound of beautiful reds. I added a ton of shredded moist newspaper, cardboard, dirt, and leaves and let that chill for a few days before adding my worms, and a few more days before adding any kitchen scraps. However, they are not eating – anything. They are all alive so they must be doing something. I have had them now for about a month and haven’t added any scraps other than the 1/2 pound I started with. I know it takes time for them to get use to their new home, but how long do I wait before I should start to worry?
Also I have read that some people add some kind of compound to their bins. I believe it is calcium. What benefit does this provide to the worms and where can I find it?
Thanks!

caitlin nichols
#91. February 23rd, 2010, at 6:35 AM.

thankyou for the good information because this is the only good website about composting that i could get a good idea from for my homework

Bentley
#92. February 23rd, 2010, at 3:09 PM.

JENNIFER – what temperature is the system at right now? (ie is it in a fairly warm indoor location?). What sort of kitchen scraps did you add?
If the worms seem totally fine, I would not worry at all – it may not seem like they are eating anything, but they are almost certainly consuming SOMETHING in the system if they’ve been content to stay there for a month.
Some people add lime (Calcium carbonate / chalk) to their bins to help prevent acidity. Not sure if this is what you are referring to. I personally prefer not to do this. I don’t like the idea of potentially causing major swings in pH – plus the fact is, composting worms actually prefer a somewhat acidic pH anyway (what they are used to in the type of habitats they tend to live in).
I add egg shells to my systems though – this can help to buffer pH somewhat and provide calcium as well.
————————–
CAITLIN – thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you were able to find the info you were looking for!

TXLeah
#93. February 24th, 2010, at 12:43 AM.

Hello,
This is going to be my second attemp to raise these little rascals. I had a bin Last summer that lasted about 3 months before going sour. I had alot of cocoons but no worms. I think I overfed and not enough airation. I have some questions for anyone willing to help.
Our family eats about 24 eggs in a week and a half. I have been drying them out before crushing them almost into a powder for some time now and storing them in a plastic bag What would be a good amount to add to the worms food? Will to much kill them?
I was told to start a bed with sphagum Peat Moss, cardboard, and paper. In a plastic bin. To my understanding Peat Moss retains moisture and it was suggessted that once a week I needed to add calcium carbonate (agricultural grade Limestone powder not hydrated). I don’t want to add this to the bin because I was told by someone else that it would harm the worm if it got on them there for I would think I have enough egg shells to suffice. Does anyone know about that?
Am I to understand correctly that You mix new bedding into the old material weekly? By weekly? Monthly? and harvest in 3 to six months? I have seen beautiful vermicompost on online videos with worms in it and no bedding how does that come about? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely
Leah

Jennifer R.
#94. February 24th, 2010, at 4:07 AM.

Thanks Bentley – they are in the basement, I would say the temp in the basement is in the low – mid 50 during the day and mid 40s at night. I may be a little wrong on my temps, but they are no where near freezing. I also have a large piece of cardboard covering the bedding / food mix because I was told this would help with the smell and in keeping heat in. I have been the first feeding was – a banana peel, apple core, avacado rind, some squash, an orange rind, egg shells (dried and crumbled) and some lettuce. What I could safely blend in the blender I did, the rest I made sure was cut up as much as possible. I check them often (every other day / every day) to see what they are liking / not liking and there are almost always a few that are crawling up the side of the bin. I have several air holes but am now wondering if since it is in the basement maybe air isn’t flowing through? Basements aren’t well ventilated. Sorry for bothering you so much – I just really want my new “pets” to be happy.

Patrick king
#95. February 26th, 2010, at 1:34 AM.

I have a worm bin and have tons of little spiders mites crawling all over the worms, lid, just every where. Can you point me in a direction on what these may be and how to get rid of them. Is there a spray or something tI can use that wont hurt the worms? Please help…

Thank you,

Patrick King

Bentley
#96. February 26th, 2010, at 3:44 PM.

TXLEAH – here are my responses
———————————————————————————–
“What would be a good amount to add to the worms food? Will to much kill them?”
———————————————————————————–
I wouldn’t dump all your shells in at once since all the jagged edges might cut the worms, but if you add a sprinkle of them every time you fed the system (and spread them around) you should be totally fine

————————————————————————————-
“I don’t want to add this to the bin because I was told by someone else that it would harm the worm if it got on them”
————————————————————————————-
Make sure you are using the right type of “lime” – it needs to be calcium carbonate, not “builders lime” or one of the other caustic types. Adding a bit (of the good stuff) every so often should be fine, just don’t overdo it (don’t want major swings in pH).

————————————————————————————-
“Am I to understand correctly that You mix new bedding into the old material weekly? By weekly? Monthly? and harvest in 3 to six months?”
————————————————————————————-
As easy way to make sure you have enough is to always keep a thick layer on top. As you add new food it will gradually be incorporated into the composting zone down below, and you can continue to top up as the level goes down. Harvest when the system looks like it contains mostly worm compost – stop feeding for maybe a week or so, then remove unprocessed stuff from the top.

————————————————————————————-
“I have seen beautiful vermicompost on online videos with worms in it and no bedding how does that come about? ”
————————————————————————————-
It’s hard to say for sure what’s going on there, but what I DO know is that once all the bedding is gone (especially in the case of a plastic enclosed system) if you simply keep feeding it, you will eventually encounter what I’ve referred to as “mature worm bin syndrome” and your worms won’t be happy campers. If you simply leave the worms alone entirely though, they seem to be able to live in the material for quite some time.
In open and/or flow-through systems this doesn’t seem to be quite as serious a problem (if at all). I think moisture content can play an important role.

Bentley
#97. February 26th, 2010, at 3:47 PM.

JENNIFER – Those temps definitely explain what’s going on. While worms will certainly tolerate those temps, the speed of composting will slow down a LOT. Microbes become inactive and the worms become sluggish. Just as putting fruit in your fridge will slow down the decay process, so too does putting your worm composting system someplace cool.

Bentley
#98. February 26th, 2010, at 3:49 PM.

PATRICK – There are no sprays (that I know of) that will get rid of mites and not harm the worms. Generally, I consider mites to be a normal participant in the worm composting ecosystem (important to remember it’s not just worms working there). A huge abundance of mites can indicate that conditions have become too wet and/or that you are overfeeding.

Harry Rotz
#99. March 14th, 2010, at 10:31 PM.

I have been sorting the worms out of my compost when I take out of the bottom and have been adding them with new feed to the top. Is it possible to get too many worms in the bin. I don’t see any problems yet ,but can it get to being a problem
Harry

Anna
#100. March 15th, 2010, at 5:20 AM.

Although not directly related to the daily travails of worm composting, I’ve been wondering about whether E. foetida are native to North America?

I’m also curious about differences in worm colors in my bins. I got my worms from a local charity that composts lots of produce and brewery waste. I’m suspicious that they are E. foetida, but some of them are much darker than others, with an almost purplish hue. Are such color variations likely within a species or do you think I have several different types? At least some of these worms are very cold hearty, as I found them alive (yet slow) at the bottom of a very cold bucket of harvested VC that had been sitting in my near-freezing garage for a month.

Bentley
#101. March 15th, 2010, at 8:09 PM.

HARRY – the worm population will regulate itself based on available resources, so you can’t every really end up with “too many worms” – at least not for very long.
————
ANNA – I am pretty sure Red Worms are originally from Europe, but they have become well-established across much of North America, as have many other species.

There is a wide range of coloration in these worms. I have seen them basically range from stripey orange, to solid reddish/purple. As for being cold-hardy, they are indeed. I have literally found wiggling red worms in frozen compost before! As long as they don’t freeze solid themselves, they can easily survive pretty cold winters.

Harry Rotz
#102. March 17th, 2010, at 11:17 AM.

I have alot of heavy plywood pieces stored up.I want too build a large worm bin out in my old barn. What can I put on the inside of the bin to keep it lasting longer and help the worm food and castings slid down the side easier and not sticking?

Lee Potter
#103. March 19th, 2010, at 12:17 AM.

Hi Guys,

I have had my little composter going for about a month now , in a 5 gallon platic container in my kitchen. But I do have a few questions that I am having trouble finding answers to.
Firstly how moist does the soil have to be? How long do I leave before I change out the compost and replace with new soil?

Cheers Lee

Bentley
#104. March 22nd, 2010, at 12:54 AM.

HARRY – Excellent question. Not sure I have a good answer for you though. I’ve heard that linseed oil is good, but have not tried it myself. I’d certainly love to hear from anyone else who has some suggestions! I generally just leave wood untreated these days.
—————————
LEE – I hope you are not referring to garden soil when you say “soil”, since that won’t be the greatest medium for worm composting. As for moisture – the worms love it wet – but if you don’t have any drainage or good evaporation (no lid etc) you need to be really careful. I would never add water to an enclosed plastic bin. The “rule of thumb” I recommend is add as much water as you can without pooling in the bottom.
How long it takes before you have enough compost to harvest will totally depend on the system you are using, and the quantity of worms you have.

Mark from Kansas
#105. March 22nd, 2010, at 3:39 PM.

Harry,
What I did to protect the plywood from the moisture is I lined the inside of the bin with some of that blue plastic tarp I gat from Wal Mart and stapled it.
It helps if you over lap the corners by with 6 inches of tarp.
It worked for me.
Good luck and have fun!
Mark

John
#106. April 3rd, 2010, at 10:01 PM.

Hello. I have a question about a worm.
What is the function of the belt on a worm?

Lisa
#107. April 7th, 2010, at 8:37 PM.

I’m thinking about getting started with worm composting to add to my outdoor garden. Should I be concerned about adding red worms to my ecosystem when they’re not normally a part of it? I’m not really familiar with red worms, and I don’t know if they could mess up the balance.

Bruce Westfall
#108. April 8th, 2010, at 4:37 PM.

Lisa – Red worms may not be a part of your ecosystem right now, but somewhere nearby there will be red worms in a manure pile or similar source of worm nutrient. Here’s a thought – is your entire garden all native species? Most are not.

Good question, though. From my understanding of the little guys and gals – once their food source is diminishing, they will no longer reproduce and live out the remainder of their happy life where they were. So they won’t spread and become Worm Kudzu ( good name for a rock band ) and take over the world.

9 out of 10 garden surveyed really like what the red worms produce. The other one wouldn’t answer without a lawyer.

Lisa
#109. April 8th, 2010, at 4:39 PM.

Thanks, Bruce. That’s really helpful. The Kudzu part was what I was worried about.

pam thompson
#110. April 13th, 2010, at 9:16 PM.

I STARTED A REDWORM COMPOSTING PIT LAST YEAR. NOW THAT THE WEATHER IS STARTING TO WARM UP, NEAR THE SURFACE, I HAVE MASSES OF TINY WHITE THREADLIKE WORMS. THEY SEEM TO CONGREGATE ON THE WETTEST/JUICIEST SCRAPS I PUT IN–CITRUS OR MELON RINDS. I RECENTLY ADDED QUITE A BIT OF AGED HORSE MANURE. COULD THESE BE PINWORMS, OR ANY TYPE OF PARASITES THAT COULD BE HARMFUL TO MY GARDEN OR MY FAMILY.
THANKS. PAM

Sarah
#111. April 14th, 2010, at 6:09 AM.

Hello,
I am new to worm farming and have a question about adding new bedding. I was given about 30 worms in a “bucket ‘o worms” tub with clean bedding about 45 days ago. I have loose coconut fiber substrate that I would like to add. If I understand an earlier post I can add new bedding to my bin by simply placing the new material on top of the established material. Is it correct that I do not have to mix the material together? Also the coconut fiber is pretty dry, is it best to moisten it when adding or leave it dry? I have seen my first baby worm and am as proud as any new “parent” can be. Thank you.

Marisa
#112. May 16th, 2010, at 12:37 PM.

Hello,
I am new to vermi-composting and purchased “100″ red wigglers. They are in a 10 gal bin. I feel I followed basic instructions (certain amount of air holes, right size, placement of them, bedding, top layer, etc.), and I after reading a lot these past days understand that there is a balance that needs to be created. I started right away, however, meaning I didn’t wait two weeks to put the worms in after the waste. I read that part too late-Ugh! Today, two days later about 20-30 worms were on the top area of the bin, one even got out! I have holes on the bottom and the bin is lifted about an inch on an another lid. When I opened the the lid, the dry material on the top was lower, so I “gently” put the worms back to the bottom, added more shredded newspaper, gave a couple of spritz with water (my bedding is both cardboard and shredded newspaper). It’s in my pantry, which is like a small closet and fairly cool. I probably should take the temp?
So I guess I am wondering why they rose to the top?, especially after reading that they are “surface” dwellers on the organic matter. I don’t have citrus, I mostly have spinach leaves, parsley stems, fruit/vegetable waste, No onions or garlic, but I did put in a small cut up raw potato, after reading I shouldn’t or at least moderately, banana peel, and one cone of coffee grounds. And a little potting soil taken from my plants for a little dirt.
I realize this is a work in progress/getting experience. So your help is needed. Thank you, and I really like your website. Glad I found it.
Marisa

Simone
#113. June 9th, 2010, at 12:15 PM.

I am currently farming red worms on a large scale in the Western Cape, South Africa. I would love to connect with others interested in this good cause in order to share ideas etc. I have 4 old bath tubs filled to the brim with the most gorgeous compost and strong healthy worms. I’ve built larger tanks and would like to move the worms into their new homes but need a bit of advice. Is cement harmful and should I line the tanks with plastic? Please contact me if you know more?
Thanks
Simone
ssschultzi@gmail.com

John Rogman
#114. August 1st, 2010, at 1:34 PM.

I would like to know if the Red Wiggler is basically the same thing as the Night Crawler. Ohio. And if I need to do anything different in the raising of my worms. I would be using them for my personal fishing.
Thank you
John

Bentley
#115. August 2nd, 2010, at 2:46 AM.

Hi John,
The Red Wiggler is definitely not the same thing as the “Night Crawler”, and in fact, the term “Night Crawler” (or “Nightcrawler”) doesn’t even necessarily refer to one type of worm. Likely the most common “Nightcrawler” for fishing is the Canadian Nightcrawler (Lumbricus terrestris). It is a deep burrowing soil worm as is MUCH larger that a Red Worm. The European Nightcrawler (Eisenia hortensis), on the other hand, is a close relative of the Red Worm (Eisenia fetida/andrei). It is bigger than the Red Worm but not nearly as big as the Canadian Nightcrawler. It can however be raised in captivity, in much the same way as Red Worms (unlike CNCs)

Gatis
#116. August 4th, 2010, at 2:00 PM.

Hello folks!
Question: I`ve been growing worms for 9 month and recently I`ve noticed, that I get more worm tea on the floor than ever – and I really don`t understand why, I mean, previously I noticed, that there is liquid comming from bins, but as quantity was small and I don`t pay attention to it so much untill I found out that this is “TEA”! Also right now quantity of worms in bins are basically the same – it`s just bins getting more (but I don`t think that it`s main cause) and also I`m not watering them to much or too frequent, also harvesting castings frequently, so I can`t figure out, why so much tea is being produced! Maybe you can share some thought?
Thanks! : )

Bentley
#117. August 4th, 2010, at 3:08 PM.

Hi Gatis,
What has likely happened is that you’ve simply reached (and surpassed) the water-holding capacity of your system, and now most of the water released during the decomposition of the food wastes etc is likely draining down (or at least displacing liquid from further down in the system).
I always recommend being careful with terminology and overall assessment of any liquids simply draining out of a worm composting system. This stuff is more accurately referred to as “leachate”, and can range in quality (as a liquid fertilizer) from great to downright awful (and harmful). Worm compost tea is made using stabilized, high quality vermicompost / worm castings so it is quite a different liquid. If you worm system is REALLY mature, you are probably producing a leachate that’s not TOO far off the mark from being a form of worm compost tea – but still, there is a pretty significant difference.
What I recommend doing with leachate is diluting it with water (aged tap water or rain water) and using it out in the garden (not in potted plants).

Gary
#118. August 4th, 2010, at 3:38 PM.

what are the sizes of the Euro worms cocoons (average size)

Leave your comment...

If you want to leave your comment on this article, simply fill out the next form:

You can use these XHTML tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> .

Quick Facts About Worm Composting

118 comments

Leave your comment...

Sponsored Links

Subscribe to this site

Looking For Something Specific?

Last articles

Categories

Monthly archives

"Mark from Kansas" OSCR Tally

Noteworthy Links

My Other Sites

Vermicomposting

Worm Friends