Mold Growth During Aging Period
A question from “bearclawflowers”:
Hi- I started out the two week bin “letting it rot”. Now it has mold
furry mold growing in there. Do I go ahead and put the worms in there,
do I start over, or…..?
Hi BCF,
This is a great question, and it addresses one of the real deficiencies in my early (yet surprisingly popular) YouTube worm bin set up videos. I forgot to provide more details about the aging period!
Rather than simply leaving your newly set up bin to sit until the worms are added, the best strategy actually involves close monitoring, mixing thoroughly (my favorite tool is a garden hand fork), adding more moisture as needed, and more than likely adding more bedding.
The mixing helps to distribute waste materials and moisture more evenly in the bin – but it also is a great way to disrupt excess fungal growth. This growth is absolutely normal by the way – especially when there aren’t any composting critters in there to keep it in check.
Definitely DON’T toss everything out and start over, whatever you do! Just mix everything up, add some more bedding materials – and perhaps some moisture if it seems on the dry side (aim for “as moist as possible without excess pooling at the bottom”).
Hope this helps!
Written by Bentley on August 30th, 2011 with
2 comments.
Read more articles on Home Vermicomposting and Reader Questions.
Peter
#1. August 30th, 2011, at 7:01 AM.
“(my favorite tool is a garden hand fork), ”
Just struck me. That’s the only tool I’ve ever used with my worms!
This really is a low cost hobby!
Dave