Thanks so much for your responses… and I will definitely spend some time following the suggestions you’ve given.

Hope all is well with you and your worms,
Jeremy

The vast majority of the traditional Rubbermaid bin (with lid) systems I’ve set up over the years have ended up with some sludge down in the bottom. In fact, there is often a fair amount of undigested cardboard etc as well since conditions were pretty anaerobic (oxygen is required for a high quality composting process).

You might think about drilling some holes in the bottom and putting your bin inside another one with equal dimensions (make sure to prop it up on supports though, otherwise it will get wedged in to the lower bin, offering no drainage value whatsoever).

Mixing can also help, but you find end up fighting a losing battle. You might just want to dump the bin out (transfer the worms to a new system using the garbage bag harvesting method or something similar) and let the compost dry out a fair bit. Once it is exposed to air it should start to take on the qualities of a nice material before too long.

Flow-through systems are the best way to create really nice vermicompost, by the way.

Hope this helps

Bentley

I’d turn the material while adding dry shredded newspaper. You may also try to hold off on the food while to help dry the bedding a bit.

Sludge sounds too wet. Yet dry crumbly material sounds a bit too dry. Somewhere in between should be you target.

We’ve had a worm bin (simple homemade Rubbermaid with drilled holes around the bottom and sides) for maybe 7 months or so. I don’t seem to do much more than add scraps every so often (most recently I added a rotting pumpkin – without its seeds – a leftover on the porch from Halloween… and the worms are making quick work of it.)

Worms are making my food disappear – and haven’t run into any major smell or fly problems (although there are those white mites every once in a while). However, I haven’t harvested the compost yet.

I’m in Seattle, the weather has begun warming into the high 40’s F, and I’m interested in gathering the black gold! However, my “dirt” is more like a sludge! There really aren’t any food scraps left in the scoops I’ve been sifting through – it’s more just very wet and soggy. I’ve also noticed the bottom drilled holes have been clogged up – which I’m sure contributes to my situation.

Ok, so my first naive and amateur question: is this normal? I’ve had visions of nice, dry, crumbly dirt that I might be collecting. But my reality is very far off.

My second question: If it’s not normal, what should I do? I have a collection of shredded paper and was thinking about just adding a ton or mixing it in to the dirt. Another thought that popped up was to turnover the ‘sludge’ to bring the wettest material to the surface to dry up.

I wanted to check in here first before doing any major boneheaded moves!

Any thoughts or ideas? I appreciate your time and help!

Thanks,
Jeremy

Just a thought in these February days (worst snow for 18 years we’re told)

Sherry – thanks for sharing that advice. This is especially important for larger systems. Stirring allows a lot of oxygen to get in, and of course results in a better mixing of everything – both of which can trigger thermophilic composting processes.
If you generally overcompensate with a lot of bedding, your system is relatively small, and/or the bin is located some place cold/cool you probably won’t have to worry as much.

That’s not to say you can’t fluff your bedding and stir your bin (I certainly do). Just make sure you do it prior to feeding.

It is pronounced koy-er. You can hear it at http://www.m-w.com

: a stiff coarse fiber from the outer husk of a coconut