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Tag Archives: worm bin

Food in worm bin heating up

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A common problem in worm composting is that the bin starts to heat up. Sometimes you shouldn’t be worried. But if it gets too hot, you have to do some changes.

Normally, a worm bin heating up is a good sign. This indicates that:

  • there is decomposing process going on.
  • Or the worms are digesting the compost.

One other reason why the bin might be heating up is because of items high in nitrogen. They tend to heat up really fast. For example: fresh lawn clippings.

If you have a thermometer, check the compost’s temperature. It should be between 40*F and 80*F. If it’s higher than that, then the bin is too warm.

Check the worms. Are they balling up? Worms balling up is a sign of stress.
But if they are crawling around in the bin, means that you shouldn’t worry about anything.

To cool it down:

  • Removing the heat prone food.
  • Allow more airflow in the bin. This helps to cool it down.
  • In winter, you can put it outside. This will help. But don’t let it freeze. And in the summer, keep it inside somewhere cool.
  • In extreme circumstances you can put a few ice cubes to cool the system down.

Preparing a worm bin

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Before your worms arrive, you should prepare the bedding for them. You can start pre-rotting some food for them too in the bedding. So the bacteria will start breaking down the compost.

In this post, I’ll give you the steps for you to prepare the bedding for the worms.
(I’ll be giving steps for making a bedding with newspapers, cardboard, old leaves and egg cartons)

Materials

  • A bin
  • Newspaper
  • Cardboard
  • Egg carton
  • Old leaves
  • Garden dirt
  • Food for the worms

Steps

  • Start by drilling holes in the lid of your bin. This is for air circulation in the bin.
  • Add a layer (about 10cm) of damp newspapers. It can be shredded. But some people say that crumpled newspaper do best with worms.
  • Add a layer of damp cardboard on top of the newspaper
  • Break an egg carton in pieces and put this on top (it has to be damp).
  • Now you mix them up.
  • Now you add some old leaves on top of it. It doesn’t have to be a lot.
  • Put some food scraps in a corner of the bin. You should bury it a bit below the bedding surface.
  • Now, put 3 to 4 sheets of damp newspaper on top of it to cover the whole bedding. So the worms can have some darkness in there (they don’t like the light).
  • Put the lid back on top of the bin

Now wait for the worms to arrive.
When they arrive, the bacteria has already started breaking down the food scraps for the worms.

Leave the worms alone the first week. If there aren’t any worms escaping, then they are probably doing fine in there. They first have to get used to their new home. So they don’t want you to disturb them.

 

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Problems in the worm bin

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Unpleasant odor coming from the worm bin
This can be several factors:

  • Over-full with food wastes. Too much food for worms and others are rooting.
    Stop adding food till the worms have eaten everything.
  • The bin isn’t getting enough air. Gently stir up the bin every so often. Check that there are enough air holes and that they are not blocked.
  • The bin is too wet.
    Check if drainage holes aren’t blocked.
    Don’t feed too much wet food. After feeding, put a few shredded newspaper to absorb the moisture in wet food.
  • Bin is too acidic.
    Test your pH. Cut down on amount of acidic food you’re feeding worms.
  • There are some foods that just stink. For example the broccoli family.
  • Wrong food
    Meat products, oily foods shouldn’t be fed to worms. It causes terrible odor when decomposing.

Worms are leaving the bin
Use light to force them to stay in the bin.

Worms are dying: emergency situation!

  • Move worms to another bin. Then check the old bin for problems:
      Too wet and worms are drowning
      Bin is too dry
      Not enough food
      Temperature is wrong in the bin
      Too much light. This can kill the worms
      pH is wrong

Flies around the bin: fruit flies

  • Put a lid on the bin. If can’t, lay newspaper on top.
  • Bury the food. Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of rotting fruit.

Worms aren’t eating
Sometimes the worms need to get used to their new home. They should start eating after a few days.

Worms are gone

  • Inside: worms have died. They decompose very quickly.
    Or the worms are hiding. When conditions are right, you can find them bunched up together in a corner.
  • Outside: the bin is too hot. When put green waste (such as grass or leaves) it can heat up the bin and forcing worms to leave.
    Or the worms have escaped through drainage holes if bin is on the ground.

Brandon Koots
Hydroponics Curacao

For questions or help, feel free to contact us via our email: support@hydroponics-curacao.com

Methods for harvesting worm castings

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There are several ways to harvest worm castings. Read this article to find the best one for you.

Vermicompost is a mixture of worm castings and decomposed organic matter. It can take about 6 weeks to 4 months. This depends on the size of the bin and the quantity of worms you have.

There are a lot of ways to harvest castings and vermicompost. But I’ve only put one. The one that I think is the easiest way to do it.

Light Method
Dump the worm bin in a pile on a piece of plastic. Shine a light directly on it. Or do this outside in the sun. Worms will go down to get away from light.
Brush off vermicompost or casting off the top. When you see the worms, wait till they go deeper into the soil.
Do this until worms are completely separated from vermicompost.
Make sure the new bin is done. Worms that stay too much in light will die.

Brandon Koots
Hydroponics Curacao

For questions or help, feel free to contact us via our email: support@hydroponics-curacao.com

What and what not to feed your worms and how to feed your worms

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There are certain things that worms love and there are other things that can ruine or kill all your worms.

Things that can be fed to worms

  • Vegetables
  • Fruits
  • Coffee grounds
  • Tea bags
  • Plain breads
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Melons (they love this!)
  • Brown sugar
  • Crushed eggshells
  • Cheese (small amounts)

What not to feed the worms

  • Citrus
  • Meats and bones
  • Garlic
  • Heavily spiced food
  • Hair
  • Milk, yogurt, butter
  • Eggs
  • Fresh manures
  • Poisonous plants
  • Oils
  • Salt
  • Wood ashes
  • Metal, foil, plastics

Feeding the worms

  • Collect food for worms
  • Wash all vegetables! You can blend the food to make it easier for worms to eat.
  • Give the food to the worms. Remember to put it at another spot everytime you feed them.
  • It doesn’t matter how many times a week you feed your worms. As long as they have enough food. But not too much!
  • Bury the food about 5 cm deep.

1 pound of worms = 1 pound of food waste.
This can rise depending on how the worms are doing.

Brandon Koots

Hydroponics Curacao

For questions or help, visit our helpdesk now!
Click here to go to our helpdesk.

Email: support@hydroponics-curacao.com

Bedding for worms

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There are many different bedding types to start your worms in. In this article I’ve only put the easiest and most affordable bedding.

Newspaper
This is good especially when mixed with dry leaves or straw.
Advantages

    No costs.
    Readily available
    It is easy to prepare. Just tear it in strips.
    You recycle the paper

Disadvantages

    Ink can get on your hands

Try not to use colored inks. This can be toxic to the worms.
Smaller pieces will hold moisture better than larger pieces.
If you live in a hot area, put some dry leaves on top of the newspaper. This will help to keep the newspaper wet longer.

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