So, don't remember if I told you, but I took a look in my worm bin the other day. I'd decided to leave the little dudes alone for awhile, as I felt I was taxing their patience with my over-attentiveness. I took a look and found a whopping 5 adult worms! What happened!? No wonder the kitchen veggie scraps I'd been putting in the bin weren't getting eaten as fast as I thought they would.
I'm trying to resist just ordering more worms. For one thing, worms propagate. I just have to be patient. For another thing, who wants to pay $10 for a styro cup full of worms? And for a last thing, I did see a bunch of baby wormlets who will soon be eating their weight in kitchen scraps daily!
Did notice a few other interesting things growing in there though. A mushroom, tall and skinny. Some very furry and light looking mold on the damp shredded newspaper bedding.
What a saga! Having a worm bin is like having my own personal soap opera.
I am not sure why your worms are dying but it sounds to me like maybe you are putting either too much food in their bins or the wrong kinds of food(citrus). Either way could lead to acidic conditions for them. Also are you using red worms - Eisenia fetida, or some other kind. finally what kind of bin are you using. I use an ordinary rubbermaid bin with 1/4 holes near the bottom and top. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteSean-
ReplyDeleteThanks for your tips. I've been using a rubbermaid bin with holes drilled in it. And I do have Eisenia Fetida worms as well. And no citrus! I really think I'd not had the bedding moist enough. I just rechecked my bin. I'm up to 6 adults! But that's nothing compared to what I started with, so it's disappointing. They seemed happy and healthy. How long till we get some babies?