r/Vermiculture • u/Monstera_paradise • 3d ago
Advice wanted This worm business isn't going too well
I started vermicomposting this year in spring. I had a maybe a cup worth of worms from a friend, then enough for a bucket which can you see on the first picture. The soil I added had too much clay and small rocks as seen on the second picture. The thing on top is cardboard. I'd add coffee grounds, tea leaves and cucumber peels once a week and lately every time there would be around five earthworms on the lid. So now I added better soil and broke it up a bit...I expected a lot more earthworms though. They were mainly at the top...
So how bad is it, from your profession opinion?
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u/Prestigious_Way_1877 3d ago
Start pre-composting or making prepared bedding. It takes 2 to 4 weeks and they can turn it into castings in around the same amount of time afterwards. I think you are overfeeding unsuitable substrate. They should not be living in soil for vermicomposting. You want their poop, not dirt. They should be living in bedding, either prepared or pre-compost.
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u/Monstera_paradise 3d ago
And bedding is like shredded cardboard, paper, sawdust...things like that ?
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u/Prestigious_Way_1877 3d ago
I pre-compost spent mushroom substrate, coco coir/peat and cardboard along with a bunch of dry amendments and minerals. If you make a prepared bedding you'll need to inoculate it with existing castings so they have something to eat once they colonize the bedding.
I started with just coco any shredded cardboard and castings. I would set this up before you move them so it can line out so they don't try to run.
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u/natcho_poboy 2d ago
I use packing paper, newspapers, toilet paper rolls. Essentially you can shred any paper/cardboard that hasn’t been bleached (so no glossy or white papers). Then mix that with leaves, or some type of wet organic materials. Make sure it’s moist.
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u/LR_Worm_farmer 3d ago
Why would you add soil
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u/Monstera_paradise 3d ago
🤷 it's their natural habitat idk ...with kitchen scraps on top...
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u/LR_Worm_farmer 3d ago
Ok so to clarify.. soil is earth worms natural habitat. Composting worms prefer things that are decaying, much like a fungus
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u/Albert14Pounds 3d ago
If you have composting worms like red wigglers their habitat is actually more above the soil in the interface between the earth and the leaf litter and humus and whatnot. That's why they thrive in a good scrap and browns habitat like a normal bin. If you have earthworms they like more below the soil but are also not super great for composting like red wigglers and similar are. Not that they do nothing. But they are more useful in like I compost like on the ground where they might wander up into the pile a little of it's to their liking.
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u/Monstera_paradise 3d ago
Thanks for info, they are red wigglers
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u/Puzzleheaded_Day2809 3d ago
Yep. So try again - this time use compost and mulch as their bedding rather than soil. You'll get there.
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u/Monstera_paradise 3d ago
♥️ I'll definitely try again...next spring. They'll have to survive our winter.
🪱 My poor dears suffering all of their rather short lifespan 😭
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u/ARGirlLOL intermediate Vermicomposter 3d ago
It’s a common mistake. I just don’t understand how it’s so common.
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u/dulltortoise 2d ago
Yeah, I had a coworker ask me if I'd give him some of my worms for his garden bed. He wanted to just put them straight into the bed. I had to explain that's not what these worms are for, and he would just kill them like that.
Now, I have seen people build a makeshift vermicompost spot straight into the bed that holds finished compost along with the worms. They just feed them scraps that way and collect the worm castings periodically.
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u/dulltortoise 3d ago
Yeah, this is the answer. Red wigglers don't live in soil. You'll find them in places like animal feces and things that are composting. Your standard earthworms live in soil.
I use finished compost mixed with peat moss for bedding. Then I feed them food scraps mixed with shredded paper. They go bonkers for malted barley (well, more accurately the fungus that grows on the barley) and the population will explode. I've found that mixing malted barley, kelp meal, and food scraps with some shredded paper works the best, for me anyway.
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u/Rude_Ad_3915 intermediate Vermicomposter 3d ago
They won’t survive the winter unless you bring them inside. I keep mine in my basement.
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u/Ladybug966 2d ago
Hi. First- what kind of worms do you have? Earthworms are not the same as composting worms.
Second- my bedding is just shredded cardboard, some coffee grounds, shell powder, and water. Nothing else.
Third- a handfull of worms should be fed a few tablespoons of food a week. Overfeeding worms is a quick way to kill them.
I have red wigglers. I got them from brothers worm farm. My system is vermihuts mostly.
Good luck. And feel free to ask questions. I love questions.
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u/WhosDon 1d ago
Eisenia fetida are surface-dwellers. There are over 6,000 different species of earthworms, these guys are not found in soil. They are found in decaying organic matter, manure, leaf litter, etc.. I'd keep clay out of the bin unless it's in small quantities. Too much moisture is as bad as too little moisture. Shredding corrugated cardboard and traditional newspaper will create the prefect bedding for them. Try to have slightly more cardboard, as it helps create air pockets. Eventually it will all convert to worm castings, soil will not convert to worm castings.
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u/ExpiredMelkk 3d ago
Compost worms don’t need dirt. They need carbon bedding and organic material. I used cardboard and a little bit of coco coir. Over weeks and months you will start to see a dirt looking material appear. That is called “worm castings” the byproduct of the worms breaking down the material. It’s the very nutrient dense stuff people love. Never add dirt to a compost worm bin. However they do need a form of grit. I use powdered oyster shells or even egg shells. It balances PH and allows the worm to digest the food.