First Time Harvesting...Questions

13 years ago

I'm sorry if these have been asked ad nauseum, but I'm having a hard time finding the answers in the search function.

I've decided, since I'm having unexplained die-off, to go ahead and harvest what I've got, try to keep the still alive wormies alive, and regroup.

Most of the worms that are left are working their way in and out of three apples and a banana, mostly on one side of the bin. I've been scooping out the other side (where there are no worms) with a hand-sized garden rake (I'm sure that's not what it's really called) and plopping it onto a plate. I've been pulling off the cocoons (for the massive die off, there are a LOT of cocoons, which I'm guessing is a good sign?), and then separating out what looks like poo, and the bedding that still hasn't completely broken down. I've been putting that bedding (shredded newspaper and egg cartons, mostly) into my outdoor compost heap, and as I've worked through each section of the bin, have been putting in new, shredded cardboard, slightly damp, a scoop of composted manure, a sprinkling of cornmeal, and whatever food that I have found in the mix that hasn't completely broken down yet. (This has mostly been small pieces of banana and edamame shells.)

I've done half the bin, and I'm thinking it's probably best to wait a few days to let that half get going, because it would be a complete shock to the worms to go into a completely un-aged bin, is this right?

I've put about 1/4 of the cocoons back into the new part of the bin, and am keeping the rest in a separate (smaller) container with some of the not-yet-completely broken down cardboard and newspaper and a tiny bit of food. Don't ask me why I feel the need to keep them separate...I guess as an insurance policy? I don't want to lose all of those cocoons to whatever the issue was in the bin.

The stuff that I've been getting out is pretty yucky smelling - ranging from bottom of a pond kind of smell to, well, poop kind of smell. It's pretty mucky and sticky. Is this normal? Is this maybe part of what the problem was? Could this be related to the fact that I (admittedly) overfed them?

For a Rubbermaid roughneck tote, that started with a pound of worms, how often would it make sense to harvest? Maybe I waited too long? (I got the worms in mid-January, and this was my first harvest.) I don't think there are a pound of worms left, but like I said, plenty of cocoons.

Is it normal for the bedding to not completely break down? Should I have waited for them to work through the bedding too? They left behind a bit of everything - from shredded newspaper to shredded office paper to cardboard to egg cartons, and a lot of that stuff was matted together. Anything I can do to prevent this? (There were cocoons hidden in some of that matted stuff, but there were also dead worms hidden in there too. Most of the dead worms were also found in the corners and on the bottom of the bin.)

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Comments (6)

sbryce_gw
13 years ago
You are doing a great job of diagnosing your own problem. The smell is caused by too much moisture in the bin, which is caused by overfeeding.

I think you are looking at the wrong solution. You are removing bedding and keeping food, when it is too much food that is causing your problem.

What the worms need is more air, which means a drier home, which means more bedding. You may have been able to solve your problem by mixing in more fresh bedding. As you do that, break up the matted clumps at the bottom of the bin. Then don't feed for a couple of weeks.

If you did not overfeed too drastically, and you bin has drainage, your problem may have worked itself out.

The cocoons are a good sign.

How often you harvest depends on how you manage the bin. I keep adding fresh bedding when the original bedding is pretty much broken down, so I can harvest about every 6 months. Most of the bedding should be eaten by the time you harvest.
courtcourt
Original Author
13 years ago
All that's left in terms of food are three rotting apples, maybe 1/2 the banana (in chunks, kind of everywhere, from when I 'fluffed' things up about a week ago), and that's really where all of the worms are congregating, and a handful of half decomposed edamame shells. I haven't added new food in probably a month. (Is it okay for them to be piled up on each other going in and out of the apples? I've tried to break them up a bit...the apples, not the worms.)

I'm putting in fresh bedding (on the side that I've cleaned out), but no new food. (I promise! I learned my lesson!) The mucky mass that I'm removing is castings mixed with bedding, and is probably 6 inches thick. The bedding isn't all matted at the bottom, it's in matted clumps throughout the bin.

I didn't want to add anything (i.e. more bedding) without getting the muck out, especially since all of the dead worms are at the bottom and in the corners of the bin, and I didn't want to risk any further die-off.

For the record, my wormies have been dying, but they haven't been trying to escape. The ones that are alive seem happy and rambunctious.

I will not overfeed again. I will not overfeed again. I will not overfeed again. ;)
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sbryce_gw
13 years ago
It sounds like you are doing fine.

The worms won't be interested in the new bedding until there is something decomposing there. Worms all clumped up around a chunk of food is normal.

I'd say you have learned a good lesson from your experience, and you seem to be dealing with it well. You should have happier worms from this point on.
smalltowngal
13 years ago
I'm having this problem too and I tried adding new bedding and fluffing but it seems to mat down quickly. I saw some dead worms today. :/ Maybe I need to make the drainage holes bigger in the bottom and put some on the sides farther down. I don't know if it's getting enough air flow. I don't think it's a food issue because they do seem to be going through the food pretty quickly. I've only been adding a cup, 1/2 UCG and half food scraps, every couple of days and I have a lb. of worms.
bigtexworms
13 years ago
What are you using for bedding?
This is where a lot of people ere. If you are using a rubbermaid style bin, they tend to stay really moist so I always suggest using at least 50% coconut fiber or peat moss. I use these bins and do not have drainage holes and do fine as long as I use the coconut fiber.
AND, when I teach people about harvesting I always recommend to leave at least the bottom 1/4 of the bedding/castings/bin. That way they do not have to stress out.
And as a final note, worms will naturally "die off" when the bin becomes too small. If you started off with a pound of worms, and are using a 18 gallon tote, it is likely you need to split your bin within 3 months or they will start dying off because there simply is not enough space.
My 2 cents,
Liz
TravelingBiker
12 years ago
I have a rubbermade bin system that works great. I use shredded paper for bedding. the bin sits on bricks inside another bin that has no holes to catch the water, and I turn the bin every week (every saturday) by emptying into another bin. It takes about 4 months in the summer to get compost, 6 months through the winter to get it. Works great for me!

I also have a worm inn... Not sure which I like better. I like them both alot.