Worm Bin Maintenance & Upgrades
I built my first worm bin a few months ago, put in some habitat, introduced a pound of red wigglers into it, fed them some table scraps, and then sat back to watch the magic happen. Fast forward three months and what became of my worm bin? I decided to really get in there the other day to inspect it, and do some worm bin maintenance. While I was at it I gave it a couple of upgrades to give my worms a nicer and safer environment. Let’s dive in and see how it went!
Does a worm bin need regular maintenance?
Generally, if your worms are munching away on food scraps and producing valuable worm castings, they are pretty self-sufficient and prefer to be left alone. There were a couple things happening in my worm bin though that prompted me to get in there and make some adjustments.
First, I started to get some buildup of food scraps and other organic materials in my bin. This is my fault as I was just overfeeding them. My worms just couldn’t keep up with the compost scraps.
Even though the rule of thumb is they should be able to eat their weight in scraps each day, you can’t forget that they are TINY. They don’t weigh much at all, so they won’t eat much.
Overfeeding your worms will lead to food rot, which is what was starting to happen in the top layer of my bin. Once I pulled back the top layer though, the composted soil underneath looked dark and healthy. This is a good sign that the worms are doing their jobs.
The second problem I noticed was a handful of dead worms in the drain bin. I thought if I made the drainage holes small enough, the worms wouldn’t make their way through them. Clearly I was wrong. They would go down through the holes and get trapped. Even though it wasn’t a ton of worms, it was still too many for my liking.
Also, the little drainage holes looked like they were getting clogged with castings and compost. This could potentially cause liquid buildup in the bin and harm the worms.
I took these observations into consideration and decided to make some improvements.
My Worm Bin Improvements
In order to remedy the above situations, I gave my worm bin an overhaul. I laid the lid of the bin down on the ground and I carefully emptied the contents out onto it.
The worms looked healthy and active, quickly retreating back down into the dark soil to avoid the light.
Improving the Flow-Through Capabilities
Next, I wanted to improve the follow-through capabilities of my worm bin. At the same time I wanted to prevent my worms from falling into the lower bin and dying. To do this, I took a half inch drill bit and drilled out each of the original small holes on the bottom. I made them bigger to allow more liquid to exit through the bottom.
Since I made the holes bigger, I needed an effective way to prevent my worms from falling down through them. For this, I took a piece of window screen and cut it to fit inside the bin and lay on top of the holes. This will hopefully prevent any future worm deaths.
Improving the Worm Bin Habitat
Okay, with the drainage hole issue taken care of, I just needed to build some better habitat and reintroduce my worms into their bin. As I previously said, I think I was overfeeding them because there was a layer of untouched scraps in the bin. Underneath though, my worms were working away and doing an excellent job composting everything.
Instead of adding more food scraps into the bin, I decided to focus more on building optimal habitat for the worms. When I initially set my worm bin up, I didn’t focus too much on the habitat and kind of just mixed all my carbon and nitrogen sources together.
This time, by adding several layers of shredded paper and cardboard products between the materials that were previously in there, I am trying to create a nice aerated environment that’s easy for the worms to move around in and do work. It will help improve ventilation and speed up the composting process as well.
Good Sources of Carbon
I started with a thick layer of shredded paper at the base of the bin. Then, a layer of the partially composted material that I had originally dumped out. I repeated this for about 4 layers so I had good compostable material and worms evenly distributed throughout each layer.
I decided to not add any new food scraps to my improved worm bin. I’m going to let them finish composting everything that’s already in there before adding more scraps.
Finally, I gave the bin a good shower to ensure all of the paper and soil was moist, and then I covered it. I set it back in a partially shaded area so it doesn’t overheat in the afternoon sun. Now I’ll leave my worms be for a while and let them get back to work.
Conclusion
I’m really happy I got the opportunity to get inside my worm bin and do a little problem solving. With the improvements I’ve made, I’m confident that my worms will be happier, safer, and more productive than my previous bin design. I’m going to let them keep eating through the scraps for probably a month before I add anything else.
If you’re having some doubts about your own worm bin set-up, hopefully this article will give you some ideas on how you can improve it. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and do some of your own worm bin maintenance.
It’s important to remember that worms are living creatures with bodily functions and basic needs. Instead of thinking about what your worms can do for you, try to think about what you can do for your worms. I guarantee they will be happier and more productive with a little TLC!
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Happy Worm Farming!
Cody
Thistle Downs Farm