| Article Index |
|---|
| Earthworm Composting with Red Wigglers |
| Starting a bin |
| Harvesting |
| Reproduction |
| Worm Castings |
| Feeding Red-Wigglers |
| Common Worm-farm Problems |
| All Pages |
Page 7 of 7
- Common Problems and Solutions
This can be the result of too much food, to wet and/or not enough air.
· Stop feeding your worms and give the materials in the worm farm a stir.
· Sprinkle some wood ash or garden lime diluted in water onto the worm farm.
· Don’t start feeding again until all visible food scraps have been eaten.
· Avoid foods such as citrus, onions, garlic, chilli, meat, seafood and dairy products.
· Also avoid large amounts of bread, pasta and rice.
· Eggshell help keep pH balanced.
“My worms aren’t eating”
· Worms will avoid eating certain foods, such as citrus fruits, onions, garlic and chillis“My worm farm is too wet”
which are too acidic.
· Don’t overfeed your worms – only put more food in once they have partly eaten
their previous meal – and keep their diet as varied as possible.
· It may also help to chop food scraps into smaller pieces.
· Check that the worm farm is moist enough – spray some water in it if it’s dry.
Food is 80% moisture, so even though you are not actually adding water to your bin it
may appear to be getting wetter over time. If there is pooling in the bottom of the
bin or there are several drops of water dripping from the bedding when you squeeze
it, the bedding is too wet. Some easy solutions are:
· Make sure there is sufficient drainage for your worm farm and that it is under cover if outside.
· Worms can’t swim so make sure that any liquid is able to drain away.
· Add shredded newspaper or cardboard to absorb some of the moister and mix this into the bedding material. A full toilet roll or paper egg boxes will also do the trick (Worms will eventually eat it).
· Mix in dry bedding near the bottom
· Periodically leave the lid off or ajar until bedding returns to normal dampness.
· Dig a trench in the middle of the bin and insert a full roll of toilet paper or paper egg boxes.
“My worm farm is too dry”
· The water cycle should occur in the bin. The easiest way to see if this is happening“Will My Worms Crawl out of the Bin?”
is to check if condensation is occurring on the lid of the bin.
· If the lid is moist the water content within the bin is probably good. If no moisture on the lid your bin is probably to dry.
· Another way to know if the bin is to dry is to look at the newspaper sheets covering your worms. Is it drying out?
· The position of your worm bin especially if it is outside will also influence the moisture content. Wind, hot days etc all cause evaporation and as the worm bin needs some air circulation moisture will be lost due to evaporation.
· A spray bottle filed with water kept next to your bin can be an easy solution to
create a gentle “rain” when things start drying out.
· Generally No. However if conditions in the bin become undesirable the worms will try and escape.
· If too much acidic food is given the worms will try to leave the bin.
· If the worms are leaving and it is not due to too much acidic food being given, it may be a result of acid build up in the bin.
· Remove all food (it may be rotting and causing changes in pH), gently stir in crushed egg shells – this usually solves the problem.
· Can also add garden lime mixed in water to neutralise.
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