Worms Not Eating 1/2 Their Body Weight Per Day?

Question:

The instructions indicate that we can give them a ½ pound of food a day, but we have found that to be way too much.  In fact, we’ve only fed them a few times and they are still working through that food.  Can you help us out here?

Answer:

It will take a few weeks for the ecosystem within your bin to become established. There are a lot of little bin critters who assist the worms in breaking down the food. In some cases the critters eat the food and the worms eat the critters. It is always best to feed sparingly for the first 4 weeks while things get up and running.

Another thing to consider is the state of decomposition of your feedings. All foods must mellow or bloom before the worms can consume them. Items like melons, pineapples and pumpkins take very little time (3 days or so) to mellow enough for the worms to consume. Other foods, like potato skins, carrots, cabbages etc. could take months to bloom without your help. And, in fact, may root and grow in the bin.

For carrots and potatoes, we find the best solution is to throw them into the slow cooker for an afternoon to soften them up before adding to the bin. In the case of cabbage, we cut it up and place it in the freezer until hard, then thaw in a sink of warm water before adding.

Never add foods that have salt, pepper, butter or sauces on them. These will kill your ecosystem and the bin will take several weeks to get going again.

NOTE: If you ever make an error and find yourself killing off your worms and/or ecosystem (which can happen if the food heats up too much during decomposition – a common problem when too much starchy foods, like rice, are added at one time). Do not throw your entire bin contents away. Simply scoop out the bad feeding. Then feed very sparingly for a few weeks and your bin should regenerate as the worm eggs hatch.

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