During a recent online workshop (with over 70 participants) we received lots of questions in the chat box, which we had to answer very quickly. Here are some of them:
Q; I’ve got no worm juice, it has been few months but the worm farm is dry, is that normal?
A; Water binds to the organic matter in the worm farm, so wont shed liquid until it is saturated. Sprinkle water slowly into the bin until you see liquid dripping put the bottom.
Q; Do we need to add carbon to the worm farm like a compost bin?
A; Yes, add at least as much carbon as food scraps
Q; Can I keep adding food scraps or do I have to wait till all have been eaten by the worms please?
A; Add more feed when half the previous feed is eaten.
Q; Should I blend the organic waste with a food processor?
A; You can if you have time, but make sure you add carbon-matter or it will be too rich and dense for the worms and may rot.
Q; What do we do with a worm Farm if we are going away on holidays for 2 weeks and for longer periods?
A; Layer up lots of wet newspaper and/or cardboard, or place ½ a big pumpkin on top of the bedding
Q; I have just set up my stacker-type worm farm, when do I actually set up the second working tray please and do I get more worms for the second tray like the first one?
A; Once the first tray is full add the second tray; and no, you dont need more worms.
Q; I have 2 Hungry Bins, but the castings don’t drop down into the bottom of the bin?
A; Contents of the bin are probably compacted and possibly too dry. Run some water around the rim to lubricate the sides; If that doesn’t work, push a broom handle or compost turner down as far as possible and gently loosen the contents.
Q; If the worms try to escape from the worm farm what does this indicate?
A; It may be too hot or you are overfeeding. However, worms will often crawl around the lid and some may leave the farm as part of their normal behaviour
Q; I added coffee ground and the worms died.
A; You probably added too much fresh coffee grounds which can be toxic and overwhelmed the worms; add sparingly and for best results let the coffee grounds break down until you see white powdery fungus developing.
Q; Where do we place worm farm? Under a tree shade?
A; the coolest, shadiest place you can find.
Q; My worms are/happy eating some onions or citrus – some say that is the old view of what they like and are perfectly ok with some onion or citrus added.
A; If the citrus onions is broken down so the astringent vapours are no longer emitted, there is no threat to the worms. We don’t recommend adding fresh citrus or onions unless it is very small quantities
Q; Should I soak the cardboard and papers before putting it in the compost bin or is it better dry?
A; Definitely!
Q; We have a had a compost -bin for about a year. I want to know if I can add the worms on the compost bin directly to speed up the process?
A; Sure, why not!
Q; Some fungus formed on the food I gave the worms, should I take it out?
A; No, just break it up a little and the worms will eat it.
Q; I recently got a worm farm ,but the worms don’t seem to be eating much. Does it take time for them to start eating?
A; Worms take time to settle in and wont eat much at first; be patient and eventually you will see more activity, especially once the population increases over time
Q; How moist/dry are castings normally?
A; This can vary, ideally, they will be moist but not soggy or sludgy
Q; I’m just starting out, would you recommend composting or worm farming? We have a lot of fresh food scraps that I don’t want to be going to landfill.
A; It depends on space and time available and your intentions and activities. If you have a lot of garden waste a compost bin is great; if you are a gardener and want the best nutrients with fastest processing, get a worm farm. Many people have both
Q; The worm farm we have is in my childcare centre. During heatwaves, how can we take care of the worms so they don’t get too hot?
A; Monitor the temperature of the bin contents with a thermometer, if it gets over 30 degrees bury a frozen plastic bottle of water, and replace when the water melts.