These worms have survived natures cycles for eons and we canÂt control nature. Feed when feed is available, split boxes as needed based on worm density and remember that most cultured worms are overfed (which leads to all kinds of problems). Worms is easy.

equinox; Why worry about onion? Darwin said that it was one of the worms favorite foods.Also people on here feed orange peel all the time. Unless you have a pickup load to digest of course.Not only that worms are adapted to the Boom/Bust like steamyb reminded us.

Curt~~

I don't get it. You don't eat fresh produce year round? My compost stream is pretty constant, with the possible exception of a spike during cantaloupe season.

With a stackable system, I don't worry about variations in the waste stream. If I put 4 gallons of waste in one week instead of two gallons, they'll get around to it when they get around to it. I also don't worry about waste that might be less desirable for the worms - they can go to another bin until it becomes palatable.

It's phone book season around here - as if anyone with a computer needs a phone book - so I'm stockpiling bedding at the moment.

When my supply of food gets low, first I ask family if they would save some food by putting it in their freezer for a week and I pick it up. I also go to the $1.00 store and get 2 lbs. of bananas, 3 heads of romaine lettuce, etc. I also watch for canned pumpkin sales during the year and other foods I can freeze for lean times. I don't worry so much about the outside bins as I do the inside ones. I can put a couple of handfuls of compost in the outside bins and not worry about bugs and smells, like I would if the bins were inside.

Hi Equinox,

To date, I haven't had an issue. The family provides a steady amount of kitchen scraps, so they never starve. I have found that the bins can (and seem to enjoy) a bit of famine from time to time. I left one bin for 2 months with no food (small amount of cardboard), and the adult population didn't vary, and coocoons were abundant.

As for feast, I am now running 9 totes and one stackable system, so even if I get a large ammount one week (like 10 kgs or so), I can easily split it between so many bins. EG, 2 weeks ago, I raked up all the fallen nectarines and blood plums (approx 10 kgs), and fed all the bins. Now, all I have is stones. All gone. During this time, I also fed normal kitchen scraps to the "faster" bins (ie older bins=more population).

By running more bins, you can spread the joy around easily, and as I said, they also enjoy the lighter times.
Cheers

Don't you eat potatoes? Potato peelings are a constant source of food for my worms. What about carrots? Give them the peelings and the ends.

I always have a container in the frig for food scraps. When it's full (a large plastic mesculin mix container) I take everything out, chop and then freeze in bags. This is 2-fold; mainly to freeze any potential fruit-fly eggs, plus it provides a steady food source for them. In times like you have, you'd just be able to pull a bag or so out of the freezer, thaw, drain and feed. Easy-peasy.

Lots of orange and onion peel are about all they are getting these days. Without the garden producing in the winter time kitchen scraps are scarce. Potatoes and carrots I cook skin on. But better days are coming so the worms will soon be in the money again. Those phone books are looking mighty tasty right now. Shredded? Covers too? They are going to go next to the bins awaiting wet nitrogen to cover.

equinox, it sounds like you need to hit the farmers market until your garden starts producing again. A good diet is key to a long and healthy life, and fresh produce is the centerpiece of a good diet. Look at it this way: would you rather spend money on prescription drugs or healthy foods?

I know that produce is global now, so we in Calif aren't the only ones with year-round produce. We get a lot from Mexico and South America in our markets these days - mangoes, artichokes, grapes, peaches. I'll bet the leftovers from one fresh artichoke will feed an entire bin of worms for a week.

BTW, I take the covers off the phone books before shredding the rest.

We're mostly vegetarian at my house, so my worms very rarely go without. I've constantly got cuttings from my salad fixings - lettuce, cukes, red cabbage, avocado, the works - and we have spaghetti night once a week (and my wormies love pasta.)

Right now, my two bins can't keep up with what they are getting, but it's starting to get warmer, so hopefully things will pick up.

Here's an idea that I came up with. when I make a kettle of soup or stew, I'll take all of the peelings and wrap them up in a dry sheet of newspaper like a burrito, then stick it in the freezer. When the time is right, I just toss in the frozen package for them. You can figure what happens to it after that.

I like that idea, Eric...saves me from wasting the plastic baggies that I usually save scraps in.
Tara

Eric ... burrito for the worms ... another plus is that there is no guessing what is inside any bag in the freezer....newspaper burrito is worm food, no lable, no question, no yuckie surprises! And sooo easy!

I like that I don't have to worry about moisture. As soon as it melts, the newspaper soaks it up. The thawing and draining thing would make me feel like I am throwing something down the drain.

I have made worm newspaper burritos before and used small paper bag burritos frozen before to even out the scraps availability and to prepare materials for the worms. The newspaper and or bags technique would also seem to deter fruit flys. Even with winter outside, the freezer is so handy. Your burritos have many advantages and is a simple method not written about often. I have been using it 100 percent of the time lately. I feel like a female spider wrapping future meals frozen or not frozen. When the material is ready it will leak through the packaging and the worms will find it. I too do not want to waste resources down the drain and would rather add extra materials to absorb and automatically balance. I hope the percentages of absorbant to leaking materials added will work out. Wrapping everythng in little burritos I hope will insure a proper carbon percentage especially with a sprinkling of egg carton on top.