Yes there is such a thing as too rotten. You don't want the food to spoil, the get stinky kind of spoilage. Don't let the food sit out for more than a week. Freeze the food and only take out what you need for one weekly feeding at a time. We normally feed once a week.

When storing the food don't put it into a sealed container it will go anaerobic. That is rotting without air, stinks very bad. Store the 'food' in a container that allows air flow. This allows the proper kinds of microbes to grow.

You can cover your container with a paper towel that is kept in place with a rubber band. I find this works very well to keep out bugs.

If you want to get a little fancier. There are compost crocks with small holes in the lids. There is usually a carbon filter covering the holes.

But if you don't want to go the the expense of buying a crock you can make one easy. Use any covered container drill some holes in the lid and cover the holes on the inside with cloth or anything that breaths and wont allow bugs through. It doesn't have to be an expensive carbon filter. I am currently trying those cotton pads sold in drug stores for putting on makeup. So far it is working very well.

The problem is not too rotten. The problem is anaerobic decomposition. Anaerobic decomposition will develop volatile organic compounds. That is what stinks. Now someone can chime in and tell us whether VOCs are harmful to the worms.

Depends on the VOC. I sometimes test groundwater for VOCs for my work - although these are generally artificial man-made ones, known to be harmful even at very low concentrations, and wouldn't be found in a worm bin (or if they are, you're dumping some pretty nasty stuff in your bin). But plenty of VOCs occur naturally through microbial processes, as sbryce mentioned - methane is probably the most common VOC in the world (a quick check of wikipedia confirms this). As to the concentration of a given organic VOC at which it becomes harmful to worms - uh, well, I have no idea. It would be interesting to find out though. But, for the layperson, I guess the bottom line is simply that if it smells really bad, the decomposition is anaerobic and thus the material is bad for the worms.

Well I went ahead and dumped the rest of the old food in the compost pile outside and started with some fresh food. I also cut a large hole in the top of the container's plastic lid and layered a couple of paper towels over the top and snapped the lid over them so I now have a breathable filter over it. Hopefully this will keep the food from going anaerobic on me while keeping the nasties out.

I was also wondering if keeping the food in the freezer would kill the microbes that I added when I put in the bit of soil from under my compost pile into the container. I would like to have the decomposition a bit underway when I add it to the bin so that the worms can start feeding as soon as they are done with the last feeding. I am trying to overlap the feeding just a little and add the new food as soon as I see that nearly all of the last feeding has been consumed but without much if any time where there is no food in the bin. I am hoping by doing this I can reduce the chance for them to want to "run".

I figured once they are well established I can start to space out the feedings so they will be more apt to munch on the bedding between feedings to help break it down better. Would this be something I should do or will it not impact the bedding reduction rate?

Michael

The worms' actual food is the microbes that break down organic matter. Even if you don't see any visible food, the worms are still have plenty to eat. Overlapping feedings is a good idea, since it can take a few days for new food in the bin to decompose to the point where the worms can ingest it. But if you miss by a day or two, the worms won't notice.

?Eh? The worms eat poo, Right? You're saying that your rotten stinky stuff is worse than poo?
So do the worms eat the food or the microbes and does it matter how much it stinks since these worms don't have a nose?
Just wondering...

The worms don't eat the poo. The microbes eat the poo and the worms eat the microbes. Well the worms do get some poo as they slurp up the microbes but that is not what they are going for.

You get the right microbes growing when you have Aerobic decomposition it is the decomposition is the presence of oxygen. Smells good like good garden soil.

Both the worms and the microbes need to breath oxygen. The worms breath through their skins. If the conditions in the bin are so low on oxygen that anaerobic decomposition starts your worms will be in distress.

Anaerobic decomposition is decomposition done in low oxygen conditions. It just stinks. Think of how a closed trash can smells. Its it rotting food. It probably tastes bad to the worms too.

I have probably done a poor job of explaining this. If someone who is a little more articulate than i am could jump in and help out. Please do.

Actually, fosteem, I think you have a great job explaining it. I don't think I could do any better.

I think you did a great job, too. I only would add that if you let a bin go anaerobic, all the worms will die. Unfortunately, I know this from personal experience.

Michael, it sounds to me like you could give your worms a bit more food. I have always given mine plenty to eat, but not too much so it goes rotten (because I learned that the hard way). I don't see any advantage to making them wait for their feedings. They will reproduce faster if they have more food. I put the food in before it has decomposed and let it break down in the bin because it's less fuss and bother. In the winter, that means they have a lot of food in the bin because it breaks down slowly at 45-55 degrees in my garage. I put new food in every couple of weeks, but I put in quite a bit at a time. It's way easier that way.

I use a different method so they don't really eat their bedding, but they do eat some of it. They'll eat it when they are ready to (which is to say when it has microbes growing on it), but withholding food from them will just slow down their reproduction.

Making the food container breathable has turned out to be a good idea as there is no unpleasant odor now. I am also making sure not to add more food to the container then I will be able to use in a reasonable amount of time so it doesnÂt sit around too long before being added to the bin.
I am adding food about every 5 days. This is about the time that it takes for the last food added to only have very minor traces left. I am weary of adding any sooner as my bin is rather small and it will be another week or so until I upgrade them to their larger permanent bin. Once they are switched over I was planning on upping the amount of food just a bit while keeping a close eye on and adjust as needed. About two weeks into my new hobby and so far so good!

Michael

These maybe silly questions but here they go..

I understand from this thread that if the bins have enough air circulation then the food should not go anaerobic (so not too rotten)? or going anaerobic is a normal process?

I just got a gusanito WF and my understanding is that the design allows good air circulation... what should I be checking to keep good air circulation?

Fabio

fagopher,

"going anaerobic" is a normal process in that it occurs in nature but it is not desirable in a worm bin. Firstly it smells (not so bad if your bin is outside) and secondly the worms don't like these conditions and will try to escape.

Most worm bins are designed to have good air circulation but even that won't help if you overfeed and the worms can not keep up with the food supply. That is why you should feed small amounts and only once the previous batch of food has been consumed. That way you can be certain that the worms are eating what you give them and you prevent anaerobic conditions. Keep some fluffy newspaper strips on top of the food so that air can get to it.

I have attached a link to explain the composting process (without worms).

Here is a link that might be useful: the composting proecess