It would be a starch which I guess would put it on the green side.

Bread is a green.

Be careful mixing browns with greens. You might cook your worms.

(also new to vermicompost)

Why vermicompost browns? Unless it's for bedding?

Leaves need to be composted before the worms can digest them anyway. Why not just vermicompost nutrient rich fruits/veggies for higher quality castings?

Because if you only vermicompost greens, you will have a slimy, stinky mess on your hands.

Successful composting, vermi or otherwise, requires a balanced mix of greens and browns. In a conventional compost pile, the greens and browns are mixed together in an optimum ratio, and compost happens quickly, producing heat. In a worm bin we start with a large quantity of browns and add greens gradually over time. If any heat is produced, it easily dissipates.

i've never heard that. I just heard to feed them food waste, coffee grounds, fruits, vegies, cereals.

So you actually throw in leaves as a pile of food for them? How much food waste to brown ratio do you use? Traditional composting calls for 25 or 30 brown to 1 green. Pretty high ratio for vermicomposting right?

So is cardboard and newspaper not JUST for bedding but should be for regular feedings too? Would you say equal parts brown to green?

I read to just put in the coffee filter - and be sparing on the grounds. I have a lot of cardboard and b/w newspaper I mix it deep in the compost. Any other suggestions?

Mike

We need to understand that the terms "food" and "bedding" are just terms that we use. The worms live in both, and they eat both. "Bedding" is just organic matter that is high in carbon. "Food" is just organic matter that is high in nitrogen. There needs to be a balance of both. But if we start with a balance of C:N, the bin will heat up and kill the worms. If we start with too much nitrogen, we have a stinky, slimy mess on our hands. So we start with too much carbon and add the nitrogen gradually over time. As the high nitrogen OM is consumed, some of the high carbon OM is also consumed, so we add more high carbon OM. The perfect balance is as much an art as it is a science and is best determined by observing what is happening in the bin.

Great explanation. I understand it better now.

I'm gonna quote sbryce's post from just above because it's the best explanation you will ever hear on this little thing we've got going on with worms:

"We need to understand that the terms "food" and "bedding" are just terms that we use. The worms live in both, and they eat both. "Bedding" is just organic matter that is high in carbon. "Food" is just organic matter that is high in nitrogen. There needs to be a balance of both. But if we start with a balance of C:N, the bin will heat up and kill the worms. If we start with too much nitrogen, we have a stinky, slimy mess on our hands. So we start with too much carbon and add the nitrogen gradually over time. As the high nitrogen OM is consumed, some of the high carbon OM is also consumed, so we add more high carbon OM. The perfect balance is as much an art as it is a science and is best determined by observing what is happening in the bin."

BRAVO!!

Chuckiebtoo

BTW: Some of us from East Texas, and probably from other places, could maybe have a little interpretation help with the part about balancing the greens with the "bedding".

Food needs to be presented to them at the same rate they consume it. That's where observation comes in.

Thanks sbryce, good explaination