Worm bin getting warm

12 years ago

Unlike my compost pile which refuses even to get warm, my worm bin is doing something it should not be doing.

My bin is exactly 3 weeks old as of today. Did not feed worms anything apart from first feeding and couple of carrot heads a week latter. I do check bin for dryness every morning and evening and if top layer is dry spray some water.

I discovered a bunch of chard in fridge which was past it prime, but not rotting. I purried whole bunch and fed it to worms. Based on readings I have done on this and other sides, I was very careful to feed it only on one side of the bin. I did also add some dry bedding material.

It looks like this chard is creating perfect composting conditions. Area where food was fed is warm to touch and has stared to smell a little.

I have added some dry bedding today. I am more worried about bin getting warm than smell. Fortunately I think worms have other side or bottom bin to move to in case if does not suit them. Interestingly, there were many worms in the area where it was warm. I don't know if they come out to enjoy the warmth or were trying to get away from it.

Did I overfeed worms? What should I remember to do next time so that bin does not get hot for worms to be uncomfortable

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Comments (3)

Jasdip
12 years ago
Having the bin feel a bit warm is fine. You did the right thing by feeding in one part of the bin, leaving room for the worms to stay away, in case conditions aren't right for them.

If you're unsure, you can leave the lid off, any heat would dissipate. If it's hot to keep your hand in there, it's too hot for the worms. Otherwise it will be fine. When you feed, do not mix the bedding into the food, that will create heat.

I'm sure your bin is fine. I fed rice to my guys once and the bin overheated..........I mean really overheated. When I lifted the lid it was literally steaming! I lost a lot of worms.

On the other hand, in the heat of summer when it's over 100 degrees, a lot of people put frozen bottles of water in their bins to cool it down. This is when the bins our outside. If the temperature is comfortable for us, it's comfortable for the worms.
sbryce_gw
12 years ago
Without seeing your bin, it is hard to know if you did anything wrong. From your description, you probably did everything right. You describe the bin as being a little warm on one side, not hot all over. You gave your worms an out in case the chard got hot. You don't describe any obvious problems for the worms. My opinion: don't feed for a few days and let the chard decompose and cool down. Learn the important lesson about feeding one side of the bin only. In a few days your bin should be fine.

I think the worms are headed to the chard because it is microbially active. The heat does not seem to be high enough to bother them.

If you were to do anything different next time, it would be to either not feed as much all at once, or put the chard in without pureeing it first so that it breaks down slower. For a newbie, I think you are doing very well.
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mendopete
12 years ago
Decomposing organic matter makes heat. It always amazes me at how much heat is released by this process. It does not take much. The "purried" char accelerated the process.

Everything should be fine. You are doing things right. Learn from this lesson. TOO much heat in a small bin can cause disaster.

Good luck and happy wormin'