don't panic!! :) molds are a normal part of the microherd that's involved in decomposition, and does actually provide yet another addition to the worms diet, who actually eat the biomass that's working on the 'feed stock' as much as they do that organic material - the paper won't make the bedding any less moist if you're continually adding lots of wet veg waste, but better air circulation might help dry things a bit, as well as keep the molds to a reasonable level

Bill

Thanks, it looked really bad. They just don't seem to be eating. I read on the forum about a pound of worms eating a pound of food a week and was worried about my 2 pounds of worms not getting enough, but they don't seem to be eating. I guess it is like the doctor told me when one of my kids wouldn't eat when they were little.....when they get hungry they will eat.

Mold in my bin comes and goes. It worried me the first time, but not anymore.

I wonder whether the one pound of food processed per pound of worms claim is myth or fact. I'm skeptical, but I've never weighed my worms...

Joe, the claim that a worm eats its body weight in OM every day was a statement made by Mary Appelhof ::sigh, I miss her so much!::, author of Worms Eat My Garbage, in response to people asking her for more specific informtion on what to expect from a home worm bin. She came up with this worm feeding rate after talking with a few earthworm specialists from around the world, but it was based not in research, but on their educated opinions of the earthworm processing capability. As such, it is a VERY loose guideline, and often under-estimates the worm processing capacity.

How quickly a worm will go through the OM in a bin depends largely on the character of the material. Lots of soft, succulent fruit wastes will be processed far faster than will potato skins and bread crusts. OM that is more susceptible to microbial attacck and is readily fragmented will be processed more quickly. Thus a bin being regularly fed very available foods is likely to come closer to and even exceed a processing rate of a weight equivelant to the total worm biomass than will a system tha tis fed less available foods.

So the claim of worms eating their body weight, or even half their body weight every day is a bit overly general, but not quite a full blown myth.

Kelly S

I fed one of my bins over 6 pounds of very small cut up kitchen scraps that were first frozen for three days and in a week its 90% done. I did spread this 6+ pounds into 2 batches, I estimate aprox 2 pounds of E.F in a bin that could hold 6 pounds. I am currently thawin out 2-3 pounds to feed them and the next batch in 2-3 days. I will never understimate my worms from now on.