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newbie- worm tea question

20 years ago

Hi all-

I'm a newbie to vermicomposting. So far everything is going great, I just have one quick question. I have holes in the bottom of my bin for drainage, and the bin is up on bricks sitting in a pan to collect the "worm tea"... it's been almost a month and I haven't gotten once single drop. Does this mean my worm beds are too dry?? I read thatt hey need to be the moisture of a wrung out sponge. I check the moisture everyday, making sure to keep it at this consistancy... spraying water in with a water bottle when needed... but still no excess water. Should I be watering them more? Should I be just pouring the water in instead of spraying?

Any help would be great!

Thank you!!!

Comments (5)

  • 20 years ago

    That's right on the money. I have the same setup with a couple bins for a while and I've never gotten a drop from either, been that way since I started.

    I'm curious how those bins with "worm tea" attachments work because as you found out if your bedding has water draining out you need to correct the situation and prevent it from happening, your bedding is too wet. Water doesn't drip out of something with as much moisture in it as a well wrung sponge. My guess is, those "worm tea" bins are usually stackable and you probably need to have worm castings in the lowest tray and put water into it so it lets those castings soak for a while. Meanwhile, the upper trays have the proper moisture content for the worms.

    Under normal situations you shouldn't be adding water but more the contrary. Adding food and it being eaten usually adds more water into the system than is lost through evaporation and as time goes on your bedding gets too moist. I occasionally add some dry shredded paper to the top of my bins to compensate. What happens is, the moisture condenses on the lid and drips on the new dry bedding and eventually it gets moist and the levels in my bin stabilize. That probably depends where you live and what the ventilation in your bin is.

  • 20 years ago

    I agree with piedmont. If you have the right moisture level you shouldn't have liquid coming out the bottom.

    The liquid that may drain out is called leachate, and my understanding is that it doesn't have much nutritional value. Worm tea is quite different and if you do a Google search you will find lots of instructions and opinions.

    Cheers,
    Marshall

  • 20 years ago

    thank you both very much, that helps a lot!!!

  • 20 years ago

    If your bins are not draining, that means you are managing it very well. That is one of the major problems most wormers have to learn how to deal with. Congrats!
    The drainage,as Marshall pointed out, is not "tea". It is just drainage for decomposing material, (leachate). I would only use that leachate for my compost pile or tossed out into the yard.

  • 20 years ago

    Great job!... I have never had any liquid fall from the bottom of my bin either. Thats because I am very careful when it comes to watering. I agree with everyone that your bin is a healthy one!

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