Hello Jen;

I have been vermicomposting for some time now but am no expert. The rotten fruit/veggie smell you mention probably means that you have simply put in to much food. Stop feeding for awhile. It sounds as though you are already doing the right thing by maintaining a coverage of dry or slightly moist newspaper.

I use the factory Can O Worms(COW)and am reasonably satisfied with them. I frequently find concentrations of worms on the inside of the lid. This includes every size from mature adults with clitellums to newborns. Why they do this is a mystery to me.

Just keep doing what you are doing, avoid overfeeding, have patience, and I'm sure in a few weeks you will be pleased with the results.

Dave Nelson

I agree with Dave -- it sounds like you just have too much food for such a new bin. Otherwise everything sounds like a great worm environment. The small is probably the broccoli; that stuff is not fragrant while rotting!

Recently moved worms end to wander a bit. If yours are staying inside the bin and not ending up on the floor, that's a victory. My experience is a little different than Dave's about worms on the sides and lid. A few worms, no big deal. Lots of worms? I probably have something slightly less than ideal in the bin, usually it isn't moist enough.

Over the years my worms have made it very clear that they do not enjoy veggies from the cabbage family (broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage) so I have avoided feeding them such things! I would advise you to increase your bedding significantly to include some dampened and ripped up egg cartons, lay off the feeding for awhile and see what happens. Smelling beds usually equal not enough bedding.

I agree with whoever said it's probably the broccoli that stinks. Whenever I put a fair amount of broccoli in the bins, I can smell the stench without even taking off the lids. They eat it just fine and the smell goes away in a few days.

It's normal for the worms to wander around, especially if you have ENC's. In the evenings, I'll have lots of ENC's on the walls and lid of the bins. I don't know why they do that.

Deanna

Indeed- broccoli and anything in the cabbage family smells terrible in a bin. I also wonder how much the worms are into them. I avoid putting those veggies in my bin altogether.

Worms on the inside of the lid is fine- they are wandering around b/c it's dark in there and they're comfortable in that environment. (I guarantee if you left the lid off or slightly askew, letting light in, you wouldn't see any on the lid.) If they're not escaping- no worries. If they are escaping, check for too much moisture, overcrowding (too many worms will self-regulate and try to move on elsewhere), acidic conditions (my first clue to that is usually a visually apparent mite population). A few escapees is ok, but more start escaping, you have some sort of problem.

Your bin mixture sounds much like mine, and otherwise sounds healthy. (Watch out for fungus gnats tho- they reproduce like crazy- if your bin is indoors, can be a big problem.) Other than eliminating the broccoli, my only suggestion would be to add some dirt for grit (necessary for worm digestion); the eggshells, especially if you grind them, can serve the same purpose, as long as there's enough.