hi me again!
thought of one more question. i started my bin 2 weeks ago and been feeding a varied diet every 2-3 days. everything from edamame to coffee grounds to melon to cooled chunky compost from the tumbler i have.

the bin is looking good in there. moist, not wet or dry. nothing smells. there was some mold then there wasn't. the food looks like it's decomposing nicely.

things is: i have trouble seeing my worms. i started with about 1 lb, which came with my worm-a-way. i see a few of them in the bedding when i use my worm fork thing to bury food. but it's not like the bin is TEEMING with the little guys, you know?

i haven't seen DEAD ones, the 5 or 6 i see when i feed are moving around and look moist and fat. i haven't dug all over the place to find the 1000 or whatever other guys that are supposed to be there because i don't want to agitate their home.

but um, they're there...right? i assume they are hiding but could they have all disappeared and died in 2 weeks? should i totally dig up their nest to find them all?

thanks!!!!!

If the food is disappearing, then I would guess you,(and they),are good

The worms are ususally clumped around a decomposing food source, maybe something you buried some time ago. I don't hesitate to dig around in my bin to see where everyone is and how it's going, maybe once every couple of weeks.

I think I'd pass on the pickled stuff. Can you bury it in the garden somewhere?

hi socks...
sadly no, i can't bury it in the garden, as i live in new york city and the pathetic patch of dirt called the garden would get attacked by rats in a second...

but hm. if not in the worm bin, can the pickled stuff go in a compost tumbler?
thanks!

nothing wrong with pickles/vinegar/salt, as long as it's not 'excessive' - the problem would simply be that the bacteria wouldn't thrive on it, but it'll break down soon enough and won't bother the worms

Bill

Pickled stuff only in moderation. If you have way too much, add it to your regular compost.

As to finding your worms, 1 lb or 1000 worms actually doesn't amount to as much as you might expect. How big is your worm bin? A bin that is too big for a small amount of worms and they may spread out making it seem that there are not many. If the bedding is something like shredded cardboard, it provides a good amount of food for the worms in and of itself and hence you are less likely to find the worms clustered at the rotting food. If the food is vanishing, then there are enough worms to do the job and you probably need not worry too much that they are all dead.

Anyway, you can go for an occasional exploratory dig to see where you find worms and learn about the conditions throughout your bin. It also pays to occasionally fluff up the lower layers of the bedding to keep it from getting too compacted.

I wouldn't add pickled foods to the bin because of the salt content. The salt doesn't leech out of the bedding. It will build up if you continue adding salty stuff, and in time the salt content can kill your worms.

Deanna