Hi Lynnette

We've found that burying the food in pockets keeps the bins from smelling bad and from attracting flys. Also we don't feed more than once a week, how often do you feed yours? We just bury the food on one side of the bin one week and the other side of the bin the next week, back and forth.

We're very careful to not overfeed, we killed ALL our first worms that way and are very careful now not to overfeed and to make sure any liquid at all drains quickly away from the bin.

Pura Vida

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Blog with Pictures

Hi,

I pocket feed. I do not have any smell issues usually.. I cover the pocket with at least an inch of bedding. The only time I did have some smell problems is when I fed in a pocket where there was still some food left, not much but there was some. I would dig too deep and bring some uneaten food on top of the bedding. I would put new food and cover the pocket with bedding . But then there would be some of the uneaten food left on top of the bedding causing the smell. When it happened, I would simply add one inch of fresh bedding all over my bin ( because I couldn't see where the uneaten food was ) and the smell was gone.

Hope this help, Sylvie

Hi,

I pocket feed. I do not have any smell issues usually.. I cover the pocket with at least an inch of bedding. The only time I did have some smell problems is when I fed in a pocket where there was still some food left, not much but there was some. I would dig too deep and bring some uneaten food on top of the bedding. I would put new food and cover the pocket with bedding . But then there would be some of the uneaten food left on top of the bedding causing the smell. When it happened, I would simply add one inch of fresh bedding all over my bin ( because I couldn't see where the uneaten food was ) and the smell was gone.

Hope this help, Sylvie

Do you bury coffee grounds also (pocket feeding) or sprinkle throughout? Do you add bedding (newspaper) as the amount of bedding decreases or does the castings take the place of newspaper, once the worms create a lot?
:)

Top or layer feeding versus pocket feeding also depends on the type of worms your purchase.

Native garden worms and Euros tend to not like being disrupted, mine make mass exodous after i dig through the bins. Thus i have adopted layer feeding.

With pocket feeding you basically fill the bin with bedding to the top to begin with ... once the bedding has dropped to 1/2 to 1/3 of the original content it is time to harvest. Adding more bedding throughout the process will make it alot harder to sort your finished compost. When Ive had to do that ive made the pieces that i add smaller and thinner than the original bedding giving it more opportunity to break down quicker.

Coffee grounds take a long time to get to the point where the bacteria are ready to work them. Ive found that soaking the ground in a sugar rich liquid (such as flat soda, kool aid, or sugar water) tends to speed up the process.

Bryan

I do bury coffee grounds but not by itself. I mix it with other food waste which had gone through a food processor before hand. The processing thing help in mixing everything together better. I'm trying to prevent heating by mixing the coffee grounds with the food scraps. . I also put the whole thing in a bucket and let mold to grow on it. I read some where it also prevents heating. It seems to work because the worms are going at it very fast. If it were heating, the worms wouldn't eat it that fast. I cannot believe how quickly it disappears.

I don't add any bedding either unless necessary

I also have Euros and they don't try to escape when I pocket feed them. But then that's maybe because there aren't too many worms in one bin and maybe because they are still young in the other ( I started this bin from cocoons ). That's one thing I'll have to check as time goes by. Maybe I'll have to top feed them too sometimes in the future.

Sylvie

Bryan,

Thanks for the tip. I've used flat soda before on the soil with other composting projects, but not for the grounds given to the worms.

Wouldn't the flat soda still be a little acidic or do you pretreat the grounds and let them age a bit before they go into the bin like Sylvie posted?

I normally just put the grounds and the shredded filter in the bin. So the bin gets a little additional bedding from the filter. But I don't put all of the grounds I get from work in the bin, just every now and then for some variety in diet or if the feedstock is lower.

The rest I use for the garden or the compost bed.

Charles

You really dont need to worry about acidity or alkalinity in a worm bin. If you research back through some past posts youll see Kelly's explanations.

I usually soak the grounds for a few days, but they are also in a mix of other finely ground food like squash, tomatoes, noodles, etc. If the mix is still too wet then i add cornmeal to thicken it.

As i keep my scrap bowl on the counter i try not to let it grow mold. Being right next to the stove, mmold can make some things look quite unappetizing ::grins::

Bryan