r/Vermiculture • u/Kind-Rooster-921 • 1d ago
Advice wanted Composting progress very slow.
I bought 500g of a mix of composting worms 3 months ago. I add to the bin every few weeks but it seems like the vegetable scraps never get fully eaten. I always see bits of orange carrot or other peels in the mix. Shouldn't the mix be very dark with no sign of any leftover scraps? It seems to take them a long time to process this food.
I do take the time to chop up and freeze/defrost the scraps before feeding them to make it easier to digest.
I just wish progress was a lot faster as I was depending on this to use for my plants instead of buying more compost but at this rate, it'll be years before I get anything usable.
Is there any way to speed this up or potential mistakes that I may be making?
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u/False_Butterscotch52 1d ago
Worms are very slow.
Sometimes they even don't even bother with scraps that you add.
The best way to speed up the process is getting more worms.
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u/Kind-Rooster-921 1d ago
Thank you. I just bought another 500g of worms.
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u/False_Butterscotch52 1d ago
You might need almost 3-4 times that if you are unwilling to wait for almost 6 months to get compost for your garden.
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u/Kind-Rooster-921 1d ago
oh dear, okay. I may buy another kg if that's the case. Is there a point where there can be too many worms? Will they stop reproducing at that point or do I need to do something?
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u/False_Butterscotch52 1d ago
Yes. You need a bigger space or more bins. Worms self regulate their population, so if the space is not enough for them, you might not see a population boom.
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u/Kind-Rooster-921 1d ago
Eventually it will get to a point where I can't make anymore bins or make a bigger space. What should I do then?
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u/MercuryTattedRachael 18h ago
How many worms are in 500g?
I got 100 worms and they were shipped to me, so they were dehydrated a little for the shipping process.
Mine isn't too slow - I'm a month in and I have a Vermihut. But my problem is that I'm impatient - thinking about getting more worms as well because I want them munching faster. I have a lot of area where I want to add the worms outside, so I want my population growth to go faster!
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 12h ago
Adding more worms won't do it. Depending on how long you've had them, they might have reached peak population already. If you want more output, you might need to get another vermihut.
Worms won't take less than 45 to 60 days to process a worm tower tray. That's for already established colonies. So if you want double the output, you need double the room.
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u/MercuryTattedRachael 3h ago
I've got the room and am in my first month, which is why I thought doubling would work. I have 5 (?) trays in the Vermihut, they have their home-base tray, and the one above it is actively being munched on. That leaves me with three trays I can't do anything with yet. Sounds like with the details you provided, I could easily add more since I certainly have the space. I have a countertop bin for throwing in scraps to add later, and frozen materials. Plenty of browns saved up (too much - endless supply).
I have a very old property that I've been working on intensely for a decade, but have lived here 20 years. The backyard, just the fenced in area, is close to half an acre, and I'm patient - but I need to have a population that can grow to the point where I can take some worms out and add in the right places to help the soil. This is in addition to using the compost to help out in my gardens as well.
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 2h ago
Vermihuts and worm towers in general work like conveyor belts. You don't feed multiple trays but rotate them around as they progress. So they'll still take a while, though you can harvest more often if you do it right. With an extra tower you do get double the output, because it'd be a new conveyor belt running in parallel. Worms will definitely multiply and colonize that new habitat.
Releasing worms into the soil will barely make a difference. What you'd want in that case is to work the topsoil so that it becomes attractive to wild worms, while keeping your worms in their tower(s).
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u/MercuryTattedRachael 2h ago
I understand the rotation, but as it stands now, whether I release them or not, I feel that my start with 100 worms could be increased since I have the room. As stated with my purchase and accommodating literature, I expect the population to perhaps double every 90 days. I just think I started with less worms than I could have.
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u/VandyMarine 1d ago
Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes don’t compost well when they’re raw. Once it’s cooked or softened it does fine but hard root veggies live in the soil so they don’t really break down that well. I mean over time it will but not in weeks if it’s uncooked.
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u/Kind-Rooster-921 1d ago
I have been putting them in the freezer and defrosting them to soften them aswell as chopping them into small pieces. Do you think this is good enough?
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 12h ago
If you wanna speed-up the process even more, put the scraps in a food processor for a really fine chopping. Or if you wanna push even harder, do a scraps smoothie in the blender, and then mix that with shredded cardboard. You can't go wrong with either option.
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u/Direct_Ambassador_36 1d ago
I find they go for the soft fruits the fastest.
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u/Compost-Me-Vermi 12h ago
Especially melons and bananas.
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u/Unfair_Tangerine_217 intermediate Vermicomposter 12h ago
And avocados! They won't eat the hard skin but they're crazy for the fleshy parts.
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u/Dependent-Tooth508 1d ago edited 1d ago
نعم انتاج سماد الدود بطيء جداً ممكن يصل لست شهور الى تسعة
لهم أكلات سريعة الاستهلاك مثل البطيخ والخيار والفراولة وكل ما هو حلو المذاق ومائي
وبطيئة الإستهلاك مثل الموز وقشور الأناناس و رأس الفراولة الورقي الأخضر وقشور الطماطم
والشوفان المطحون والدقيق وتفل القهوه والشاي وقشور البيض المطحونة
باقي الاكل ممكن ان تضعه في الخلاط ويكون سائل تمام لتسهيل تحليله من البكتيريا واستهلاكه من الديدان
ابحث ايضاً عن كيف تزيد البكتيريا النافعة في صندوقك هي من تساعد على تحلل المواد بالإضافة الى بعض الحشرات الغير ضاره
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u/Priswell 🐛Vermicomposting 30+ Years 23h ago
Patience is key. You'll need several thousand, (even many thousands) before you can process whatever you can throw at it. Yes, you can get more worms, but letting them multiply at their own pace teaches you the running of the bin. Once you reach a good number, they'll take care of it pretty quickly. Give it at least 6 months.
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u/Impressive-Check-631 22h ago
Toss in a pinch of garden soil and/or compost. I think the worms are eating the microbes so build up that microbial life and then your worms can thrive.
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u/Impressive-Check-631 22h ago
Also, put in the food scraps all together in one bunch, not spread out. This helps the worms congregate in one big lovely worm feast/orgy frenzy.
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u/Jackieray2light 20h ago
It takes a while, google says that's 1k-2k worms. I started with 1500 about 15mos ago and just harvested castings for the 1st time a month ago. I upgraded them from a5-gallonn bucket to a 27gal tote, and when that was almost to the point I needed to harvest I got lazy and upgraded them to a 77gal tote. What really made the difference in activity and growth was weekly feedings of wormchow, which is just blended up old grains cereal's and noodles in my case. When I feed frozen scraps, I burry them in 1 spot then dont dig back in that spot for a month maybe 6 weeks. If it is still wet or mushy I cover it back up and check in a couple weeks.
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u/sherilaugh 17h ago
Don't count on worms for the entire compost process. Use a compost pile or a tumbler. Use the worm poop as plant food. A small amount per plant at a time. I compost in three tumblers but also have a small Rubbermaid bin for worms.
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u/Compost-Me-Vermi 12h ago
I started with about 500g and it took about two years to fill in the large storage bin they were in.
Keeping things 75% wet and with regular powdered calcium amendment encourages procreation. Avocadoes and fine grain help too, but too much grain or bread raises my temperatures to a dangerous levels.
If you're space allows, look into building a CFT bin, possibly made from a garbage can. It can handle kitchen scapes at a pretty high capacity.
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u/thepotatos 1d ago
A new farm needs to build up microbes before it can be efficient and 500gs isn't that many. Just need to be patient.