How to Avoid Some Common Problems When Vermicomposting:
The following info comes from p. 73 of the Composting Workshop. Find out lots more about vermicomposting and backyard composting in that workshop or on the MMSB and MUN Botanical Garden websites. Ask your composting questions on the forum.
Photo credit: Sarah Crocker
Fruit flies
- Bury food scraps under the bedding in your vermicompost bin and then cover the bedding with a layer of burlap or cardboard.
- Keep the lid of the bin closed as much as possible.
- Do not add more food than the worms in your bin can decompose quickly, because food that sits for a long period of time may attract flies.
- Avoid putting in whole pieces of fruit, especially citrus, that break down slowly.
Unpleasant odours
- Fluff up the contents every once in a while to promote air flow.
- Choose bedding materials that do not compact densely.
- Make sure that your bin has air holes on the sides and in the lid.
- If you notice a lot of moisture in the bin, add drainage holes and a water cache below the bin. Empty the water cache regularly.
Contents too wet
- If the bin does not have drainage holes, carefully pick it up and angle it to pour off excess water into a sink or outdoors. You may want to use a strainer to catch any worms or compost that may fall out as the water pours.
- Do not add more food than the worms in your bin can decompose quickly because food that sits for a long period of time may begin to smell.
- Avoid putting in whole pieces of fruit, especially citrus, that break down slowly.
- Mix in more dry bedding ingredients.
- Leave the burlap on top of the bedding but take the lid off the bin to allow it to air out a bit. Be sure to do so in a brightly lit place so that worms stay down below.
- Add drainage holes and a water cache below the bin. Empty the water cache regularly.
- Make sure that drainage holes are not blocked at the bottom of the bin.
Contents too dry
- Spritz the contents of the bin with water.
- Fluff the contents so that wetter food scraps and dry bedding are in better contact with each other.
Great advice!
Also good for preventing fruit flies is to lightly wash fruit and veggies in a small bowl of warm soapy water and rinse (use a natural dish soap) when you bring them home from the supermarket. Particularly fruit with inedible peels that you wouldn’t normally wash such as bananas and lemons. This helps remove the invisible fruit fly eggs attached to the outside of fruit, they are probably on all fruit waiting to hatch in an environment like a compost bucket or a worm bin. This can also remove some traces of pesticides if the produce is not organic – also benefiting the worm bin in that case
Excellent advice!
We have two thriving Vermicomposting bins at St. Francis Greenhouse in Hr.Grace and have had no problem with odour or fruit flies so far. We make sure to cut the waste into smaller pieces so they are consumed faster by the worms. Overfeeding can cause problems so mark the spot where you add the waste and do not add more until it is finished. Too much citrus can be toxic to worms and it does take a long time to break down. Egg shells can get smelly so we rinse and crush them into small bits too. Keep it all buried and watch the worms multiply! The worm castings are then used to fertilize their plants. Our Grade 4 classes are wonderful caretakers and are really hands on in this project.
Kim and Dan, thanks for all the great tips! It’s super appreciated. There are a few things in there we hadn’t thought of and we’ll add them to our workshop when it’s updated.
Kim, have you seen the kids’ vermicomposting resources on our Children & Youth Page? Scroll down under composting. http://rootcellarsrock.ca/children-youth/