How often should I check on my worms?
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
How often you check on your worms depends on how old your bin is and your experience level. You will first need to check your worm bin more often. As you become more comfortable and get to know the balance of your worm bin, you will need to check it less often.
In today’s blog post, I’ll talk about how often and why you should check your worms often in the early days. I will then cover how often you should check your bin while in maintenance mode.
Without further ado, let’s jump in.
How often to check worms at the beginning
When you first get your worms and add them to your bin, you will be fascinated with them. You will sit there wondering, “Are they happy?”, “Are they eating the scraps?” and “Am I doing this right?”. It will feel like you are checking on them constantly.
Overall, this is fine and beneficial. Ideally, in the beginning, you check on your worms once or twice a day. This might last for the first week or a couple of weeks. After that point, you should have a decent grasp of what you are doing.
Each day you will check on the bin that the bedding is moist but not too moist. You will want to ensure there is enough food but not enough to attract pests. If you make any big blunders, in the beginning, checking them often can help you reverse them before any damage is done.
Common beginner problems
The most common problem many beginners have is that the worms are climbing the sides of the bin. Often there is something wrong with the bedding. Maybe it’s too hot, wet, dry, or acidic.
Remove the lousy bedding and add some new bedding that is as moist as a wrung-out sponge. If the bin is too wet, add dry bedding.
Then leave the lid off the bin, encouraging the worms to return to the bedding to find shelter.
How often to check worms in maintenance mode
As you become more experienced in worm composting, you won’t need to check your worms as often. For example, I feed my worms twice a week and check that there are no pests or problems at that time. Otherwise, they live quietly under my kitchen sink.
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Other vermicomposters feed their worms weekly and check their worms then. I haven’t heard of many people going for a week before checking on their worms.
It is highly advised against “adding extra food” if you’re going away for vacation. This is because the excess food will add moisture and increase the bin’s temperature. As you learn your bin and worm’s preference, you will find a good balance of checking on them once or twice a week.
Summary
You will first need to check on your worms once or twice daily. This will only last for the first week or two of your composting journey. Slowly you will transition into checking on them once or twice a week. Ever feeding, check that the moisture level is correct, enough food, and plenty of bedding.
Thank you for reading today’s article. I hope you’ve found it helpful.
If you have any questions or comments, leave them below!
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