Red wiggles pushing dirt out of tray

by David
(Lakeland, Florida, U.S.)

I have 8 months time and obviously no experience with worms ( other than for fishing). Now I want to make worm poop for me, family, and friends.

I have a Worm Factory 360 3 trays. I have put a layer of weed guard between the ladder and the first tray. They are still pushing dirt out at the bottom of the bottom tray where plastic is bowing on all 4 sides.

Why do they want and are so persistent to do this? Food is shredded paper, peat moss, ground egg shells, bread, honey nut cherrios. Some potato peals, lettuce, celery. Any advise is appreciated.

Thanks

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Aug 24, 2016
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Worms Pushing Drrt Out of Worm Factory?
by: Pauly

Hello David,

I've never heard of worms pushing dirt out so I'm a little puzzled at your observation. You said you didn't have any experience with worms ( other than for fishing):) so let's go over a couple of things they "could" be what you're seeing.

1. Worms crawl all over the place and when they do they leave poop trails. These trail can add up to a lot of castings outside of the bedding.

2. I believe you said you have some type of landscaping fabric on the bottom tray. For those that don't know this is a not-too-common but effective way for keeping worms from wondering down to the bottom tray.

If you're having some dirt (actually called castings or worm poop for those that are new to worm farming)then check the size of the holes in your fabric. Go with a smaller mesh.

3. Looking at what you're adding to the worm factory for "food" You may be adding too much nitrogen (kitchen scraps).

Over a period of a few months or even sooner, the system can become heavy (thus the bulging) and too watery. If you have pooling (leachate) in the bottom of the tray system then there is too much nitrogen (kitchen scraps) being added.

It is always recommended to add plenty of carbon like, shredded paper and cardboard to the bedding. This mimics what found in nature. There is always more carbon than fruit on the ground.

Honey is a rare thing to add to a worm bin as it's extremely high in carbs. This, along with other nitrogen, can cause the system to become out of wack.

Some issues would be...

Anaerobic or lack of oxygen, too moist, outbreak of other pesky organisms etc. Sometimes this causes the worms to want to "get the heck out of Dodge" to avoid the pests or an unfavorable environment.

Like I said, Always add plenty of moist carbon bedding with any worm system. Carbon helps soak up extra moisture and aids the bedding in the circulation of air flow. This is mimicking nature.

Based on the information you gave to me David, these are my thoughts :)

Any more info is welcome :)

Thanks for writing in,
~Pauly

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