Every worm bin works differently. Like I mentioned before, you want to make sure it maintains the same dampness as a ringed out sponge. It also shouldn't smell. If it starts to smell, add more squares of cardboard and refrain from adding more food waste until the smell goes away.
Do not add more food waste to the same corner. Wait a month or so in order to give the microorganisms, bacteria, and worms time to eat their food. You will know when your corner is ready to be harvested if all of the food you added previously are completely unrecognizable and smells like soil. By this point, most of the worms will have moved on to another corner with new food. This makes it easy to harvest your worm castings. Lift your cardboard and simply scoop out the castings.
The most common worm used for worm bins are called the red wriggler. They are especially well adapted to living in bins but can suffer in your garden. Before you add the castings to your garden, lay the castings onto a piece of cardboard and fish out any extra wrigglers and place them back into your bin.
Come and see our worms at our Gardening Workshop Saturday, February 25th from 10am-12pm led by Master Gardener Milli Macen Moore!
