Popular Starting Questions

What’s Wrong With My Farm?

    Sometimes we can be doing everything right, but things just don’t turn out the way they’re supposed to. There are a few problems that can arise with your worm farms, but they can be rectified! We’ve got some common problems for worm farms and different ways to tell that something may not be quite right.

Something Seems Off...

    There are some signs that something may not be quite right with your farm. One thing that tends to happen is worms will try to escape. They’ll be climbing up the walls or going through the drainage holes to get to the lower bins. This can be an indication for a number of issues, so it’s a good way to tell that something is off. 

    This next indication is a bit more obvious. If you notice your worm farms are really smelly, then there’s a good chance that the worms can notice it as much as you. This is an issue not only for your worms, but it can also attract vermin or unwanted insects, especially if your worm farm is outside. Stop feeding them food scraps and switch to more brown foods like shredded leaves so the worms have time to eat the rotten food that’s in there. This leads into one of the first issues we’re going to cover.

Overfeeding

    Just like humans, worms can have too much food to get through. Worm farms should be relatively odorless, so if you’re starting to smell rotting food and getting an extreme amount of fruit flies, that means you’ve probably been overfeeding your worms. Like we mentioned above, stop feeding them food scraps until the smell dissipates.

    You also want to avoid overfeeding because if you have too much compostable materials in your farm, there’s a chance that it may begin to break down, increasing the temperature of the worm farm. Since worms like it cool and damp, the increased temperature will actually kill them. If you notice any steam or the worm castings feel warm to the touch, that means composting has begun. If this happens, don’t add anything to your farm. You can cool it down by putting in some ice packs or cold bottles of water. This is also a good tip if you have an outside farm that’s going through an exceptionally hot summer. 

Moisture Control

    Since worms like it damp, they need access to some type of moisture. There’s a chance your farm could be too wet or too dry, so it’s important to keep an eye on a few things. If you notice a lot of liquid in your bottom farm bucket, that’s a good indication that your farm probably has too much moisture. A little bit of liquid is to be expected, but if it looks like you have some compost tea brewing in your bucket that you didn’t pour yourself, that’s an issue. Switch to drier foods and try to stay away from melons or berries. You should also add some extra bedding to draw out some of that liquid.  

    If you have little white worms in your farms, that’s a definite moisture control issue. These worms are known as pot worms, and that means your farm is way too wet. If you check your farms fairly regularly, about once a week or so, you should be able to avoid getting to this point. The same advice applies though. Switch to more brown foods and add extra bedding and avoid adding overly wet food. 

Not Enough Bedding

    Worms may be fleeing your farm because there isn’t enough bedding for all of them. If you want your population to continue to increase, it’s important to make sure that there’s enough paper shreds, or newspaper or cardboard for them to lay their cocoons. So if you notice that your worms are in your bottom bins or you haven’t seen a lot of baby worms in your farms, add in some extra bedding.

Over Population

    Another reason your worms may be falling through the bottom is they don’t have enough room to lay their cocoons. If you have plenty of bedding but worms still want to escape, there’s a good chance your farms are getting too crowded. You’ll start to notice less baby worms in your farms, and they’ll seem stagnant. This is your worms way of telling you it’s time to expand! If you have a smaller farm like a 5 gallon bucket, this will happen faster than having a tiered system or tote bin. Your worms will start to produce again once you separate them into a new farm.