Worm Composting Question and Answer Area

One Week after purchase 
Hi Liz,



Well after one week of having my worms, I have learned quite a bit.



I can attest to the fact that the book learning prior to getting ...

Freezing worm food 
Hi Liz. My father and I have been produce farming for about 30 years now, selling fresh fruits and veggies directly to the public at a farmer's market....

Temperature for raising worms? 
I live in the sunny high desert southwest. Temperatures get to 100 to 105 F from mid-June to 1 Sept. If keep them in my shed the temperature gets hotter....

moving worms? 
I am moving at the end of the year (over 1000km north) and currently have two worm farms. Is it possible to move the worms in containers or will I have ...

My worm bin disaster :( 
Hi Liz,

First of all, I have to thanks for your helpful and informative site. I have coming to get to learn about worms your way for 3 days straight ...

winter care and harvesting 
I posted this on the yahoo group but would also like to ask you directly since you seem to be so very helpful and knowledgeable :)
Thank you in advance ...

Bugs in Worm Bin 
Dear Big Tex,

I'm still amazed that after 4 or 5 months everything is working so well. I was almost handing out cigars when I saw all the babies. I ...

Worm Food 
I bought the kids worm kit back in May for my classroom, and am running out of food. What exactly is the food? Where can I get it? HELP PLEASE SO My wormies ...

a stange band formation 
hi there,
I know that worms have band near there head formation for there sexual activities... but recently i found one of my worm having a band formation ...

Is there more that I should be doing here? 
Liz,
This is going on the second week that my worm bin has be up. I ended up with a pound of worms instead of ½ pound so I put them in an 18 gallon tub....

small white things in the compost 
Hi;

I have a bunch of small white organisms that wiggle on a coffee filter in the compost bucket. I assume they are infant worms. If so, how long ...

I have little brown crickets in my worm bin 
If they are not eating my baby worms I don't so much mind if they stay. So my question is are they eating my worms? Thank you for your time. Vicky

Answer ...

Outdoor worm bin bedding compostion 
I have just built a 24'X 2 1/2' outdoor worm bin. I will place a 1/4 " hardware cloth in the bottom to keep the moles out. I am going to divide the 24'...

Winter Worm Composting 
Hello,

I am new to the idea of raising worms and will be purchasing one of your bucket of worms kits very soon.

My question is can I keep the worms ...

When should I start feeding my worms again? 
About 4 weeks ago I was having trouble with my bin. Many of the worms were up on the side of my plastic tub bin and in the area of the handles.

See ...

Composting horse manure 
Hi,

I am getting ready to move my 2 horses to my home in Lucas, TX. This will be the first time I have housed the horses at home and I am starting ...

The worm farming business and potential sales 
I am an entrepreneur who is seriously thinking about starting a worm farm business. I want to raise mainly African Nightcrawlers though, and only ...

How to kill ants in compost pile and not hurt my worms 
Ants over running my compost pile(not fire ants), like to kill them. Are the ants eating my worms? Want the ants gone permentaly(as in dead).
Jim

Answer ...

breeding worms for fishing 
hi
i have made my own wormery with a 30 litre bin with a good lid, i have added three 250gr boxes of dendrobaenas with a total of about 650 worms of various ...

Mites! 
Ok, I realize that worm bins get bugs. And I'm ok with that. But my worm bin is TEAMING with what I think are mites. There are so many that I put the bin ...

white mites in my worm bin 
Hello my name is Jane, and I have 2 worm bins, with about 2-3 thousand worms in each one, the bins are 30 gallon plastic totes.
The worms are doing ...

long black bug infestation! 
HELP!
these bugs are taking over my apt!

these bugs have flourished in my compost bin, other than them things are going great. I had a pillowcase ...

Worm Fattener Recipe substitution  Not rated yet
I have your recipe.

I have all the ingredients. I substituted Alfalfa pellets for the meal.

My question: What can I substitute for the wheat meal?...

Large order question  Not rated yet
Liz,

I have two farms south of Waco. In the past I have clean the barns and pens and ended up with 4 or 5 piles of poop that are 8 feet tall and 10 ...

different species of red wigglers  Not rated yet
I was told that there are red wigglers that are native to Florida that handle our extreme heat better than the red wigglers sold outside of Florida.

Is ...

What should you NOT to feed worms  Not rated yet
Hello Liz,

I have a question on the kinds of food NOT to feed my worms.
I know peppers, onions, salty foods, meat, or spicy foods are not good, but ...

yard worms  Not rated yet
When you have an indoor bin and no new worms except the ones hatched in your habitat is it necessary to bring in outside worms to keep a healthy population?...

Keyhole Garden Using Red Wriggers  Not rated yet
Are you familiar with Keyhole Gardens. They recommend a pound of red wrigglers. Dr. Deb Tolman is experimenting with this type of gardening in Clifton,...

Feeding Frozen Food Scraps  Not rated yet
Liz,

I followed your advise and ground up a large amount of food scraps at one time feeding some and freezing the rest. My question is do you put the ...

Seperating castings  Not rated yet
I have a traditional three layered farm that works swimmingly. What is the best way to seperate the castings and the worms

Answer from Liz with BigTex ...

Do worms migrate up to harvest?  Not rated yet
I think I understand now that just the compose material is left for use in making the tea. So no eggs are left in the compose material. All the worms ...

teeny tiny black bugs  Not rated yet
my worms seem to be thriving. lately, i checked on them and could only find a few. i put some food up top to lure them up. when i checked back, no worms,...

Clumpy and hard castings  Not rated yet
My castings are moist , but when I dry them out they become hard and Clumpy what can I do to make them soft and crumbly.

Answer from BigTex Worms:
Worm ...

harvesting castings and worms  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,
It has been 3 1/2 months since I started my worm bed. I have an 18 gallon tub and started with 1 lbs of worms. They seem happy and have laid ...

Coming to your place to buy worms  Not rated yet
I live in New Braunfels, TX and will be beginning worm composting. I have extensive experience with leaf, etc. composting but live in a garden home and ...

Worms for New Mexico  Not rated yet
I've been worm-posting for about 8 years in Northern California. I've always kept them in my house and have never had a problem with bad smells or insects ...

Can I use plumbago clippings in my worm bins?  Not rated yet
Can I use plumbago clippings in my worm bins? Some sites say the root is toxic... others say the oils cause skin irritation... Can toxic things go in ...

worm tea in my garden  Not rated yet
hello, i took your online class and decided to try worm composting because i wanted to start going organic. i started using the compost tea about three ...

Left over fishing worms/starting a worm bin  Not rated yet
Hello! Thank you so much for your helpful site. I am interested in beginning worm bin for my apartment in Durham, NC, and you have convinced me that I ...

Where have my worms gone?  Not rated yet
We have always recycled - recently we started a wooden composting bin ensuring the right ratio of green and brown materials,i also add shredded paper. Purchased ...

Bottom of worm bed really wet  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,
I have had my worm bed up for two months now. I went to turn the bed a bit and it is really wet on the bottom. Is this natural? Should I add more ...

centipedes??  Not rated yet
I started a worm composting bin in a flower box outside. The worms are multiplying and growing, but I am still uncertain about your notation on centipedes....

Making a vertical wood composting bin?   Not rated yet
Hi,

I am considering making a vertical wooden composting bin about 32" x 8" x 41" (L x W x H). I looked at the directions and sketch you have on your ...

worm escapees  Not rated yet
Is it common in the beginning to find a few worms every day have gotten out? Is this a constant or does this mean there is another problem?

Answer ...

Adding worms to lawn  Not rated yet
I am buying a starter bucket. My intent is to take half or so of the existing worms and spread them around my front lawn....fairly close to each other ...

Outdoor bin  Not rated yet
I live in the Metroplex and would like information on keeping an outdoor bin. What works best with the North Texas summer heat? Is it possible to have ...

Can I put Red Wigglers into raised beds?  Not rated yet
Can I just put some of your Red Wigglers into my raised garden bed containers? I use the bagged soil designed for raised beds. Thank you.

Answer from ...

avoid worms from escaping  Not rated yet
hi to all

recently i witness a strange behavior of worm, I left the light on for whole night yet some worms were outside of bin, so i was a bit concern ...

Soaking coconut coir bricks?  Not rated yet
I bought some of the coconut bricks off Amazon & am just wondering if there is a certain amount of water that should be used to soak them? Also, is there ...

have soil dirt in my vermicompost  Not rated yet
I'm new in this... so i have read lot of articles on vermicomposting before starting... while doing that i learn that we should have bedding then the food ...

Hot wheather   Not rated yet
I see you posted a like on my videos. Like you
I teach lots of classes, radio and more.
My bins work great for cold but i don't get over
100 often....

missing worms  Not rated yet
I have recently started my worm bin and all the worms were captured by me.... there were only 2 adult worms rest of them were small worms maybe baby worms....

Dog hair  Not rated yet
I have a 110 lb shepard cross. With his long coat he sheds a lot. Can I put dog hair in my worm bin. As I understand hair is protien. Does it break down ...

do worms reproduce quicker under certain conditions?  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,
I read somewhere that the red wigglers will reproduce more quickly to save their species if they are in conditions that are not suitable for their ...

worm problem and worm questions  Not rated yet
Hi There,
I was so excited to find you on the internet as I just started my worm compost this week and have some questions I thought you could answer....

Concrete block worm bins  Not rated yet
can concrete blocks be used in a containment area for worm composting? I live in the northwest and can have some long winters usually 4 to 5 months. We ...

Saw dust in worm bin  Not rated yet
Is it all right to add cedar saw dust to my worm bin?

Answer from BigTex Worms:
Check the ph of the sawdust and if it is neutral then it is "safe" for ...

coconut coir  Not rated yet
Have searched pet smart and Russells feed store and cannot find coir. Any suggestions. My worms should be arriving tomorrow. Thanks


Answer from ...

Using compost tea on a worm bin  Not rated yet
Hello Liz:

Congratulations on constructing a wonderful web site and thank you for sharing your expertise!

Generally, before adding food to my worm ...

Worms for the yard  Not rated yet
My flower beds have worms and would like to put some in the lawn areas. I live in Round Rock, TX and have very rocky soil. Actually live near the quary ...

why are ants taking over my compost pile  Not rated yet
Have compost worms in my compost pile put them in it about a month ago...since then we have had rain and colder temps around 40 I no longer see worms... I ...

Will worms eat pineapple and it's husk and stalk?  Not rated yet
I've been looking online and have found contradicting info on if it's ok to compost pineapple and it's armory shell and leaves.

What do y'all say??

Answer ...

How to Worm Compost Human Waste  Not rated yet
Hello,

I am a student member Ohio State University's student chapter of Engineer's Without Borders. This past March we traveled to San Pedro Puxtla,...

How do we start?  Not rated yet
Hi. My daughter would like to start a worm compost bin for our family, but also for her science fair. I have been hesitant to start one because I am ...

worms are trying to escape  Not rated yet
I ordered a starter bag of worms from you and got them two days ago. We have woken up both days with worms spilling over the sides. I have tried all ...

Not enough worms  Not rated yet
My worms arent breeding that fast and im getting a bit worried about them. Is this because my worm bin compost condition is not good enough or are they ...

Worms compost  Not rated yet
If you started your compost already and you need to do a S.A on worms compost what would you go on (like site or book wise)
Answer from BigTex Worms ...

Combined Worms  Not rated yet
If I want to buy worms and starter kit, one of each for a Girl Scout project in the fall, can you combine them into the same starter bag? So I would have ...

Starting worm composting  Not rated yet
I have been considering worm composting. I have been all over the internet searching the subject and still undecided...that is until I found your web site....

1/2 pound of worms  Not rated yet
Liz,

I will be getting about 1/2 pound of worms soon. I was wanting to put them in a 35 gallon tub. Do you think that too big, or will it be ok? And ...

Coco Husk vs Coconut Coir?  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,
I want to know if Coco Husk is the same as Coconut Coir. I will soon be starting a new worm bed and I am not sure if the Coco Husk is the right ...

Harmless or dangerous nematode/ worm like creature  Not rated yet
Recently overtook an old garden in which every scoop of dirt had 4 or more of these half inch thin white/clear worms in them = tons of them. They move ...

Stacking Worm Bins  Not rated yet
Hello, I've been pouring over your site & It has been very informative, however I do have a question about worm composting.

I was thinking of doing ...

Mice  Not rated yet
We have a worm bin at our preschool. During the winter, some mice made a home in the worm bin (little tunnels in the compost). We turned the bin and ...

April 16th class  Not rated yet
Hello Big Tex worms. I am totally new to vermicomposting, but am eager to get everything up in running. My family is mostly vegetarian and at my office ...

Earthworm flour  Not rated yet
Am going to start an earthworm composting project. I want you use the excess earthworms as a supplimentary feed for my chickens. I think I want to turn ...

Bedding and shredded paper  Not rated yet
Hi.
I purchased a kids worm farm kit from you. In the instructions for days 4-14, you say to add fresh bedding with each feeding. What do I use for ...

Liquefied Worm Bin  Not rated yet
I have a problem. This is the third time I have killed my worms. Each time they have turned into a hideous liquid mess. This time, my composter was ...

Learning Experience for Daisy Girl Scouts  Not rated yet
Hi,
I am the leader of 12 Daisy Girl Scouts, ages 5-7 years old. The scouts have chosen to take action in their community by starting a worm bin to enhance ...

eggshells in worm bin  Not rated yet
How many crushed eggshells are required in a 10 gal bin with peat moss to neutralize the ph?

Note from BigTex Worms:

When you put the starter bag ...

The Mighty Mites  Not rated yet
I have an enormous amount of tiny dark red 'spider , or 'crab' like mites invading my bins....they are too many in number, and I am sure anything in this ...

Wooden worm bins  Not rated yet
Hi, My name is Tom from Australia and have a keen interest in worm farming. Around the side of my house i have two 1000 litre containters cut in half, these ...

worm composting class  Not rated yet
Hi there, just got my worms today, very excited. Sounds silly to be excited about worms, but I am and so were the kids. I know you sent me an email with ...

Summer's in Florida for worms?  Not rated yet
Hi,
Our worms will be outdoors this summer(in central Florida), is putting them in the shade good enough to keep them from getting too hot?
Thank you!...

1/2 pound of worms  Not rated yet
Approximately how many dozen worms are in a half pound?

Answer from BigTex Worms:
I do not sell worms by the half pound. BUT there are roughly 800-...

ants in compost  Not rated yet
i have tried to make my own compost its full of ants .should i start all over again.thank you.

answer from BigTex Worms
In my experience, ants ...

Worms in Raised garden  Not rated yet
I have made 2 raised gardens (4x8x2) I put in aged horse manure in the 1st foot and added our soil (clay) in the top foot. I have a worm tower in each....

Worm Starter Bag instructions  Not rated yet
On the step by step startup for worm composting on day 2 it says:" place your worms in bin". I bought a starter bad , do I put the whole bag in my wood ...

Seperating worms from casting  Not rated yet
Am thinking about getting into worms for castings, how do you seperate the worms from the castings without having to pick them out one by one.
Abraham
...

Worm Composting Toilets   Not rated yet
Hello,

My Fiance and I are building our home (A small cabin for now, with hopes to build more in the future) and we are very much into alternatives....

little flies in worm bin  Not rated yet
After I harvested the worm bin last fall, I seem to have picked up what i would call dung flies, because i equate them with little flies I remember on ...

Barrel worm bin  Not rated yet
I can get an almost endless supply of 55 food grade plastic drums. I have found instructions for using a drum for worm composting that allows the top ...

Red Worm question  Not rated yet
I am interested in buying and letting go worms in my pastures at my ranch, which is an hour away from Keller. I have alot of ground to cover, so need to ...

Composting Pile  Not rated yet
Liz,
In your video you mention harvesting compost in spring and/or fall. I've been composting for 2 years and I don't see how to harvest. I keep turning ...

School project  Not rated yet
Hi!!! my friend and I are doing a composting project and we want to bring our bin to school. What would be the safest way to bring them to school? We haven'...

redworms  Not rated yet
why do redworms want to come out from container/compost?

Answer from BigTex Worms
Worms like to hang out at the top of the bin. I have a video that ...

Baby Worms  Not rated yet
What is a good food to feed baby worms? Thanks

From my experience, I have seen that baby worms like grains the best. Like wheat flour or corn meal. They ...

worms in compost tumbler  Not rated yet
I have a compost tumbler that is 60-70% finished. Could I put a handful of red wigglers in the tumbler to help the process and to have them to the soil ...

Worm bin Bedding  Not rated yet
I have been raising red worms for about 2 years and wonder if I can improve on the 'home' I am providing. I use a 5 gal bucket. When I first started ...

worms crawling up sides of bin  Not rated yet
There seems to be a lot of casting on the sides of the bin up to the lid. Do the worms typically crawl up? Each time I check there seems to be several ...

coffee grounds in worm bin  Not rated yet
I have access to unlimited coffee and tea grounds. How muck of these can I use in a worm bin? 100%?

Answer from BigTex Worms
I am SO glad you asked....

harvesting...  Not rated yet
i recently acquired a worm bin. but don't really know whent to harvest. the worms are working their way towards the top, the stuff looks like coffee grounds,...

Why do worms try to escape?  Not rated yet
I have had a worm bin in my Paris apartment for about two months, with few difficulties. They were in the unfinished attic briefly but now live in the ...

worms in a compost bin outside  Not rated yet
I am in Brooklyn, NY, I have a compost bin outside without a bottom situated over earth. Can I put worms in my compost bin and would they survive the cold ...

black bugs in worm bin  Not rated yet
We have little black bugs all over the place from the worm composting bin. What are they and what needs adjusting to stop the invasion (well, a little ...

Worm farm too alkaline  Not rated yet
My worm farm is too alkaline - between 9.0 & 9.5.
How can I lower it to more neutral safely for the worms.

Thankyou
Colleen

answer from BigTex ...

Earth Worms in my worm bin  Not rated yet
I have a red worm box with lots of redworms and they seem healthy.
I have changed it out once and it is time to do it again. I am finding a few earth ...

starting my own website  Not rated yet
interested in the web site info you started and like so well. I do have one question though. How do you set up to accept credit card paymnet on the site....

cocoons  Not rated yet
i would like to know when cocoons will start hatching? is their anything to do? Thanks Gary k.
Answer from BigTex Worms
Earthworm cocoons hatch in ...

Swollen worms   Not rated yet
Hi! my question is im having a few worms coming to the top each day 5-10, they look to be swollen some parts of the body and some body separation,and some ...

White worms (maggots) in worm bin  Not rated yet
I was adding scraps to my bin this evening and noticed it was infested with fat white worms that looked like maggots. How can I get rid of them? I am ...

coconut coir mats  Not rated yet
Would the fiber mats one can buy in the horticulture section of a box store that is used for hanging pots work as bedding for composting worms?
answer ...

Local Worm Composting Class  Not rated yet
Will you visit my Primrose School in Lewisville and teach my Pre-K & school-age students (and their teachers!)about Worm Composting?

I'd like to set ...

worms and decomposition  Not rated yet
what is the role of worms in decomposition
answer from BigTex Worms
Worms eat the decaying matter.

Good bug or Bad bug?  Not rated yet
I know there is going to be bugs in the bins, But I have not seen these bugs on videos yet that look like what I have.
These bugs are Black, About ...

meal worms  Not rated yet
How do i get meal worms out of my red worm bed. THANK YOU

Answer from BigTex Worms
They are a dark orange hard shelled worm, right? I let ...

Worm tea runnoff  Not rated yet
Can the worm tea that comes out of the bottom of my worm bins that I collect on a daily basis have to be used right away or can you store it and use it ...

Do worms prefer fruits or veggies?  Not rated yet
Do worms compost better in vegetables or fruit??

Hmmm. Interesting question. In my observation, worms like both but prefer certain varieties of each....

Concrete block worm bins  Not rated yet
I need to find some information on a worm bin design that I saw that was a concrete block design that had three seperate bins. Compost was in all three ...

How many worms for a family of 5?  Not rated yet
I have a family of 5. Do I need to order 2 starter bags?

Also, I'm thinking about using an old horse trough for my worm bed. It doesn't have air holes,...

El Salvador?  Not rated yet
Hi,
I am currently living in El Salvador and would like to start a worm bin. Are you able to ship abroad or do you have any connections with central ...

Cocofibre Worm Composting in West Africa  Not rated yet
I am planning to return to Ghana West Africa to start a composting factory there using coconut fibre. I will be grateful for some advice.

Same principles ...

Dry bin?  Not rated yet
My bin seems to be on the dry side. Up until recently, I would see some condensation on the lid when I opened it. Now there is none, and the bedding seems ...

worms  Not rated yet
Can i add worm often to the bin?

As long as your bin is big enough to accomodate more worms you can always add more worms. Remember, one square foot ...

Ants in compost bin  Not rated yet
Hi,
does it matter if there are ants in the compost bin?
Answer from BigTex Worms
Ants are usually a sign that the compost bin is too dry. If you ...

what is the alfalfa meal or pellets ,   Not rated yet
hi
what is the alfalfa meal or pellets in your worm fattener recipe originally used for ? is it for horse feed or rabbit feed ? as i can only get the ...

Starting a worm bin in summer  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,
I am interested in starting a worm bin in a rubbermaid type plastic bin about 2 1/2' X 2' X 2'. I am in Rowlett, so I am in the Texas mid-July ...

Above ground bin vs. in ground pit for vermicomposting  Not rated yet
I am ready to start my composting and have tried to find information on bin or pit designs. I live in Conway Arkansas which in in Zone 7 agriculture zone....

FEEDING WORMS  Not rated yet
Can i underfeed my worms? if so, how will i know? or, will they just reproduce less- creating a balance between population and the amount of food available?...

MUD LIKE SUBSTANCE ON FABRIC BELOW BIN  Not rated yet
Thank you Liz for the answer regarding my worms leaving the bin. Of course one question leads to at least one more. What is the mud like substance that ...

WORMS LEAVING THE BIN  Not rated yet
I have a Vermihut Worm Composter which has been in operation for 5 weeks. It is 16" X 16" X 5" high. I started with 1 lb of worms(assorted ages-"bed ...

Heat and worms  Not rated yet
My daughter has just received her first lot of worms and she is concerned with the temperature as the 'directions' say up to 80 degrees. We all know 100+...

white bugs and a slug in worm box  Not rated yet
Hi Liz,

I have a very active worm composter in my basement. Lately, I've notice tiny, non-flying, very active white bugs that I think might be the ...

Worm Farms in Texas  Not rated yet
Hello there,

I have been reading up on composting for the last couple months and am ready to get started. I plan on doing a worm bin (probably go with ...

Worms?  Not rated yet
why are there many kind of worms like earthworms or red wigglers an more kinds of worm kinds?

Same reason there are many different kind of people, its ...

Worm over population  Not rated yet
If the worms double in population every few months, is over population an issue? If so, what does one do with the excess worms? Can red wigglers survive ...

Change bins?  Not rated yet
Hi Liz!

I am very grateful for your comment on my blog. I am reading and absorbing EVERYTHING on your website. I wish I had found it before starting ...

Worm ratio to Bin Size  Not rated yet
One more question...
In your video you said half a pound of worms to a ten gallon tote.
I just bought a ten gallon tote and it looks about half the size ...

Air holes for Worm Bin  Not rated yet
Hi there! First of all I love your site! Thanks for all the info!
I'm trying to set up a worm bin! This is my second attempt! The first time the little ...

Worm Composting book recommendation  Not rated yet
Do you recommend the book "Worms eat my Garbage" by mary appelhof?
answer from wormbincomposting.com
It is a good read, and is available to borrow ...