Mould on paper

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katie
Junior Member
Posts:3
Joined:Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:39 pm
Mould on paper

Post by katie » Fri Jan 18, 2019 11:58 am

Hi all,

Again another newbie question. I've had my worms since Christmas day. Ive recently added an extra batch. My shredded paper has developed a white fuzzy mould. Is that ok? And do the worms actually eat the paper or Is it just for insulation. Should I expect it to all turn to worm castings? When do I add an extra tray?

Many thanks again!
Katie

WillyWorm
Senior Member
Posts:699
Joined:Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:10 am

Re: Mould on paper

Post by WillyWorm » Sat Jan 19, 2019 1:15 pm

Hi Katie welcome to the forum. Always good to see new people.

The food stuff and bedding we put into our worm bins is broken down by; microbes, fungus and bacteria amongst other things, so getting a little mould developing in the bin is not a bad thing but you don't want to much of it or it could be a sign of problems to come. I would "fluff up" the bedding (paper) to introduce more oxygen in to it, bit like making your bed in the morning. Just turn the top surface over using your fingers or a small garden hand fork.

Paper is a carbon element in the worm bin. Your bin needs a balance of carbon and nitrogen to function correctly. To much nitrogen and you bin may start to go slimy and smelly, this could result in your bin going anaerobic, which means there will be little or no oxygen present in which conditions your worms will start to die. The ratio of nitrogen (also called "greens" "food") to carbon (also known as "bedding" "browns") is 1 - 20 or 30. If you are feeding kitchen scraps you can get very close to this ratio by putting equal amounts by volume of scraps and shredded paper or cardboard when you feed your herd.

Worms process their bedding as part of their food. Worms eat very little of the food or bedding we give them their main diet is the microbes, bacteria and fungus mentioned above, they do take-in some of the soft mushy food which as been well worked by the real workers in our bin.

Any natural material which once lived, animal or vegetable will be turned into lovely, sweet smelling castings in time. So yes in a few months it will all be castings for you to harvest.

The adding of the next tray when it's the first one is a difficult question a bit like how long is a piece of string. The are so many variables with the first and early trays. I would look to be adding my first tray after about three months. When the bin matures and things are running right aim to add a tray every six weeks and harvest one every six weeks, but even this will depend on the amount of food scraps you have available.

Hope that helps if I've not explained it right please come back and I'll try again

Willy

WillyWorm
Senior Member
Posts:699
Joined:Sat Jun 06, 2015 9:10 am

Re: Mould on paper

Post by WillyWorm » Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:40 am

Just a point of clarification you should not put meat or dairy products in your worm bin. There is a list of what can and what should not be fed to your worms in the FAQ above. Worms can eat this thing but the may become smelly, attract rodents or could carry paragons which could be harmful to you or your plants.
Sorry for any confusion
Willy

Lilwriggler
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Posts:143
Joined:Sun Nov 04, 2018 12:08 pm

Re: Mould on paper

Post by Lilwriggler » Sun Jan 20, 2019 9:46 pm

Thanks for that insight about our herds eating habits, opened my eyes into the principles of why we feed them what we do and why in winter everything works a bit slower :)

katie
Junior Member
Posts:3
Joined:Thu Jan 10, 2019 8:39 pm

Re: Mould on paper

Post by katie » Mon Jan 21, 2019 9:04 pm

Thank you so much all!
Makes a lot more sense now!

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