Wet and claggy

If you are having problems with an existing wormery, or just need some advice - then ask it here
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Lilwriggler
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Lilwriggler » Thu May 21, 2020 11:58 am

I mean, could it be i am not adding ground eggshell Frequently enough and this is making it difficult for them to grind down certain foods? I haven’t in quite a while but will tonight.

WillyWorm
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by WillyWorm » Thu May 21, 2020 4:52 pm

I don’t think eggshell will make any difference. I think there is something in the bedding which hampers can handle but worms can’t, that would mine something inorganic!!! Eggshell is only a mild abrasive capable of grinding soft organic items.
Willy

Lilwriggler
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Lilwriggler » Thu May 21, 2020 6:18 pm

Im using predominantly Brown cardboard as a carbon source, the are some glue that seemed to being used on packaging Which i occasionally find undecomposed, but i try to remove most of that before it goes in.

WillyWorm
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by WillyWorm » Thu May 21, 2020 6:42 pm

Yea the glue which makes the corrugation is fine being animal or vegetable based. The glue to make up the box is normally synthetic and should be removed before putting in the worm bin.

Lilwriggler
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Lilwriggler » Fri May 22, 2020 10:04 pm

I’ve harvested the bottom tray from my principal wormery. Interestingly there were a lot of worms in that tray but they were principally on the edges and on the base rather than within the layer. Probably transferred over a couple of hundred worms, of which 20 or so seemed to possibly be unhealthy. The tray i moved it into is certainly drier so i hope i eliminate that as an issue for that wormery. I will stop adding anything to do with the hamster for a while too. See where that takes me. The overall population is still very large i think though, despite splitting it last month. I will have a look at wormery two tomorrow, but my options are more limited there i think. I really only have one tray and a feed tray. If i harvest that tray would they survive ok in a tray that was just filled with shredded newspaper?

WillyWorm
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by WillyWorm » Sat May 23, 2020 9:19 am

In normal circumstances they would be fine in a tray filled with paper and fed in the normal way. If the problem is the hamster bedding a move like this should eliminate the problem.
Good luck look forward to hearing of your success.

Willy

Smallthings
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Smallthings » Sat May 23, 2020 7:45 pm

Just to add to this, I've only ever used shredded newspaper for bedding (with very occasional small handful of ageing leaves / some torn-up egg cartons just added in for variety!) I've had the wormery a year and a half and seem to have a happy, productive herd. (I don't shred it finely, just tear it up into long strips about an inch wide once dampened.) It's nice and easy!

Lilwriggler
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Lilwriggler » Sat May 23, 2020 8:39 pm

Thanks, borrowed a shredder today and shredded a load of news paper. Given the wetness issue i had i was sparing with damping down the paper. I harvested the second wormery tray today, so gave that a good spray with water. Found quite a lot of hard kernals etc. From the hamster food which may have been an issue, not breaking down. What i was happy about was a surprising number of worms and a lot of eggs which is a good sign. I will mix cardboard and news paper from now on...

WillyWorm
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by WillyWorm » Sat May 23, 2020 10:44 pm

Thanks for the update.
I never wet my worms bedding once the bin is up and running. When I add a new tray I leave about a quarter of an inch of casting and put dry shredded cardboard on top. Kitchen scraps are about 85% liquid and in only a few days the bedding is moist. This coincides with the time the worms start to move into the new tray from the one below.
Hope all your efforts start to pay off now.

Willy

Lilwriggler
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Re: Wet and claggy

Post by Lilwriggler » Tue May 26, 2020 8:39 pm

Seems ok at the moment, still losing one or two, but expect too as there were a few poorly looking ones when i did the harvesting and assume they need to get over their previous dietary issues. I might have to get a new lid for the new wormery as a corner was damaged in transit and the hole is letting in the odd large slug in, thought i would get away with it, may also do a heath robinson mend to seal the gap!

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