r/Vermiculture • u/Bustnbig • 1d ago
Advice wanted Will my bin volume decrease?
I am about three months into my worm bin adventure. Worms seem happy and I haven’t had any serious issues.
The only problem I have is that my bin is full. All the way to the top full.
The class I took recommended a 5 to 1 green to brown ratio. So for the past 3 months I have been adding more and more shredded cardboard as I fed the worms. The bin is now 4 in of dirt and 18 inches of cardboard.
I can’t add anymore cardboard. Do I need to remove cardboard or will the volume eventually go down?
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u/WorldComposting 1d ago
Couple questions.
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Did you add the dirt? composting worms don't need dirt as the typically live in leaf litter in a forest. So take the dirt out at most you need a handful just to get beneficial microbes going before adding worms but I have found that to not be needed.
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How large is this system? If this is a large system and you added a lb of worms it will take time for them to increase in volume to consume all the food you are putting in.
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Are they eating all the food you put in before adding more? If they aren't you need to slow down on feeding it can take time for new worms to acclimate and start to grow their numbers.
Now that you have a bit more information lets talk about adding food. You don't need to keep a ratio of 5 to 1 but you do need to bury the food scraps. Most people rotate this around the worm bin. First bury on the left side, next time center, then on the right. Only when the cardboard seems to get a bit thin or it is difficult to cover the food do you need to add more. Of course if you are only adding one large feeding per few weeks then maybe add cardboard every time.
Also to answer your question yes the volume will go down and the layer underneath will eventually become more compact.
Here is a system I ran with Pine Shavings they broke down so slowly I almost never needed new bedding: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLEZ5krxcR7YI9zJ6lnbc8tmG6VQeEbDd
More info here: https://www.worldcomposting.com/worm-composting.html
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u/Bustnbig 1d ago
I have an 18 gallon tote with drainage holes to a second tote. I added dirt because that was recommended in the guide I was using.
Biggest mistake I got was I did not start with enough worms. I started with maybe 100 worms. They were eating very, very slowly but were happy. Last week I ordered a pound of red wrigglers. The are eating way faster now
I am also struggling to keep the bin moist enough. I live in the desert so everything dries out pretty fast
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u/WorldComposting 1d ago
Okay 18 gallon tote is a decent size but can be a bit deeper than you would normally have. Yes if you live in a dry area you will need to add water more often. Keeping the lid on the bin and drilling holes in the bin sides for air transfer helps retain moisture as it hits the lid and rains back down into the bin.
Starting with more worms is a good idea. Also don't add anymore food until the food from the prior feeding is 90% gone.
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u/OneStrong2220 1d ago
First off, cardboard is a brown, and I think you mean 5 brown to 1 green. Second, that makes sense at first but when you add it’s closer to 1:1. Add more browns if it’s wet, otherwise roughly 1:1. You have far too much cardboard at this point
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u/OddAd7664 1d ago
For me, I start my bins as mostly bedding. When I feed food I don’t add more bedding. Overtime the bedding becomes castings (and will decrease in height)
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u/haematite_4444 1d ago
You probably didn't need to add dirt.
However, yes if you had only organic materials on there (no dirt) the bin will shrink with time. I'd eyeball that for any bin, you'll add about 5x the volume of the bin in materials for every compost harvest
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u/Bunnyeatsdesign 1d ago
Your worms will turn a full bin into a quarter-full bin of worm castings for your garden or to make worm tea.
When I fill a bin, I add a new bin on top. Worms are free to migrate between bins. I have 3 bins in rotation.
When the 2nd bin is full, I add a 3rd bin.
When the 3rd bin is full, the 1st bin is harvested, worms separated and collected, and the process starts over.
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u/Hanieh1111 11h ago
Yep, the volume will generally decrease as scraps and bedding break down. Some carbon leaves as CO₂, water evaporates or drains, and fluffy bedding settles into denser castings. How noticeable that is depends on how quickly you’re adding new material.
You don’t need a fixed 5:1 bedding-to-food ratio for a worm bin. Aim for bedding that feels like a wrung-out sponge, with enough structure that it isn’t packed into a wet sludge. Add shredded cardboard or torn paper when things get too wet or compacted; don’t add more food just because the level has dropped.
Burying small portions in different spots is a good approach: it helps limit fruit flies and lets you check the previous feeding pocket before adding more. If there’s still a lot of recognizable food, slow down. As the bedding becomes mostly fine, dark castings, harvest some and replace it with fresh, moistened bedding so the worms still have an airy habitat.
If you eventually need worms or bin supplies or starting to sell to your locals, I also run wormsmarketplace.com, a free listing site where sellers list what they have and you can search by area. Disclosure: it’s my site, and I’m still adding sellers.
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u/Mindless_Form_9613 10h ago
18” of cardboard is way to much. They primarily stay in the top 4-5”.
First take off most the cardboard, leaving 4-5” for bedding. Ensure the worms are not in the cardboard taken out. One may use light to do this if you do not have a sifter.
Second, keep the bedding damp at all times. This will help decompose the cardboard.
Third, you shouldn’t really need additional cardboard for about 6 weeks, then once half the cardboard has turned to castings start to add a little bit of cardboard with each feeding (dry cardboard if wet food and damp cardboard if using dry food)
I have never heard of 5:1, once stabilizer I may use 2:1 on each feeding and works out well.
Most of all if they are still alive, you are doing great. When in doubt adding cardboard fixes about 80% of worm issues
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u/SooMuchTooMuch 1d ago
What's the goal of your bin?