The day I realized my worm bin was too wet for 3 months

I kept adding vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, wondering why my bin smelled like a swamp and why the worms were trying to escape. Then I actually picked up a handful of the bedding and it was dripping water like a soaked sponge. I was adding way too much moisture without balancing it with dry cardboard or paper. Turns out the ratio should be more like 2 parts browns to 1 part greens in an apartment setup. Anyone else miss the obvious signs of a waterlogged bin for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_nathan23d ago

Why are you acting like a little bit of extra moisture is the end of the world? I've been running my bin for over two years now and I've never once measured the ratio or stressed about it being too wet. Worms are tough little guys, they don't just up and die because the bedding feels a bit damp. If they try to escape, maybe they're just exploring, not suffocating. You probably panicked and overcorrected, but honestly a swampy bin just means it's working hard and breaking stuff down fast. Dry cardboard is fine but you don't need to treat it like a science experiment with exact numbers.

river_jones23d ago

Have you ever walked into a room, forgotten why you're there, and then blamed the humidity? Because that's basically my worm bin energy right now. I had a batch try to make a break for it last week, and I'm pretty sure they were just offended by my soggy newspaper ratio, not actually suffocating. I've got a bin that's been going for a year, and it's basically a wet sponge that smells like a damp basement, but the worms are in there chewing away like it's fine dining.