Are Your Worms Blowing Up? How to Prevent Protein Poisoning
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- Video Summary: Steve explains protein poisoning in a worm bin, what causes it, and how to prevent it.
Check Out the Urban Worm Company's article on Protein Poisoning
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Read the Ultimate Guide to Vermicomposting
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Video Timeline:
0:00 Start of Video
0:29 What Causes Protein Poisoning in Worms?
0:50 How Can Protein Poisoning Kills Worms?
1:15 How to Prevent Protein Poisoning
2:04 Download the Ultimate Guide to Vermicomposting
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I think the most important thing to remember is that worm chows are not something to play around with lightly. When testing out new chows/ingredients to chows. Experiment in moderation! 9 out of 10 times protein poisoning and sour crop are caused by improper use of worm chows. I have found that when top feeding chow it is better to feed less more often than more less often. It is suggested not to top feed chow more than the worms can eat in a 3-day period. I have found doing it that way a bin will still randomly sour. I have also found that it is better to top feed chow every day, not more than the worms can eat in a 24-hour period. The best advice I can give is to not water chow into the bedding, just a light misting to moisten the chow. Do not burry chow directly into the bedding! It is ok to mix chow into bedding in a separate container, wait a couple of days then burry that mixture into the bin for a place to promote breeding. Also, when mixing chow into bedding (separately) for enzyme and inoculation purposes do not overdo it with the chow and wait a few days before introducing to worms, so the bedding can cool back down, and the strong odors can off-gas.
If feeding solely food scraps, protein poisoning/sour crop should not be an issue. Just do not overfeed, especially with a bin that is several months old or issues can arise. Another thing to add is RWs are not as sensitive to string-of-pearls as ENCs or ANCs, in fact the sensitivity to protein poisoning are in that order from least to most likely.
Enjoy worms and have a great Day!
Great advice!
I am so angry right now. No one, I mean no one mentions this when they talk about their worm chow. I feed worm chow in addition to food scraps but I am now aware that I am doing it all sorts of wrong. Sheesh.
This is literally the first I have ever seen anyone talk about worm chow. I research a lot too.
@@HildeAzul Don't be angry. learn from the experience. I also feed worm chow and food scraps. Just burry the food scraps and do a light top feed with chow. As long as you do not burry the chow in an active worm bin it should be fine.
If you want to do some research about worm chows and how they affect worms and worm bins. The best source is the public library. The books to look for are published before 1980. Those books are about growing worms for fishing. Most books after 1980 are about composting using worms.
Books about growing worms for fishing, the worms are the product, and the castings are the byproduct. Books about vermicomposting, the castings are the product. When the worms are the product (cash crop) the worms are going to be taken care of with the upmost care and worm chows are a staple food source, The old timers that published books about growing worms for bait do go into a lot of detail about chows and the applications of chows.
Cheer up, enjoy worms and have a great Day!
@@wormsforlife7352
This is fantastic! Thank you. I have been searching for good reads but what I find is so basic.
Wow -- my worms seem very happy, but I had NO idea that this was possible! thanks for this great info and awareness.
You got it Tara!
I appreciate the know how that you are sharing in these videos. I hope you are getting enough of a benefit to add new info.
I like that you tackled ideas like the large scale water conservation project. Glad you are cautioning against quick buck thinking; that you are optimistic about the longer term viability of a worm farm.
Thanks for the kind words, Floyd!
Hello, I'm having issues with too moisture. Worms are lethargic and some have "string of pearl". I had mould, tons of white mites and pot worms. I took out all the food. Aired out the bin by removing lid temporarily, added more bedding. Used bread and physically removed a ton of mites. My ph is around 7. My moisture looks better. Now that its been a few weeks my worms are still lethargic and and some dying/ string of pearl.. any other suggestions?!
I just started a new worm bin a few weeks ago, my first one. Red wigglers. A few days into the bin and I saw the dreaded balloon animal looking worm. I knew exactly what it was
I had only fed them 3 strawberry tops, so thought it was a fluke, maybe stress from the shipping and new bin. But here was another one a day later. Then another.
I had saved some eggshells, but I hadn't pulverized them, yet. I finally did and added a ton to the bin and mixed it in. I felt like I added a lot, but after mixing I didn't think it was enough, so added more. Then I sprinkled more on top the next day.
I haven't fed my worms much in the last two weeks. Nothing at all wet. I've just been sprinkling coffee grounds, a bit on the top, every couple of days.
All together I think I lost about 20 worms. But it's been over a week with no more signs of protein poisoning. The worms all look bigger and healthy. I'm about to feed them some watermelon rind, previously frozen, tonight. Their first real feeding.
I firmly believe adding the copious amount of crushed eggshells saved the bin.
Man that sounds like a really fast onset of protein poisoning. Makes me wonder if something was already off in your bedding. Glad you caught it though!
@@UrbanWormCompany That's what I thought. That's why I thought it might have been stress from shipping and the new environment. Maybe there was something in the bedding they were shipped in, too.
The bedding I put them in was rinsed coconut coir and shredded cardboard. I didn't add any amendments at first. It was moist to the point only a couple of drops of water came out when squeezing in my hand.
Here is another thought I had. I thought maybe it was because the bedding wasn't inoculated. I didn't mix in any soil to jump start the microbe activity. So it was sterile bedding. I did add the bedding they were shipped in, though, to my bedding.
How much cal-carb is a little bit? And Is gypsum indicated for worm bins? Great information!💯
Thanks Billy! Great question but my suggestion is a dusting on the surface if you don’t plan to mix it in.
It’s just tough to tell folks how much they need. If you stay on top of the addition of bedding, you may mot need any at all
Your comment got my attention. Not exactly sure what cal-carb is. But I would say it depends how it is made. I am just chiming in on some past experiences with calcium carbonate made for mixing in with chicken feed or in my case worm chow. The calcium carbonate was ground and mixed in with ground grains and sprinkled lightly on top of the bedding. It only took about 3 days before worms started coming to the surface white and then they would perish. I discontinued use and everything went back to normal in the worm bin. The reason I think this happened is because during the manufacturing process the calcium carbonate was heated up in a kiln. The reasoning is the same with lime, garden lime does the same thing to worms and it is heated in a kiln. Agricultural lime is crushed dolomite (rock) and is not heated in a kiln and is safe for worms.
About gypsum in the worm bin, I happen to be experimenting with it right now I am on day 3 with top feeding on 3 bins and everything still seems fine, I plan on testing for 4 more days before I make a decision on whether it becomes another ingredient in the chow recipe. The gypsum I am playing with is a pelletized type, and then ground. The reason I am checking out gypsum is to see if it makes the worms tougher like Alum does. Both are a type of sulfate mineral. Alum is a hydrated double sulfate and Gypsum is a sulfate dihydrate. So, the theory is that they both work to strengthen the worms. I could be wrong, but it is worth investigating. The gypsum may also add to the quality of the castings giving soil just a bit more of a boost.
Enjoy worms and have a great day!
@@wormsforlife7352 the reason I asked the question was concerning pH. Oyster shell flour is very alkaline while gypsum is closer to neutral. We don't want to boil our worms do we?✌️
@@sheephills510 I use ground oyster shells in my chow but not for Ph, I use it for grit. What I use for Ph is lime. The lime is mixed in the bedding to bring it to 6.0-6.5. The bedding I use most often is peat (reed sedge) which starts off with a Ph of 3.5-5.0 I would highly suggest testing your Ph before and after applying and see how it goes. The reason I suggest testing before and after is to actually know. I see on RUclips people using sphagnum peatmoss and then adding lime to adjust the Ph all the time. The simple fact is that sphagnum peatmoss is always at a Ph of 7.0 when it is sold, so it really does not need adjusting. Although I do know bait growers that use sphagnum peat moss, and they use citric acid to lower the Ph to 6.0. If your cal-carb is oyster shell flour (finely ground oyster shells) You can actually go heavy with it and the worms will be fine. I know this because my basic top feed has it in it and my nursery feed is the same mix with even more ground oyster shells mixed in and double ground. The reason I use the oyster shells bumped up with the hatchlings instead of ground eggshells is because with the eggshells I would get C. elegans growing in the bins, too many for comfort.
To answer your question no we do not want to boil our worms and it is best to have a Ph between 6.0-7.0 a Ph of 5.5 is also fine, a Ph of 7.0 -7.7. is ok, anything over 8.0 is too alkaline just as anything under 5.0 is too acidic. Ph strips are accurate and reliable.
Have a great Day!
Worm chow causes protein poisoning? Great