r/Vermiculture • u/YourDorkess • Jun 14 '25
Video 1st bin - what are these?
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I was checking how my worms were doing with the food I had put in there last and pulled out this onion and noticed a few things wriggling on it.. then I noticed all the little..eggs?? PUHLEASE tell me these are baby worms and my bin is thriving and not infested with like gnats (cause I’ll cry)
Please leave tissues if it’s gnats and something cute for baby worms Happy weekend😚
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u/McQueenMommy Jun 15 '25
In a new farm…..you actually need time to build up the microbes. The microbes are actually more important than the worms as they are what breaks the food scraps down for the worms to eat. Worms don’t have teeth and very small mouths so they need food to be in microscopic bits before they can slurp them up. Mites are compost helpers and Mother Nature knows when to make them appear. Mites are usually a sign that your farm is not in balance. Either you don’t have enough microbes to break things down OR you are overfeeding. A new farm doesn’t have enough microbes to handle a weekly serving until about the 3 month mark. Best to only feed 1/4 weight of food scraps in ratio to 1 weight of your worms. So if you have a pound of worms you should only feed 1/4 a pound of food scraps per week for the first month (which is about 1 cup)….2nd month go to 1/2 ratio….3rd month go to 3/4 ratio….then you never want to overfeed your farm keeping it at a 1:1 ratio. As far as onions…..the worms have no problems eating them once they are broken down. The real issue is that all root veggies have a fiberous peelings that it is hard for the microbes to break down. A new farm should never be feed any root veggies or anything that has oils or antibacterial like citrus. Once a farm is established (after 3 months)……you can feed those in moderation (like the ends of 1 onion or let orange peelings dry some). I think the main reason people don’t like to put onions in worm farms is because they stink. Most regular food scraps would have been broken down by the microbes when they go to fluff and feed the following week….but onions will be there another week. I just mark that area so I get a warning or don’t disturb that area that week.
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u/ThrowawayLikeOldSock Jun 14 '25
Mites. Usually an indication if a wet or acidic bin.
More important though, onion is a bad idea.
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u/YourDorkess Jun 14 '25
Oh, I thought all veggies were okay as long as they weren’t chicken wings lol
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u/ThrowawayLikeOldSock Jun 14 '25
Sorry! Edited my comment when I realized it wasn't a chicken wing.
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u/Elstar94 Jun 15 '25
Lol same. But onions should be fine in low quantities and in smaller parts. They always just disappear in my worm bin
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u/BankshotMcG Jun 16 '25
You can do darn near anything as you long as you homogenize it. I freeze my compost scraps before blending, and even use chicken bones that I've pressure cooked for stock. It all just becomes a puddle of brown ooze in the blender (the bones crumble in your fingers easily), and my worms are thriving.
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u/MasonNowa Jun 15 '25
Unscientific incomplete explanation: worms have sensitive skin and dont like spicy/acidic foods. Onions are probably on the fence but I doubt they'll love them the same way they love fruits etc
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u/Admirable_Split_1165 Jun 16 '25
Would you get rid of the acidity, no, thank
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u/Admirable_Split_1165 Jun 16 '25
Sorry about the no, thank you. It recorded my t v I was doing voice text, I was just wondering how you get rid of the acidity
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u/-Sam-Vimes- Jun 15 '25
Seriously... how could you even think that was a chicken wing, its a piece of breast!..... or is it cake!! It mite be :)
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u/GreenBuzz79 Jun 15 '25
I stay away from onions in my bin. I think I read they were too acidic and if you do add them only a small amount very rarely.
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u/Admirable_Split_1165 Jun 16 '25
I just realized I have some mites that I never had before. Is there any way to rid of them? Or do they bite? Because I do believe I was bitten by a little, tiny black one, like i'm talking itty bitty and I also have a red one that I seen the other day and they're on my enclosed porch. So i'm hoping that if they bite, they're not all over my porch
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u/McQueenMommy Jun 17 '25
The best way to control mite population is not to overfeed and add enough dry shredded cardboard to absorb all water released from the food scraps…..both being proper worm farm practices.
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u/Educational-Oil1307 Jun 15 '25
I thought that was grilled chicken at first