Worm diaries

The last couple of weeks in worms:

• Fascinating the see all the little flecks of worm poo up the sides of the box. It gives the impression they’re wriggling vigorously and kicking it all up, but they’re never actually doing this when I look at them. I can’t really picture how it happens. Do I need an infrared camera on them…?
• One day they were all in the very top layer of the bedding, and so were some of the ones at Rhyze – I later read this meant they could sense rain coming and were getting out of the depths to make sure they didn’t drown. Rain was indeed inbound!
• Foraged some eggshells from a neighbour’s food waste and ground them into powder (it smelled rank). Mixed up a small amount of new bedding including this – for calcium, and to help with their digestion – and added it to the top of the bin.

• I fed them a little of my bokashi, mixing it with new bedding and lightly integrating it with the top layer of existing bedding, trying not to disturb them too much. Hard to tell how much progress they’re making with it. They next day they were mostly wriggling around in the food layer, which I think is a good sign.

• While I was doing this, a very curious worm climbed all the way up the side and stuck their little head over the edge, had a thorough sniff of the environs, and eventually decided to return to the bin. Very reassuring!

• Still no liquid runoff through the drainage holes, but the cardboard layer on top is continually damp. Hopefully this means I’ve got the moisture levels pretty bang on?
• I put a few chunks of old apple in. The next day it had fractal white and blue mould bursting from it. I’ve just mixed it in a bit.
• Tiny baby slugs all over the lid, leaving little swirly patterns. I don’t want them getting big and eating all the food, so I’ve removed them by hand, and set an eggbox trap for any more. Very helpful of them to be ascending straight up to the lid for me to catch. Assume they’ve come in on some food waste as eggs, but not sure why the bokashi didn’t take care of this.

• Definite smell, but only when I take the lid of and stick my head in, and I don’t think it’s a bad one. Just earthy.
• Small population of slaters and springtails, which is normal and fine.