Noxious Ammonia Fumes in My Worm Bin: What Went Wrong?

[@Vermicompost]

Below are my go-to vermicomposting items featured in my videos. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my channel! www.youtube.com/@vermicompost?sub_confirmation=1 Worm Bins I use: Vermihut 5-Tray Worm Compost Bin amzn.to/3w15lQt Urban Worm Bag V2 amzn.to/3XE9QsT 20 Gallon Fabric Grow Pots amzn.to/3EBYhdr 3 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote amzn.to/3eKDLhO Mortar Tray amzn.to/3V43KD2 Other Worm Bins: Worm Factory 360 3-Tray Version amzn.to/3AHnjqK Worm Factory 360 5-Tray Version amzn.to/3tYfWY4 Bus bins amzn.to/3fd8AvP Equipment I use: 12 Sheet Cross Cut Micro Shredder (I use it to shred cardboard) amzn.to/3xYZKYu Magic Bullet Small Blender (to pulverize egg shells) amzn.to/3gwEzb4 or amzn.to/42SQ4w9 (with extra coffee bean & nut blade) Worms Red Wiggler mixes amzn.to/3yGNhwl & amzn.to/3R5tKvD ENC's amzn.to/3OkxV51 Indoor Outdoor Wireless Thermometer for worm bin amzn.to/3wIdXbO Additional thermometer sensors 433 MHz amzn.to/41juD7v Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz Additional thermometer sensors 915MHz amzn.to/3WTFgua Please make sure Thermometer & sensor are the same MHz 4 x 8 Garden Beds amzn.to/4j66biM Japanese Garden knife amzn.to/3VEzmiN Wrigglebrew Worm Casting Tea amzn.to/46PhV2A Food Dehydrator amzn.to/3O5Uj2H Mosquito Dunks 6 pack amzn.to/3OlCEUg granular amzn.to/42KDtM0 or 20 pack amzn.to/42Br4Kf Kitchen scale to weigh worms & food: amzn.to/3HnOQjg Blue gloves amzn.to/3XsBg5n Spray bottles to mist bedding amzn.to/3Fq23rN Digital handheld Thermometer amzn.to/3EWfC2j Compost Tea Bags amzn.to/3fCb5o1 Solar powered light amzn.to/3nOucAq Reusable Keurig Coffee K-cups amzn.to/3FNXvt6 Other useful equipment for worm farming: 5 stackable sifter with different sized mesh: amzn.to/3S2k184 Cameras & camera equipment I use: Insta 360 ace pro amzn.to/3vgdmR8 Flexible Tripod amzn.to/3CGTjcF Insta360 GO 3s camera amzn.to/3Z1CKVR Insta360 X3 360 camera amzn.to/494NOGl 4 Ocean bracelets I wear Multiple colors to chose from bracelets amzn.to/4eH5clM Books on worms & worm farming Worms Eat My Garbage amzn.to/3L4FXN2 Where to buy worms: www.TheGardenAndWormLady.com www.youtube.com/@vermicompost?sub_confirmation=1

[@A-V]

Jeepers! Good thing the rotting stuff was placed on only a small section of the system. So interesting to see the complete lack of movement in that corner when you scrubbed forward & backward on the time-lapse. Lesson learned: the executive producer's nose knows :) It was also good to see that the bad section has bounced back & gotten its wormies back 👍🏻

[@Vermicompost]

Yes!! Her nose knows way more than my nose knows!!😂🤣😂 I should have listened to her right away, but those mites had me believing we were making progress!! It is a whole other world when I scrub back and forth with the time lapses...you can see stuff you would totally miss! I know I learn a lot from your various time lapses!! It could have been a disaster if I hadn't sectioned it off into small areas...I think airing it out with each lift of the lid twice a day helped as well. I wonder if I would have gotten different results in a worm bin without a lid??!!? Thanks so much for stopping by to watch AV!!🪱🪱🪱

[@A-V]

So many possible 'what if'-s. I wondered what would've become of it if additional time were left for it to progress to some next stage where perhaps the worms can finally approach the area :)

[@Vermicompost]

Exactly what I was thinking!!

[@nickthegardener.1120]

Hi Patrick good job you removed the protein powder, the time lapse was great. 👌🙏😁👍

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you Nick!! If it wasn't for me doing the time lapses and lifting the lid twice a day, I might have had a dead bin when I checked on it!! Thanks so much for stopping by to watch!!🪱🪱🪱

[@NanasWorms]

We can get a little overzealous and push the boundaries at times, Patrick. I did it when I added too much vacuum cleaner contents that turned out to be mostly dog hair. Once I wet the bedding, I got that wet dog smell in a few days that is a toxic gas emitted by bacteria on a dog's fur. My worms also tried heading to the exit like yours did. It would be interesting to see if your worms dove down to the lower layers to escape. My hunch is their instinct is to climb, but it would be interesting to know! ~ Sandra

[@Vermicompost]

Absolutely!! Luckily I have the Executive Producer to reign me in!! Do you think wool from sheep would cause the same or similar toxic gasses to be emitted as the dog hair? I might be able to try some wool from a sheered sheep. I think some of the worms might have dove down or formed a sphere of no go zone below it, but I think it was much shallower than the tofu! If only I could have an underground camera or strap a camera to the back of a worm...wouldn't that be cool!! Thanks so much for watching Sandra!!🪱🪱🪱

[@NanasWorms]

Sheep's wool is a fabulous find for your garden, Patrick. We got two giant bags of waste sheep wool from our local farm. Some of it went into our big compost, some of it went at the bottom of my plant containers and some of it went into my worm farms. My side to side comparison of plants grown with castings or with sheep's wool showed the sheep's wool out performed the castings alone. It's a really gentle soil amendment. ~ Sandra

[@Vermicompost]

@@NanasWorms That's right, I think I remember you doing some videos on it!

[@joesoutdoorplaces]

The worst thing I ever put in was puréed bananas. It turned to alcohol pretty fast.

[@johnroufos8569]

Pretty funny

[@Vermicompost]

Worm bin hooch!!😂🤣😂 I've had that happen as well!! I just dumped a bunch of bananas in my Urban Worm Bag so we'll have to see how they do!! I bet having them pureed sped up the process of fermentation. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your worms brewing abilities Joe!!🪱🪱🪱

[@Vermicompost]

Worm bin banana liquor!!🪱🪱🪱

[@PlantObsessed]

I'm really glad that it didn't go all the way to the bottom that sort of indicates that it didn't kill any worms in the vicinity. Yikes! That is scary. I haven't seen anything like that since I tried to feed deer meat. Which turned out badly. You don't even have to watch the video 👍🏼😃🪱 small amounts of tofu was ok for me.

[@Vermicompost]

Oh you know I'm gonna be looking for that video now!!! I think the worms were safe and bailed out of the area before it got too bad like you said. I probably could have put an even smaller amount in and maybe it would have worked??!!? Like your tofu??!! But I think my experimenting needs to go on hiatus n the bins for a couple of checkins at least!! Thanks so much for stopping by Ann!!🪱🪱🪱

[@kevinkc3onohelijeepworld953]

First three experiments are in the bin as we speak. 1st not so bad is dried banana chips. 2nd is yellow dragon fruit that was over ripe & turning to jelly, I froze and added last night with #3 a peel from a pink variegated lemon. My first lemon I ever grew. My youngest & I tried eating slices, very sweet with a bitter bite ☺️we decided after that slice we would let Gmom use the slices in her iced tea. 😊 hopefully next harvest we get a few more & make lemonade 😊

[@Vermicompost]

Excellent!! Those are three great experiments for your worm bin!! The dragon fruit should be interesting and the banana chips should do well if they absorb some moisture! Congrats on your first pink variegated lemon!! I'm sure Gmom appreciates her lemon slices for her iced tea!! We have a Meyer lemon tree!! After the first couple of years of a few lemons we get tons now!! Let us know how things turn out!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Yikes 🤢 that a nasty smell! I'm glad you were able to rectify the situation. Thank goodness for Autumn ❤ ❤Peggy❤

[@Vermicompost]

An unforgettable smell, that's for sure!! I've only smelled that one other time in my worm bins and sadly that bin did not make it...But lesson learned for sure!!! Autumn is the best Executive Producer a husband or Worm Farmer movie maker could ask for!! Thanks so much for watching Peggy!!🪱🪱🪱

[@davidhumphrey171]

Always listen to your Boss ! You almost need another Micro bin for experiments !

[@Vermicompost]

Great advice on both counts!! I'm gonna show her this comment to see if she lets me have just one more worm bin!! Thanks so much for watching David!!🪱🪱🪱

[@munimmiah786]

I think if you’ve left it or covered it with compost eventually it would break down and then turned to compost. I once got rid of old protein powder about 10kg worth by putting it in a compost bin where I have lots of worms. After some time it just goes away

[@Vermicompost]

I think you're right! If this bin did not have a lid or I put in much less & mixed it in with the bedding I may have had different results. The lid kept the fumes in a little more than they would have without a lid. I think because I lifted the lid twice a day it helped to air it out a little. If you go back and look the mites started to attack it pretty heavily on day 2 or 3 but then scattered and just a few stayed throughout the rest of the time. Given time and more air exchange, I think the mold, microbes & mites would have made it more suitable for the worms!! Thanks so much for your insight & of course thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@annsalty5615]

Thankfully fixed it! 👍 No more protein powder. Up here, we are looking at colder temperatures for the past week and maybe a few flakes if snow. I may today see how mine are doing.

[@Vermicompost]

Yep, no more protein powder for this worm bin...I think it needs a break from experiments as well...how does the saying go?...Fool me once...shame on you, fool me twice...can't get fooled again😂🤣😂 I'm just afraid three strikes with it and I'm out!! Supposedly some folks in the Tampa area, where I live, got some flurries last week!! My brother in Pensacola, FL got 8 inches of snow!! You've got some hardy worms up there!! Have fun checking in on them!! Thanks so much for watching Ann!!🪱🪱🪱

[@GreenfieldsHomeplace]

Wow. Who would’ve thought protein powder would have that effect. So-no protein powder, no tofu! 😁 I have a cooked and frozen corn cob waiting in the freezer (no salt). I’ve never put one in my worm bin but I’m thinking they’ll like it. That’s about as far as I want to experiment. Lol. Great video. Thanks!

[@asteria4279]

Corn cobs work fine, but they won't be able to eat the hard bits quickly enough for something like a worm tower. Fun to see them enjoying the corn leftovers though! 😊

[@Vermicompost]

I'm definitely finding that worms don't interact well with processed food...maybe it's telling us something!??!! Like Asteria mentioned, corn cobs do well in a worm bin but the hard cob part will take forever...They like to eat the kernels and the inside of the cob and then hide out in there!! Thanks so much of the positive feedback and of course thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@Vermicompost]

👍 Thanks so much for sharing your experience with corn cobs!!🪱🪱🪱

[@MikeR_DiveR]

It’s really smart you experiment in quadrants. Imagine wrecking the entire tray 😮. But dude, we need to talk…six days AFTER she tells you? Six. So Autumn? What kind of a “you were right dear” gift did you get? 😂😂😂. Got a nice little 4K video of a worm ball yesterday setting up a new breeder bin. One day I’ll throw a short up on my channel. 7:13 srsly??? And you did it anyway after what happened with the protein powder? 😂 You guys are great to watch. 🪱🤿🤙

[@Vermicompost]

😂🤣😂 Alright, there is no way I can let her see these comments...she is gonna insist she is right every time, with everything now!! Actually she is the most humble person there is; she just knows my impulsive nature and risk taking are too high!! Yes the quadrants and the lifting of the lid for time lapses saved me!! That would have been a dead bin if the ammonia fumes couldn't dissipate or there were 4 x as much!! I'd love to see the worm ball video...I'll keep checking to see if you've added anything new!! Thanks so much for watching Mike!!🪱🪱🪱

[@brianseybert192]

OUCH! Hate it when that happens. Would have been interesting to look at the bedding below the protein powder under a microscope. I have been using chicken crumble as a base to my worm chow for over a year now. The crude protein is 20%, so I have been cautious, mixing it in lightly to the top layer of the bins. So far have not had any issues, I think mainly because of the large volume of material in the bins, actually the worms are huge, lol. Thankful you caught it in time Patrick. Stay Well !!!!

[@Vermicompost]

That would have been really interesting to see what was under there in a microscope!! I think if this bin was bigger and without a lid...and perhaps less protein powder, it might have been alright...but clearly this went south fast!! I'm so glad we were lifting the lid twice a day and giving it some good air exchange, otherwise this could have been really really bad for these worms!! Thanks so much for watching Brian!!🪱🪱🪱

[@karischmoyer7276]

Great to know

[@Vermicompost]

👍 Some times my learn by doing is learning what not to do!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@asteria4279]

Interesting! I would think the material under the protein powder would be fine if you remove the source and then mix the rest in? The mixing should dilute it enough to be safe?

[@Vermicompost]

For the most part...I dug a little out to make sure any of the ammonia was gone. If this bin did not have a lid I would probably be less cautious and do exactly like you said, just remove the protein powder...but if this was in my really big Urban Worm Bag I might be tempted to leave it in since it is so big and the worms would have more room to avoid it until the mites, mold and microbes had broken it down! My very first bin crashed hard due to ammonia from overfeeding so I am once bitten twice shy!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@nne7j]

Another World Good job 👍⚘️

[@Vermicompost]

Thank you!! We really appreciate you stopping by to watch & leave great feedback!!🪱🪱🪱

[@ReefMimic]

What’d you use for Timelapse?

[@Vermicompost]

In a perfect world I would set up my cameras and worm bins in their own room or space that would not get disturbed, and would be dark except for a flash when the camera takes a picture, but I haven't figured that out yet...So we set up my iPhone on a tripod, set up our lights and lift the lid of the VermiHut recording a video for one minute. We do this twice a day in the morning and at night usually. Then I take all the recordings, speed them up 20 times and cut each segment down to 2 seconds. Sometimes I merge all the recordings together and speed it up even faster if I have a lot of videos to string together. So it's kind of an adapted time lapse I've tried to perfect so I can get a good look at what they are doing!! Hopefully they look good!! Thanks so much for watching and for asking a great question that no one has ever asked before!!🪱🪱🪱

[@scitekk]

Was it whey protein powder or pea?

[@Vermicompost]

It was whey protein. That would be interesting to do a comparison!! Maybe even less protein powder than I did here and maybe without the lid, just some newspaper covering it so any gasses could dissipate better. Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@AJsGreenTopics]

Rule #1 is to listen to your wife 97% of the time. Removing the bad food was a great move. 😉

[@Vermicompost]

She must have talked to you...actually I know she didn't talk to you or you would have said 99% of the time!!!😂🤣😂 I gotta work on rule #1 Thanks for the good laugh & for watching AJ!!🪱🪱🪱

[@AJsGreenTopics]

@@Vermicompost 🤣

[@davebanner8666]

I just tried one small meat ball in the corner of my bin. Will see

[@PlantObsessed]

I recommend not looking in on it for 2 weeks.

[@davebanner8666]

@ I bet it would smell really bad. I might wait

[@Vermicompost]

DEFINITELY keep us up to date on that meat ball!! I think if you buried it deep enough and you have a relatively big bin compared to the size of the meatball and you give it a lot of time, you should be good. I just saw that Ann also answered about giving it some time. This is gonna be fun to get updates on!! Thanks so much for watching & letting us know about your experiment Dave!!🪱🪱🪱

[@TattooedAussieChick]

I don’t drink coffee. I bought a jar of instant coffee. Can I give that to the worms??

[@marymccusker8133]

I don’t drink coffee either. I wish I liked the stuff! If you have Starbucks where you live, you can ask for used coffee grounds. They fill up a bag for you for free. (Free is my favorite price point! 😜)

[@mandaAU09]

I wouldn't use unspent coffee. Grab some from your local coffee shop

[@Vermicompost]

Both great answers from Mary & Manda!! Unused coffee grounds can tend to be acidic, where as used coffee has a neutral pH. The worms do not require coffee grounds, it is just a way for me to get rid of my used grounds while feeding them and getting the nutrients into my garden. But if you want to give them used coffee grounds, your local coffee shop or Starbucks are usually very happy to give you their used coffee grounds. I go to my local Starbucks every couple of weeks and get a huge bag of used coffee grounds for my regular compost pile! And like Mary said, I am all about free!! I hope this helps!! Thanks so much for watching!!🪱🪱🪱

[@Vermicompost]

Spot on Mary!! I do that too!! Thanks for passing on your tip!!🪱🪱🪱

[@Vermicompost]

Great advice Manda!! I go to my local Starbucks to get used coffee grounds for my regular compost pile! Thanks so much for helping out!!🪱🪱🪱