If your bin is not too wet, no need to dry the sage. Just squeeze it with your hands as best as you can.
I usually freeze the carrots cut off for about a week and after that, I have them in a closed plastic bag on my porch in the sun to pre-rot. A few days ago my neighbour gave me a bag with sprouted potatoes. I removed the sprouts, chopped up the potatoes and have them in the freezer now. I am planning to do the same as with the carrots cut off. My worms do like the soft rotten carrots.

Thank you, I'll try and let the potato peels and carrots rot a bit more to see if they like them that way.

How long did you put the carrot in the sun for?

We didn't have too many sunny days so the closed bag sat for about a week on the deck, previously frozen.
A full plastic shopping bag with chopped up potatoes is defrosting in my sink and will go outside tomorrow. Let's see how long it will take to start rotting.
I might mix in some VC to speed up the process.

I have said it before, and I will say it again here. The best way to pre-rot worm food is to put it in your worm bin. If you pre-rot it in the sun in a plastic bag, you run the risk of it going anaerobic, which will result in volatile organic compounds, which are toxic to your worms.

I have put whole potatoes in my worm bin. It takes some time, but they do eventually break down. The best way to speed things up is to pre-freeze, then grind them. When I still had my worms, I used a hand cranked meat grinder, but left off the plate with the small holes, so everything just went through the auger.

Is there a problem feeding food items with mold on them? Some of the items i've been holding are getting moldy.

sbryce: didn't mean to upset you. When I said closed plastic bag, I was using the plastic shopping bag. We (up north the border) get plastic bags (w. handles) to carry our groceries home. I grabbed each side where the handle is and made a knot so it is not closed - closed. Just so the stuff won't dry out. Do you think it's still OK this way?

sam: mouldy stuff is OK to put in the bin. That's what the carrots and potatoes get to be too.

There are very different ways to tend to worm bins depending on if indoors or outdoors, the size of them, the worm populations, etc.

If you want to avoid smelly (rotting-food type smelly) odors, feed your worms at the same rate they eat it. Don't put more food in there until the previous feeding is gone (really unrecognizable), because worms will find lots of stuff to eat in there when we think not.

I read on a post here about burying food in the bedding. I don't do that. Instead it's placed on top of the VC-looking part, IN ONE AREA OF THE BIN, covered with shredded newspaper(the upper bedding), and repeated in another location when that little pile of stuff (decomposing some but not in full rot) is dispersed as well as the worm squirm that consumed it.

Chuckiebtoo

BTW....the last bit of a small worm bin not yet separated (worms, cocoons, VC)

"I have said it before, and I will say it again here. The best way to pre-rot worm food is to put it in your worm bin."

"If you want to avoid smelly (rotting-food type smelly) odors, feed your worms at the same rate they eat it. Don't put more food in there until the previous feeding is gone (really unrecognizable)"

You guys are going to have to keep repeating this because I have not learned it yet and I have to keep re-learning it the hard way.

I guess that is why many American cats and dogs are overweight, too.

Ok Im brand new here only had my bin in operation a few days now. I ordered what was supposed to be 1000 wigglers but if theres that many in what I received I will eat your hat. Anyway I gave them some cut up potato peels the other day seems gone. Today I gave them cut up banana peels that even had mold growing on them. I try to slice the food up I give them help them use the stuff better and faster. Hmmm maybe I have more worms than I thought. Now Im waiting for the problems to start.

Learning a lot on this thread about the kinds of food and the form it should be in so they can eat it. I have watched on youtube how people will give their worms lettuce which I have done. This appears to be fine and dandy just so long as its in bad shape or rotting shape. So Im learning more what I might need to add to my shopping list not so much me but so my worms can grow and be happy.