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Vermicomposting

yellow fungus or mould

16 years ago

Hello, this is my first post but I have been reading posts in this forum for a couple of months now. I have set up a small worm bin using worms from another bin I have had going for about 6 months. I added about 300-400 worms to the new bin, and a bunch of eggs too.

After about a month, I am seeing a yellow fungus type growth on the lid, which is typically quite damp due to condensation. This growth looks almost rubbery. I left the lid open for a couple of hours and now a few days later I can see that a part of it is dried up, has turned a reddish brown, and is stinky sort of like rotten meat (yuck!).

We don't add many food scraps to the new bin as of yet; we are waiting for the population to increase. I don't think it is a problem of adding too much food.

The bedding material is a 50/50 mix of shredded newspaper and peat moss. The top 2-3 inches is damp shredded newspaper, under which we place food scraps.

I have a pretty good picture of this strange growth, but I can't see a way to post pics here....is there a way?

Has anyone else seen anything like this based on my description?

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

socks
16 years ago
I'm not the resident expert here, but here's what I would do: scrape the mold into the bin and mix it in. Mold is a decomposer, so make it part of the mix. If you don't like that idea then scrape it off and throw it away. I have never seen this on my rubbermaid bins.

If your bin is too wet, leave the cover off during the day. (I cannot leave mine uncovered at night because animals get into it.)

I always bury kitchen scraps in the bedding. Just seems to work better as far as fruit flies and other critters which may be attracted to the scraps. Also I think it starts to decompose faster when it's buried.

I have very active bins and put scraps in every week. I put them in a corner where there are not many worms so they can begin breaking down and be ready to go when the worms need more. Is it possible you aren't feeding enough?

Just my two cents on that...

As for posting a picture, you have to join a place like photobucket.com (free). UPLOAD your picture, click on the HTML tag line under your uploaded picture, and PASTE the copied HTML tagline into the body of your GardenWeb message. If you've done it properly, when you click PREVIEW MESSAGE, your picture should come up in the SUBMIT MESSAGE box. Then you can submit it, and we'll all be able to see that interesting yellow mold you've got! (I know this explanation sounds complicated, but it's really not, and once you do it, you'll enjoy being able to post other pictures too.)
squeeze
16 years ago
fungi are usually associated with higher moisture/humidity and carbon, which is their preferred food - it actually sounds like slime mold, not a problem, as socks sez, just mix it into the bedding, the worms will devour it .... if you poke some holes in the lid or leave it a bit ajar, the improved air circulation would prevent the condensation [and molds], and be better for the bin

Bill
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zmaan
11 years ago
Hi,

This is my first post! I've had my worm bin(Worm Factory) for couple months now. Worms seem happy, though a lot of them seem to like hanging out in the collection tray in the bottom!

Anyways, I noticed this vibrant yellow mould and was wondering if it was an issue.

Also in your experiences, how long does a corn cob take to compost??

Thanks!
boreal_wormer
11 years ago
It looks like slime mold. While visually dramatic they're harmless and shouldn't last long. I had the same thing in my bins. I think it came in on some fallen autumn leaves I had mixed with my shredded paper bedding.

Here is a link that might be useful: Slime Mold
Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
11 years ago
Slime mold is my guess too. I can only imagine the quality of your shouting when you first discovered it.

This post was edited by gerris2 on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 6:30
Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
11 years ago
My post doubled, sorry about that.

This post was edited by gerris2 on Sun, Jan 20, 13 at 7:00

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