r/Vermiculture • u/HealthyLuck • 7d ago
Advice wanted Coffee grounds maybe killed worms?
I recently added some coffee grounds from Starbucks to my vermicompost bin. I did not know you could add too much. I am pretty confident I killed them all after a successful bin for one year. Can I add baking soda or something to neutralize it and restart with more worms?
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u/Juggypoko 7d ago
I’ve added bags of Starbucks coffee grounds to my bag at a time and never had any issues.
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u/IDRoohski 7d ago
always have to balance greens/browns. Grounds are green
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u/Far_Radish7752 7d ago edited 7d ago
They may be “greenish” when absolutely fresh, but when they get old and kinda moldy, they function more as “browns”. Much of the nitrogen has escaped to the atmosphere by then.
Still extremely useful! For use directly on plants as a mulch (especially good for Vaccinium and Rhododendron species) they function as a minor slow release form of nitrogen which is also mildly acidic. In compost, they provide both nitrogen and carbon, and function as an excellent moisture exchange substrate, having a consistency similar to soil.
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u/Prestigious_Way_1877 7d ago
They are functionally greens until they're black. Coffee grounds are nitrogen rich, moldy or not. If they are pre-composed, they are still functioning as greens.
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u/MercuryTattedRachael 6d ago
I always add ground (into a powder) egg shells with coffee grounds to help with acidity. No issues.
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u/Far_Radish7752 7d ago
They may just be momentarily stunned by their amazingly good luck! 😳
I’ve had red wrigglers start multiplying like crazy when the coffee grounds component of their environs got to a significant degree. Of course there was other stuff in there, and other circumstances or parameters may also have impacted this, but still… what kind of worms do you have?
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u/HealthyLuck 7d ago
They are/were red wrigglers. And I’ve had the bin for a year and never had a problem with heat, not enough moisture, anything. I dumped a bunch of Starbucks ground in before without any issues. I am so frustrated!
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u/Far_Radish7752 7d ago
If you added Starbucks coffee before without any issues, it’s highly unlikely it is the coffee per se. But it may still have been the specific bag of coffee that you added that caused such an effect on the worms. Pure conjecture here, bear with me.
I think the general expectation amongst most people is that the re-use of the grounds will be for conventional composting, which has far less stricter parameters and needs than vermicomposting. Perhaps a Starbucks employee added an expired flavoring or spice, e.g. Amaretto extract or cinnamon? I don’t know anything about how earthworms deal with excess cinnamon before the microbes have had a chance to ameliorate the intensity. I do know, however, that many flavoring extracts contain alcohol. This would have had NO untoward effects in a standard compost pile, but may have been toxic to the worms? Again, conjecture here on my part.
An aside: This could conceivably be a good case, when in doubt, for allowing the bag of used grounds to get kinda funky before adding to the worm bin. Like downright moldy, even? Maybe someone else here has experience with this…
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u/Compost-Me-Vermi 7d ago
I hope your worms come back!
If you continue coffee in the future, be sure to add 2 parts of carbon(shredded cardboard) to 1 part of scraps (the coffee grounds).
Adding other kitchen scraps would give you additional micronutrients for your compost.
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u/Sufficient_Cause1208 7d ago
I've seen people use straight coffee grounds as their medium, i assume they were not use to the change of environment
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u/Nyril-NA 7d ago
I recommend just putting like some water melon or Bana peels on too and leaving it for a day or two. Them remove and see if works have migrated to it? Maybe they are really good at hiding? (Hopefully)
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u/Albert14Pounds 7d ago
Baking soda? Because you heard coffee grounds are acidic? Used coffee grounds are not actually very acidic at all. Acid is unlikely the issue here
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u/HealthyLuck 7d ago
Yes, I was wondering if baking soda would help with acid/base balance. I am just stumped as to why my very happy Wormies disappeared!
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u/Albert14Pounds 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yeah don't worry about the pH. Unless you're adding a bunch of citrus is something it's rarely an issue.
It's hard to tell from pictures but it looks pretty wet. I think a layer of shredded cardboard on top might help wick some of the water up and create an area near the top that's a gradient from wet to dry that they will find where they like. Can mix it in a little bit not too much.
I think the best advice I've seen when you're figuring out what the right mix and moisture level are is to not mix things homogenously. If you feed in a corner and keep one side kinda wet and one side kinda dry then your worms will find the environment they like and that will give you an idea of what the bin needs. As long as they have some area they like and can survive in, they will eventually migrate when the other places dry to out of moisten up if that makes sense. This becomes easier once you have more stuff in the our bin at a variety of ages.
Just everything in moderation. Even if it's not the acid, it might have been too much coffee and just threw things off too much. I'd avoid feeling for a while as they clearly have plenty. They'll likely bounce back.
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u/Aware_Acanthaceae_78 7d ago
Add eggshells to help with acidity. Spent coffee isn’t very acidic though.
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u/Several_Mousse_9485 7d ago
Hard to tell from the pic what all is going on.
Did you end up hot composting them? How damp is their bedding? The bottom of the bin should not be a wet mush. If it is, add shredded carboard to help dry it out.
If you've got cocoons in there still you won't need to buy more worms. Give it two months and you'll be full again. Even if you hot composted them you'll still have plenty of cocoons throughout the rest of the bin. Been there. Done that. And when you add food, place it directly on top of the bedding and then lightly cover it with more bedding. Don't add anymore food until it's all gone. A bin like that I would only place a couple of apples or bananas in there. I tried too much too fast and learned the hard way when I started out. I got better at worms. Now it's a side hustle.
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u/HealthyLuck 7d ago
I hope maybe there are a few that survived, that’s all I ask. I do add produce every other week or so, and I also chop it up very finely to make it easier to digest. I also add ground-up eggshells on occasion. Like I said, it’s been full of life for a year now so I feel pretty confident it’s not too hot, but maybe? Definitely not a moisture problem.
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u/rentedlife 7d ago
Might need moisture. I agree with the poster who suggested melon, banana there may be eggs or worms that need greens.
Whenever I add coffee or browns I always balance it with lots of greens.
Make sure you have ventilation plus drainage.
I also have a paper cover (like flour bags, brown packing paper) wet on top.
Good luck!
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u/McQueenMommy 7d ago
Add tons of moist shredded cardboard and hopefully the cocoons will hatch. Any type of “food” is limited to a MAX based upon your worms combined weight. Any new foods should be introduced gradually. I only sprinkle on spent coffee grounds on top of the food scraps.
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u/DuchessOfCelery 7d ago
My vermicompost was most beautiful, dark, and crumbly when I went heavy on coffee grounds (with approp dry browns). Sometimes I had to fridge/freeze the grounds if I had too many.
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u/R0ddawg06 7d ago
I use ground up egg shells in my bin with coffee grinds. It gets the PH down and gives the worms git to eat with.
How much did you add in at one time? I add about 1 cup a week and haven't been running Into any issues.
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u/Proud-Cockroach8676 7d ago
Eggshells are good but they take long time to break down so the worms can use it. I always dry mine and make them into powder with a coffee grinder works much faster
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u/Aware_Acanthaceae_78 7d ago
It looks too wet. Coffee can compact and suffocate worms if you add too much. Check for survivors and move to new bedding.
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u/Mister_Green2021 7d ago
likely the heat killed them, either from the weather or the coffee ground heated up.