“We have an indoor Can-O-Worms composting system and there have been problems with mold growing shortly after we throw in any wheat or flour products. Is the mold harmful to the worms? If so, how do we stop the mold?” ~ John Price
Hi John!
Mold is a very natural process of vermicomposting and shouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Wheat and flour products are great targets for mold spores, and especially with the moist dark environment in a worm bin, the growth of mold can be substantial!
Mold is not directly harmful to the worms.
In fact the worms need the mold to break down the food waste. The worms then eat the mold itself and the smaller pieces of food matter. Without mold you will still have the piece of bread lying in the bin for quite a while, and your worms will not be able to process that!
With the addition of a lot of flour products, there will be a danger of over heating in the bin if your worms cannot process it quickly enough.
Once the heat in a vermicompost bin starts rising above tolerable temperatures the worms will start working a lot more slowly and eventually die.
Also do be aware of mold spores if working around a wormery system with a lot of mold growing. Mold spores are airborne and I would not recommend breathing too much of it in, especially when some people are allergic to them!