Stop putting citrus peels in your worm bin and calling it compost

I see it all the time in this group and on YouTube from Portland to Philly, people tossing orange and lemon rinds into their apartment worm bins like it's no big deal. Those peels take months to break down indoors, plus they make the bin acidic and the worms literally crawl to the edges to escape. I learned this after 4 months of wondering why my castings were slimy and my red wigglers kept trying to bail on the 3rd of last month. The fix is simple, keep citrus out entirely or chop it into tiny bits and only add a handful every 2 weeks max with extra cardboard. Anyone else notice their bin smells like a rotten fruit salad after one big citrus dump, or is it just my 10 gallon setup?

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kevin_martin3d ago

Citrus peels wreck a bin fast because of the acid and the oils in the rind, and worms really do try to get away from it. Even when they break down eventually, it throws off the whole balance and you end up with that slimy mess you described. Toss the citrus in the trash or outdoor pile instead and keep the bin bedding topped off with plain cardboard.

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