Can you worm bedding with peat moss?
3 min read
Asked by: Robert Sands
Peat moss is a beneficial option for worm bedding because it absorbs excess moisture which could be harmful to the worms or cause them to escape the bin, seeking dryer pastures. It also breaks up heavy bedding, providing better oxygenation for the composting process.
Do earthworms eat moss?
Earthworms eat the nutrients in the compost; they don’t enrich it. Worms eat almost everything in the soil — fungi, invertebrate life, leaves, twigs, algae, moss and microscopic life. In passing soil through their gut from one end to the other, they throw out castings that mark their paths.
What is the best thing to put in a worm bed?
Instead of soil, composting red worms live in moist newspaper bedding. Like soil, newspaper strips provide air, water, and food for the worms. Using about 50 pages, tear newspaper into 1/2″ to 1″ strips. Avoid using colored print, which may be toxic to the worms.
What kind of soil do you use for a worm bed?
Earthworms breathe through their skin, which means they prefer loose, loamy soil. These worms also need soil rich in organic material and nitrogen. You can add a layer of lawn clippings over the soil to provide cool shade and nitrogen that attract earthworms.
What can you not put in a worm bed?
Items you cannot compost in a worm bin:
- Lemon, lime, orange or other citrus peels and juice (in excess this will make the soil too acidic)
- Onions and garlic (a good rule of thumb is if it makes you smell, it makes your worm bin smell)
- Meat, fats, grease, bones or oils (no butter, lard, stocks, soups, etc)
What do commercial worm farms use for bedding?
Bedding Material Items
| Item | Image |
|---|---|
| Brown Cardboard | Shredded cardboard is essential. Source: cvhomemag.com |
| Shredded Newspaper | Shredded newspaper makes excellent worm farm bedding material |
| Aged Compost | Aged Compost Source: teedandbrown.com |
| Coco Coir |
How often should you change worm bedding?
After worms are added, bedding should be kept moist but not soggy and the top 6 to 8 inches turned every 7 to 10 days to keep it loose. About every 6 to 9 months the old bedding should be replaced with properly prepared new bedding. To change bedding, remove the top 5 or 6 inches (where most of the worms are).
Can you put eggshells in a worm farm?
eggshells – worms simply can’t eat them. They will still be there when you remove the worm castings, and you’ll have eggshells in the garden. Eggshells are good for the garden, so if you crush them up, and put them in the worm farm, they’ll end up adding calcium to your soil.
Will worms eat banana peels?
Bananas are a great and inexpensive snack for both us and our worms. Those peels are desirable to compost worms no matter what shape they’re in. They’ll make short work of what otherwise would have taken up space in your trash.
Do worms like grass clippings?
Grass clippings are a great addition to a traditional compost pile and worms will eat these as well in their natural setting, but in your vermicomposting system, they will heat up the soil and can kill all of your worms.
What to feed worms to make them big?
One of the surest ways to not only grow big worms, but also keep your worms healthy, is to spray you worm bedding and added food with a weak mixture of VermaPlex® (a liquid soil inoculant fertilizer made from worm castings) and water (80 parts water to 1 part VermaPlex®).
Are coffee grounds good for worms?
Worms love to eat coffee grounds, and that’s great news for your garden. Add coffee grounds to your compost pile to help attract worms, which help speed up the process of turning food scraps into compost. You can also add coffee grounds directly to the soil, but you’ll have to be careful not to overdo it.
