What can I use for worm bedding?
7 min read
Asked by: Tevin Wilcox
10 Bedding Materials Your Worms Will Love
- Shredded brown cardboard.
- Shredded paper (not bleached white office paper)
- Shredded newspaper (not colored)
- Aged compost.
- Aged horse or cow manure.
- Coco coir.
- Peat moss.
- Straw and hay.
What is the best homemade worm bedding?
These are our top household beddings for your vermicomposting bin:
- Brown Corrugated Cardboard. …
- Shredded Paper products. …
- Pre-existing Aged Compost. …
- Peat Moss. …
- Fall Leaves. …
- Untreated Wood Chips. …
- Straw and Hay. …
- Aged Manure from Bovine or Equine. Never use fresh manure.
How do you make worm bedding?
Shred and moisten newspaper to make bedding and create a thick, fluffy layer of it in the bottom of the bed. Add worms, soil, and food scraps and watch your worms turn it into rich organic soil and compost. Keep the bed moist and don’t let it dry out or your worms will die.
What is the best bedding for a worm farm?
Here’s a list of common bedding materials you can add into the worm bin.
- Brown cardboard (cut into small pieces)
- Paper (not bleached white office paper, shredded)
- Newspaper (not colored, shredded)
- Aged compost.
- Aged horse or cow manure.
- Coco coir or coco fiber.
- Peat moss.
- Straw and hay.
What can I use for Nightcrawler bedding?
Bedding options include finely shredded matte paper, peat moss and coconut fiber. Moisten paper bedding by spritzing it generously with water; moisten moss or coconut fiber by submerging it completely in water and wringing it out well.
Can I use potting soil for worm bedding?
Because it is intended to drain quickly, potting soil is a poor choice for a worm bin. Worms must have some moisture, but not enough to pool in the bottom of the bin. Worms not kept moist have trouble burrowing and often fail to reproduce.
Can I use hay for worm bedding?
Hay or Straw works well as worm bedding material, however unless you live on a farm, you will need to purchase the hay or straw. another drawback is that hay and straw do not hold moisture as well as paper and cardboard. Hay and straw do provide great space for air and worm movement because of their structure.
Is shredded paper good for worms?
Shredded paper and cardboard, egg cartons, ripped up newspaper, receipts and envelopes should all be a regular part of the worms diet. LOTS of non-glossy paper should go in your worm farm – it is worth repeating!
Can I use sawdust for worm bedding?
Sawdust can be added to a worm bin, but you need to do it in moderation. When adding to a worm bin, add equal parts food scraps and moistened sawdust. Adding too much sawdust will sap the moisture from a worm bin and make the contents difficult to break down.
Are grass clippings good for worms?
Additionally, green grass clippings generate too much heat as they break down. These high temperatures can kill your worms. Fertilizers and other chemical compounds might be suitable for soil. However, they are too strong to add to a worm bin.
Are coffee grounds good for worm beds?
Attract 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.
How do you make a nightcrawler bed?
How to Make a Nightcrawler Compost Bed
- Clean Your Bin. Clean the inside of a wooden crate or plastic bin with a damp paper towel. …
- Add Ventilation Holes. …
- Prepare the Newspaper. …
- Add the Newspaper to the Bin. …
- Supply the Worms. …
- Include a Layer of Cardboard. …
- Raise the Worm Bin Off the Ground. …
- Add Your Food Waste.
Do worms eat dryer lint?
You can feed them any vegetable scraps including egg shells and coffee grounds (if you use a paper coffee filter, throw that in too!). You can also feed your worms lint from your clothes dryer and paper towels (use only paper towels that were used to clean up drink spills and do not have cleaning solution on them).
Can worms eat cotton fabric?
Specific things you can feed your worms:
Just make sure you shred it and soak it in water before adding. Cotton scraps: If you have old eco friendly towels (preferably organic towels), rags, or pieces of cotton clothing (make sure it’s 100%), your worms can eat it.
Can you put dryer lint in worm compost?
In a nutshell, yes you can. Composting lint from dryers is a simple task, as this brown material is easy to save until you have enough to add to the mix.
How does a worm composter work?
Worm composting is using worms to recycle food scraps and other organic material into a valuable soil amendment called vermicompost, or worm compost. Worms eat food scraps, which become compost as they pass through the worm’s body. Compost exits the worm through its’ tail end.
Do worms like 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.
How deep should my worm bed be?
The container depth should be between eight and twelve inches. Bins need to be shallow because the worms feed in the top layers of the bedding. A bin that is too deep is not as efficient and could potentially become an odor problem. Worm boxes can be purchased or made.
Can you put bread in worm compost?
Yes, in moderation, bread, and in fact, all grain based foods, are worthy of your worms’ processing power. Stale bread remains just as full of nutrients and building blocks for worm growth as the fresh stuff.
Can worms eat potato peels?
Vegetable Waste
Carrot peelings, potato skins, broccoli and cauliflower stalks, lettuce, kale, even onion peels (in limited quantities) are perfect for the worm bin. Vegetable waste like this isn’t prone to overheating your bin either, so this is another low-maintenance food.
What is worms favorite food?
Worms love lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, to name a few of these vegetables. Be sure to cut these scraps down into small pieces or even food process them. Remember to thoroughly rinse off all hot spices, sauces, oils, dressings, and cheeses because they can harm your vermicomposting project.
Do worms eat tea bags?
Worms will eat anything that was once living, Leftover vegetable scraps, fruit and vegetable peelings. Tea leaves / bags and coffee grounds.
Are eggshells good for worms?
The calcium in eggshells also helps keep your worm population thriving by contributing to reproduction. The exact reason isn’t fully understood, but worm farmers have long noticed a boost in reproduction after adding eggshells to their bins.
Do worms like eggshells?
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.
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).
Should I stir my worm bin?
There is definitely no need to completely mix up your worm bin contents. The worms themselves – along with various other critters do a lot of mixing on their own.
Do I need to water my worm farm?
Worms love an environment with a moisture content of 70% or more. Food wastes usually contain about 80 per cent water and this will be released as the worms break down the food scraps. However, it will remain in the bedding for a long time before eventually draining out, so it’s important to add water as well.
