Re: 1,000 worms on their way....

**llama momma** 1/30/2013, 5:27 pm

Oh Thomas, I am so glad you followed through and the company cooperated with sending more worms. Our temperatures are certainly more favorable for shipping the past 2 days also. Perfect because you know we are about to drop into freezing temps again. Now your babies can adjust without the added stress of freezing weather. Keep us posted and feel free to ask any kind of questions.

Thomas 1/30/2013, 5:30 pm

Thanks. Here's a question--what is the purpose of the bedding? I am talking about the shredded paper that is recommended be put over the top? And do you wet it down or leave it dry?

GWN 1/30/2013, 5:33 pm

Thanks. Here's a question--what is the purpose of the bedding? I am talking about the shredded paper that is recommended be put over the top? And do you wet it down or leave it dry?

That is great thomas.
I have to say from experience the importance of bedding for keeping down flies.
I did not pay as much attention for the first year and then had a huge infestation with fruit flies. SO there are many purposes of the bedding, ONE is to bury the food in, because flies can smell the rotting food and will lay eggs in it. However flies are NOT burrowers like worms are, and so will not burrow down to lay eggs
Burying your food also keeps down smells.
CHEERS

Boz 1/30/2013, 5:48 pm

The shredded paper the worms live in is damp. In a plastic bin I cover the food with dry paper or cardboard. In a flow thru I cover with damp paper or cardboard.

**llama momma** 1/30/2013, 5:49 pm

Everything GWN says, Boz too -- agree! You cannot overestimate the benefits of a thick layer of dry bedding over the top of the moist bedding. It seems to be the key to keeping conditions great for the worm kids. My dry bedding goes right to the top of the worm bin no matter how much or how little moist bedding is on the bottom. So much -- so that every time I open the lid, dry bedding easily falls out.

Lemonie 1/30/2013, 7:12 pm

Yes, shredded paper is great for keeping any misfit critters at bay, also allows for moderate insulation to keep the environment favorable by holding in and/or absorbing moisture. I sometimes put mine in dry if I'm adding a good amount of food or wet coffee grounds. It can also help balance out your ratio of "browns and greens"....so you don't exactly need newspaper, but at least some sort of paper, leaves, cardboard, sawdust, ect. $BB\'s happy face$

GWN 1/30/2013, 7:44 pm

One other reason to use papers I have discovered that I had not seen in the book
Since I did not have paper, I used peat moss originally, and that is what the man I bought them from used. The problem with this is that it is harder to tell when the worm bed needs to be harvested with peat moss. WITh paper the whole thing turns brown/black.... )

Thomas 1/30/2013, 9:55 pm

Thanks. These tips will help. I also like the idea of using up the old newspaper. We do have recycling, but this seems like a more direct and beneficial use.

yolos 2/1/2013, 3:34 pm

Okay, I don't yet have a worm bin or worm tubes but I just found my first worm in my mels mix in my 4 x 4 I built in the fall of 2011. Maybe the worms will eventually come. But they are coming slowly, well at least one worm ventured in.

**llama momma** 2/1/2013, 3:44 pm

YolosYou can look up worm tubes on the search box if you want to purposefully court more worms to your box, and Thomas I went to a couple of my bible study groups, typically older folks who still get newspapers.. and quickly found myself with over 100 pounds of donated newspapers for the worm bins. Ask and you shall receive!

littlejo 2/1/2013, 5:24 pm

Yolos, garden worms go deep in cold weather, but to encourage garden worms, you can just lay some newspaper or cardboard on the top of the bed, or put a bit of unfinished compost on top, they have to have something to eat, for we are not using regular soil. You can also get the snails and put them in some soapy water, for they will come too.
Jo

Thomas 2/1/2013, 7:38 pm

Update on my worms: received thursday. they are healthy and when I pull back the shredded paper, there is this pulsating biomass underneath. They seem to be actively feeding already, even though a lot of people say that it takes them a week or so to adjust. It is a lot of fun to follow this process. Very Happy

**llama momma** 2/1/2013, 8:29 pm

Thats great News.
Since I began 10 months ago I think they've become even more interesting since there is so much to learn about these unassuming little creatures.

Boz 2/2/2013, 9:51 am

Interesting site on worm anatomy, about 12 picture pages http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/anatomy/index.html

**llama momma** 2/2/2013, 10:03 am

Just read through the whole thing and it is quite enjoyable and funny too. Thank you so much for sharing.

Nain de Jardin 2/4/2013, 6:20 pm

This thread is very dense, and I haven't read it all, but in different posts worm keepers say they feed worms with old newspaper. I give them cardboard (the unbleached one). But I wonder about ink and coating on newspaper and magazines. Is it broken down by the worms?
Is there really no harm for the soil if I use compost from printed paper?
Many thanks for your answers!

**llama momma** 2/4/2013, 6:40 pm

When I started this thread 10 months ago I had no idea it would turn into its own book!
Your first question - I don't know about your country, but here many newspapers are printed with soy based ink. You could call the newspaper and ask. Soy based ink is reportedly safe for worms. The shiny papers like advertisements I stay away from, and heavily colored newspaper (even though I am told I could use). Any pure white-looking bleached paper, don't use it either. A fun thing to know is that studies have shown worms do indeed take in and are able to reduce many kinds of heavy metals and reduce their toxicity in their castings, therefore improving soils, it is call soil remediation, you can google those cool words and find more info. Welcome to the square foot gardening forum and enjoy learning about worms too!

littlejo 2/4/2013, 6:45 pm

Most newsprint nowadays is soy based so will not harm the worms or garden. Just don't use the shiny paper. Once I just tore a small box into a few pieces, didn't think of the tape, etc. When I went to harvest the worms, there were these pieces of rubber about 2 inches long. The worms did not eat it, must have been from the wrapping tape on the box.
Jo

Thomas 2/4/2013, 7:39 pm

I asked the gardening columnist for our paper, about this just the other day. He said that The "rep" once contained lead and other heavy metals in its ink but that the EPA banned them about 15 years ago. All inks are now safe to compost. he mentioned that farmers are shredding paper for animal bedding and using it with no ill effects.
He did caution about using too much paper for composting. If you are adding it to a compost pile instead of a worm bid, if the heap smells like ammonia, then there is too much paper in the pile and it is stealing nitrogen from the rest of the heap. He suggests not using the color supplements as that paper contains a clay which inhibits rotting. Hope this helps. cheers

Nain de Jardin 2/5/2013, 7:02 pm

1000 thanks, you all are brilliant! I had absolutely no idea ink was made of soya. Now that I know, I will give all that old newspaper to the eisenia worms. I will ask a local printer just to see what they tell me!
1,000 worms on their way.... - Page 16 3170584802

1,000 worms on their way.... - Page 16 3170584802

**Kelejan** 2/7/2013, 11:50 am

An interesting account of the winter survivability of compost worms from Redworm Composting.
Quote:
"I had left some worms/ bedding outside accidentally and when
I noticed the bin, it was pretty much frozen, I was positive
that all was dead, I sit the contents outside in the sunshine
and while defrosting the matter, I noticed that the red wiggler
worms seem to defrost, I was laughing when my husband asked
what was so funny, I showed him another worm do the same
thing and he was amazed. Not an advocate of that but it shows
you worms are very resiliant."
~ Lisa" Unquote.

There were a couple of more interesting replies to a RW letter from Bentley giving the unexpted survival of readers' worms.

**llama momma** 2/7/2013, 4:24 pm

Kelejan
Remarkable critters and nice info as usual by Bentley.
Btw check your pm.

**llama momma** 2/20/2013, 10:57 pm

Re-harvested an old bucket of castings from last August. Probably found over 700 new babies mostly. The castings weighed in at 8-1/2 pounds. The bucket had 11 pounds in it from last August. Used a bunch on last Fall's plants. Don't really know what was produced but content to have this amount. Put all the babies in a brand new bin, #3. Tomorrow harvest bin 1 and maybe bin 2. Have to see how long my eyes can handle all that harvesting.

**llama momma** 3/23/2013, 6:49 pm

Harvested 7 pounds of vermicastings today from a bin that was 7 months old and was split off from another bin. The bin spent the last 3 months in the basement at 63 degrees. The cold most likely had a big effect and slowed things down. I also don't know how many worms are in there... Rolling Eyes

In comparison the original bin with 1000 worms produced 11 pounds in 5 months in a consistant temperature of 76 degrees F. I didn't count how many worms were in todays harvested bin, just very pleased to have have garbage turn into gold. I have another bin to harvest - maybe tomorrow - plus the several pounds I have stored in the basement already. I'm ready to use these castings for Spring planting but Mother Nature is not ready and we know she rules!

Boz 3/23/2013, 7:14 pm

llama momma
I spent the last two days harvesting two rubbermaid bins, got about 8 gallons of VC. I have been using VC in my seed starting mix and if it ever stops snowing I will be using it in my garden. I use a soup can per square foot several times during the season, very scientific. Hopefully this year I won't run out.

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1,000 worms on their way....