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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum
glowery
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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 Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 08:40 Are you supposed to add bedding to existing worm bins, or is the initial bedding all they need?

If you are to add more, when do you know it is the right time to add it?

Glenda Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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WormMainea
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 Re:Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 09:33 I don't know what others do, but I add some bedding (shredded newspaper) every time I add food scraps. We eat lots of veggies so I do this to balance the moisture. This time of year I always add a bit more than I would in the winter for two reasons:

1. Air has more moisture in it, and I want to keep a moisture balance.

2. I'm harvesting castings for garden soil amendment and brewing tea. I want to keep the worms:bedding ratio equitable. I've learned that too many worms and not enough bedding is a VERY BAD situation.

Fewer worms and more bedding means that things will slow down some. For me that's OK because I'm splitting food scraps between indoor and outdoor bins now.


Mark WormMainea.com
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glowery
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A Protected Species Earthworm
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 Re:Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 09:41 Thanks Mark,

I am thinking then I need to be adding a new layer of bedding to my bins this morning. Is 2 or three inches of new bedding enough to add at a time?

Glenda Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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WormMainea
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 Re:Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 11:13 Some is better than none. In my big (30 gallon) bins, I try to keep about 4" of bedding on top. In my smaller (18 gallon) demonstration bin, I have about 2-3". WormMainea.com
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glowery
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 Re:Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 11:54 Okay I just came in from checking my bins. In case I forgot to mention I have ENCs. I took my garden claw and fluffed up the bedding. There is still lots of newspaper in the bins. As I was fluffing I saw lots of big ole worms intermingled in that bedding which made me very happy. I did mist the bedding a bit when I turned it over as it has dried just a little. I also sprinkled just a little cornmeal on the top. I am really not sure if I need to add any more bedding right now. When I got my worms I divided the 5 pounds betweem 2 18 gallon bins so they would not get ahead of me as I am so new to this.

I fed the worms some course chopped potato peelings last Saturday, they are in that corner eating, but there is still quite a bit left. I won't feed anything else until I see that most are all of those are gone. I am thinking I should have let the peelings sit out longer than I did so they would have been softer. I spritzed a little water on these to see if it would aid in the softening.

Something else I noticed, in an opposite corner were I had had fed some celery and carrots a couple of weeks ago that I had run through the finer chopping attachment on my food processor, there are still a lot of worms, even though I really can't see any of the food. There must be some really tiny particles left there that they are feeding on.

So I am thinking from now on when I do feed any veggies unless they are super soft on their own, I will run them through my food processor with the attachment I used on the celery.

We have been having quite a bit of rain the last week or so, so I amy not be able to start feeding the manure until I divide these bins the first time. Right now I would sink in to my ankles just trying to get to the manure piles

This really is a trial and error operation isn't it? As long as I keep seeing fat happy worms, I guess I am doing good

Glenda Glenda

I always wanted to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific.
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redhen
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 Re:Adding more bedding - 2006/05/05 17:23 This really is a trial and error operation isn't it? As long as I keep seeing fat happy worms, I guess I am doing good
You got it! Susan Quinby-Honer
redhen@nc.rr.com
Starve the Landfill...Feed the Earth.
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Boardwalk :: Forum List Six (6) New Worm Digest Forums 1) General Earthworm Discussion Forum

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