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Paper/cardboard - 2008/07/15 23:35As I've only used paper & cardboard in very small additions before, I want to ask some of you more familiar paper users a question. My mix has always been peat moss, top or potting soil and rabbit manure, how much shredded paper and torn up 2-1/2 doz. egg crates can I use in place of some of the peat? I always mix the peat and soil and let it blend together for about a week then add the manure and then allow it to stop heating before I use it. I guess one of the big questions is, if I add the paper up front will it disappear when I add the manure since it's a carbon source? I finally bought a shredder today that cuts it into 1/4" wide strips. With a 6 sheet capacity it seems to do a good job. As high as peat moss and everything else has gone and apparently isn't likely to drop soon I'm trying to shred costs so to speak. I now have a new respect for junk mail.
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thewormguys
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 55
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/07/16 08:09We only use paper and cardboard as a bedding. They love it. I shred it to 1/4", soak it and lay it on top. They love pizza boxes. The egg cartons I leave whole and dry. I blend their food up, pack it in the egg holders and close the lid. The egg cartons soak up excess water. After they eat the food they eat the egg cartons.
Rob
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timnbama
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 117
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/07/16 08:28thewormguys wrote: We only use paper and cardboard as a bedding. They love it. I shred it to 1/4", soak it and lay it on top.Rob
Lay it on top of what?
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thewormguys
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 55
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/07/16 12:43I lay the new newspaper and cardboard on top of the old bedding and food..
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wormdirt
User A Hatchling Earthworm
Posts: 16
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/04 21:31how often do replace the paper and cardboard?
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timnbama
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 117
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/05 07:05wormdirt wrote: how often do replace the paper and cardboard?
As I don't use just paper and cardboard solely as bedding but mix it with the other bedding such as dirt, top soil, peat moss I couldn't answer that question as well as the guys here who only use paper. A lot has to do with the intended purpose, whether bait or vermicomposting is being done. If you're going for the bait aspect then you've got to run less worm population or at least run a fattening bed to fatten them up in. For breeding for bait you want a higher worm density to insure frequent matings. I'd say that the frequency of replacing the paper depends on how it's being used, alone or mixed with dirt, the density of the worms, the type of worms, the maintained moisture level, pH level, bed temperature all have an impact. The composters are wanting a faster rate of bedding being converted to castings than what the bait producer does.
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thewormguys
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 55
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/05 08:15We replace the paper/cardboard as the existing paper/cardboard disappears. We use it to keep the food (mostly rotting fruits and veggies) from getting fruit flies and smelling. The herd eat it when I am running low on food or on vacation. It also helps to keep moisture in the bin and absorb water when we over water. I started with a filled bin of paper. As that turns to compost I keep 2 inches on top while burying the food below it.
Rob
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thewormguys
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 55
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/05 09:38We replace the paper/cardboard as the existing paper/cardboard disappears. We use it to keep the food (mostly rotting fruits and veggies) from getting fruit flies and smelling. The herd eat it when I am running low on food or on vacation. It also helps to keep moisture in the bin and absorb water when we over water. I started with a filled bin of paper. As that turns to compost I keep 2 inches on top while burying the food below it.
Rob
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BettyF
User A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 3
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/10 22:52Rob, you said that you shred your cardboard bedding. How do you do that? Soak it and shred it by hand? Or do you have some sort shredder? Thanks.
Betty in Arkansas
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Larry C
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 50
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/11 02:12One worm grower told me he knew someone who uses a wood chipper to shred cardboard.(one that takes brush & limbs up to 3") Anyone else given that a try?
Larry
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timnbama
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 117
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/11 06:55My shredder/grinder eats the stew out of cardboard. The best way that I found was to make a chute going through a drop in tailgate on my trailer and butt the grinder's discharge up against it. Then stretch a tarp down over the trailer top extending down onto the sides and let it fly. When done it's not blown all over the place. A little leaves or something like grass every so often and you've got premixed bedding material.
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jlance
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 114
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/12 08:25tim do you have to wet your cardboard before putting it in the chipper what brand and hp if don' tme asking.I use my mulching lawn mower wet the cardboard, some have to rip in smaller pieces and run the mower over it works good put slow.heal the earth with worm farming. John Lance Indain Valley,virginia
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timnbama
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 117
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/12 20:01The cardboard goes in dry and the shredder grinder is a Craftsman with a 5 hp Tecumseh engine on it. It will grind up to 3" trees.
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jlance
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 114
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/12 22:22what size peices do you put in at a time?heal the earth with worm farming. John Lance Indain Valley,virginia
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timnbama
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 117
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/12 23:04I rip it into pieces about 24 x whatever long if it's a big enough box or piece of cardboard, fold it in half lengthwise and feed into the leaf hopper part, gone! I guess that you could roll it and feed it through the grinder section where limbs normally go but that doesn't grind as fine as the shredder section. If you have one or know someone who does before you invest in one try it with a piece of corrougated cardboard to see how it does. When a s/g is running the shredder part creates a vacum to pull the stuff through it so if you can get it small enough to start it'll fly on though without too much effort on your part. The grinder for the tree limbs will usually grab hold of the wood and suck it on through there, ever so often you might have to help one with a little push. Usually though it's more of holding back a little to keep it from grinding it too fast and stalling.
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jlance
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 114
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/13 08:33Thanks,sounds like there worth the investment but i'll have to stick with the mower for a while.$$$$heal the earth with worm farming. John Lance Indain Valley,virginia
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BettyF
User A Fertile Cocoon
Posts: 3
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/15 21:43My red wigglers and Belgium nightcrawlers seem to prefer cardboard over paper and seem to like newsprint better than office shreds. What they really, really like is semi-composted oakleaf mulch from under my trees. I put the mulch in a black bag in the sun for a few days or heat it in a crock pot on my porch to kill the baddies. I'm told that when we sterilize soil, the desirable bacteria generally survives. Just in case, though, I add some old VC or a handful of unsterilized mulch. I often make my bedding from a combination of all three and sometimes add peat moss near the end of the cycle if more bedding is needed since it's "prettier" in the finished product than the other medium. My paper shredder does a fair job on thin corrugated cardboard. I run it through so the cutter so that the air space is cut in short horizonal strips rather than getting long vertical airspaces. Make sense? Betty
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gnosnhoj
User A Protected Species Earthworm
Posts: 544
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/15 22:10Any time I've ever fed cardboard through my chipper/shredder (Troybilt Tomahawk) it turned into something closely resembling dryer lint, with or without output sizing screens. Got a bit warm-smellin' up in there a few times too, even with alternating materials. Reckon I'll do my cardboard shredding inside. I like the mulching lawnmower idea though, jlance - whatever you don't rake up feeds the yard .Y'all have fun, whatever you're doing. Gary Hopkinsville, KY
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thewormguys
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 55
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/20 09:05I use an office paper shredder that I got at BJ warehouse. It shreds the cardboard to 1/4" by 2" strips that I soak for 20 mins after shredding. This allows the cardboard time to soak up the water and loosen it up. Haven't tried the chipper idea but it sounds like fun.. Rob
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Kuznles
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 59
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/26 00:11Yep, I have been using an old 8 hp shredder that I got from troy built back in 1985, I grind about 10 to 15 pounds of paper at a time and the throw in all the old veggies that I can find. Mix that about half & half with peat moss and you have some mighty good bedding for worms. I have two 32 ft green houses with 56 bins of worms so it keeps me busy. Been raising worms this way since 1998 and it works fine. I usualy run my worms through a seperator about every three month for the vermipost and give the worms new bedding.
kuznles@kountrykuznworms.comKuznLes
Kountrykuznworms.com
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mikel
User A Juvenile Earthworm
Posts: 42
Re:Paper/cardboard - 2008/08/30 20:20timnbama wrote: As I've only used paper & cardboard in very small additions before, I want to ask some of you more familiar paper users a question. My mix has always been peat moss, top or potting soil and rabbit manure, how much shredded paper and torn up 2-1/2 doz. egg crates can I use in place of some of the peat? I always mix the peat and soil and let it blend together for about a week then add the manure and then allow it to stop heating before I use it. I guess one of the big questions is, if I add the paper up front will it disappear when I add the manure since it's a carbon source? I finally bought a shredder today that cuts it into 1/4" wide strips. With a 6 sheet capacity it seems to do a good job. As high as peat moss and everything else has gone and apparently isn't likely to drop soon I'm trying to shred costs so to speak. I now have a new respect for junk mail.
I would use a 50/50 mix. You have already got an excellent nitrogen source in the rabbit manure. I have placed whole sheets of newspaper on the very bottom of the bin and noticed it was gone a month later.
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