Setting Up The Bin and Moving Worms In

Bedding

Bedding is any light organic material that's high in carbon. It helps to keep moisture in the bin, and protects the worms from drying out. It's there as additional food, for those times when their humans go on vacations, as well!

Newspaper is one of the most common beddings. Its high carbon content makes it a good balance for the nitrogen in food waste. Years ago, we asked our local newspaper printer about possible toxics in the paper or ink. 'No toxics,' they reported. The ink contains just soy and carbon black.

Other Beddings That Work

What else will serve as a home for your redworms? Most any, lightweight high-carbon material. You can use any or all of the following (and mixing beddings helps to promote a healthy worm bin.)

• shredded (ground-up) cardboard
• shredded leaves (from a low-traffic area)
• shredded office paper
• shredded paper towels
• coir (shredded coconut husk fiber)
• aerobic compost

Tip #1 - Avoid using confetti-size shredded paper, as it tends to mat down a lot.

Tip #2 - Compost actually contains plenty of nutrients for redworms. Composted animal manure can serve as a bedding for worms, and has plenty of nutrients in it that worms will love. You can add food waste if you like, and that will be eaten up by the worms, too.

The Great Paper Shred

That's what we call it when the a family, (or some friends) get ahold of a stack of newspaper and shreds it for worm bin bedding. We shred and shred and shred like we were working on five bins. Then we wet the newspaper and it shrinks a whole lot!

Shred the paper in about 1" wide strips and lay it in the bin. Keep the bedding from matting down, by occasionally fluffing it up. You'll want enough paper to fill two or more bins (again, it will shrink.)

Dampening Bedding

The 'Exact Science' Method: The worm bin will operate best when the bedding has about a 75% moisture content. Thus, if you're adding two pounds of paper, you'd mix in six pounds of water.

The 'By-feel' Method

Wet down your bedding (don't let it get compacted) until it's as damp as a wrung-out sponge. That's it! Use dechlorinated water. You can dechlorinate water by leaving it out overnight or you can use well- or rain-water.

OK, your bedding's in there. Now you're ready to add the worms! Take your little reds and set them down on top of the bedding and watch them move downward. In about ten minutes they should have all moved down below the surface of the bedding.

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What is Vermicomposting | Worm Bin Location
Building your Worm Bin | Set up | Feeding
Basic Worm Bin Care | Troubleshooting
Harvesting Worms and Castings | Food and Organic Compost Tea
Advanced Topics | Earthworm Biology and Production