Bedding for Worms: Coir, Leaves or Peat Moss?
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Bedding is the single most important element in your worm bin because it should account for at least 70% of the total volume of the bin at any given time. In this video, we discuss different types of bedding and specially we talk about leaves. Leaves are my favorite source of bedding for composting worms. Leaves are the natural bedding worms seek out in the wild and as they break down, they release plant available nutrients into your garden. They are free, renewal and abundant in most climates, from tropical to temperate.
To help support this channel use the following links to shop on Amazon:
Coco-coir: amzn.to/46S3vy8
Bone Meal (Worm Grit Level) : amzn.to/3WIu9oN
(The one used in the video came in the 50 pound bag of the same brand)
Biochar (Worn Grit Level and Microbial Habitat): amzn.to/3GC01FM
Mesh Divider (for worm bin): amzn.to/3xhKk14
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
How to Take your Bin to the next Level Playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PLJQ7A3Z50v5G9xnx4FaZ9-MvbgHgFLwF3.html
When I first found your videos, the strange way you edit them with unpredictable hard cuts, transitions and music grated on my nerves, but the content is great and for some reason I'm starting to enjoy the weirdness of how you edit them, haha
lol! I am learning how to edit. I place music and transitions according to changes in the storyline. I enjoy the process but I am not a professional editor.
Hi! I've recently started a 90 litre worm bin and added a mix of - 1 bucket of coco coir, 2 buckets of matured homemade compost, 1/2 a bucket of broken down wood chips and filled the remaining space with leaf mold. I only added about 400 worms but they're getting through about 500 grams of kitchen scraps, rice bran and coffee grounds per week! I think they're happy in there!?
Really enjoy watching your videos, they're short and packed with really helpful information. Subbed. All the best.
Awesome!!! That sounds like a great set up! I really like how much carbon/brown material you added; a great mixture and diverse combo. I find worms like to have different materials, leaves, wood chips, a little bit of coir, cardboard... all of that adds biodiversity because different microbes will be drown to different substrates. Great job and thank you for the feedback!
I seen 81 year old that uses Wheatgrass Microgreens to feed is 2 million Worm~ He even does Red Wigglers & European Night Crawlers in together One likes the bottom & middle zones..
The reds stay close to the top of the bins .. Just go natural materials!~ Fish waste & Worm~casting & biochar would go to my plant beds!~ The only way to go~
awesome!!! Thank you for sharing! Great set up!
We have 4, 2 container worm systems. We use leaves, cardboard, and a mix of cococoir. But what we discovered is in our area, when we source the leaves off our property it also tends to bring in soldier fly larvae which compost even faster than the worms.
oh wow! I wonder where they are laying their eggs. Some folks don't like the soldier flies. Do you? I think in an indoor system is a bit more complex.
@@GardensofNewEngland Well, the biggest problem is the larvae becoming flies. No aggressive but can be 20 in a day at times you have to collect and take outside. But it is a chore my son really enjoys.
@@alveygardensoh you do have an indoor bin! I used to hate them. I had my bins outside during the warmer months and they would lay eggs inside. If you can prevent them from going into your bin, you should be good. Dry the leaves completely. I keep bags a year in advance so avoid any bugs coming in. Also, they like acidity. Once I started to manage for acidity they went away.
@@GardensofNewEnglandthat is sweet to know I am just starting to see the Larvae in my bins that will help
@@mllokie9075 Awesome!!
Thank you for highlighting leaves as bedding. Leaves are my favorite and are most likely “clean”. Egg cartons and shredded paper makes a mess in my experience
Yeah! I agree! I love leaves above all other options.
Thank you for information .
you are most welcome!!
Thank you ☺️
you are most welcome!
Thanks for the information
My pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Great videos. I just discovered your channel.
Thank you!!! Welcome to the channel!!
Do we need to be cautious of wormer used in horse manure?
Robert, that’s a common question. It really depends on weather the dewormer breaks down in the gut of the horse or not. Pre-compost and try a few worms when in doubt.
So the leaves that you put into your worm bins. Do they have to be dry because it is not fall time here. Can they be green leaves or do I need to use something else until it's time for the leaves to fall so they are brown. Thanks love your videos or what can I use in the place of brown leaves until fall time. Maybe wood chips or just wood that cut up with a x. Because I don't need the worm castings for anything I'm raising worms for a different reason, food for my animals. Thanks
Kimberly, you can use cardboard until you collect some leaves in the fall. You can also dry the leaves under the sun until they are bone dry which should not take long. You want them very dry because they will absorb humidity and also once they are brown, they do not overheat your bin. They become brown material. If you add fresh, green or even yellow leaves, they still have a bit of nitrogen in them which will cause the bin to heat up as they break down. The wood chips take forever to break down, so I would be careful with them because if you do not like them, you would have to hand pick; a better option is to add small amounts of saw dust--which is a very high carbon material.
@@GardensofNewEngland I wouldn't care to hand pick them,worms don't bother me at all.The reason I'm going to do worm bins is to feed my bearded dragons,so wood chips might be better for my project anyways.I have nothing to use the worm castings,I don't have a garden or anything.If you was doing worm bins to feed bearded dragons what would you use for bedding? And thank you so much for answering half this people with UA-cam channel don't answer questions if you ask anything in comments,I've only had a couple answer me. But you just won a new fan definitely 😁 thank you
@@kimberlygardner8392 Awww Thank you Kimberly!! Got it! I see what you are trying to do. In this case, you could experiment with mixing wood chips in the bedding. I would not just do wood chips but a mix with leaves, some cardboard...etc... the wood chips would be a nice, more natural addition in this context. So, try it! and see what works, at the end of the day that is the best way to learn. Keep me posted!!!
If I don't have leaves because it isn't fall, can I use old hay? Can I also use cattle manure in place of horse manure?
Dr. V, you can use old hay but make sure it does not have any green or it will heat up. You can also start a pile of old hay and use that material as it breaks down. Aged cow manure can work too. You want it to be composted already so it does not heat up your bin. If you have both hay and cow manure, mix it, let it sit in a pile, see if it heats up, and use after you know it is not going to overheat your bin.
@@GardensofNewEngland sweet thanks man!
All manure except rabbit manure has to be composted. You will see most commercial places mix sawdust or bark to combat the nitrogen spike you get when you use it in gardens. Read the contents or just get manure from locally. Horses are the easiest because they usually aren’t on a commercial contract. The owner is more than happy with you cleaning up.