Yet another question about newspaper in worm bins

Question: I see that you recommend no newspapers for worm bedding. Why is that?

What kind of paper products, if any, can be used in worm bins?

Thanks!

B_________

Hi B_____,

I recommend against using newspapers because the newsprint contains clay, which prevents the ink from spreading when the paper is printed. Clay, being inorganic, builds up in the bin, making the compost extremely sticky and light in color, and prone to cracking in the way that clay does. These cracks allow air to permeate the bin in a way that is unpleasant to worms, but extremely conducive to fruit fly production (think of a banana peel left on your your kitchen counter for several days, and you will get the idea). Over the past 25 years, I've seen and heard plenty about the nasty results of newspaper in worm bins, and it ain't pretty!

The only paper products I recommend for use in worm bins are: those very rough, unbleached paper towels that look and feel as if they were made by making very thin slices of tree; and plain, brown, unbleached, uncoated, unprinted, unpainted cardboard, shredded. 

I never put office paper, or printed paper, or bleached paper in my bins, because the bleaching process can create dioxins, and there is absolutely no evidence that dioxins can break down in a worm bin. 

I hope this helps! 

Ellen

A Carrot is Just Not Enough...

My worms died! They were doing so well then I saw the "dirt" looked dry and I watered it a bit and now they are all dead... ?

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  Ellen Sandbeck Hmmmm.... How dry is dry? Was the compost completely dry before you watered it? Because if so, those worms were already dead. Do you think the worms died after you watered? Were there worm corpses after that? And if so, were they soft and pink (indicates they drowned) or were they kind of stiff and dark (indicates they were already dead of desiccation)?

  17 minutes ago · Like
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  C.I haven't found any. I am pretty sure they were alive when I watered them. I don't think they were dead - I thought they fed after that - but my memory is not good.

  14 minutes ago · Like
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  C I am going to have to get another handful or so from the guy who gave me the ones I killed. Re-read your book.

  12 minutes ago · Like
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  Ellen Sandbeck If you didn't see any dead worms after you watered, they didn't drown. Perhaps you had not fed them for a long time, and that is why the compost was so dry? If so, they may have starved.

  9 minutes ago · Like · 1
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  C There was a carrot in there that they didn't touch. I probably over-watered them. Or maybe they were dried out. I am a mass murderer in either case.

  7 minutes ago · Like
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  C And now I have flies.

  6 minutes ago · Like
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  Ellen Sandbeck It is possible that they starved. Whole carrots can take quite a long time to break down to the point where worms can eat them, because like other root vegetables, carrots can be root cellared, and a worm bin in a coolish location can act like a root cellar.

  2 minutes ago · Like
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  C I think that was what I did to kill them. Remorse.

  2 minutes ago · Like
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  Ellen Sandbeck Future generations of worms will benefit from their noble sacrifice. And in the future, make sure to cut up rot- resistant vegetables before you add them to the bin! (Rot resistant vegetables include all root vegetables and stems of cruciferous vegetables. Rot resistant fruits include any fruits that have a tough outer skin.)

  a few seconds ago · Like

Potted herbs question

Name: Joe S.  Sun, Nov 4, 2012 at 7:49 AM

City: Laurel

State: MD

Question: I have a 2'x1' plastic tub in which I've grown herbs inside for the past year or so.  I have a grow light on all the different kinds of herbs. The soil is about 3" deep and I add eggshells, small citrus, and coffee grounds from time to time.

Question:  Would adding woms to my mix help the herbs grow better?

Thank you.

Hi Joe,

It probably depends upon which herbs you're growing. The traditional Mediterranean herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, oregano grow best in soil that is well drained and not very rich. If you overfertilize them, they tend to lose all their flavor. Basil is the heaviest-feeding herb, and mints like rich, moist soil, so they probably would enjoy sharing their container with them. If you do add worms to a container, you have to make sure that you are adding organic material to the container regularly so the worms have something to eat.

I hope this helps!

Ellen

Hi Ellen!

That was fast.  MUCH thanks.

I have mint, basil, parsley, and thyme.  So the best and worst of both worlds I guess.

A, presumed, lady on Yahoo Answers (uuchurch) said:

Herbs do not need to be fertilized, the do better in poor soil as that makes the essential oils stronger and that is what makes herbs tasty. If you want to do something useful with worms start a worm compost bin. All you need is a 15 gallon bin, some sphagnum moss or sterile potting soil without additives, a piece of cotton clothesline rope and some worm matrix with live worms and eggs in it which you can buy. This system is made to be used indoors all winter and it makes worm juice (liquid fertilizer) which you dilute for all your house plants and finished compost for your garden or to amend the soil in your indoor plants. A small hand full of earthworms will not do what you want anyway whether they survive or not because the need to have soil with food for them in it not just the soil which feeds the plants. Do a search for LaVermes Worms.

And that's why I wrote you.

Thank you so very much.

'May try a few worms just to see what transpires.  The un drained Tupperware tub is 12"x20" the soil is 3" deep.  I drop in egg shells and coffee grounds from time to time.

What kind of worms would you recommend and how many or is it just too small to work with?

Thank you.

Hi Joe,

Thank you for sending the photos. That does help! It looks to me as if your herbs are mostly pining for bright light, and perhaps for warmth. Putting a few red wrigglers in your container probably wouldn't hurt anything, but probably wouldn't be able to improve things a whole lot either. Herbs just really need sun and warmth.

Ellen