The Best Bedding for Your Earthworm Farms

It is very important to choose the right type of bedding for your earthworm farms. With the wrong bedding, not only do you reduce the quality of your compost, but you can endanger the health of your worms. There are a few factors that go into what makes good bedding that should be considered when you do choose what to use.

Good bedding material for earthworm farms should first and foremost be organic material. Earthworms eat everything around them, so you do not want to surround them in a material that they cannot eat. What is organic material? Essentially anything that was once living or anything that was made out of something that was once living.

Your earthworm farms should be capable of maintaining a high moisture level inside the compost bin. Because of this, it is very important that your bedding material be capable of absorbing liquids and retaining the moisture. Without this capability, the moisture in your earthworm farms will drain out of your compost bin and your wormery will dry up. This will cause a major distress to your worms and all but halt the decomposition process.

Here are a few more things you should consider when deciding what type of bedding material to use in your earthworm farms. It's best if the material is easily compostable, that is, that it is broken down quickly and easily. All organic materials can be decomposed, but some break down quicker and easier than others. You should also consider how easy it is for you to shred the material. It's a good thing to cut up the material prior to adding it to your compost bin. You should also consider the expense of the material or how easily obtainable it is. You really want to find a material that is free and easy to find.

Here are a few of my favorite things to add to my earthworm farms.

-Newspaper
-Printer paper
-Grass clippings
-Fallen leaves
-Dead plants

All of these items obey the criteria I outlined. They are all organic materials that can absorb and retain water well. They are also all easy to break down, free, and very easily obtainable. And using these items helps you recycle and keep your lawn cleaner.

I have been running earthworm farms for several years now. My favorite bedding materials are those that are both good for my worms and can help me recycle. If you are interested in learning more you can find out information about earthworm farms at http://www.squidoo.com/earthworm-farms-earthworm-farming.