tracywag, Everyone is now over at http://thegardenforums.org where I'm sure you'll get some suggestions to your questions. Mickey2

wfike, are you adding wood shavings to improve the texture of the casts or to help aerate the bedding? I've read, and surmise, that wood shavings take a long time to break down, so I'm assuming you aren't adding them as feedstock, am I figuring this correctly? I've also read, from several older vermi books (and the Vermiculture_FarmersManual), that horse manure by itself is not the best feed, but that cattle manure is good. Do you mix the 2 as feedstock and bedding? I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether you use horse manure as feedstock and feel it is an adequate feed by itself. I added soaked, torn corrugated cardboard to the horse manure because I'd read that it has excellent nutrition due to the high-protein glue that is used to hold the layers together. Another advantage that corrugated cb has is it's water absorbancy, so the 2 (horse manure and corrugated cb) mixed together make a good bedding and a good feedstock. But, you know, you can find all sorts of contradictions when comparing books, websites, and opinions...so I'm interested in what you find to be true, based on your experience. Cheryl, I have been freezing the food waste lately. It does seem to speed things up a bit, but there is still the issue of varying amounts of water being released, mold/fungus, and odors if you use too much or have strong smelling foods to vermicompost. I've found that as much as I want to keep food waste from the landfills, it's a lot of aggravation (too much water, mold, fruit flies, fungus gnats, march flies, houseflies, odors..etc), inconvenience (both of my freezers are half full of food waste for the worms, leaving only half for my own food), and guess-work involved in feeding food waste to the worms. Now, if I didn't have access to horse manure and corrugated cardboard, I would still use primarily food waste. But since I do have access to those materials, I much prefer using them. I have encountered very few issues/problems using horse manure and corrugated cb. So, I ease my conscious by reminding myself that these 2 items would have been dumped in a landfill somewhere, had I not taken them. I still plan on freezing some food waste to use as trench feedings in my raised beds. This practice has eliminated all issues/problems with using food waste because it is buried 4-6" under the soil, and I have many worms in my raised beds who process this food quickly (and thank me for the cold stuff when it's hot outside). The junk mail I use are advertisements for credit cards, various insurance, and a hodgepodge of solicitations. I just remove them from the envelope and tear into strips that could be used as bedding (I put them in the compost crate, so they will be partially composted by the time the worms get to it). I don't use glossy papers, not because they are bad for the worms, but because they take forever to break down and I don't like the look of them in the compost. The Vermiculture FarmersManual recommends shredding cardboard that has a waxed coating, so I assume wax is safe to use if shredded or had the wax seal broken in some other fashion . I've read that oils are not good for worms (I assume oil would smother them since they breath thru their skin), but I wouldn't think a small amount would be harmful. The boxes that you have should be fine. Most of the corrugated cardboard that I use has colored printing on it and I haven't noticed any problems with it (the majority of people say that most inks are soy based now). I also use shredded office paper in the indoor bin I just created, and to absorb water from the barrel bins outside when rain has been heavy, and that paper has been thru laser printers. I haven't seen any ill effects from any of the paper products I have used. Welcome to the thread, Cheryl. I look forward to reading about your experiences in the vermi-world.

I think the main binder used in plywood as well is formaldehyde-based. Not that you'd use plywood for a worm bin! Also be aware that native wood has formaldehyde emissions too, though about an order of magnitude lower than structural wood panels. Makes one wonder to what extent emissions from plastics (e.g. phthalates, BPA, BPS) can be harmful to worms. At least phthalates have been recently banned for use in kids products.

Sarah.... the type of worms you really need for a successful worm bin are called "red wigglers". Though there are a few others that will work as well, red wigglers are usually the easiest ones to find and are considered by many the best ones to use in a composting worm bin. Here's a link that explains a little about it http://home.howstuffworks.com/vermicomposting1.htm You very likely may be able to get them free in your area if you know where to look for them... try any place you find a pile of decomposing organic matter... manure piles, compost piles, etc. If you find a mass of small (compared to most other earthworms) red worms, you've likely found the right type to start your worm bin with. Worms basically eat organic matter that's very small (their mouths are very small) and the mites (as well as other critters are what we'll just call "shredders") help to reduce larger pieces down into bit-size chunks for the worms... so I wouldn't be too concerned about the mites competing with the worms for food. You might want to replace that plastic bag for wet newspaper or cardboard since worms actually need oxygen (they "breathe-in" oxygen through the moisture at the surface of their skin)... my thinking is that that any plastics film or sheet is going to be a barrier to gasses (including oxygen) exchange within the bedding. Also if the bacteria within the bin cannot get enough oxygen the good ones (the aerobic bacteria) will die and the bad ones (the anaerobic bacteria that produce foul sulfur odors) will begin to flourish... and many critters (remember the "shredders"?) that depend upon oxygen in your bin will also perish. Below I've added a couple more links to one page articles describing the types of earthworms, with mentions of the red wiggler (also known as Eisenia fetida)... these short articles should give you an even better understanding of the type of worms you need to start a successful worm bin. http://animals.mom.me/list-types-earthworms-6416.html http://www.worm-composting-help.com/earthworm-types.html