Have cross-cut shredded junk mail - OK for worms?
weedlady
8 years ago
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monomer
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agohummersteve
8 years agoRelated Discussions
shredded newspaper as mulch
Comments (14)I often use shredded paper, but not newspaper, as mulch. It's not my first choice, but not having much lawn for grass clippings, and with shredded leaves in short supply by spring, I do use the shredded paper. I have never had a problem with it blowing away! A quick squirt with the hose once you put it down, and it stays. As a matter of fact, the drawback, IMO, is that it gets too matted and does, as someone above said, keep water from penetrating as fully as some other mulches. But I just leave enough space around the base of the plant, and then every two weeks or so I just run my... gee, I don't know the name of it, lol! It's a three-pronged claw-type thing! I'm drawing a blank! Anyway, I use that tool to kind of stir up the shredded paper a bit, and it loosens up that hard cover, but still keeps the mulching aspect. Since my paper is not newpaper but shredded mail, office paper, etc., one of the worst things is that it's so darn bright, lol! A sunny day can blind me! So I try to cover it with some grass clippings as soon as I can get them. Looks a bit better too, than just the paper. End of season, I just dig it all into the bed. Now, all that being said, I can't vouch for shredded newspaper, but I would think it might work even better than shredded office paper... :) Dee...See MoreSTOP Junk Mail
Comments (23)I'm on the 'do not call' list too, but as has been said, that doesn't stop the charity begging - so I resort to a curt 'sorry, no' and a definitive click (me hanging up). Their repeated calls really just annoy me when I scramble to get the phone 'cuz I'm expecting a legitimate call and ... it's THEM.... again .... grrrrrr..... I finally got caller ID, but am amazed at how many legitimate callers (my bank, for instance) come thru as 'unknown' or 'out of area' or 'toll free number' so I tend to answer anyway, defeating the whole CID purpose. Well, it does still work for avoiding annoying relatives, so I'll give it that much. Dee, for your purpose stockpiling does work (and puts the kids to work too!) - I didn't mean to slam .... was just saying that for the folks who stockpile mail and then wonder why they didn't get the cc bill in time to pay w/out penalty ('cuz the bill was in the pile, dummies!). And, for your amusement (glad I made you laugh, Lorna) another upside to mailing back pp cards/envelopes is that with stuff going out daily, I can see when the 'up flag' on my mailbox is down, so know when my new quota of junk mail has arrived without walking all the way to the mailbox! More mindless entertainment .... :o)...See MoreOutside Worm Bins and Native Worms
Comments (20)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....See MoreFiling cabinet items I can shred?
Comments (32)A couple of comments on shredding. Junk mail - I recycle. My address is public record. What good does shredding it do? Anything with my SS # or account #'s - I tear off the confidential part and shred it. The rest goes into the recyling bin. Bank statements - After reconciling, I file. Then I pull the oldest statement (I keep 2 months' statements). I rip off the part with account number and shred. Then I recycle the rest. Tax returns - I keep 10 years' worth. When I file, I pull out the oldest return, tear off SS #'s, shred that. Recycle the rest. Utility bills, old bills - after paying, I shred the confidential part and recycle the rest. Medical records & statements. I keep everything for last year and this year. I also keep test results so that I can compare them. Otherwise it's the same story. Shred and recycle. Result - I don't beat up the shredder quite as quickly....See Moreweedlady
8 years agogumby_ct
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoweedlady
8 years agohummersteve
8 years agohummersteve
8 years agomonomer
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoweedlady
8 years ago
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