Types of bedding

From WormWiki

Bedding is used to fill your worm bin when you are first getting started and generally does not need to be added once a worm bin is going. It provides a place for worms to hang out while they are not eating the food scraps and also serves as a food source (they will eventually eat all the bedding you've put in). Sometimes you might need to add bedding to a mature bin to help with trouble shooting, for example if the moisture levels are too high or anaerobic pockets develop. Commonly used beddings include those that are wood-based, plant-based or composted.

Wood-based beddings

Most processed wood products are further shredded or torn before use as a bedding. You should avoid materials that have a slick surface, and you may want to be cautious about inks (some contain heavy metals). Most modern newspapers use soy-based inks, but some magazines still use metal inks. Wood-based bedding materials include:

• Brown paper bags
• Newspaper
• Corrugated cardboard
• Cardboard rolls from paper towels, toilet paper, gift wrap, etc. (good for aeration)
• Use a whole piece of cardboard on the very top to help keep (fruit/house)fly populations down.
• Junk mail, office paper, other household papers
• Torn up egg cartons

Other plant-based beddings

These beddings come from plants-based sources (excluding wood). These may take longer to degrade than the processed wood products. Other plant-based beddings include:

• Leaves (can be shredded to speed decomposition)
• Other dried plant materials (seaweed, grass, etc.) Use with caution to avoid too much salt or heating the bin.
• Peat moss
• Coconut coir

Composted beddings

These beddings contain lots of microbes, and are a great way to get worms settled in fast. Make sure that the compost is processed enough that it no longer generates significant heat. Compost is a natural habitat for worms. The two types of compost generally used in worm bins include:

• Composted manure (From herbivores -- manure from meat-eaters must be handled with care, if at all)
• Garden compost (fully or partially processed)

A thorough article about bedding [1]