Hi, Socks,

What problems were you having with newspaper? I had to mess with it quite a number of times before it became good to work with. Now it's working great.

Miz B

socks,

Commercial potting mixes have peat as a base ingredient also, so using them won't solve the peat problem....Coir can be found at pet stores like "Petsmart" and so on...But a word of warning...Coir is notorious for haveing "salt" in the coir...This comes from "holding" the coconuts in saltwater lagoons untill processing....Therefore, regardless if the package says it's been made salt-free, wash/flush the coir several times to remove any salt that may be in the coir....Also, leaves that's been shreaded or chopped up in fine peices makes a good "base" for a bedding....BTW, the bricks of coir cost about $5 in the petstores....You would be better off ordering a 3Cu.ft block from a hydroponic grow store for around $20....Dwight

DPennington, thank you for the helpful response.

dowbright, I find newspaper clumps in heavy balls and mats down. It does not stay light and fluffy. Maybe I'm doing something wrong with it.

You are doing the newspaper incorrectly if it's clumping up. Tear it into 1/4 to half inch strips, dampen it, put in in the bin, fluff it up. If it clumps up, then it's too wet, as is your bin. Newspaper is cheap (if you read them), aerates well, does not retain moisture all that long, (which is good), and the damn worms I have seem to like it.

When I tend to my worms, the dampness of the bedding (newspaper) is my indication of the conditions of the bed.

Google it,

Chuckiebtoo