If you are feeding it and they are eating it....I say go with it!

All earthworm castings are high in salt relative to good soil, and the higher the salt concentration in the feedstock the higher the concentration in the castings. Seaweed is no higher in salts than is pig manure or cow manure when the animal is fed on pelleted feeds, however, and these feedstocks are well known to produce castings that stimulate excellent plant response. Because castings are used in such small amounts relative to the total growth medium the high salt concentrations are rarely an issue. Thus, from the salt standpoint, seaweed should not concern you. Had I access to such feedstock I would certainly be using it!

Obviously I can't say why the worms are moving in to some seaweed applications and not others. Worms keep their secrets, don't they? And I've not yet learned to speak anelid. ::grin:: Susan's very practical advice holds up well here, though; if the worms like it, use it. If they don't compost it a while then try it again then try it again in the bin and see what they think. They are, after all, the ultimate authorities of all things vermiculture!

As to baby worms getting into the seaweed, young worms tend to prefer areas of a worm bed where the temps are at the upper end of their preferred range, while mature worms tend to prefer areas at the cool end. Pre-clitelate, that is, immature worms will, thus, tend to be found in feedstocks generating a bit of heat more often than will adults. The high N concentrations in seaweed may be causing it to heat just a bit, not enough to cause problems necessarily, but enough to tell the juveniles in the bin that it is an ideal material from both the nutrition and temperature perspectives.

I'd appreciate hearing from you in a few days/weeks to see if the worms have decided they like the seaweed they are currently avoiding a bit better when it's "aged" a bit. Keep us posted, won't you?

Kelly S

Thank you both! I always enjoy reading Kelly's very informative responses...Technical details that are easy to understand!

F.Y.I., the two less-preferred types of seaweed slowly seem to be catching on. Their initial textures were tougher than the other two, so they're probably softening up after 5 days in the bin. I didn't want to waste the large bin of seaweed I had, so I created a new experimental bin fed exclusively with seaweed. (4 out of 5 worms surveyed preferred Macrocystus Poriphera.) I'll keep you posted.

:) Alyss