Let’s Experiment! – Red Wigglers in Newspaper Bedding.
I can’t say enough good things about using newspaper as worm bedding. It’s abundant, usually available for free, and it’s easy to tell when it has been converted to castings(Unlike coir or peat moss that tend to look like castings).
The initial pictures are of a bin that I set up using only paper bedding on October 1, 2008. The last few pictures were taken today, March 21, 2009. Same worms….NO FOOD!
I wonder if this is how time lapse photography started? 
Why would I starve these poor worms, letting them eat paper and nothing else? This was all done to prove a point. Worms can live off newspaper alone!
Why is this important?
The NUMBER #1 way people kill worms is by overfeeding them. If you knew that your worms could survive on newspaper bedding alone, you never have a reason to overfeed your worms! Even when you know you have some busy weeks coming! Even prior to going on vacation!
In the interest of full disclosure, though the worms survive, they are basically getting an all carbohydrate diet from the newspapers. They survive, although they definitely are skinnier than when fed a balanced diet. Kinda like you and I living on bread and water!
Don’t try this with peat moss or coir! The worms will process both, but they get no nutrition from either. You will end up with dead worms. I’ve tried it and seen the results. Trust me on this one.
Tags: Paper bedding, red wigglers, Redworms
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Good article. Do you think the colored newspaper is bad for worms? Not the shiny paper but colored newsprint
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Colored Paper is fine. I use it all the time. I don’t use the glossy stuff, but frankly, I’m not sure why not. Better to be safe than sorry.