What is bedding? I have worm bin going that I started in February. I just had two watermelons and ground the rind using a high speed blender and added that to the worm bin a week ago. My bin is holding a lot more water now I think due to the watermelon...I hope I am not drowning my worms; there are a lot alive, but the bottom of the bin is starting to feel muddy. Also I always see these articles about having to have a purchased starter vermicompost pile. All I did was dig some dirt in the backyard and add some leaves and veggie/fruit waste. Seems to be working though. Is my worm bin going to have less nutrients/microbes/etc then those types of worm bins? I don't know where I heard this but I heard that leaves(aka brown compost ingredients) are not needed for vermicompost and that using only veggies and fruits is fine. Any helpful vermicompost hints and arguments to my post?. Oh yeah I also added a bunch of wet coffee grounds too so the moisture is getting very high in the bin.

Where are your shredded newspaper and cardboard, egg cartons, etc? You need that in the bin for bedding, to counter-act the nitrogen level and acidity and of course moisture.

No need to grind up watermelons. They LOVE the rinds and make short work of them.

Watermelon is a favorite food of my worms also. In late summer I save the rinds cut up a little , put in plastic bags, put in freezer and give to worms as needed as a winter treat. But melon when fresh is made quick work of no matter how I cut up the rind, there will be nothing left. I do not blend the rinds. I turn the rinds inside/face down in the bed. I havent noticed a mucky compost as result perhaps enough bed to absorb the excess water.

Steve, I do the same thing......accumulate watermelon and cantaloupe rinds and freeze to feed over the winter as a treat. I love how the rinds get like a nice piece of lace when they're done eating. :)

"Posted by jasdip 5a (My Page) on Thu, May 1, 14 at 9:47

Where are your shredded newspaper and cardboard, egg cartons, etc? You need that in the bin for bedding, to counter-act the nitrogen level and acidity and of course moisture.
No need to grind up watermelons. They LOVE the rinds and make short work of them"......

I always thought the brown, high carbon, low nitrogen ingredients: leaves, used coffee grounds, newspaper, egg cartons, cardboard sawdust, etc... were only needed for regular composting....I thought and heard with the worms in it they automatically balance out the nitrogen and carbon levels when the when the high nitrogen fruits and veggies go through the worms system? Am I wrong?

Not at all Quinna. Shredded newspaper, cardboard, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, cardboard sleeves from take-out coffee.........this is their bedding. It also serves as food when they run out of delectable human food.

Please, please, read through all the previous posts at the bottom of the page. There's a great wealth of information on this forum over the years.

Yes, Quinna, you are very wrong. To the point where I fear you may be killing your worms. (BTW, coffee grounds may be brown, but they are high in nitrogen.)

Worms are not alchemists. They do not have the capability to turn nitrogen into carbon. You need to have a balance of both, just like in a normal composting bin. But in a worm bin we start out primarily with high carbon materials (we call them bedding) and gradually add high nitrogen materials (we call them food).

And we don't add dirt. Well, some people may add a small amount to introduce microbes and provide grit for the worms' gizzards. But whether that is actually necessary is open to debate.