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borderbarb

YIKES! Is Shredded Cedar bad for worms?

borderbarb
14 years ago

I'm transferring worms from my outdoor pit into large bins, while I move & rebuild the large pit. I put red cedar shreds along the sides of one bin with the idea of aiding air circulation. Now I read that red cedar is bad for worms. Is this true? I just moved the worms into this bin this p.m., so can remove the cedar if need be. Really appreciate any help.

Comments (4)

  • mendopete
    14 years ago

    Good question Barb. Cedar is very rot-resistive,as is redwood. I built my outdoor bin out of redwood for that very reason, and the worms are quite happy. However they don't really hang out on the sides of the bin like they do in plastic totes. Was the cedar green or cured? If cured and dry, I would think the worms would just avoid it if they don't like it. I hope it works out ok.
    By the way, how is your worm "skybox" going? I am doing something similar and would like to know. Maybe we can compare notes:)
    Good Luck, Pete

  • borderbarb
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks Pete ... I used bagged shredded cedar ... looks aged, doesn't even smell like cedar. I like your answer.

    Re: the worm sky boxes or 'cones' .... well, the ones that I created in various parts of the garden were all transferred to my outdoor 'pit'. They were very full of red wrigglers .. I created the 'cones' out of mostly horse manure & wood chips and then added kitchen scraps and even some well-rinsed seaweed. All together a very satisfactory experiment. And the tomatoes that I planted where the 'cones' were are growing gangbusters! The 'skybox' that I created on top of my compost-pile-turned-worm-pit has been replaced by a potato in a sack experiment. My daughter was teasing me that I never follow directions or recipes ... mad scientist/rebel combo. Just like to push the envelope. I was an obedient 'trained monkey' for PacBell for 27 years and must have used up my lifetime supply of obedience. [evil grin]

  • mendopete
    14 years ago

    Barb, how are the worms doing with the red cedar? I hope all is well.
    I have converted 1 of 4 compost bins into a "no-peek" wormery. I used 1/2" hardware cloth to make a 3'x3' cylinder, which has 4 + layers of burlap. It has a milk-crate air chamber,and is full of wigglers, compost, and straw. I cannot watch the worms, but I know they are thriving! All my piles are alive with worms and shrinking. I will make another worm cage soon and consolidate all my compost into 2 cages.
    I can relate to "lifetime supply of obedience". I was a state employee for 34 years. Now I get to play, enjoy grandkids, garden, fish, and experiment with worms. Life is good!
    Keep pushing that envelope. Pete

  • borderbarb
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Pete ... they seems to be doing well. I've transferred worms from the in-ground pit being revamped, into 3 large plastic planter/bins. In all three bins the worms seem to have gone deep in the bedding material [compost+AGED horse manure -- pretty much the same environment as in the 'pit'] to recover from the harvesting and move 'ordeal'. ANTSY barely describes my reaction to moving from in-ground to bin 'farming'. As a matter of fact, I'm going to leave a part of my 'pit' un-harvested 'till the new in-ground is constructed ... just in case....

    Re: your worm tower idea ... sounds great.[all except the part about not being able to watch the worms...SAY WHAT?! That sounds unatural] BTW if you frequent the blog www.redwormcomposting.com there are many experiments. He might be interested in your 'tower' if you can provide pictures.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Red Worm Composting