Best worm bedding plants/material you can find in the wild? (Southern California)

[RenaissanceBrah]

I heard comfrey and stinging nettle are great bedding for worm bins, though I don't think any comfrey grows around here in southern California.

I've seen stinging nettle, but in very small patches, and I went to the place where it used to grow in the wild and I didn't see any.

Are there any other good bedding materials that can be collected in the wild, here in SoCal?

(In the mountains I've collected fallen oak leaves, those do take forever to break down, but they kinda mixed in with the soil and were sharp, and just seemed messy. Was wondering if there's anything better. Trying to keep it as natural as possible, and try to incorporate local bacterial life, I don't want to use newspapers, cardboard, etc).

 

[St. Phatty]

I heard comfrey and stinging nettle are great bedding for worm bins, though I don't think any comfrey grows around here in southern California.

I've seen stinging nettle, but in very small patches, and I went to the place where it used to grow in the wild and I didn't see any.

Are there any other good bedding materials that can be collected in the wild, here in SoCal?

(In the mountains I've collected fallen oak leaves, those do take forever to break down, but they kinda mixed in with the soil and were sharp, and just seemed messy. Was wondering if there's anything better. Trying to keep it as natural as possible, and try to incorporate local bacterial life, I don't want to use newspapers, cardboard, etc).

It kind of depends on where you are & what nature-type places you are close to.

I'm familiar with the Torrey Pines state park. Plenty of rotten wood and stinging nettles there.

One of my favorite materials for making better soil is Wild Pea plants.

 

[RenaissanceBrah]

It kind of depends on where you are & what nature-type places you are close to.

I'm familiar with the Torrey Pines state park. Plenty of rotten wood and stinging nettles there.

One of my favorite materials for making better soil is Wild Pea plants.

Thanks Phatty! I sent you a DM about the stinging nettle.

Regarding the rotten wood, how do you break it up and such? I don't recall seeing much rotting wood there. Maybe a tiny slither of wood from time to time on the beach.

 

[St. Phatty]

Thanks Phatty! I sent you a DM about the stinging nettle.

Regarding the rotten wood, how do you break it up and such? I don't recall seeing much rotting wood there. Maybe a tiny slither of wood from time to time on the beach.

One time I was walking through Torrey Pines and there was a HUGE pile of sticks, like they were washed into a pile during some flash flood type situation.

The shortest path was to walk through the pile of sticks.

Turns out it was mostly rotten, AND full of Ticks.

I ended up with 6 or 7 ticks on me.

Anyway I broke it up by walking through it. It was really rotten.

But lots of San Diego is completely developed. No nature left.

 

[Rico Swazi]

Grow your own! (wish I had a nickle, lol)

trees in general but especially fruit trees benefit from intercropping with comfrey

or find a place out of the way

Nettle can be grown in containers though it really isn't as invasive as lemon balm for example. Easily plucked out the soil when young, Best companion plant to have in your garden.

 

[St. Phatty]

There's always the Ocean. Plenty of bedding materials out there.

 

[Rico Swazi]

Regenerative agriculture heard of it?
harvesting from the 'wild' is not sustainable anymore
Offering less destructive alternatives, though a bit off topic...
Is something I believe necessary to be considered


carry on

 

[St. Phatty]

Could always use stuff from Costco.

Cotton towels, cheap vegetables, which might mean potatoes and celery, etc.

 

[exploziv]

Cardboard these days in any developed country is a great one if you have it available. It's really not bad for them.
Vegetables is not a bedding. Too much of it and u have cooked worms once it goes hot.

 

[troutman]

I got a kilo of soft White Organic Wheat berries at a food shop for this.
All you need is a handful of Wheat seeds soaked in cold eater for a few
hours. Then sprinkle the seeds in your bin. No need to bury them and in
a week you'll be running for scissors.. lol

This is a closeup of a European Nightcrawler in my worm bins hiding
in the jungle of wheat growing. I use scissors to trim the wheat down
and the worms feast away.

The white specks are ground up egg shells

 

[St. Phatty]

Those landscaping plants that you see around office complexes, that have red berries.

I've used them in compost piles and the worms really liked them.

 

[Rico Swazi]

(In the mountains I've collected fallen oak leaves, those do take forever to break down, but they kinda mixed in with the soil and were sharp, and just seemed messy. Was wondering if there's anything better. Trying to keep it as natural as possible, and try to incorporate local bacterial life, I don't want to use newspapers, cardboard, etc).

My bins are mostly comprised of decomposing leaf matter
I was focused on the nettle and comfrey aspect and missed the part about collecting oak leaf
+1 You have already collected the perfect bedding that includes bacterial AND fungal life
worms thrive in oak leaf mold, slowly breaking it down... creating humics
Throw some coffee grounds,news paper, cardboard and homegrown squash and you're golden
takes about a year IME to get it to the point of needing to start the process anew

Why don't you want to use newsprint and cardboard?