Coconut Coir: A Renewable Super Product
If you’re vermicomposting in an indoor bin, tote, stackable tower, bag, or whatever it may be, you might want to consider using coconut coir as your bedding. Like the title says, I really think this is a renewable super product in the sense that it is a byproduct of the coconut industry (renewable) and it provides a great home for your worms (super product). Why do I think you should use it?
Cleanliness and Consistency
With Coconut coir, you will never have to worry about surprise smells, ink, or pH issues. It is pH neutral and comes to you in a convenient brick packaging. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have used peat moss as well as cardboard for bedding and will likely continue to do so on my experimental bins. But, if I had one bin and only could use one bedding, I would use coconut coir because I don’t have to worry about it. With cardboard boxes, I have to worry about the tape and stickers used before I shred the cardboard into a nice bedding size. With peat moss, I have to worry about its acidity as well as the fact that it is not a renewable product. With coconut coir, I realize that gas is being used in the coconut industry and that there is energy involved in shipping it to the US. However, the industry is going to continue, coconut trees will continue to grow, and something must be done with the byproduct. Why not use composting worms to turn it into something useful?
Moisture Management
In your worm bin, moisture is everything. Your worms need a moisture content ranging from 60-85% in their bedding. Worms breathe through their skin and keeping the moisture in this range allows them to breathe. If it gets too wet, you run the risk of creating leachate (not good, more on that in the future) that pools at the bottom of your bin. Your moisture loving worms will follow that moisture as it moves down in your bin. This is the opposite of what you want. You want worms to hang out at the top of the bin, and their castings to hang out at the bottom. This makes for easier capture of the valuable castings and less disturbance for your worms. If your bin gets too dry, your worms will again seek out moisture elsewhere. The nice thing about coconut coir is that it holds moisture evenly and it releases slowly. This helps maintain a sweet spot for moisture in your bin.
Compaction
Over time, peat moss tends to lock up like concrete and cardboard can mat down if both get too soggy. But coconut coir tends to keep its loose, yet structured make up. It lets air in which allows your worms to move around and also lets the microbes in the bin breathe. Remember, a worm bin is a little ecosystem. You have worms, but you also have all of these other amazing organisms in the bin that need to be taken care of as well.
Sustainable and Repeatable
Like I mentioned earlier, coconut coir is a byproduct from the coconut industry. You don’t have to mine for it or worry about more deforestation because of it. You can feel good about the fact that you are turning a waste product into something useful. Think about how that waste gets used to help house and feed your worms. And then think about how those worms turn that into castings which can be used in your garden to create healthy foods for you, your family, your neighbors, and your community to eat. What otherwise would have been useless is now useful.
Conclusion
Because of its many benefits, coconut coir separates itself as the king of beddings for the home vermicomposter. It allows your composting worms to thrive because they are able to breathe, breed, and break down food scraps with ease. Whether you’ve got your worm bin in your kitchen, basement, garage, or shed, coconut coir gives you fewer smells, fewer messes, and more life in your bin.
