Cardboard recycling, what do you do with yours, Worm farm diy, composting, the Chinese have it figured all out,

   I spent several hours today cutting up cardboard, yes, I do that regularly. It all started years ago when I would "bust" down cardboard boxes to "save" space in the trash can, which seemed a little off-kilter in a way. I was saving space to send it to the landfill, I had to think of some way of heading it off and saving space at the landfill. I started using the boxes in my garden for weed control, that was long before I built the raised beds, I've been an avid gardener for at least 25 years. The cardboard works well for weed control, I would lay it down at the start of autumn, cover it with leaves and other organic material and let it compost over the winter. When it came time to plant the leaves, straw, and cardboard would all be decomposed to a soil-like state, making it really good for planting. That was a good beginning in my desire to figure out a way to use the cardboard to my advantage.

Cardboard being composted, large pieces need to be rotated with
a heavy duty piece of equipment, or the material can be torn into
more manageable pieces. 

  I made a few attempts to raise earthworms, the first two tries failed, I just did not know what the heck I was doing. My idea was, (I did not do any research), hey worms live in dirt, dirt is everywhere, I will raise them in an in-ground depression. So I bought a few containers of worms from the local bait shop and added them to what I thought would be a very dynamic colony. I was wrong, supporting a successful colony of worms takes planning, knowledge, and an ability to pay attention to details. The most difficult part of starting a Worm Farm, is just that, starting the colony. To start a new colony of worms, an understanding of them must come before any other task, they are simple creatures, somewhat delicate, but very hearty after the colony is established. The most important aspect of "Vermiculture" is understanding the bedding, worms literally eat their way through their environment. (Link to set up a worm farm)
  Worms must have a balance in the bedding, that is an equal balance of:
  "Carbon"- Coconut Coir, Dry Leaves, Shredded Paper, Egg Shells, and Cardboard, to itemize just a few bedding materials.
  "Protein" (worm food)- Added to the bedding, then covered with it, Protein is the organic materials worms feed on, Vegetables, Fruits, Flowers, Kitchen Waste, and Oatmeal, there is a lot more, but this gives you a good idea.

That's a very simplified list, there are many books, blogs, and other publications discussing worm food and bedding, a person is well advised to read everything available prior to starting a worm farm, it's not complicated, there are precautions to take, however. If you are interested you can always ask me. The first item to decide is what your goal is, gardening, fishing, or chicken feed? That goal will help you decide what to feed them.

  This is why I cut up a lot of cardboard if you have ever picked up a piece of cardboard off of the ground and observed worms under it, that's an indicator of how much they like cardboard. As I understand it the worms like the glue that binds the layers together, there is a lot of sugar in it, I don't know why that would be a draw. I cut up three boxes today, it was nice outside so I sat there watching Skunkpuppy chase the normal locals around. Her entire life consists of chasing Rabbits, Squirrels, Turkeys, and Peacocks, it drives me nuts. Most blogs and information on creating worm bedding normally suggest ripping up the cardboard into approximately 1-inch squares.

This is a good assortment of paper, cardboard, and wood
shavings, I add eggshells always and lots of dry leaves.

For the most part that is good advice, unfortunately, I have such terrible Arthritis in my hands, (every joint in my body actually, I have a severe case.) due to my hands not functioning up to par I cut the cardboard with scissors. I tear the box into manageable pieces, when I can salvage a solid piece that I can use to cover the bedding, I do so. My goal is to cut the cardboard into squares 1/2-3/4 inch square, there is a lot of forgiveness in the sizes, I'm not sure what the optimum size is so I emulate the leaves. If it is at all possible I separate the cardboard, I peel the outer layer off of the corrugated inner section, then I will send it through the shredder, it won't shred a piece of whole cardboard. (Yard sale equipment has its limitations)
  On the evening news, tonight was a segment on Cardboard boxes, the subject of it was the amount of cardboard that is now being sent to the landfills and China. Sending cardboard to a landfill is a complete waste in my way of thinking, apparently, it is to the Chinese as well. The United States sends a lot of cardboard to the giant Asian Country, what do they do with it? They bust them down, then render them into pulp and make new boxes out of them, I don't know if it's genius or not but it is a very effective way to deal with a valuable waste stream. The video displayed an enormous amount of cardboard waiting to be processed, it's a successful business.
  Cardboard can be stacked, either cut up, shredded or whole, when kept wet it will turn into compost. Hot composting is the method best used to make a lot of compost in a relatively short amount of time, however, a hot compost pile will kill worms, the temperatures are too high. When hot composting air must be continually introduced to the entire pile which means turning it over, that in turn dictates the cardboard is cut into manageable pieces. If the pieces are too large then some sort of front-end loader will be needed, rotating the pile at least once a week is required. Hot composting is more work than cold composting, the difference in the amount of time it takes to compost hot is considerably less than a cold compost pile. Keep the pile of cardboard wet, it aids in the decomposition, turn the pile over once a week, keep it wet, and make sure the cardboard is in manageable pieces. It's a lot of work to hot compost cardboard, I have found a different way to do it, I am sure it is not an original thought.

My compost bin shortly after it being completed, on the left
bottom, under the 2x4 the 1/2" cardboard can barely be seen.

  Air must circulate through the pile of cardboard, so when I and my grandson built the cold compost bin we started by laying down a big cardboard box, it was from some big appliance we bought. The cardboard was laid on the ground and covered the footprint of the 4'x4'x4' wooden bin, then a layer of leaves two feet thick was placed on top of it. More cardboard was set on top of the leaves, another layer of leaves and so on. I spread newspaper over the pile between the leaves and cardboard, wetting everything as I came up. I did one thing more that I am not sure if it is working or not, I added 2,000 red worms to it, I added some protein in with the mixture of leaves, paper, and cardboard, worm food. This bin has been together for 2 years, the last time I saw the worms was 1-1/2 years ago, we dug around the pile looking for them two days ago, none were found. (I have dreamed up some excuses, but none of them mean anything.) I'm confident the worms are still thriving in that pile, I just don't know where they are, (Let's all laugh about that together) most likely way at the bottom slowing eating their way through their environment.
  Cardboard is an amazing material, it can be flimsy, or constructed in such a way it is hard as a board and very near structural capabilities. Like paper, it is made from wood pulp, which makes it 100% recyclable. Egg cartons are made from it, and the worms love it as well, I cut them into pieces that mimic leaves, I wonder if they can tell the difference. (I want to note that in ancient times the Chinese made armor out of layers of paper, the first cardboard) This is a fairly short blog, a boring subject but it is another set of skills we can add to our self-reliance toolkits. (Link to my youtube video showing how to construct a worm bin) I believe any substance that we use that can be introduced back into the earth we should take advantage of. We don't need to burn stuff, bury it, or store it if there is some way we can re-use it in a positive way. If you do decide to raise worms acceptance of the fact you will be looked upon a little differently by most people you know, typically it is not understood why someone would have a worm farm, eccentricity helps in this endeavor. It's not as eccentric as one may believe, (I don't think) I call it "circle gardening", from garden waste to worm colony, to castings, made into fertilizer and added back into the soil, zero waste, it's a noble activity. (Link to my blog on making worm tea)
  Thanks for reading and sharing my blog, What do you do with your cardboard? If you have a unique use for it let me know, I need some more ideas, I don't like wasting this valuable commodity, as the Chinese have proven it to be a "resource" versus a "liability".

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com