Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

i have been reading thai should use diatomanceous earth in my worm bin. Als o read that i can use boric acid instead,my problem is i live in guam and i can't find boric acid here ,could i use epsom salts in stead
we live at an air force base here,mom is busy and grandmom dosen't drive much ,so we don't get to the beach often where diatomanceous .can be found.
also the soil here is mostly lavanic soil so i am thinking of using newspaper or potting soil with manure in it hoping either one will work
thank you for all your help
damien henderson
andersen middle school

Your worm bin sounds interesting. I looked up a tutorial on the upkeeping of worm farms and found that potting soil appears to be harmful to the worms. Apparently, it traps too much moisture and contains too many added chemicals that change the properties of the soil, which the worms are very sensitive too. The suggestion in the article was to add organic matter to the bin, and sprinkle some soil from a garden on top of it. Perhaps you might want to check out this articlehttp://www.ehow.com/about_5201591_can-s ... arms_.html.

Good Luck, hope this helps
Nithin

thank you for you answer ,it will help me.now were you able to determine if epson salts could be used instead of boric acid .i looked it up on wiki encoypedia ,it was no help at all
anything you can do will be apprecitaed the soil here on base is mostly lava from the volcanos at one time
so i think i am going to go with newspaer thak you
damien henderson

I am not really familiar with the different soil types or with Epsom salt, so I'm not sure if it can replace boric acid. But you mentioned that volcanic soil is abundant where you live. I think that may work well for a worm bed because lava soil is abundant in nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium) and can hold lots of moisture. Maybe you can experiment with the different alternatives you came up with and see which one works best for the worms.