For the past few years we’ve been regularly recommending a (perhaps somewhat mysterious) habitat material we refer to as “living material” (LM). This is well-decomposed organic matter, containing a rich abundance, and diversity, of beneficial, aerobic composting organisms.
As much as we encourage our followers to source or even make their own living materials, we’ve come to realize that these are not always easy options. There are some nuances involved in knowing what is and isn’t a high-quality LM - and even with the necessary experience, it’s not uncommon to run into regional and/or seasonal supply bottlenecks as well.
This is a big part of why we decided to start offering our own living material products!
You can think of PC Living Material as a beneficial biology-boost for your composting system. It is especially well-suited for starting up brand new worm composting systems - since it contains Red Worms and cocoons - and helps you hit the ground running with a thriving ecosystem on Day 1!
The material is sourced primarily from mature vermicomposting systems on our farm - systems regularly monitored for biology - so you can be sure that you are getting a rich diversity of beneficial microorganisms and invertebrates that will help you kickstart your own systems.
Just Some of the Benefits of PC Living Material:
- Very helpful when starting a new system with bulk worms (especially worms ordered online and shipped), since it can help the worms feel much more “at home” in their new system.
- Serves as an effective, all-natural “compost activator”, helping to boost microbe populations and to kickstart the composting process.
- Acts as a worm bin conditioner - helping to balance food deposits and to avoid some of the common new-system problems.
- It is a great way to start your own population of Red Worms from scratch (especially our Living Material Plus product). This is not the same thing as adding bulk worms (worms sold by weight), but it is a great option for those looking for a healthier, more natural start-up strategy, and who don’t mind being a bit more patient!
Our Two Main Versions of Living Material
PC Living Material
This is our standard offering. It consists of the base material, available in amounts up to 2 L. It is a less expensive, but still highly-valuable, all-purpose choice!
PC Living Material Plus
This is a larger amount of the same material (4 L - so, 2 X more than our biggest standard bag), that comes with an additional 50 “breeder” (adult) Red Worms. This one is catered primarily to those interested in growing their own population of Red Worms, but it also lends itself nicely to use in larger systems.
NOTE: PC Living Material is NOT well suited for use in large-scale thermophilic (hot composting) systems, bokashi systems, or any system you don’t want composting worms in.
For more detailed information related to these products, be sure to check out our Living Material Resource Page.
As we recently shared, we’ve decided to move away from selling bulk Red Worms (by weight). Supplying many Canadian customers with these worms - especially when the supply in the country has been so hit and miss - was very important to us, but we feel it is finally time to move on to healthier (for the worms), more natural options!
So, the timing of our Living Material launch actually works out quite nicely!
That said, it’s once again very important to be clear that even buying Living Material Plus should not be considered the same thing as buying, for example, a half pound of Red Worms. In some ways it is a superior choice, but it does have some limitations (namely in terms requiring more time and patience).
Stay tuned for the release of other PC worm starter culture products later in 2026!
As we are transitioning away from bulk worm sales and rolling out this new product line, it’s important to note that Living Material won’t start shipping until the week of May 24th, 2026.
We encourage anyone interested in these products to pre-order, so as to secure your place in line and enjoy our launch pricing!
Helpful Living Material Links
Order PC Living Material
Order Worm Composting Starter Kits
Living Material Resource Page
Living Material Blog Post (2023)