Ok so I have two questions. First is with this coconut coir. Package said to soak the whole brick and then use it for bedding, cultures, whatever. But I am only making one small culture at a time I didn't want to waste the whole thing so I set about trying to break the thing apart before soaking it. Remarkably stronger than I thought it was going to be. I ended up sawing it up with a jigsaw. I am missing something? Is there an easier way of handling this? One that won't involve my bf staring at me like I'm nuts hacking up stuff with power tools?

My second question is about the mites. Tim fed the culture while I was buying it so I could see how much to feed them. I have only fed them once because I was afraid of overfeeding them and I thought I fed the same amount he did. It seems overnight a colony of mites flourished. It wasn't right after I fed them but now I don't know what to do. Can I still use the worms? If I start a new culture won't they just be contaminated with the mites from the start?