Worm Bin

 

Build your own worm bin:

 

Equipment and Supplies
The materials needed to start a vermicomposting system are simple and inexpensive. All you will need are a worm bin, bedding, water, worms, and your food scraps.

Worm Bin: A suitable bin can be constructed of untreated, non aromatic wood, or plastic container to be purchased. A wooden box is better if you will keep the worms outdoors, because it will keep the worms cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. An outdoor wooden bin can even serve double-duty as a bench. If a plastic container is used, it should be thoroughly washed and rinsed before the worms and bedding are added. The bin size depends on the amount of food produced by your household. The general rule of thumb is one square foot of surface area for each pound of garbage generated per week.

For two people (producing approximately 31/2 pounds of food scraps per week), a box 2 feet wide, 2 feet long, and 8 inches deep should be adequate. A 2-foot-by-3- foot box is suitable for four to six people (about 6 pounds of waste per week). Red worms (the type used for vermicomposting) thrive in moist bedding in a bin with air holes on all sides. For aeration and drainage, drill nine l/2-inch holes in the bottom of the 2-foot-by-2- foot bin or 12 holes in the 2-foot-by-3-foot bin. Place a plastic tray under the worm bin to collect any moisture that may seep out. Drilling holes on the upper sides of your bin will also help your worms get needed oxygen and prevent odors in your worm bin. Keep a lid on the bin, as worms like to work in the dark. Store the worm bin where the temperature remains between 55° and 77°F.

Bedding: The worms need bedding material in which to burrow and to bury the garbage. It should be a non toxic, fluffy material that holds moisture and allows air to circulate. Suitable materials include shredded paper (such as black-and-white newspapers, paper bags, computer paper, or cardboard); composted animal manure (cow, horse, or rabbit); shredded, decaying leaves; peat moss (which increases moisture retention); or any combination of these. Do not use glossy paper or magazines. Add two handfuls of soil to supply roughage for the worms. Adding crushed eggshells provides not only roughage but also calcium for the worms, and it lowers acidity in the bin. About 4 to 6 pounds of bedding is needed for a 2- foot-by-2-foot bin (for two people), and 9 to 14 pounds of bedding should be used in a 2- foot-by-3-foot bin (for four to six people). Worms will eat the bedding, so you will need to add more within a few months.

 

Water: The bedding must be kept moist to enable the worms to breathe. To keep bedding moist, add about 3 pints of water for each pound of bedding. You will need about 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 gallons of water for 4 to 6 pounds of bedding. If the bedding dries out, use a plant mister to spritz some water on it. Now and then it helps to check for and remove excess moisture that may collect in the bottom of your bin (particularly common in plastic bins). “Stink” in a worm bin is a sign that too little oxygen is reaching part or all of the worm bin system. This can occur when the bedding is to wet or worms are overfed. Wooden bins can have the opposite problem they can become to dry so may require occasional rewetting.

 

Worms: It is important to get the type of worms that will thrive in a worm bin. Only red worms or "wigglers" (Eisenia fetida) should be used (do not use night crawlers or other types of worms). Red wigglers work vertically in the system, creating vertical burrows between the decaying organic matter and the safety of the bedding. Worms can be obtained from bait shops, nurseries, or by mail from commercial worm growers; the commercial growers are the most reliable source. By purchasing worms from a commercial grower, you can be sure the worms will breed well because a commercial grower relies on breeding rates to be viable. Add 1 pound of worms to the 2-foot- by-2-foot bin or 2 pounds of worms to the 2-foot-by-3- foot bin.

Food Scraps: Feed your worms any non-meat organic waste such as vegetables, fruits, eggshells, tea bags, coffee grounds, paper coffee filters, and shredded garden waste. Worms especially like cantaloupe, watermelon, and pumpkin. Limit the amount of citrus fruits that you add to the bin to prevent it from becoming too acidic. Break or cut food scraps into small pieces so they break down easier. Do not add meat scraps or bones, fish, greasy or oily foods, fat, tobacco, or pet or human manure. Be sure to cover the food scraps completely with the bedding to discourage fruit flies and molds. One pound of worms will eat about four pounds of food scraps a week. If you add more food than your worms can handle, anaerobic conditions will set in and cause odor. This should dissipate shortly if you stop adding food for a while.

Temperature: Red worms will tolerate temperatures from 50°F to 84°F, but 55° to 77°F is ideal. At 45°F, the bin slows down, and at 30°F worms can freeze.

Starting the Process
To start your vermicomposting system, first select a location for your worm bin. Popular indoor spots are the kitchen, pantry, bathroom, mud room, laundry room, or basement. If you want to keep your worm bin outside, put it in the shade during the hot summer and shelter it from the cold in winter by placing it in a garage or carport, or putting hay bales around the bin to allow air to circulate around the bin, and keep it protected from flooding, because the worms can drown.
Next, prepare the bedding. If you want to use newspapers, fold a section in half and tear off long, half-inch to inch wide strips (go with the grain of the paper and it will tear neatly and easily). Soak the newspaper in water for a few minutes, then wring it out like a sponge and fluff it up as you add the newspaper to your worm bin. Aim for the bedding to be very damp, but not soaking wet (only two to three drops of water should come out when you squeeze the bedding material). Spread the bedding evenly until it fills about three-quarters of the bin. Sprinkle a couple of handfuls of soil (from outdoors or potting soil) into the bedding to introduce beneficial microorganisms and aid the worms' digestive process. Fluff up the bedding about once a week so the worms can get plenty of air and freedom of movement.
Gently place your worms on top of the bedding. Leave the bin lid off for a while so the worms will burrow into the bedding, away from the light. The worms will not try to crawl out of the bin if there is light overhead.
Once the worms have settled into their new home, add food scraps that you have been collecting in a leak-proof container. Dig a hole in the bedding (or pull the bedding aside), place the food scraps in the hole, and cover it with at least an inch of bedding. After this first feeding, wait a week before adding more food. Leave your worms alone during this time to allow them to get used to their new surroundings. Bury food scraps in a different area of the bin each time. Worms may be fed any time of the day. Do not worry if you must leave for a few days, as the worms can be fed as seldom as once a week. Note: Do not be surprised to see other creatures in your worm bin, as they help break down the organic material. Most of the organisms will be too small to see, but you may spot white worms, springtails, pill bugs, molds, and mites.

 

Harvesting the Worms and Compost
After about six weeks, you will begin to see worm castings or worm poop (soil-like material that has moved through the worms' digestive tracts). The castings can be used to boost plant growth. In three or four months, it will be time to harvest the castings. Mixed in with the castings will be partially decomposed bedding and food scraps, in addition to worms; this is called vermicompost. You may harvest the vermicompost by one of two methods:

 

Method 1: Place food scraps on only one side of your worm bin for several weeks, and most of the worms will migrate to that side of the bin. Then you can remove the vermicompost from the other side of the bin where you have not been adding food scraps, and add fresh bedding. Repeat this process on the other side of the bin. After both sides are harvested, you can begin adding food scraps to both sides of the bin again.

 

Method 2: Empty the contents of your worm bin onto a plastic sheet or used shower curtain where there is strong sunlight or artificial light. Wait 20-30 minutes, and then scrape off the top layer of vermicompost. The worms will keep moving away from the light, so you can scrape more compost off every 20 minutes or so. After several scrapings, you will find worms in clusters; just pick up the worms and gently return them to the bin in fresh bedding.

 

Note: Be on the lookout for worm eggs; they are lemon-shaped and about the size of a match head, with a shiny appearance, and light-brownish color. The eggs contain between two and twenty baby worms. Place the eggs back inside your bin so they can hatch and thrive in your bin system.

 

Using Worm Compost
You can either use your vermicompost immediately or store it and use it later. The material can be mulched or mixed into the soil in your garden and around your trees and yard plants. You can also use it as a top dressing on outdoor plants or sprinkle it on your lawn as a conditioner. For indoor plants, you can mix vermicompost with potting soil. For top dressing indoor plants, you may want to remove decaying bedding and food scraps from the castings. Make sure there are no worms or eggs in the castings, because conditions in a plant pot will not allow them to survive. You can also make a "compost tea" to feed to your plants. Compost tea is very easy to make and beneficial to all garden and houseplants. Simply add two tablespoons of vermicompost to one quart of water and allow it to steep for a day, mixing it occasionally. Water your plants with this "tea" to help make nutrients in the soil available to the plants. Compost tea when used regularly helps to control fungus and pests from plants.

 

Worm Bin Troubleshooting

 

 

 

How to make a Worm Tower

 

A worm tower is an in-garden worm farm that allows the worms and their nutrients to
interact directly with the surrounding garden bed. It consists of a recycled 3-5 gal. food
grade or plant bucket submerged in a garden bed, with holes drilled in it.

 

The bucket will contain red wiggler compost worms, that you periodically feed your
organic waste (kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, leaf litter, etc). [Don’t add pet feces,
citrus peels, plants treated with herbicides or insecticides, meat or dairy
products].

 

The worms do what they were meant to, convert your organic waste into rich worm pooh
(castings) and worm juice. The worm juice leaches out the holes of the worm tower and
into your surrounding garden or flower bed, increasing soil moisture, microbiology, and
fertility.

The worms can venture out of the worm tower into the soil of the garden bed if they
choose, and come back to feed on your organic waste (compost worms usually tend to
stay put, though). About every 4-6 months, you can clean out the worm tower and
harvest the rich, fertile worm pooh, using it as you choose on your garden. (Making
worm tea or using it just as it is).

Also, you will have created a bunch more worms. (Worms usually double in number
every month as long as long as their environment is right). You can then distribute to
other worm towers in your garden or give some to your friends.

Though you need to keep feeding the worm tower, it’s an effective and low maintenance
way of recycling your organic waste to your garden or flower bed. The worm tower is
easy to get going and too maintain.

 

 

To make your own worm tower, you will need:

 

1. A recycled 3-5 gal. food grade or plant bucket
2. A drill and 1/2" inch drill bit, to make holes in the bucket
3. A shovel to dig a hole in the garden or flower bed
4. Compost for bedding
5. Compost worms, 8 ozs. would be plenty
6. Newspaper and water
7. A terracotta saucer (or similar) to fit over the end of the bucket
8. Your organic waste

 

 

How to assemble the worm tower:

 

1. Get the bucket for the worm tower, and drill it with holes which are at least 1/2
   inch in diameter. Put a few holes in the bottom for drainage and around the sides
   so the worms can migrate to and from your garden area.
2. Tear your newspaper into strips and soak in a bucket of water (or use some other
   carbon-rich material for this, maybe cardboard).
3. Choose a spot in your garden bed for the worm tower. Allow for easy access (for
   adding organic material) and for maximum benefit to the plants around it.
4. Decide how deep you want the worm tower in your garden bed. This will depend
   on your bucket and soil. Leave about 1 ½”- 2” above the soil line.
5. Dig the hole, a bit bigger than the diameter of your bucket, in your chosen spot.
6. Place your bucket in the hole, and fill in around it.
7. Add a thick layer of damp compost to the bottom of the worm tower about 1’’-1
   1/2”.
8. Add your worms!
9. Add a layer of fluffed damp newspaper (squeeze the excess water out of the
   newspaper, fills like a damp sponge) to cover the compost in the worm tower,
   about 2”-2 ½” thick.
10. Place the terracotta saucer on top of the bucket, as a lid to exclude rain and keep
    critters out of the worm tower.
11. The next day, start adding your organic waste by placing it under the damp
    newspaper for the worms to eat. By placing it under the damp newspaper it cuts
    down on flies and the smell to deter critters.
12. Now that you’ve got the hang of it, make more worm towers and scatter them
    throughout your garden and flower beds.

 

You will soon get a feel for how often to add more organic waste to the worm tower. The
worms will process the material at different rates depending on the season and
temperature. So sneak a peek every couple of days, and add accordingly.

 

One of the other great things about this system is that, because the worm tower is
submerged in the soil, its temperature is relatively stable – something the worms
appreciate greatly. They will soon be munching away, breeding up and creating highly
nutritious soil food for your garden.

 

Another great thing about worm towers, depending on what sort of lid you use. They can
be very discreet or be very colorful to any garden or flowerbed, unlike a worm farm,
which usually looks like a big box on your back porch or in your kitchen.

 

A worm tower takes no more than half an hour to construct and install once you have all
your items together and it will bring significant and lasting fertility to any eco-system.
Use them extensively in your gardens or flowerbeds. [The worm tower works great in
the square foot garden method].

 

 

Good Luck & Happy recycling with worms