One Caveman’s Financial Journey

Last week, I ordered red worms so I could start my own worm composting bin at home. It doesn’t cost much to get started, but you have to make sure the home for your worms is ready to move in before they arrive since they’ll be stressed and at risk for death by their travels.

I found a number of methods for building your own worm bin, so I took the suggestions made in each of them and combined them into my final product. There is no one right way to make a worm bin, but there are plenty of potentially dangerous mistakes you can make if you’re not mindful of the needs of your worms.

If you wish to make a worm bin like mine, you’ll need two 10-gallon opaque plastic tubs with lids. I found these during a shopping trip to Lowe’s for $5 each. You can probably find them cheaper and you could also salvage some from your home, as long as they fit into each other. Composting worms thrive in the upper 3 inches of the material, so surface area is far more important than depth. More surface area means more room for worms, more places to hide food, and potentially more compost production. Many storage tubs are sufficient in that regard, which is why they’re such a common source for cheap, quick bins. For this construction, one tub will be considered the “main” tub that we will fill with bedding, and the other will be the bottom that we will use to catch our “worm tea.”

First, you’ll want to drill holes in the bottom of the main tub to allow for drainage. Worms need a high-moisture environment, but even worms can drown. I used a 7/16″ drill bit and cut out 20 evenly-spaced holes across the bottom. Note: A worm can crawl through just about any size hole you make, but you don’t have to worry about them crawling out unless there’s something wrong in their bin. Worms love a free meal and won’t move out unless something is irritating them. Even so, you’ll still want to check the bottom bin regularly in case you need to rescue a wayward worm.

Next, you’ll want to drill air holes in the sides and lid of the main bin. I used a 3/16″ drill bit to bore holes near the top of the bin along all sides, spacing the holes approximately 1″ - 1.5″ apart. Worms, just like most other living beings, need oxygen to survive. These holes will allow for air to filter in as liquid drains from the bottom and will also provide some ventilation in case the bin starts getting too hot for your worms.

Now, prepare your bedding if you haven’t already. Your worms not only need food, they need someplace to live. Fortunately, good bedding provides both. You’ll want materials that hold moisture well and break down easily. Good bedding choices include shredded cardboard (remove all tape from used shipping boxes), shredded newspaper (no glossy paper), fall leaves, and peat moss. Cardboard is one of the best since it holds moisture very well, breaks down easily over time, and has enough empty area to allow for aeration. Newspaper is good, but it has a tendency to clump together, preventing good drainage and aeration. Worms love fall leaves, I mean really love them, but they do not hold moisture at all. Peat moss is good, but that’s just one more thing you have to purchase. Ideally, you will combine these bedding materials to capture the benefits of all of them. Fill your main bin about 6″ deep with fluffed bedding (don’t pack it in tight).

Now that your first layer of bedding is in, you’ll want to start adding the food scraps you’ve been (ideally) collecting over a week or so. We have a separate container in the kitchen to hold our food scraps and waste napkins and paper towels. That way we don’t have to make frequent trips to the bin and the food will be well-aged before being added. For this initial feeding I had paper towels and napkins, bulbs that failed to sprout this year, lettuce, tea bags, coffee grounds, carrot peelings, banana peels, green pepper pieces, and a couple of grape stems. A co-worker of mine was also gracious enough to provide me with a small amount of fresh horse manure to make a welcome home for the worms. Just about anything can make good food for worms, with some exceptions: Avoid meats, oils, dairy, human and pet wastes, and harsh chemicals. For more information on worm food, Red Worm Composting provides a good list of do’s and don’ts.

Add the food in layers separated by more bedding. It’s a good idea to cut up the worm food into pieces since more surface area allows for faster decomposition. Covering the food with layers of bedding will help keep undesirable insects, such as fruit flies, from invading your worms’ home. Most insects are not dangerous to your worms, but they can be a nuisance if you decide to keep your worm bin inside. If you’re overly concerned about other critters taking up home in your bin, you could install bug netting over the holes in the bin, but I’m not sure how well that would work.

Moisture is a critical factor in your worms’ lives, so you must add water to your bedding so they can move in. Ideally, your bedding should be about as wet as a sponge that has been lightly wrung out. If you can squeeze your bedding and water pours out, it’s probably too wet. If you hear more of a crumple than a “squish” when you squeeze it, it’s too dry. If you’re not sure, err on the side of “too wet” since your drainage holes should take care of the excess water for you.

Now that you’ve wet the bedding, fluff it up a bit since it will have gotten packed down by adding the water. This will allow for air to get in to the bedding and aid in decomposition. It will also provide a way for your worms to quickly burrow into their new home and find their food. By now, the food and bedding should be full almost all the way to the top. If not, go ahead and add some more bedding and water until you’re just below the air holes in the tub.

Add a handful of dirt to the top of the bedding to give the worms some grit to digest their food. Worms don’t have teeth to eat their food, they rely on their gizzard to break it down. A little grit from the soil should be enough to help the worms do their job. I threw in some very old, used potting soil that had a small amount of sand it in as well. Just about any clean dirt would work, but I would avoid fresh potting soil since I don’t know how the fertilizers they contain would affect your worms.

Next, add some risers inside the bottom bin for the main bin to stand on. If you have two identical bins, they will seat together real tight if you put the main bin in the bottom. When I bought these bins, I struggled to separate them and even with my wife’s help it was difficult to pull them apart. This suction impairs the drainage and ventilation and basically defeats the purpose of having the bottom bin. I had 2×4 pieces of equal length left over from another project and I stood those up inside the bottom bin. The material and size of the risers don’t matter much as long as it prevents a strong seat between the bottom bin and the main bin and as long as they don’t cover the drainage holes.

Finally, put the two bins together and set it aside to rest. Ideally, you’ll want to let your bin rest for a week to give the food and bedding a chance to start decomposing. That way they have an ample source of food as soon as they arrive and will be more than happy to move into their new home. Place your bin inside or in shaded place so it doesn’t overheat and check the moisture levels every day to ensure you’ve got a good balance. If you notice it’s drying out, add some more water and protect it from the wind, if necessary.

Once your worms arrive, their home will be waiting for them and all you will have to do is empty out their container directly on top of the bedding. Watch them burrow in, then close the lid and leave them alone. Let them get acclimated to their new home for about a week before adding any more food. Once the worms are settled into their new home you can start adding food to it regularly.

Congratulations! You are now officially a vermicomposter. Live it up! Tell your friends! This is a simple home project that anyone can do and provides wonderful rewards. Red worm composting is an inexpensive and eco-friendly way to dispose of most of your household waste that will provide wonderful soil for your garden, plants, and yard. Enjoy your bin and your new wormie friends.

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