Worm Composting » Worm Compost Bins

How To Make A Worm Farm Composting Bin

Bruce — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:09:35 +0000

I finally had a chance to take some pictures showing the process of building one’s own composting bin for those looking to make a worm farm. The composting bins are built from a few Rubbermaid type storage bins allowing you to setup the perfect environment for a small worm farm to begin recycling food scraps, yard waste, cardboard, newspapers…

Before I begin with the instructions, you can purchase a ready made worm farm from a variety of manufacturers which will run you in the neighborhood of $60.00 to $140.00. I do not offer any of these units as from my own personal experience they are not designed correctly and advertise leachate (runoff from bins that are too wet) as worm tea. Worm tea is usually totally different than the leachate from the type of microbes (aerobic versus anaerobic) in each to the number of microbes…

I spent less than $25.00 for the materials to build this worm farm.

Materials and Tools Needed:

3 – Rubbermaid style bins and lids ( 10 gallon – 18 gallon)

4 –Tupperware style storage containers with lids (approx. 4” tall).

1 – Tape measure or ruler

2-3 Gallon bucket of Sphagnum Peat Moss

1 – Tablespoon of agricultural lime, ground up egg shells or ashes from some hard woods.

5 Gallon Bucket of dry Shredded newspaper and or cardboard.

1 – Drill

1 – 3/16” Drill bit

1 – 1/8” Drill bit

1-2 Pounds or composting worms (preferred worm for this method is the red wiggler)

The first step is to take two of the Rubbermaid style bins and drill holes approximately 3” apart on the entire surface area of the bottom using a 3/16” drill bit. These holes are for aeration and NOT for drainage. As I mentioned earlier, if you are getting liquids draining from your worm bin you are too wet and not only can kill off worms but invite unwanted bugs as well. For the sake of keep this from becoming confusing, I will reference these two Rubbermaid type bins as bin 1 and bin 2

Next you can use the 1/8” drill bit to drill holes around the sides all the way around, towards the top of bin 1 and bin 2, approximately 1” apart. These are additional aeration holes.

Now use the 1/8” drill bit to drill holes in one of the lids of the bins approximately 5” apart on the entire surface area.

Next measure the height of your Tupperware type containers when laid in the third bin (lay in upside down with lids attached to each for stability). For instance, the small storage containers I used in these plans were 4” high. I then measured one inch less inside the third Rubbermaid type bin (we’ll call this one bin 3) from the bottom up. Using this height as a guide, I drilled 3/16” holes approximately 3” apart making sure to stay below the four inch height of my storage containers. This will enable air to pass under bin 1 or bin 2 when placed on top of the four Tupperware style containers. In short, notice the Tupperware style containers are taller than the line of aeration holes inside bin 3.

Here I am suggesting some pre-dampened Sphagnum Peat Moss on your first worm bin. After your initial bin, you will want to use some of the existing bedding material from the previous bin as it will already be loaded with microbes however one must start somewhere! The purpose here is to create a comfort zone for your red wigglers. Many times people ask why their worms are trying to escape in their new setup. This will assist in keeping your worms happy while they adjust to their new surroundings!

You will only do this in bin 1. Simply place bin 2 aside for now as I will explain later.

Prior to dampening the Sphagnum Peat, add one tablespoon of agricultural lime, ash or eggshells and mix thoroughly as it is much easier dry than when dampened. Allow your damp peat to sit overnight to ensure it does not dry out since the peat acts like a slow absorbent sponge. If needed add additional moisture…

Dampen some shredded newspaper and or cardboard and place on top.

Once the bedding is set, begin to add your food scraps to one corner of the worm composting bin by digging out a small area, placing your food scraps and covering with peat. By covering you will help to eliminate odors as well as some unwelcome pests!

If top feeding with a product such as Purina Worm Chow, simply sprinkle a small amount on the surface area.

Now release your worms right on top and leave the top off and keep your worm compost bin in a room with a light on until the worms work down into the newspaper and cardboard. Place the lid on the top bin and you have now setup your worm farm!

Once your food and bedding has been composted by the worms, usually three to four months, you are ready to setup bin 2 as you did with worm bin 1 with the exception of replacing the Sphagnum Peat with a little of your existing worm bedding material (from bin 1… use enough to make 1″ to 2″ thick bedding). Once completed, lift the top off worm bin 1 and place bin 2 on top. Now place the lid on worm bin 2. Allow to sit for 3 to 4 weeks giving enough time for most of your worms to migrate upwards into bin 2.

Now remove bin 1 and 2. replace bin 2 back on top of your four Tupperware type containers and place lid on top.

You are now ready to harvest the vermicompost from bin 1 to use on your plants!

Repeat this process on a continuous basis.

Bruce

Flow Through Worm Composting Bin Update 2

Bruce — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:05:43 +0000

Two months have passed since I started the flow through worm composting bin and I could have and do recommend waiting three months before trying to collect the vermicompost from the bottom. Being this is an experiment as well as I wanted to show others how to build a flow through worm bin for under $40.00, I proceeded to collect some vermicompost, which actually looked better than I originally figured within the first two months.

For anyone that has missed the prior posts concerning the making and update of the flow through worm composting bin, here are the links which will open in a new window.

How to build a flow through worm composting bin for under $40.00

Homemade Flow Through Worm Compost Bin Update 1

The first picture illustrates a layer of brown material and mostly gone through green material underneath. You can see the cantaloupe seeds have been growing as I added one last week which is all about gone already. The worms can barely be seen in this picture; however they are doing well with a massive amount of juvenile red wiggler worms now surviving in the worm bin as well.

The next picture shows the underside of the flow through worm composting bin exposing the weed whacker line I used to support the bedding material and food scraps I have been adding. There is a little remainder of the layers of newspaper I used originally to support the base material I was adding. This is what you still see hanging on the left side of the picture below.

You can also see the vermicompost being supported by the weed whacker line. I originally did the scraping of vermicompost last week. When I checked the bottom of the flow through worm bin today, there was approximately two cups of vermicompost which had fallen to the bottom by itself.

This goes along with my theory that the weed whacker line is sufficient to support the material above as well as the weight. You will notice the bow in the weed whacker line, however figuring it is supporting well over fifty pounds of material at present, this is to be expected.

I will post further updates on this system down the road.

Bruce

Homemade Flow Through Worm Bin Update 1

Bruce — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:27:11 +0000

It has been a week and a half since I built the flow through worm bin and placed 1 pound of red wigglers into it. I placed a pound and a half of food in there which is just about gone. Hence under the correct conditions, one pound of red wigglers can eat approximately one pound of food scraps per week.

You can read the original article which includes directions on building this flow through worm bin.

Enjoy the video below.

Bruce

How to Build A Flow Through Worm Bin

Bruce — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:07:39 +0000

This past weekend I decided to try something since I had the materials lying around to build a continuous flow worm bin system which in reality can be purchased for less than forty dollars.

I had seen a similar concept using metal rods as well as had the bottom left wide open, allowing for variety of varmints to enter the system. I decided to build it keeping it simple so as about anyone could put it together.

One thing to keep in mind is many web sites state that the end product is worm castings in a continuous flow through system. The reality is that the end result is a vermicompost, a mix of some unfinished decaying organic matter and worm castings. While the worm castings by themselves are considered “Black Gold”, the vermicompost will do very well in many garden plants too or simply screen the mixture.

Many ask if you will lose many worms out of the bottom, no worries here. As with anything you will lose a few stragglers however the worms are consistently migrating upwards and should reproduce much quicker than your few lost worms coming through the bottom when you harvest your vermicompost.

Materials / Tools:

1 – 55 Gallon drum (one not previously used for chemicals)

1 – 2’ X 2’ piece of 3/8” plywood if your bin has not lid

4 – strips of 3/8* plywood or less, can be from lid scrap above.

1 – 12” X 8” – 1/8” or ¼” galvanized hardware cloth

4 – Short wood screws ~ ¾” to 1”

40’ – Weed whacker line

1 – Piece of approx. 80 grit sandpaper

1 – Reciprocating saw

1 – Phillips or flat head screwdriver… depending on your screws.

1 – Cutting tool for the galvanized hardware cloth.

1 – tape measure.

1 – drill

1 – 1/8” drill bit

The first thing to do is mark out a 12” wide by 8” high opening on the bottom, 2 inches from the bottom of the drum.

Next center and mark out another opening 10” wide by 6” high inside the one you just made.

Cut out the smaller opening first as this will make it much easier. Once you cut the outer opening, save this piece.

I ran the weed whacker line from side to side as I noticed the structural strength was weekend from front to back once the opening on the bottom was cut. Hence locate and center mark your two sides two inches above the top of your cut opening on the bottom of the drum.

Now you will want to drill holes 1 1/2” on center. This does not mean going around the exterior and measuring 1 ½” all around as this will mess you up.

The simplest way to figure this task out is to drill your two centered side holes, measure 1 ½” to either side and drill those two out. Temporarily run the weed whacker line through all three holes on both sides, back and forth and snug up a little. Now you can reach inside and lay the tape measure over the three lines you ran and mark out 1 ½” in both directions on both sides of the bin. Be sure your marks are level before proceeding to drill them out. You can use your tape measure or if you have scrap wood around, use a precut piece as a template to the height from the bottom of the drum to the height of the holes to be drilled.

To run the weed whacker line tie a large knot on one end of the line and begin threading the line back and forth, starting at either the front or back of the drum. Once ran, proceed to reach inside the drum and start by pulling and placing tension on the lines to snug up, beginning where you first began to thread the line. Once complete, tie another knot on the other end to secure the tension on the weed whacker line and cut off excess.

Now you can cut your lid for the drum if your drum did not come with one out of the 3/8” plywood. Be sure to leave it a little larger than the drum top to over hang a little to prevent rain… from getting in should you be placing outside.

Under the lid, Drill 1/8” holes around the top of the drum spaced about 1 ½” apart.

You should have enough scrap from the plywood lid to cut four strips. Cut four pieces six inches long, two at 1 ½” wide and two at 2” wide.

Use the sandpaper to sand the edges of your fron lower door panel to remove the burs left behind when cutting the door.

Trim the galvanized hardware cloth to fit by being a little smaller than the outer edge of the saved piece from your bottom opening cut. Use the wider strips on the front and the narrower strips on the back of each side to hold the galvanized hardware cloth in place, securing with the four screws. Line them up with the inside edge of the opening so as they over hand on the outer side, one by ½” the other by 1”. Always place the galvanized hardware cloth on over the face which will be facing outwards towards you when fitted into place.

Always start off the flow through system with six pieces of newspaper, add 4” to 6” pre soaked sphagnum peat moss (damp, not soaking wet) on top and begin adding food scraps.

To help maintain the pH level is to layer your green (i.e. vegetable scraps) and brown (i.e. shredded newspaper, cardboard) as well as add ground eggshells when available in moderation.

After two or three months, use a garden claw to lightly rake the underside of the weed whacker line from side to side to remove the finished vermicompost. This can then be performed weekly if the system is setup and functioning correctly.

Bruce

Tips On How To Keep Your Worm Bin Warm

Bruce — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:10:13 +0000

With the latest cold snap over the past several weeks many have asked for ideas on keeping their worm bin or worm farm warm. There are a number of ways to assist in accomplishing this depending on your individual situation.

Of course the most obvious is to try and relocate your worm bin if possible. If your home is a little cool, and your worm bin is inside, try locating it by a heat vent. Do not block off the heating vent but rather enable the worm bin to absorb some of the heat when the heater is running.

Be sure your worm bin is not sitting on the cold floor nor on anything that is a good conductor of the cold if on a cold floor. A good trick is to either use a couple small Tupperware type containers on the four corners of the bin or old egg cartons to support the worm bin.

If your worm bin is in a garage or basement which stays a little cool, you can first try to build a worm bin heater which I have previously posted. You can find the post here.

Another way to help keep your worms warm is to add more green products such as your vegetable scraps which will produce heat as they decompose. Now I need to add a word of caution here as if you add to much, the acidic levels will increase for one as well as you may end up heating the worm farm too much, hence cooking your worms.

The best way to accomplish heating your worm bin this way is to dig out a trench on one side of your bin. I would not take up more than ¼ of the worm bin for the trench in case something goes wrong, the worms will still have plenty of room to be comfortable in.

Add some layers in here starting with some shredded newspaper and or cardboard so as to absorb some of the liquid which may form from decomposing scraps as you will be adding extra here.

Next add a layer of vegetable scraps. Follow this up with a layer of shredded newspaper and cardboard as well as some spent coffee grinds if you wish. Follow up by sprinkling some finely crushed eggshells.

You can repeat these steps until the trench is about level with the surrounding bedding. Top off with some damp shredded newspaper and cardboard and keep it damp to help eliminate any odor that may try to escape from the decomposing scraps. Once the food begins to break down, the worms should begin to move into this area to keep warmer.

A few tips to speed up the heating process are to first use a blender or other machine to pulverize your vegetable scraps. This helps to speed up the decomposition process as the scraps can decompose faster as well as give more surface area for microorganisms to attach too.

A second tip is to freeze your food scraps and thaw out prior to adding to your worm bin. Be sure the thawed scraps are also at room temperature before adding. The freezing helps to modify the molecular structure enabling the decomposition to have a head start as well as break down faster.

By chance if the acid levels begin to increase in your worm bin, the fastest way to help neutralize it is to use some hardwood ashes or even charcoal ashes from the grill. Use moderately as a little goes a long way.

Good luck in your worm farming adventures,

Bruce

P.S. Be sure to sign up for your free issues of the Worm Composting Newsletter.

Homemade Worm Bin Heater

Bruce — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:30:31 +0000

Many people have asked me how to keep their worm bin warm during the winter months which are setup in their garage or basement. So I finally purchased all the material to build a homemade worm bin heating system which can easily be built within an hour or so.

I set this up with an air temperature in the garage of 61 degrees Fahrenheit. Internal bin temperature was 68 degrees.

After running on high for 6 hours, the temperature in the buckets of water was 89 to 90 degrees.

The internal bin temperature had risen to 73 degrees Fahrenheit, a total of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

The temperature of the exterior sides of the tubing was 78 degrees.

First, the needed supplies are as follows:

1 – 5 Gallon Bucket
1 – 2 Gallon Bucket (Easily fits within the 5 Gallon Bucket)
50 Feet of 3/8 inch flexible tubing.
1 – Fountain Pump (capable of pumping up at least 4 feet) and calls for 3/8 inch tubing
1 – Adjustable Thermostat Aquarium Heater… Submersible Pump Only
2 – Dozen Wire Ties

These materials will run right around $75.00 to purchase.

First, drill a hole through the lid just large enough to pass the thermostat cord through in the center of the lid. You do not want to make this too large as you will lose too much water due to evaporation. Also drill two ¼ inch holes or so next to each other off to one side of the thermostat wire so as to secure the wire with a wire tie later on.

You need to drill two ¾ inch holes near the top of the five gallon bucket to thread your tubing through. Be sure to drill just below your lid once the lid is snapped securely in place. At the same time make a “U” cut in the top rim of the five gallon bucket large enough for your pump electrical wire to lay in. Be sure this also goes low enough that it will not interfere with the lid when you go to snap it down.

Next is to drill holes in the bottom of the 2 gallon bucket. I used a 3/8 inch bit for this.

Next you need to proceed by drilling holes in the side of the 2 gallon bucket making two of them close to the bottom so as to use a wire tie to anchor one end of the 3/8 inch tubing.

Once the holes are drilled you are ready to coil the tubing on the exterior of the 2 gallon bucket. Use a wire tie for the end of the tubing to secure it on the bottom of the 2 gallon bucket. Continue by coiling around the bucket and securing with ties about every three revolutions. You should end up coiling about 25 feet of the tubing around the 2 gallon bucket. Be sure to use a wire tie at the top of the 2 gallon bucket where you finish the coiling.

Take the other end of your tubing and feed it through from the inside of the 5 gallon bucket to the outside. Pull the tubing all through so as to be able to place the 2 gallon bucket inside the 5 gallon bucket.

Now you need to drill two ¾ inch holes near the top of your worm bin so as you can still place your lid on. Run the tubing through one of the holes, from the outside to the inside of your worm bin. Next begin coiling by running back and forth in the bottom of your worm bin. Using wire ties to secure the tubing on the bottom of your bin making use of your aeration holes drilled on the bottom. If needed drill and extra hole here and there to secure on the bottom of the bin.

Run the tubing through the second ¾ inch hole in your worm bin from inside to outside.

Now run the tubing from the outside to the inside of the second ¾ inch hole near the top of your five gallon bucket. Place the pump with suction cups to one side of the 2 gallon bucket, drape the power cord through the “U” slot near the top of the 5 gallon bucket and attach the end of the tube to the pump.

Pull your power cord for the heater through the bottom of the center hole in your 5 gallon bucket lid. Before snapping the lid in place, place on top of the 5 gallon bucket and run a wire tie to support the power cord of the heater so as the heater dangles just about ½ inch above the floor of the 2 gallon bucket.

Photo does not show the tubing ran in the worm bin

Now fill with water and plug the pump in only. Once the tubing fills with water, add additional water to fill the 5 gallon bucket just below the holes drilled for your tubing and pump cord on the side of the five gallon bucket. Be sure the heater is completely submerged under water. Plug heater in and adjust temperature on heater as needed.

Be sure to check the temperature of the worm bin daily and adjust your thermostat as needed. Also be sure to check the water level as the thermostat needs to be submerged under water at all times.

If you have any question, please post them below.

Bruce Galle

How To Make A Simple Large Capacity Worm Composting Bin

Bruce — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:14:34 +0000

Here is an attempt to make a video showing you how to make a worm compost bin, unlike any other you have seen. This bin is made from a plastic 4 drawer storage container. The brand name is Sterilite which can be found at your local Walmarts, Ace Hardware and other place for around $40.00.

The nice thing about this is the floor saving space as well as being able to hold over 6,000 worms!

Enjoy the video.

Remember, to get your worms, check out Organic Worm Farm for the best quality worms online!

Thanks

Bruce Galle

P.S. – Remember you can always follow me on Twitter.