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

The first thing we need to do is go back to the scientific names for each to get a better understanding.

Red Wigglers – Eisenia foetida

European nightcrawlers – Eisenia hortensis

You may have noticed that the first part of the scientific names for each is the same. The word Eisenia which refers to an earthworm genus was named after an American zoologist, Gustav A. Eisen who had assorted variations to his name.

So in fact they are of the same family tree!

Both the European nightcrawler and red wiggler originated from Europe with the red wiggler making an earlier appearance here in the United States.

Another interesting fact is that both worms, even though the red wiggler is also known as the tiger worm, have the same striped tiger like rings encircling the length of their bodies. They do differ in size as the European nightcrawler grows larger especially in thickness.

Just to explain a little more about the scientific name of each the word foetida is derived from the words foetid and fetid which are defined as; foul, foul-smelling, funky, noisome having an offensive odor; stinking. The red wiggler was named such as rough handling of this worm causes it to excrete a foul smelling liquid.

The word hortensis means belonging to a hottus, or garden hence why the word hortensis is used in the names of a number of plants.

Both worms can be used for worm composting as well as a variety of others which I will explain in more depth in another post.

Bruce

After a week of a number of rainy days and the rain being cold as temperatures only in the 40′s and 50′s while raining, the worms are doing well.

I pulled back the hay and decomposing materials and carefully used a pitchfork to turn the top few inches of the clay and sand mix. The Alabama Jumpers were right there doing fine and active!

When I ran a temperature test of the soil it ranged from 54 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since there are no hard facts or statistics on Alabama Jumpers as compared to other red worms, I figured I would keep an eye on these guys and monitor them. I will keep a record of my findings here on the blog. Be sure to bookmark or sign up for the Worm Composting Newsletter to keep abreast of the latest updates!

Alabama Jumpers are available from Organic Worm Farm and are great for clay and sandy soils.

Be sure to drop buy The Worm Expert new discussion forum and join us. Introduce yourself while you are there!

Bruce Galle