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.
I am still confused on your take of leachate.When you moisten
the bin and it drains out is that the same as soaking castings.
Everybody has the own opinion on this.I would like you to discuss it further please.
Joe,
Hello and welcome!
First off, it is not my take or opinion on leachate but rather the facts! I have written a full article on this subject here…
Many folks who sell different types of worm farms, some with the spigot simply have no idea of what they are offering. Simply put they are affiliates who make some cash for every unit the sell!
Allow me to try explaining this way…
First, a definition from Dictionary.com
aer·o·bic (â-r?’b?k)
adj.
1.
Biology
1.
Living or occurring only in the presence of oxygen: aerobic bacteria.
If we go back to basics, air that we breathe contains 21% (actual 20.9%) oxygen. Compare this to water which is less than 1%, usually within 6/10 to 8/10 of 1 percent.
So just the presence of too much moisture already eliminates most of the oxygen which is depleted quickly by introducing living organisms which require oxygen. Whether introducing microbes or fish unless there is a natural or manual way to replenish the oxygen the oxygen becomes depleted and any organisms requiring oxygen to live will die.
Compound this by packed, over moistened compost (which produces leachate) by which the water acts as a sealant, preventing or making it difficult for air to penetrate.
Picture a stagnant pond or a bucket of water left outside over time which becomes stagnant and begins to smell. This is the result of the aerobic microbes or other source, depleting the oxygen and the anaerobic microbes taking over.
Just as us humans, if you climb up a mountain, there is less oxygen available, due to the pressure. In reality if you climb 10,000 feet above sea level, the air is less dense and even though it still consists of 21% oxygen, there are less molecules, hence it becomes more difficult to breathe. If you climb high enough, eventually you will not have enough oxygen molecules in the air to survive.
Making worm tea is basically the opposite. You begin with properly aerated worm castings, introduce them to water which is enriched with oxygen by using a pump in most circumstances and providing a food source for the aerobic microbes to eat as well as survive in huge numbers. However, once the air pump used to oxygenate the water is shut off, the levels of oxygen deplete very rapidly.
Aerobic microbes are beneficial to your soil and for plants. Anaerobic microbes can be harmful to your soil, plants and even humans. After all, would you take that bucket of stagnant water full of anaerobic microbes I mentioned earlier and dowse your tomato plants with it? If you did the plant would probably die. If you ate any of the crop, especially within a matter of days after dowsing the plant, you would stand a good chance of becoming very sick!
So in short, leachate and worm tea are NOT the same as one is beneficial the other can be detrimental.
Hope this helps
Bruce
Dang! Wish I had seen this before I bought the three tier condo I have. When I decide to expand I’ll be a-going to Walmart and doing this kinda condo. Thanks for the video.
One question though. In the 3 tier condo deal I have each level has square holes all along the bottom of each level. Underneath it all is the dreaded holding tank with the spigot. I don’t want them down there but they love it there and dirt/castings whatever you call the material, drops right down there too. If I do the Walmart version isn’t my bottom drawer going to have holes in the bottom they are going to crawl out of? Or are the holes you drill so small they don’t crawl out?
Cat Mom
You welcome on the video… I found it pretty neat when I first ran into one of the four drawer setups. I pondered over buying it or not to give it a try. Works quite well and holds a lot of worms!
First, as for the current worm farm you are using, might try a real fine, fiberglass screen with real small holes to lay down first in each of your trays. Just cut to fit and lay it down. You can get a small roll about 3 foot wide for around $6.00 at most home improvement stores.
On to the second part, I use a 1/8″ drill bit and the worms usually stay in. Not to say you will not end up with an occasional stray wanderer, however I have had no problems with worms trying to escape the four drawer system. Of course the bedding, temperature, pH… all need to be appropriate so as not give them a reason to want to leave
Bruce
Hi Bruce,thanks for the other reply.Is it better to raise the worms in smaller bins as you show in your video or in larger one.That would be like a 4′ by 8′ size bin.The other thing, do
worms produce castings better in a smaller area for control.What is your thoughts on flow-thru systems.Thanks for
your time
joe
Thank you, I can’t believe I could not think of the fine fibergalss screen. Guess that’s why you’re the expert! I will get this for my less than optimal condo and I do plan to expand on my worm crew with the homemade condo you have shown us how to do. Thanks again, this is pretty awesome.
Has any one used one of the fiberglass worm bins from ECOLOGY TECHNOLOGY? These things are a pile. Very hard to maintain. When you try to mix the soil up the vents come out of the bottom. You cant use a shovel or anything to mix the compost without damageing the thing. The worm poop shinks to the bottom and the worm start to surface and stop breeding. The heater in this thing sucks. I think I spent more on my power bill then any thing. I also heard that there is a fiberglass releaser on the fiberglass that can get in the compost. I talked to the owner a few times but I pretty sure he was pretty drunk. No help at all. And who buys worms?
Inchy,
First off I was not familiar with ECOLOGY TECHNOLOGY so I had a look at their website.
First thing I noticed is the size is 4’ X 8’ and trying to judge the height as I could not find the dimensions on this, however based on the photo, looks very shallow. For a larger system such as this I would recommend a depth of a minimum of 2.5 feet.
As for the venting issue, I would recommend cleaning the hole thoroughly where the vent pops in and try using some liquid nail for adhesion. Allow to thoroughly dry as the fumes could harm your worms.
The fiberglass should be painted with an acrylic water based exterior primer and eggshell or satin finish coat of paint. It should NOT have an alkyd, oil base or any industrial finishes. A metallic shovel will scratch through many finishes; however you could try a plastic ice or coal shovel to help prevent tearing up the finish as much.
As the worms work themselves up since this appears to be a shallow system, you would need to replace the bedding more frequently. Once you notice a majority of the material has been converted to worm castings, you should screen the material and replace with fresh bedding. This will enable the worms to continue on with their business.
As for the heating system, I can only say I get weary of any electrical heating systems where a pad or electrical wires can come in contact with the bedding. If the bedding becomes dry enough, which will usually happen in areas throughout a larger bin, a fire could break out. In the past there have been a number of worm farms which have burnt down due to the heating systems. This is why I posted an earlier article on a water heater system which will not be as effective outside as it would be in a garage or basement as it is limited.
Once fiberglass has cured, there should not be any release of chemicals. On the other hand, if the bin is getting scratched up you could be releasing small fragments of fiberglass into the bedding when you mix it. As much as the fiberglass irritates us when you have contact with exposed skin, I would imagine this would kill off worms. Again, I would go with plastic tools in a fiberglass bin as to minimize scratching.
On another note, I notice the website makes mention of leachate and worm tea in the same sentence, making it appear that these are the same thing. In reality, leachate is NOT worm tea, but a runoff of excess liquids which many times are full of anaerobic microbes which can be harmful and even detrimental to your plants. Worm tea is a process by which one aerates worm castings in water and supplies a food source for aerobic microbes to feed and flourish exponentially. Worm tea is beneficial to your plants!
Anytime you come across a worm bin advertising the collection of the liquid runoff, I highly recommend you avoid. Any professional worm farmer will tell you that their worm bins, no matter the size, do not have liquid runoff as this would defeat the purpose of having aerobic microbe material! If you have runoff, your worm bin is to wet!
Overall from what the website has to offer I am not impressed with their system nor the price tag associated with it. You can buy plans for a professional continuous flow worm bin and build it for approximately $500.00 which does not require fiberglass with a life expectancy of 8 to 10 years thus far and still going strong!
Bruce Galle
I just got rid of the worm incubator. We just had so many problems with it. http://www.ecologytek.com is a huge waste of money. The video about the plastic walmart incubator is a great video. I wish I would have seen it before I got a http://www.ecologytek.com pile of crap. It also attracted so may rodents. It was more like a breeding ground for mice. Not worms.
Bruce do you only use small rubbermaid bins or do you manage
another size.
Joe,
I started with Rubbermaid along time ago and still experiment with some, including the 4 drawer system which I have two up and running with different worms. After all I have to test them before I recommend them
I also use some larger bins about 80 gallons as well as custom made wood bins to continuous feed models I have built.
Bruce
Joe,
The size of the bin would depend on what you or another individual wish to accomplish. For someone just wishing to throw some scraps into a bin or raise some worms for themselves to fish with, a smaller Rubbermaid bin setup would be fine. Someone deciding to go crazy such as myself would need larger bins. Now I do use smaller bins as well for trial and error as well as holding bins for larger worms such as African nightcrawlers of size ready to be sold.
It would also depend on what other needs one might have. If you are looking to generate compost for your garden on a continuous basis, then a continuous feed would be a great way to go. A word of caution is this takes time, usually about three months before you can begin to obtain vermicompost as well works a bit differently than a Rubbermaid worm bin. You need to find your way by applying even layers and how much of different materials in each layer. Once you get it going and become accustommed to it, it becomes easy as well as can produce quite a bit of vermicompost weekly depending on size, pounds of worms…
I do like the continuous feed flow through system however recommend starting small scale to test it out. Once you get it down, build a larger one.
Bruce
What is the best way to contol or stop rodents getting into your bins.Do rats eat worms when they burrow in the bins.
I am having this problem
Dont get a http://www.ecologytek.com system. Those things breed rats and mice. Rats will eat worms. I have a cat. He works great. Or try this web site for more info http://www.crittercontrol.com/facts/animals/housemice.html
Hi Brice,
I have a Worm Factory system and and am wanting to use something else for my worms like your video shows. I take it that the worms in this type of system don’t move up to the next bin like in the system I have or do they need to?
Thanks,
Chuck
Chuck
The worms do not need to be able to move to the next tray and will not in the system referred to in the video. You can simply move them manually if needed when the time comes.
The drawers in the simple system are larger and deeper permitting one to hold more worms should you have the available food source for them.
I recently seen a shorter version which was three drawers at a local Lowes store.
Bruce