A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 My Worm Bin

About this time of year in 2003, I was gifted ten (10) red-wiggler worms by a neighbor. I knew very little about vermiculture. I tossed them into a watering trough that I had with some hand-shredded newspaper and started adding my kitchen scraps.

Notice the tools that I use, a gardenfork and my handy-dandy plastic gloves. I don't mind handling the worms but my hands get so ingrained with dirt that I try to remember to wear them most of the time.

The "lid" of my bin is just a piece of expanded metal covered with a couple of trash bags. There is plenty of airflow all around the edges as it is propped up on slats.


It's easy to just flip up and toss in the day's kitchen waste. I use everything, including the things you are not supposed to use like citrus and potato peels. I toss in corn husks and cobs. I put in a whole pumpkin last fall that started to get soft. I still get seedlings in there from that. And of course more shredded a paper that a couple of friends give me.

Open sesame (and anything else I can find to toss in, including stale bread)

I kind of scoop the top few inches off to one side to retrieve castings from the bottom. Today I am just turning it for the camera.

I don't chop, grind or blend anything that I add. I let Mother Nature and the worms deal with it.
Turned

Then every so often I run into a massive 'wad' of worms. I don't know what it is that attracts them all to one place like this.

Turned with fresh shredded paper on top and ready to close up again until next time.

There you go Patches.

Boy those worms are fat little suckers!!!

I will be starting mine this summer.

They are not as fat as the camera makes them look, Pat. Actually too small for fishing for instance. That is from being overcrowded, I think. Why are you waiting for summer?

WOW, Tina! Now, I'm confident I can do this! Seeing these pictures has really helped me a lot!

Aren't you afraid you'll hurt the worms with the pitchfork? Last night, when you told me I could carefully turn up a little dirt to see if they were still alive, I must have looked like I was handling fragile bird eggs.

I have 2 or 3 projects ahead of the worm bin. Going to be laying floor tile next weekend, and then have a couple of windows to replace. Also have another garden bed to prepare.

I don't have a lot of time to get things done.

Oh, Pat ,there's really no time involved in vermiculture to speak of. I hardly notice mine at all. Sure set-up may take a couple hours but after that it's just a matter of scraping a couple of dirty dishes into it!

I laughed at your pumpkin sprouts, Tina, mine is constantly sprouting cantaloupes, may have to transplant some outdoors! And those are fishing worms They are much more active than a fat garden worm, easy to hook , and perfect for fishing. Any good bait shop is selling the exact same worm as what you got there.

Well Patches, when I've used the fork, I haven't heard any screaming. So I must have missed them all.
Actually, I remember in science when I was in grammar school. There was an experiment where worms were cut in half and each half regenerated into a new worm. So I really don't worry about them much. I have never seen a squished worm or any injury. They are always scrambling to rebury themselves when I turn them over. And I really try not to bother them often. I used to feel guilty about the neglect until I realized that they thrive on neglect.

My worm bin will be made out of concrete blocks with a gable roof. I have enough material to build it, it will be a permanent outside bin. I plan to till down a ways to bring the heat/cool up into the bin. It will take a couple of weekends to finish.

I just haven't had the time to do it yet.

Mel, got pictures?

Tina, after you mentioned how your worms were huddled together and so were mine, I got to wondering about it. So I searched the internet and ended up finding out there's a Wormsway store in St. Louis and I called them to ask about it. The person I got told they were huddled together either because they were cold or doing their thing (mating). Well, my basement is plenty warm, so...

Well it's nice to see the worms being friendly!!!

I thought that might be that.

Great worm farm. I have a couple of those tubs actually. My worm farm is operational but i could sure make more. How do you catch the "juice" from the fluids. Or does it just drop onto the earth? I don't see a container underneath.

It is actually on a slope and there is a single drain hole. I can and do catch some of the fluids under there but a lot go to natually watering that one downhill tree; a hackberry. And some castiron plants right there.

Evidently, these are VERY friendly worms!

Tina, I put some worm chow on top at one end of the bed, then if it disappears I would assume they are alive and "working"! I'm just curious!

patches

I'm glad you're enjoying them, Patches. I don't do everything by the book but I see happy healthy worms. And then I remember that I started with ten 3 years ago. They like living here.

Well Tina, I guess I would like it too, if I was living on a hillside in California, nestled next to a national forestland! Geesh, I'm sure that would make for happy worms!

patches

Don't forget all of the scraps from the kitchen. I really dislike waste. Being able to give my dog some and the worms the rest , leaves me feeling like I'm doing something good for the world and future generations of people as well as worms.

Usually all my kitchen waste and what I collect from Farmers Market goes into my compost bins, so there is really nothing that goes to waste. One of my students, who works at Starbucks, is even bringing me bags of coffee grounds and those are going into my worm bins. "Waste not, want not"!

patches

Patches, share some of the wealth (kitchen scraps) for the worms. It will enrich the castings you get.

Tina, I will do that too, but I thought I would wait until the month was up so I wouldn't disturb them by burying the kitchen scraps. I wouldn't want to interupt their "friendly interactions.

patches

Top feed. Then turn it under once a month or so.

Okay, I'll try that! I just want some healthy, happy worms. Of course, I would like a few fat ones too, so I can take my grandson fishing.

To me, mine always look too small to use as bait. But I'm not much into fishing. So I don't really know what the bait worms look like. I used to buy bait meal worms for my iguana, she loved them.

I use the Zebco "Micro" ultralights and we fish for bluegill, sunfish and other smaller fish. I usually take him to the city park and they don't have any really large fish in lake. We use hooks that are rather small; so, I think once my worms start growing a little bit, they should be big enough to use. Of course, if I've actually raised them, I may feel guilty about using them for bait.

patches

Wow jonni13! Stunning pictures! It's amazing how they all stay together like you said. Kinda of weird, but interesting and very cool!

I have been meaning to get at this post...

WOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!
I love that bin and I really enjoyed the pictures..

That is some great work you've got there..
I am soooooooooo jealous...

I've been dying to read all the posts to reply that yes, they are mating. See the white rectangle thing near their head? That is their sexual part. Worms don't have to have another worm to do the do. They can self replicate or mate with themself. Weird but life finds a way.

I worked on my worm bin for four hours today. Because of the single bin I purchased a year ago I have to "clean" it out every four months. Since then i've realized that the stacking bins are probably a better way to go, like the canoworms system. Oh well, this is what I've got for now it's working well. Other than the cleanings three times a year it's maintenance free, just add food scraps and some fresh newspaper bedding occasionally. Sometimes I go for weeks without touching it and they do just fine. Since I did the cleaning I thought I would post the "how-to" of getting one started. The bin I have has two pvc pipes running through the bottom with holes for air and the cover is also vented.




Fill the bin with shredded newspaper, five or six newspapers, circulars removed no glossy colors, I like to include a crossword or two for them and some funnies. I'm hoping they're not checking the classifieds for a new apartment!



You really need to overpack the newspaper because it's gonna shrink down once the moisture builds up in the bin. To the shredded newspaper add a small bucket of organic soil and about a gallon of water. I don't like to use dirt from the garden for fear of bugs getting into my bin. The bin lives in my kitchen for the winter months and moves outside to the enclosed carport I have off the garage out of direct sunlight.

Mix the dirt and water really well with the newspaper, fluffing it and making sure you don't have the newspaper glued together and clumped up.




Now add the worms, this is about 3x what I started with one year ago.



Red Wigglers:



That's it! I'll let them settle in overnight and then start adding scraps tomorrow. I usually add some fresh newspaper to the top after 2 or 3 weeks when the level moves down. I almost never have to add any more water, the moisture level is perfect when it's moist with no water standing in the bottom. Unless you have a spout and want to make tea.

This was what I got out of it from the full cleaning. A five gallon bucket full of pure compost............



AND a pile of not quite broken down bedding and scraps. This I added to the outside compost pile.



That's the small garden fork I use for checking things in the bin. I laugh when I think of Tina's pitchfork! Somehow I don't think that would go well in my kitchen.

Verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Nice Mel,

Yours is in the kitchen/house?
Do you ever bring it outside???

Thank you, Weezie!


I just moved it outside for the summer.

Very nice melcon! I'm hoping my worms do as well as yours. Of course, I just started my worm bin about 6 weeks ago, so I guess it will take a little while.

Thanks for sharing, Mel. I learn something every time I read about people's vermiculture adventures.

Hey Tina! There's no telling what you'll learn when I start telling my tales.

Actually, I'm having fun with this and can't wait to see what happens in the next couple of months.

I just got my worms and started a farm indoors in my kitchen. I made my tiered bin with 3 14 inch bamboo steamers, with sixteenth inch mesh bottoms.

My question is:
Should I poke holes in the mesh bottoms so the worms can migrate into upper tiers after established ?
I know this must be obvious but ... how many holes and how big. I know the commercial bins are tiered and probably have holes but how many?


Anyone out there who has mastered this art and has a response to my beginner query will be my hero.

Wow, that sounds like an awesome system. The stackables are definitely the way to go. Believe me, I don't have it, just a rectangular bin and it's not fun going through the whole thing sorting the worms from the compost.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I'll try to find something. Or someone else will come along who has the stacking system.

Well, I couldn't stand it anymore. It snowed on Thursday night and is still sticking around today (Sunday). That is the coldest sustained temps my worms have had it since moving in with me. I had to check on their welfare.
The snow was melted on top of the bin. That was a good sign as it still had snow all around it in the shade. My car parked in the sun still has snow on the hood. That means my bin is creating it's own warmth. I turned the worms around, over and every which way with my handy dandy pitchfork and they weren't very happy about it at all. I gave them a nice warm insulating blanket of newspapers and put them back to bed for a while.
Yay! I still have worms. And now I know they can survive sustained 20 degree days and nights. I also have some grubs overwintering in there with them. They don't appear to be harming anything and they will be food for my fish pond in due course. I would like to know what they are and how they affect the habitat that I have going in there.

Grubs= japanese beetles. :p

There are other grubs. Most are beetles of some sort. I have had them before and have had no problems with them. We'll wait and see.

Awesome to see other people doing the vermicomposting thing! It always sounds complicated when you read about it but really keeping worms is so simple. I also violate many of the "rules" of vermicomposting and the worms don't seem to object, they keep breeding! I'm very jealous of the watering trough, I don't have anything like that. I'm using rubbermaid bins that I got from Lowes.

I got tired of digging up the worms and separarating them out from the compost not to mention picking out the newer stuff, so I made my own stacking system by simply getting another rubbermaid bin, drilling holes on the bottom and putting new food and bedding in it. So far the worms haven't run out of food in the bottom bin so they're living in both at the moment.

Unfortunately my system doesn't allow for collecting worm tea. I used to have the bin on top of an old junky stryofoam cooler that was lying around and I would just periodically dump that on the garden (my tomatoes really loved it), but it sprung a leak so now the bin just waters the bushes it's near. Now I don't have anything that is the right size to put the bin on. With a trough like that I could just use a bucket for the tea, plus I could keep it next to the house instead of in the carport because it would be elevated off the ground. I'm going to have to try to get my hands on one of those...

Hi Boxmonkey,
Very good to see you!!!

Got any spare bathtubs' layin' around?
That might do your trick for the "water trough" idea... and it's already got a hole at the bottom for the "tea".....

boxmonkey we've missed you! (or i have anyway!) we need pics of the "new" place now that you are in it!!

i too have the rubber maid system. i'm working on another idea though, and if it comes through, i'll let you know.

Hey guys. Sorry to be such a transient! The bathtub is a great idea, I don't have any but I've seen them available on freecycle a few times, I'll keep an eye out. I will get pictures of the new place as soon as it's not such an eyesore.

Hey Jiffy,

Right now, I'm using a Rubbermaid container too; but, I'm really anxious to see what other idea you are working on for your worm bin! I'm always interested in anything that will keep my worms happy and heathy!

For tea, I don't have the spout on my bin, but I just take a couple good handfuls of the compost that I have collected from the bin, put it into a five gallon bucket and fill that with water. Thnen I let it steep for a few days .......

hi there,
i'm hoping melcon will bring down some of her worms next week??? I have a 5 gallon bucket, with a spout on the bottom. i have placed rocks and an old window screen on the bottom to collect the "tea" but prevent the worms and debris from going down to the spout.

Hey Christine!

I'll be happy to bring you down some worms next week!

You better remind me again the day I'm leaving (Sunday) or I'll forget again!

Hmmmmm.... I have regular old earthworms in the yard... would they work for something like this??

The worms best suited to worm composting are the redworms: Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler. I would suggest you check out the other forums on this site about worm bins or worms. I found a wealth of great informaton about worms right here at the Garden Helper.

is there a certaintime of the year to start a worm bin? cani keep it in my garage?

where do i get red wigglers?

thanks for your help!

Is your garage heated???????

no, my garage is not heated. and in case you need to know, i leave in PA.

If it won't freeze too much your garage may work out. When the weather conditions are more favorable to "worm travel" I can mail you some to start you off.

According to the information I have, it says that the Red Wiggler worms need to be in a location where the temperature will be between 50-80 degrees F. I keep my bin in the basement which is about 78 degrees and they seem to be doing fine. They seem to be very happy and extremely productive!

I agree with Patti on the temps' for the Red Wiggliers', any info I've read they can't be in an unheated area..
Especially when the Northeast is subject to
BLIZZARDS' and SUB~ZERO TEMPS'..
A garage would be okay in late~late spring and early fall.. but needs heat/warmth/freezing protections..

I'm not sure if I agree, Weezie. Granted I live in FL, but we're getting sub-freezing temps at night and my worms are doing just fine. One thing to keep in mind is that the bin generates a fair amount of heat, and if the outer parts are too cold the worms will move in towards the center. I would guess that for that reason a bigger bin has a better chance of surviving the winter in very cold areas, but I don't think it's impossible.

The 50-80 range has been exceeded in both directions here, and my bin is overpopulated if anything.

Boxmonkey, are you composting with Eisenia Fetida or Eisenia hortensis worms in your bins?

can someone explain to me worm tea? what do you use it for? how often. etc.

thanks!!!

Coachdaisy, worm tea is made from liquid that drains out of the worm bin or you can put some of the worm casings in a very fine mesh bag or some cheesecloth and soak that in a container of water for a few days. Worm tea is used the same as fertilizer, but I think it's much better because it's all natural. Whenever I use the liquid that drains out of the bin I dilute it with 50% water, but if I use the cheesecloth bag, I use that liquid full-strength.

thanks patches for the info.

i'm excited over worms!

this is all new to me, but i want to have a successful veggie gaqrden to show my daughters that nature and natural are imoprtant aspects of life. i am going to try very hard to do everything organicly.

jonni13- i would love some of your worms when the weather is ideal. thanks for offering!

Actually, Tina is the resident expert on worms

I am no expert. I stumble along.
My worms are outside all the time. We have had some record breaking cold this year, sustained. They are doing just fine. I would guess my bin is about as long as three of the sterlite bins, side by side. And slightly deeper. And it generated enough warmth so the unusual snow melted off it before anything else. The worms were fine.
I've learned an awful lot from just this thread. And they have distant cousins all over the country now.

Hey Tina, you're certainly an expert to me!

That is so neat . I just put leaves and kitchen scraps in compost piles . I added some left over worms from the boys going fishing and they had bought bait from a shop that produces them locally . Now I just throw a ton of leaves over the garden spot at the end of gardening season and over winter and the worms have found a good home and air rate the soil for me . I add the compost piles to the garden when I till and when I plant and there are worms galore in them too . I might just have to try your idea too for more worms . LOL . Great pics by the way . Keep up the good work .

My neighbor wanted to know if the night crawlers that were sold for bait could go into her veggie garden. I gave her a thousand or so of my red wigglers to try instead of paying $4 something for 10 worms. I think they can survive here.

Hey, Tina, some of your worm's distant cousins are now living in Wisconsin. I fixed up a carton of worms, a 20-page information packet about worms and some worm chow to get her started. They were hand-delivered by a friend who took them to her mother and they arrived safe and sound at their new home.

Cool, Patti. It is fun to share. And that way you are fairly certain they will arrive in good condition. I've had a couple go wrong in the PO. ("P.U.)

Yes, it is Tina , and I'm glad you feel that way or I wouldn't have my worm bin ! I am so grateful for everything you did for me to get me started.

Hey, Tina, check out Triva Triplets III. I posted some new words there.

We just bought our first red wigglers (got them from the pet store!) and put them in a big ol' coffee can with some compost for now. They were a nice addition to my daughter's science fair project on recycling in the garden. (See the frugal thread to see photos of her project!)
Thanks for suggesting it!

'Manda