Cheap and Easy Worm Bin for indoors or out. Composting with red-worms is great for apartment dwellers or for those who don't have yard space, or even for those who don't want to hike to the backyard during the winter months to the compost with their food scraps, (that is me, plus anything under 55 F slows down worm activity and anything above 84F is harmful to your worms). Kids find worms fascinating and will enjoy raising worms with you. Can't wait until my grandson is old enough to enjoy my worm farm. I'm a proud grandma, can you tell?
By letting worms eat your food wastes, you will end up with one of the best soil amendments available and that is worm castings.
I've looked around and most bins you buy are too expensive (like 110.00). But I found a few great ways to make your own. Here is the one I picked for myself, and only cost me $10.00 plus the cost of worms.
Hope you will join me on my worm farm adventure.
Materials you will need to make this easy worm bin.
- Two 8 or 10 gallon plastic storage boxes ( dark, not see through. Walmart carries a bunch of different colors, so pick one that matches the room you will store you bin in) You can pick these bins up for $5.00 or less each.
- A Drill (with 1/4" and 1/16" bits) for making drainage, ventilation holes, and holes that the worm can crawl through to the next bin.
STEP 1
Using the 1/4" drill bill, drill about twenty evenly spaced holes in the bottom of each bin.
These holes are for drainage and to allow the worms to crawl into the second bin when you are ready to harvest the castings. Don't worry the worms will not crawl out onto your floor, they will move toward the bin with the food scraps.( I got my son to do this, so no it is not him in this picture. LOL)
STEP 2
Now switch over to the 1/16" drill bit, drill holes about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart on each side of the bin near the top edge, drill two rolls of holes. Do this for both bins. When you are done, drill about 25 holes in ONE of the lids.
These holes are for ventilation, which is important for the worms, they need oxygen to live and they produce carbon dioxide, and so your compost will not smell (more on no smell compost later)
Materials you will need for BEDDING. (free stuff)
- Shredded newspaper or shredded computer paper can be used. The papers should be shredded in long lengths of ¼" wide strips. It’s easily moistened, but the strips don’t keep the moisture as well. Strips provide more surface area from which the water can evaporate. They require frequent moistening. The black ink used for printing the newspaper is not toxic to redworms. The main ingredients of black ink are carbon and some oils. Colored ink should be avoided.
- Cardboard to cover their bedding. In a "wet" environment, it can help to absorb
some liquid, and will eventually disintegrate. - A couple of handfuls of dirt, potting soil, peat moss or sand for "grit" helps the worms digest their food, a handful of soil provides the grit worms need for breaking down food particles within the gizzard. Since worms don’t have teeth, their food must be broken down by muscle action in their gizzards.
- Old decaying leaves are a good source of bedding. Some leaves are better than others are. For
example, maple leaves are preferred over oak leaves, because the latter take longer to break down. - Food Scraps like breads & grains, coffee ground and filters, tea bags, egg shells-ground, fruits and vegetables . DON'T add these - dairy products, fats, meat, feces and oils.
Prepare bedding for the worms by shredding newspaper into 1 inch strips or less. Worms need bedding that is moist but not soggy. Moisten the newspaper by soaking it in water and then squeezing out the excess water.
Then add food scraps, make sure you bury the food scraps so your bin will not start to smell.
will finish this later today, sorry---
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