DIY Worm Composting

It may sound gross or weird, but making a worm composting bin is quite easy and inexpensive. For apartment dwellers or someone who cannot have an outdoor compost bin, this is nicely placed in a corner of the house or basement. The purpose of a worm compost bin is to have the worms process kitchen scraps and as a result, the castings or “worm poop” makes a very rich fertilizer. The “fertilizer” as we will call it is a rich dark soil but is relatively low in nitrogen so when mixed with soil or sprinkled on top of your plants, it will not burn your plants. It can be mixed with soil up to a concentration of 20% (Mother Earth News, http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/make-worm-bin-ze0z11zhir.aspx#axzz2wdvfss6L). Additionally, there are drainage holes in the bottom that allow excess moisture to collect in the bottom of the 2nd bin. This can be further diluted with water to make a liquid fertilizer.
It takes months for any results to really show. The worms do a great job; for me, it seems that they work faster than my compost tumbler. But, they can only eat so much, so if you have a large number of people in the house they will not be able to eat all the scraps. You can make multiple bins if this is the case. I don’t recommend larger bins because if you have to move it, it may be really heavy once its half or three quarters full.
I have 5 people in my household. The materials I used for this project include:

• 2- 18 gallon plastic bins purchased at the big box store for $6 each. They have many styles but I chose cheapest. They dont like light so if you’re thinking about a clear bin, I would say that your results may not be as good. If there is too much light they won’t reproduce or go near the sides of the bin.
• Cordless drill. Any will do. You can use any tool that can put a hole on the bin. The drill made a nice clean hole. I used a drill bit that made a hole big enough for a pencil to squeeze through.
• Newspaper- this will be shredded into pieces for the worms for their “bedding.” I will explain more later
• Red worms- I bought 1 lb from an online retailer here in Maine. You can dig them out of the ground if you want, but I’m not touching them!
• Kitchen scraps- Includes fruits, veggies, peels, any peels, non-dairy and non- meat foods. Coffee and the filter can be added as-is to the bin. Plants scraps can also be placed in there. They love egg shells (they reproduce in them).
• scrap wood, a few bricks, or something that can raise the top bin 3 to 4 inches from the second. They will fit into each other, but the bottom bin will hold water and you wont want the little wormies to sit in the water. They will drown.

Start by making holes in one of the lids. These are air holes so the worms can breathe. If the holes are too big, you will have some of the little wormies try to escape out the lid. If you want bigger holes, put screen over them so they can’t get out and flies or other bugs can’t get in.

Next drill holes in the side top of the bin for additional air circulation. As long as you aren’t over-feeding them, the bin won’t smell. How do you know if you are overfeeding them? The bin will smell of course! Drill holes in the bottom of this bin as well, so water and fluid can drain out. They like it moist, not wet. I put about 10 or 12 holes. Again, if they are too big, they will escape and drown.

These are 3 pieces of untreated scrap wood that we put in the bottom. This will keep my little guys from sitting in any water. There bedding is dampened when put in there and any extra fluid will drain out.

I put burlap in a thin layer on the bottom just as an additional layer to prevent the little guys from getting out of the bottom. This is optional.

I used an electric paper shredder to shred newspaper for their bedding. This acts like soil, sort of. They will compost this as well. You will put the newspaper in, dampen it, place food scraps, then layer damp newspaper on top of that.
Here is our little bit of food scraps I was saving

Next we added the worms. They come in a ball of soil with all the worms stuffed together. We just dumped them in (gently). They know what to do next.

So place the bin with holes inside the bin with no holes. Make sure it is a few inches raised so they don’t sit in the water. You can place this anywhere that is 50-75 degrees. Basements are fine. My basement runs about 50 degrees. I have mine in the kitchen right now but when fly season comes about, I will put them in the basement. Our house may get hot (we dont have air conditioners) so the basement in the summer is the best option for them. They will die very easily if its too hot or cold. My worms cost roughly $30 shipped but I am adamant in buying from small businesses as close to home as I can.
Now comes the question; What do I do next? Well, after 6 months to a year (depending on the size of your bin) the bin will fill up. It is FULL when it is one half to three quarter’s full. They cannot handle living in too much of their castings. So how do you get the worms separated from the dirt? That is a bit of a project. They do not like light at all. So, on a warm sunny day, take the bin outside and take the lid off. Wait about 30 minutes and start scooping small amounts of the dirt out with a cup or garden tool. There will be worms all over the place so be careful not to grab too many. If its going on a large outdoor garden, I would just put the fertilizer on my garden with a few attached worms. If its in potted indoor plants, you will want to make sure the little guys aren’t included. It’s a bit of a messy job, but I didn’t mind digging through the bin with the worms. I moved the eggs as-is aside and out of the way because those are loaded with the little baby worms. Then I placed all my good fertilizer in a few empty plastic coffee containers (the big ones). I poked a few holes in the top in case there were straggler worms and I didn’t get out to the garden right away. I do this once a year and that seems to be enough. If you have a large family you may want to empty it twice a year. If it’s just you or you and a spouse, I would say to use a smaller bin and empty it once per year. Unless you’re a vegan or vegetarian, than you might need more bins!!