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11-14-2009, 11:19 PM
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#1 |
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Let's Bungle in the jungle.
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 524
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DIY Worm Bin for dollars.
Thought I would post a little something that I put together this afternoon. It's so easy to make this worm bin and takes no time to put it together. All you need is stuff from around the house and some composting worms (Eisenia Fetida, Red worms) In no time you can turn kitchen scraps into worm castings for your garden.
First, you will need a couple of bins for this set up. One bin for the vermicompost and one for the reservoir, I am using these 10 gallon bins I had around the house that I picked up for 2 dollars a piece on sale.  Next, you take a 1/8 inch drill bit and put in some air holes both in the lid and into the sides to ventilate the wigglers environment. You don't want the holes too big or the worms will migrate out of the bin.   Next, Put a few holes into the bottom of the top bin to allow drainage into the reservoir. Just a few now, or they will fall into drink.  Bin Complete! Now put a couple of bricks in the reservoir and put the top bin into it and your ready to fill it up with some bedding.   The bedding I used was shredded newspaper, crumbled leaves, shredded cardboard, and you will need some dirt, a couple of cups full for the worms sake. The dirt is for the digestive system of the worm, They need the dirt to grind the food within the gizzard and as well as it supplies the bin with some beneficial microbes. Get it all in all in there, right to the top. Then wet it all down. Worms need a moist environment since they transpire through the their skin. Not too wet now.   Then add the Dirt and mix it up!  Put in some food scraps and then add the Worms. I used apples and lettuce and put some bedding over top to discourage fruit flies.  Then cover the worms with a layer of bedding.   Your done! In six weeks you should be ready to start harvesting worm castings. That's will be another thread! Using a pound of worms, they should digest a pound of scraps in a day or 2. Mine I use straight veggies and fruits. Good luck with your venture. If I missed something, jump right in.   |
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11-15-2009, 12:57 AM
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#2 |
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dirty black hands
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: the old growth forest
Posts: 4,990
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nice one, i have 5 sets of these. and they work great. one tip though. if you can leaf mold or crushed fall leaves work MUCH better than newspaper as a base material.
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“Everything is written in the book of nature. This book is always open.” sepp holzer |
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11-15-2009, 12:58 AM
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#3 |
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The Logical Gardener
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 4,436
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Isn't it nice to do things cheap? Another way is to put only 2 to 4 inches of feed/bedding in the bottom, put the worms in and ad food as you watch them consume what's there. Worms feed at the top and this way you can make sure they eat everything. When they get near the top you can fill a mesh plastic transplant tray with their favorite food and they will crtawl in there over about a week. Then you can just snatch off the tray, scoop up worms not in the tray and place into a container; empty out your vermicompost; prepare the worm bin with fresh bedding/food and start over again. Also, you don't have to drill the holes in the side but the bottom is important. For some reason worms love crawling up the sides of the wet plastic to have sex. When you see those white bulge spots on a worm, you no she/he is pregnant.
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Anybody can be wrong about anything. "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone." ~John Maynard Keynes~ Sorry: No questions by PM, check my webpage |
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11-15-2009, 12:58 AM
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#4 |
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 48
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what do you do as far as upkeep? Do you add water to the soil if it drys out, etc? and what is the bottom tub for? just water run off? could you just use the lid of the first tub? Great post, thanks for sharing.
Edit: I have a few more questions. should this be kept outside? I am assuming so, but I thought I should ask. And also, as far as what you can feed them, is there anything off limits, or do you pretty much follow the same guidelines as composting (using veggies, and egg shells, no meat etc)? |
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11-15-2009, 01:07 AM
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#5 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 177
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Very nice thread, Ehonda! This is exactly what Ive been looking for. I can easily contain my worm bin in the basement with no problem.. Doesnt take up much room either! Thanks a lot for contributing man! Exactly what I have been lookin for! i started a compost outdoors last spring, started with leaves, shredded newspapers, dirt, food scraps, and other goodies.. After just a couple months I found the fattest nightcrawlers had mad a nice home in there, and were helping to break down my compost.. This was my first composting experience, and I was amazed by the amount of crawlers that were in there, and their reproductive speed! It was too bad I was forced to move, and I had to leave my compost behind..
 Btw, can u use nightcrawlers instead of redworms? Ive heard u can use both, but wasnt positive. Im looking to use the compost as an additive in my organic soil mix. Thanks again Ehonda10TT |
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11-15-2009, 01:13 AM
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#6 | |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 177
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Quote:
For compost to work properly, it has to have the proper mixture of green and brown ingredients in alternating layers, with the other stuff thrown in for good measure. If composed with the correct ratio of brown and green matter, a compost heap will remain warm and damp. I will start compiling a list of scraps that can go into your bin.. A good rule of thumb is, if it came from the ground, Give it back to the ground. Egg Shells (washed out) Egg cartons (not the plastic or foam ones) paper Paper napkins Freezer-burned vegetables Burlap coffee bags Pet hair Potash rock Post-it notes Freezer-burned fruit Wood chips Bee droppings Lint from behind refrigerator Hay Popcorn (unpopped, 'Old Maids,' too) Freezer-burned fish Old spices Pine needles Leaves Matches (paper or wood) Seaweed and kelp Hops Chicken manure Leather dust Old, dried up and faded herbs Bird cage cleanings Paper towels Brewery wastes Grass clippings Hoof and horn meal Molasses residue Potato peelings Unpaid bills Gin trash (wastes from cotton plants) Rabbit manure Hair clippings from the barber Stale bread Coffee grounds (filter an all!) Wood ashes Sawdust Dryer Lint Tea bags and grounds Shredded newspapers Egg shells Cow manure Alfalfa Winter rye Grapefruit rinds Pea vines Houseplant trimmings Old pasta Grape wastes Garden soil Powdered/ground phosphate rock Corncobs (takes a long time to decompose) Jell-o (gelatin) Blood meal Winery wastes Spanish moss Limestone Fish meal Aquarium plants Beet wastes Sunday comics Harbor mud Felt waste Wheat straw Peat moss Kleenex tissues Tree bark Starfish (dead ones!) Flower petals Pumpkin seeds Q-tips (cotton swabs: cardboard, not plastic sticks) Expired flower arrangements Elmer's glue BBQ'd fish skin Bone meal Citrus wastes Stale potato chips Rhubarb stems Old leather gardening gloves Tobacco wastes Bird guano Hog manure Dried jellyfish Wheat bran Guinea pig cage cleanings Nut shells Cattail reeds Clover Granite dust Moldy cheese Greensand Straw Shredded cardboard Dolomite lime Cover crops Quail eggs (OK, I needed a 'Q' word) Rapeseed meal Bat guano Fish scraps Tea bags (black and herbal) Apple cores Electric razor trimmings Hair from a brush Kitchen wastes Outdated yogurt Toenail clippings Shrimp shells Crab shells Lobster shells Pie crust Leather wallets Onion skins Bagasse (sugar cane residue) Watermelon rinds Date pits Goat manure Olive pits Peanut shells Burned oatmeal (sorry, Mom) Lint from clothes dryer Bread crusts Cooked rice River mud Tofu (it's only soybeans, man!) Wine gone bad (what a waste!) Banana peels Fingernail and toenail clippings Chocolate cookies Wooden toothpicks Moss from last year's hanging baskets Stale breakfast cereal Pickles 'Dust bunnies' from under the bed Pencil shavings Wool socks Artichoke leaves Leather watch bands Fruit salad Tossed salad (now THERE's tossing it!) Brown paper bags Soggy Cheerios Theater tickets Lees from making wine Burned toast Feathers Animal fur Horse manure Vacuum cleaner bag contents Coconut hull fiber Old or outdated seeds Macaroni and cheese Liquid from canned vegetables Liquid from canned fruit Old beer Wedding bouquets Greeting card envelopes Snow Dead bees and flies Horse hair Peanut butter sandwiches Dirt from soles of shoes, boots Fish bones Ivory soap scraps Spoiled canned fruits and vegetables Produce trimmings from grocery store Cardboard cereal boxes (shredded) Grocery receipts |
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11-15-2009, 02:40 AM
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#7 |
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Let's Bungle in the jungle.
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 524
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Jay Kush - Thanks man. I have 2 grocery bags of leaves in there now. I left some more room to put some more shredded stuff in when I clean up the yard. I'll keep a bunch in a bag in the garage to sustain through the winter time. I have a bag of peat that I want to put a little in as well.
Microbeman- I think it's always a treat when everything you need is at your disposal. It's wild how hungry these guys are, I put in some aged lettuce on the top of the bedding and they barely move when you take the lid off to see them. As far as the harvest, I think I am going to go with the way you mentioned. It seems to be fairly easy. Thanks. Wowzerz- "what do you do as far as upkeep? Do you add water to the soil if it drys out, etc? and what is the bottom tub for? just water run off? could you just use the lid of the first tub? Great post, thanks for sharing." Upkeep is easy, just let them do there thing. You don't have to do much but keep them at 55-70 degrees and they will be happy. You don't have to add water, The veggie scraps should supply enough moisture as you put them in. The bottom tub is for fluid collection. The upper tub will secrete moisture as it gets too saturated and drip into the reservoir. I suppose you could use the lid and elevate the tub a little. Same thing. Thanks mang. TenToesTall- I have a little compost tumbler out in the back yard. It's a great little habit to teach yourself and your kids to do. As far as worms go there are a few kinds that are optimum for composting rapidly. Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worm) and Lumbricus rubellus. Not too many people use earthworms because they have horrible survival rates in these bins. And damn man that's quite the list.
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11-15-2009, 02:53 AM
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#8 |
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Let's Bungle in the jungle.
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 524
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Most bait shops around here stock these worms and are fairly easy to obtain. If you can't find them locally then you can find them on the web easily. Ebay is loaded with them.
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11-15-2009, 05:43 AM
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#9 |
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Banned
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 177
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Will redworms live inside of plant pots without issues? I mean can I drop them into my plants pots, just like an earthworm?10TT
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11-15-2009, 01:43 PM
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#10 |
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Let's Bungle in the jungle.
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 524
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I wouldn't do it, There isn't enough food in that environment so they will start headin out when the lights go out. You will have a cabinet full of hungry worm nomads.
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