What is a vermicomposting worm bin?

Vermicomposting is also known as gardening and composting with worm bins. I’ve assembled bins before, and I will again. I have to say it’s much more fun to build with others, instead of by yourself. A long time ago, I made one with my young kids. They were 4,6, and 8 years old. I shared building what we made with a children’s wildlife class that I was teaching for the recreation center in my county.

Adventures with worms & composting

More recently, I was given a pretty good amount of redworms by a friend (Thank you, Sherry:). I built a worm bin out of a container that I bought at the dollar store with college students. The semesters have yielded different levels of enthusiasm: in the first class I taught, the students were extremely excited about the worms. The second class was a little bit more squeamish. The third was a charm: everyone enjoyed themselves. We even followed the celebratory vibe with a party for a support dog’s 10th birthday, complete with party favors. It was well-attended, with about a thousand guests, if you count the worms!

But, why?

There are several good reasons to build your own worm bin/vermicompost container:

• It gives you a place to put your extra scraps. Besides just a compost bucket. The worms work all the time, and eat about 30 times their body weight daily. They’re taking what you’re eating and preparing the scraps to turn become very readily usable potting soil with high nutrients.
• It’s a great way to have a pet without feeling bad if you go away for a week. They’re quiet. The landlords will never know. And it’s fun to watch what they get excited about. My worms get most excited about eggshells!
• It is free fertilizer, and all-organic. A small bag of it even makes a nice gift, for the right recipient.
• The worms multiply and you could, in time, start your own worm farm. The possibilities are as boundless as the population of the worms, which can multiply rather quickly!

DIY Homestyle Bin

1.Find a 10-gallon (or more) tub from the Dollar Store. Or, you can also use a 5-gallon bucket, available for free from many places, such as restaurants.

2. Regardless of if you go with a tub (with their easier-to-remove lids) or a bucket (a little tighter lids to remove), at the very top you will want to drill very, very small holes. (An 8th of an inch or smaller so that the worms don’t try to escape).These holes will aerate your bin when the lid is on. Drill a hole about every 2-3″ around each side, or all the way around, on a bucket. Leave lid on.

3. Line bottom of the bin with unfinished compost.

4. Add potting soil. How much depends on how big the bin is. Fill approximately the first half of bin when you add soil.

So far, you will have: 1/3 unfinished compost, and 1/3-2/3 potting soil or peat moss. Finished compost also works, if have some of that on hand.

5. On the top, you add shredded newspaper or brown craft paper (the less ink or color, the better).

6. Keep all slightly moist, spray with a mister setting on your garden hose, or spray bottle.

9. Finally, dig a hole into this about 2/3 of the way down, and add worms You can add just one, or hundreds.

10. Numbers matter less than keeping news- or craft paper moist (not sopping wet, or the worms will drown), and feed them the same things you would compost: eggshells, fruit or vegetable peels (citrus is not advised due to its acidity). Add a couple dinners’ worth of scraps once a week or every two weeks; make sure moisture level is how ideal garden soil should be: moist. Not overly wet OR dry.

Adjusting conditions for a new “home”

You get an idea over time how much food to add and when to mist newspaper. If the bin gets too wet, add more shredded paper. Usually, that is the case with my bins, due to the ‘juicy” compost I’ve added.

Keep the bin in area out of direct sunlight (worms prefer to be in the dark, underground, remember!) and above freezing temperatures. A basement or dark part of the garage is okay. In the house is fine, too, as long as cats, kids or dogs aren’t too curious.

Once you’ve got worms…

Before you know it, you’ll want to divide the bin population, give away worms, and harvesting castings (aka “poop”) to pot up or fertilize houseplants and outdoor perennials and flowers.

Redworms are not indigenous to the United Sates. Therefore, keep worms in the bin and harvest the soil. Or, use them in potted containers where they are likely to stay. They are fascinating creatures; they make gardening fun and entertaining!

Happy vermicomposting!!!