Types of bins vary from the stacking worm bin or worm factory, which can be bought(see below), to a homemade worm bin which may be made by using a combination of window boxes or plastic bins/totes  or wooden boxes with plenty of air holes punched in the sides and tops.

On the post “Worm Bedding Material’, I’ve explained one type of worm bin you can use; that is, my method of using two window boxes to make a worm bin.

In this post I will give you two other ways besides my window box idea to construct your worm bin: 1) using a big garbage plastic bin and 2) using a smaller plastic container/tote  as explained on video by Christy Ruffner from

http://www.vermiculturenorthwest.com

First example of a homemade worm bin:

One enterprising young man who wanted plenty of worm castings used a big garbage plastic bin to create his worm bin.  At the bottom on one side of his worm bin, he cut out a door so that he could quickly retrieve the worm castings without necessarily having to deal with the worms themselves.

Then he bought rods that wouldn’t rust or rot, and with the proper size drill, he made holes all around the plastic bin about half way up from the ground.  Then he inserted these rods  from one side of the worm bin to the other side.

These rods more or less created a platform which was about 2 feet from the bottom of the bin and parallel to it.  He made sure the rods were close enough they could easily hold a bedding of damp newspapers to hold his precious worms in this homemade worm bin.

One added precaution to make this worm bin even more efficient would be to put a net or screening under the newspapers to avoid losing the tiny baby worms once the newspapers have decomposed or been eaten by the worms.

Second example of a homemade worm bin:

This video is called DIY Worm Bin 101 in which Christy explains step by step how to prepare a plastic tote so it can be used for worm composting.

Obviously the important things to do to keep your worms happy in the worm bin is to make sure that they are in a damp environment, not a soaking wet one nor a dry one

, hence the reason for having the holes drilled in the bottom of the worm bin for drainage and containers of some sort to harvest this “compost tea”. On the other hand, if the bedding dries up, spray with dechlorinated water until the material is damp.

Second, the worms need air.

Therefore, you must drill holes in areas where the soil (if you’re using soil) or castings will not fall out these holes. As well, make these holes towards the top of the worm bin where the holes can get the most air through so would be the most beneficial. Putting screening or some sort of net as explained in the video is also a good idea.

Click on the image for a better view of what is called a “Worm Factory”.

3-tray Worm Composter

However, now that you have read about three different versions of “what to use for a worm bin” from three different people, you probably realized that these bins are as varied as the people who make them. What will you use for your worm bin?

Good luck!

Marcie

1. Loam or black topsoil available from garden centers makes particularly good worm bedding material for your worms.

2. Worm bedding material can also be shredded newspaper which have been soaked and drained to soften the edges.

The newspaper should be damp and not soaking wet when you place it in your “worm’s home” as worm bedding material. Since the worms will eat this too, avoid colored inks and glossy paper.

3. Other worm bedding material could be a mixture of sawdust, peat moss, shredded leaves and ordinary soil (all of these should be moist, of course).

By the way, peat moss, although a great soil additive, should be used with restraint only because our bogs where peat moss is gathered are getting depleted. Bogs  need to be given time to replenish.

Instead, for your worm bedding material,  try using soil which is cheap and easy to use. If you live in an apartment, you have to buy soil anyway, so why not enrich it with vermicompost?

If you use trays, moist paper is sufficient as worm bedding material.

If you use a deeper container, fill the worm bin with about a foot of soft bedding, about as damp as a wrung-out sponge.

Since you have provided air holes all around and underneath the bin itself, you can add a lid on the bin to help maintain the correct moisture level.

I use a window box to hold the worms, soil, and food,  tip another window box over it, and  make sure there is plenty of air circulation space where the two window boxes meet in the middle  by skewing the top one a bit.  If the top one is larger than the bottom one, then obviously no skewing is needed.  This “bin” is kept in a  cool corner of my apartment where the sun can not reach it. My worms seem to like it and have never tried to escape.

Click on the thumbnail for better view of my soil as worm bedding material.  Notice the containers under the bottom box to catch drippings when I add water to moisten the drying soil.

At first I had only about a 1/2 dozen worms and I had split up my container into two areas where I had added soil. When the  time for harvesting the compost was right,  I was hoping to entice the worms with food to the other end so that I would not have to sort out the worms.

Here’s what it looked like back in the fall of 2007.  Click here for the  full story on how I got hooked on using vermicompost for my plants.

Now I fill the whole window box with soil as my worm bedding material because I have so many more worms.  I spread the food on top or work the food into the soil to avoid having to deal with fruit flies.  Notice how the top box extends farther out than the bottom one because it is a larger window box, so the worms get plenty of air circulation which in turn allows for anearobic composting i.e. no smell.

For drainage, I raise the container holding the worm and mulch about 1 inch from the floor and slide plastic containers (Or whatever you have around) to catch the drippings. I never overwater  . . .  just add enough when the soil gets drier so the worms are kept happy.

(Please note:
I never use water just out of the tap because here in the city the water from the tap contains chlorine and fluoride; instead I will fill containers about 1 day ahead . . . enough to water all my plants, and I leave the water sit, uncovered, so that the chlorine can escape from the water.

Also, if you have a house, you can gather rainwater in barrels and use that for the worms if needed.

(Thank you, Irvine, for reminding me about using barrels.  When I had my house, I had 3 rain barrels, and I loved using the rainwater on my gardens too.  I can’t do that here at the apartment, so I had forgotten that other people have the space to do that.)

Again, you may want to read about my experience with worms when I first started making vermicompost a few years ago by going to http://PlantsAndGardeningTips.com/worm-castings-how-well-does-it-work/.

If you look at the side panel, you will see links to articles on what types of worms you can use and what food you might give them…now that you have an idea what can be used as worm bedding material.

Happy composting!

This past spring I have personally found out how superior to synthetic fertilizers and other liquid fertilizers even a trowel full of soil with worm castings in it can be. Here’s more about my experience with composting worms and using the castings at http://www.plantsandgardeningtips.com/.

Although harvesting vermicompost or the nutrient filled soil or worm casting can be somewhat work intensive, it is  not difficult to do.

If you use a whole container or, as in my case,  the whole window box without dividing into sections for feeding the wigglers, it will take a little more work when it’s harvesting vermicompost time.

When removing the nutrient-filled soil from the container in order to replace it with new soil, I will have to be so careful about not removing the worms with it.  I want them to remain in the new soil which I will use for bedding.

When I feel I should be harvesting vermicompost because there is sufficient nutrient-rich super soil in the entire window box and I want to use it,

I begin by shining a strong light on one end of the box, and the worms will bury below the soil.

Then I skim the top of the soil with a trowel and transfer it to a plastic zip bag.

If I happen to pick up any worms in my trowel while I am harvesting vermicompost,  I fish out the worms with my fingers and throw them back into the window box where they are out of the way. Worms don’t like having a light shining on them, so they will immediately look for shelter in the soil.

As I continue harvesting vermicompost, I skim more and more soil off the top of the pile and gradually get to the point where I see the worms.

Once more I manually, with my fingers or with the trowel, pick up the worms and move them out of the way as I keep working my way down to the bottom of the window box.

When there is no more nutrient-filled soil to be removed from that first side, I then fill up that corner with new soil, moisten it so the worms will feel at home, and bury food in the soil.

Then it’s time for harvesting vermicompost at the other end of the window box.

I go to the other end of the box, shine the light on this area and repeat the above procedure.

This time I will notice how some of the worms are slowly finding their way back to the new soil where I had put the food.

Little by little most of the worms will migrate to the new soil. Again when I happen to pick up worms with the soil in my trowel, this time the worm is placed in the new soil section. And when I get closer to the bottom, I will transfer the worms “en masse” with my trowel or my hands to the new soil section.

PS If I wait a few hours or even a day before harvesting vermicompost on the second side of the box, most of the worms will have migrated on their own to the side where there is food; in other words, the worms will have transferred to the new soil so there is less work for me when harvesting vermicompost on this second end of my window box.

When I have finished harvesting vermicompost from the second corner, I add some new soil and food to this end too. Sometimes I retransfer some worms back to the second end, sometimes I don’t bother.

Since I had been transferring the nutrient-filled soil from the box to a large ziplock bag which had originally held frozen berries, all I need do now is zip the bag and store this bag into another darker plastic bag to keep light away from it as I want the vermicompost to remain somewhat moist. I will be using all this compost for my balcony containers.

I hope this all makes sense to you. However, if you don’t like all that workwhenever it’s time for harvesting vermicompost, here’s a video that shows an easy way to tempt the worms into moving from one tray to another:

So the bottom line is to recognize your vermicompost; that is, you will know that the soil is ready for using when you can run your fingers through the soil and it feels like you’re running your fingers through coffee grains (not quite, but it’s close enough).

Also your soil should have a different smell — like when you’re walking through the woods just after a lovely light rain and you can smell the mulch. Believe me, it’s a special lovely smell you cannot forget.

The next post will deal with what to use for bedding for the wigglers when vermicomposting.

Meanwhile, enjoy your vermicompost. By the way, did you realize that even the big companies are starting to use vermicompost more and more as organic nourishment for the soil around their fruit trees or for growing their vegetables organically. It IS a faster way to get compost than by using the hot or cold composting method,and it is easier to mass produce.

So good luck with your vermicomposting.

On the next post I will discuss worm bedding material.

Meanwhile….
Happy gardening!
Marcie

I have a different type of bin — a window box with holes in the bottom and containers under the window box to catch any leaking water.

As a cover, I use a bigger window box which I place upside down over the one with the worms. I make sure this big window box is placed in such a way that plenty of air is allowed to circulate inside the bin so that the worms and the decomposing material have access to oxygen. We do want aerobic decompostion which does not smell, right?

If you double click on this image, you will have a better view of my homemade vermicomposting bin.

You will notice that I have no soil in the middle of the window box.  At one point the box was filled with soil, and I’ve since used the soil from the center of the window box as compost for my balcony plants.

At first I had purposely left the middle empty so that when I figured there was quite a bit of worm castings in the soil at both ends, I would put fresh soil and the food in the middle to attract the worms and then use the nutrient-rich super end soil as compost.

As the number of worms increased,  I started  keeping the box filled with soil and spreading  the food all over the top of the soil right across the box.

If you prefer not to touch the woms, there are special kits you can buy. Here’s an example tray bin system from Amazon:
Worm Factory DS3GT 3-Tray Worm Composter, Green

You can also google these words:

vermicomposter + Toronto or the name of your city or town

and you will find suppliers.

Some people move their worms out to a balcony or yard in warm seasons, but I would hesitate putting the bins in the sun for the worms would fry in temperature above 80 degrees F. (approximately 25 degrees Celsius. If you wish to put them outside on a balcony, try to find a spot which remains shaded.

However, I keep my bin in my living room in a dark corner behind my furniture. I do not get any smell or mess from it. Also in the past teachers used to set up a bin in the classroom where students would take in food for the worms. I know one teacher who bought a tool box in which to keep her composting worms. Anything will work as long as you take care of it.

If you plan to move the worm bins back and forth to the balcony, you may find it more convenient to have several smaller, more portable units rather than one large one. The size of the box will also depend on how much space you have.

So if you live in an apartment and prefer to nourish your plants with compost, why not try the vermi composting method.

Take care

Marcie

who don’t have yard space and for those homeowners who don’t want to hike through snowdrifts to a backyard compost bin.

In addition, kids love keeping hundreds of wigglers for pets.  As a matter of fact, worm composting can be used as an activity in the classroom.  Children just love feeding these worms and watching them wiggle around.  Any container will do the job as a “home” for the worms.

If you do not wish to build your own “home” for your worms, there are several companies now who can sell you not only the bins but also the bedding, the worms, and all you need. Just search with the words worm bins + Canada(or the country you want).

In future posts I will discuss homes for worms, worms bedding material, types of worms needed, what can be used as worm food, harvesting the worm castings,  outdoors worm composting pit, and my experiments with worm castings.

See you on the next post.

Marcie