Worm Compost Bin

Hobby Worm Compost Bin

What Do I Need To Get Started?
1. CONTAINER
You can use wood and plastic containers. No matter if you build or buy, or even use your imagination and come up with something you've recycled like an old dresser drawer, trunk, or discarded barrel. Most the time, I prefer wood because it is more absorbent and a better insulator for the worms. My brother ray uses a plastic containers but he find that the compost tends to get quite wet. Experiment and find out what works for you and your new friends the worms.

Guide To Sizing Of The Container
Experience has shown a good way to determine the size of the container is to weigh your household food waste for one week (in pounds), and then provide one square foot of surface area per pound. The container depth should be between 8 to 12 inches deep. My grandmother preferred a number of smaller containers for easier lifting and moving and more choice of location rather than one large and heavy container.
Depending on the size of the container, drill 8 to 12 holes (1/4 - l/2 inches) in the bottom for aeration and drainage. A plastic bin may need more drainage - if contents get too wet, drill more holes. Raise the bin on bricks or wooden blocks, and place a tray underneath to capture excess liquid which can be used as liquid plant fertilizer.
The bin needs a cover to conserve moisture and provide darkness for the worms. If the bin is indoors, a sheet of dark plastic or burlap sacking placed loosely on top of the bedding is sufficient as a cover. For outdoor bins, a solid lid is preferable, to keep out unwanted scavengers and rain. Like us, worms need air to live, so be sure to have your bin sufficiently ventilated. Cheap and Easy Worm Bin Link

2. BEDDING
It is important and necessary to provide a quality damp bedding material for your worms to live in, and to bury food scraps in.
Some of the bedding materials I use are shredded newspaper, cardboard, shredded dry leaves, chopped up grass clippings and other dead plants, seaweed, sawdust, compost and well composted horse and cow manure "NEVER USE PET MANURE". Whenever you can, vary the bedding in the bin as much as possible, it will help to provide more nutrients for the worms, and to create a richer compost for your plants. Add a couple of handfuls of sand or common garden soil to provide necessary grit for the worm's digestion of food.
Remember it is important to moisten the dry bedding materials before putting them in the bin or you could harm your worms, so that the overall moisture level is like a wrung-out sponge. The bin should be about three-quarters full of moistened bedding. Gently lift the bedding to create air pockets which help to control odours, and give easier movement to your worms.

3. WORMS
The two types of earthworm best suited to worm composting are the redworms: Eisenia foetida (commonly known as red wiggler, brandling, or manure worm) and Lumbricus rubellus They are often found in aged manure and compost heaps. Please do not use dew-worms (large size worms found in soil and compost) as they are not likely to survive.

Great places to find Your new Worms?
If you feel adventurous, find a horse stable or farmer with a manure pile and collect a bagful of manure with worms. Check your own or a friend's compost bin for worms. You can also purchase worms.

How Many Worms Do I Need?
I find that 1 pound of worms per square foot of surface space in the bin works well.
However, I'm using Georgia / Alabama jumpers ( approximately 1200 worms) which are a little larger in size then the red wigglers. I have family members who prefer using 2 pounds per square foot of surface space when using red wigglers (approximately 2000 worms). If you do not have access to this many worms just reduce the amount of scraps you applied daily until the number of worms start to come up. Most common species of worms will double their population once every 2 to 3 months.

What Can I Feed My Worms?
You can compost food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, pulverized egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds. It is advisable not to compost meats, dairy products, oily foods, and grains because of problems with smells, flies, and rodents. Please be kind: No glass. plastic or tin foil.
To avoid fly and smell problems, always bury the food waste by pulling aside some of the bedding, dumping the waste, and then cover it up with the bedding again. Bury successive loads in different locations in the bin.

Where Should I Locate My Worm Bin?
Worm bins can be used indoors all year round, and outdoors during the milder months. The advantage of mobile bins is that they can be moved when weather conditions change. Indoors, banner_tops are excellent locations (warm, dark and dry), but any spare space can be utilized, so long as temperatures are between 40-80 degrees F. We know dedicated worm composters who have convenient kitchen counter worm bins. Outdoors, bins can be kept in sheds and garages, on patios and balconies, or in the yard. They should be kept out of hot sun and heavy rain. If temperatures drop below 40 degrees F., bins should either be moved indoors, or well insulated outdoors.

How Do I Maintain My Bin?
If you have the correct ratio of surface area to worms to food scraps, there is little to do, other than adding food, until about two and a half months have passed. By then, there should be little or no original bedding visible in the bin, and the contents will be brown and earthy looking worm castings. The contents will have substantially decreased in bulk too.

It is important to separate the worms from the finished compost, otherwise the worms will begin to die. There are several ways to do this. and you can discover which is best for you. The quickest is to simply move the finished compost over to one side of the bin, place new bedding in the space created, and put food waste in the new bedding. The worms will gradually move over and the finished compost can be skimmed off as needed.